#werewolf!v

The shopping trip, the car, the blast. It was all there. Your heart monitor picked up a bit as you tried to process everything. Good lord when was life going to slow down for you? When were things going to get back to normal again? And like a light in the darkness, you watched your roommate rush back over to you with a glass of water.

“Easy, princess. Just take deep breaths for me, okay?”

“Jungkook----You’re hurt.”

“Aish, woman. I said shush. Here.”

The next thing you knew, he was setting the glass of water down on the side table so that he could help shift you up into a better sitting position without aggravating any of your injuries. Sure Jungkook was injured too, but his wounds were going to heal a hell of a lot quicker than yours. You, his fragile mate who was still human and didn’t yet possess the healing properties that came with being a wolf.

“Take slow sips, babe. You don’t want to choke.”

Well he was making that difficult. The pet name did things to you. And that bloody heart monitor was giving you away as it bleeped a bit. Of course he noticed and looked at you with worry and concern etched deep in his facial expression. However, if he was going to ask you about it, he must have decided to spare you as he set the glass of water back down now that you were done with it.

“What happened? Why my car? What did I or my car ever do to anyone? And my stuff we bought? Is it----”

“Beautiful, Beautiful. Slow down, okay? I know this is overwhelming but the stress with slow down your healing progress. Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything.”

Well there wasn’t much to explain, really. While he carefully helped you back down into a laying position and making sure you were as comfortable as you could be, Jungkook thought about how to word what he was about to say. Truth was, he had a very serious talk with Namjoon and, honestly, it left Jungkook pretty spooked. The last thing anyone wanted was to make your nerves even more frazzled than they already were.

“You see, babe.......Namjoonie hyung and I think.....well......We’re beginning to wonder if.......If you’re being targeted.”

There really was no pretty way to say it but dang the male wish he hadn’t stuttered and faltered so much. It only revealed how nervous and scared he was and right now you needed him to be strong. He was your strong mate who was supposed to show no fear and protect you from harm. He watched a look of confusion cross over your face as you mumbled,

“I--I’m sorry, what? Targeted? Why? I didn’t do anything to anyone.”

“I know, love.”

Did he have to keep up with the pet names? And what was this weird feeling in your chest every time he used one? Good lord you didn’t have the energy for this. First your apartment goes up in flames where you lose everything to your name. Then your car gets stolen. Now said car gets graffiti spray painted all over it and blown to smithereens. What else could God possibly throw at you right now???

Maybe someone really was targeting you. But why?

“Kookie-----I’m scared. What if----”

Dear lord. That crack in your feeble voice. The welling of tears in your eyes. And those words. I’m scared. It was like pulling the trigger on a weapon. Something snapped inside the male and he suddenly took your hand in his that had the pulse and oxygen level reader on your finger and kissed the back of your scarred skin. In a hushed voice, he whispered soothingly,

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to you while I’m still living and breathing. All this bad luck shit is gonna end right here right now.”

“Jungkook---language.”

He couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as you laid there with red rimmed, watery eyes and a cute red nose to match; scolding him for his mild French. You looked so small, so tiny, laying in this stupid hospital bed when you should be resting on his couch next to him watching more cheesy Disney movies. Falling asleep in his arms after a long day of shopping.

But that didn’t happen. Because someone was trying to target you. His girl. His mate. It wasn’t you they were after.

It was Jungkook.

And they officially got his attention. Something the male would make sure they regretted.

“Kookie? You okay?”

Just as he was about to assure you he was fine, there was a soft couple knocks at the door and in came Hoseok. You always did like his bright smile. He was like a ray of sunshine when things got stressful at the office. You often wondered how he managed to stay so positive all the time.

“Jungkookie, Namjoon’s got something for you.”

The older male then laid eyes on you and smiled that bright smile that could light up the whole world and added,

“The girls are here. They’d like to see you. Feeling up to it?”

“Absolutely. Send them in, please.”

You looked over to see that serious expression on your roommate’s face once again. It was like he was in some serious and deep thought. But before you could question him, he suddenly lifted your hand again and kissed the back of it. Were you ever going to get used to that? Why was that even a question? God you couldn’t wait till the girls got in here. You needed some help. Girl help.

“I’ll be back, beautiful. Have fun with the girls.”

“O--Okay.”

No more had the door closed behind him, it busted right back open and two blubbering females came stumbling into the room. Widow got to you first as she flung herself onto you despite all the cords. Mama Bird quickly closed the door to give you three some privacy. Pulling up a chair while Widow sat in another, it was the petite one who said in a serious tone,

“Girlfriend----We need to have a talk.”

So they ‘sat you down’ and had a nice long talk with you. Lucky for them, you were all on the same wavelength because their topic of choice just happened to be the same as yours. You never imagined you’d be sitting with your small niche of girl friends discussing boy troubles.

“Girl, I’m telling you, he likes you. Like----Likes you likes you.”

“You should have seen him barreling through the hospital doors. He was almost out of his mind.”

“Yeah. It took almost every one of his coworkers to settle him down. He was really worried about you. It almost got him thrown out of the hospital.”

“Are we talking about the same guy here?”

You asked the question as you tried to soak up all the information they were giving you. Why would Jungkook be ‘out of his mind’ because you got hurt? What was so special about you? None of this was making any sense.

“Jungkook would have been that worried about anyone. He’s just a really nice boy is all.”

At the same exact time, as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times, they both shook their heads and said,

“Nah. He’s crushing on you.”

“Guuuyssss! That’s ridiculous! Why me!? There’s nothing special about me!”

“Jimin and Taehyung tell us he’s all the time staring at you while at work. And when that Jackson guy tried to hit on you at the club that night, Taehyung told me Kook was livid.”

You laid there in your bed chewing nervously on your bottom lip; feeling it flaking. What if they were right? What if this wasn’t just your coworker and roommate being a nice guy? What if there was more to the story? It would explain why he’s so affectionate with the skinship and all. And the pet names.

“Well.......He did.......Give me a lot of pet names a little bit ago.”

“See!!”

“Yah. You guys don’t have to be so in sync about it. It’s just----We aren’t even in the same league. I’m ground beef and he’s----he’s.......Prime Rib!”

“Doesn’t matter. He likes you. You like him. It’s----”

“Hey hey. Who said I liked him???”

They both gave you a look that clearly screamed they weren’t buying your bluff and all you could do was pout and huff in annoyance. Honestly, you weren’t sure how you felt. So much had happened in the last few days that you couldn’t think about boys and love right now. Or maybe you were just afraid to think about it.

“So what do you think I should do?”

“Hook up.” “Kiss him.”

It all sounded like a jumble of words as they had answered at the same exact time. So much so, that you couldn’t tell who gave which response. Regardless, both answers had you blushing like a teenager and the heart monitor had slightly picked up in beeping as your heart was doing gymnastics inside your chest.

“You two aren’t any help at all. Why again are we friends?”

“Because you love us.”

Meanwhile, Jungkook was standing huddled with the rest of the guys as the seven of them were in the waiting room. Fortunately it was just them since it was so late in the evening. The atmosphere was tense as the pack leader began to speak.

“We have evidence that leads us to believe it was another werewolf. A tuft of fur was found on the scene next to where her car was parked on the street the day her apartment was set on fire. The day it was stolen. I’ve got people trying to swipe the camera footage from other places of business that would have caught sight of the incident.”

“So then we agree she’s being targeted?”

“It’s not her they’re after.......It’s me.”

“Jungkook. I know you like to feel special and all because she’s your girl, but----”

Before his hyung could finish, the youngest pup interrupted him and explained in a surprisingly calm voice,

“I know who did it. It makes sense now. The werewolf fur, all of this happening right after the night at the club. Guys.......It’s so obvious now.”

He looked especially at Jimin and Taehyung. When the second youngest locked eyes, it was like watching the light bulb come on. With a soft curse, he stood up and muttered,

“Jackson. That son of a b---”

“Wait wait wait. Jackson? As in....Jackson of the Lucky Seven pack?”

“Yeah. That one. The dirt bag. I should have known he would be a sore loser.”

Before Taehyung could blow up any further, it was Namjoon who put the breaks on the situation as he put his hands up a bit and said softly,

“Whoa whoa whoa. Okay let’s back up here. Clearly we are not on the same page. Some of us are missing a chapter here. Kook, Tae, tell us what happened.”

So that’s when the two youngest of the pack started going over the events of the night they went out with you to the bar Jimin had recommended to help celebrate your first week in your new position. They talked about how Jackson had been messing with you for awhile now and that he had made an appearance at the same bar and was trying to make a move on you yet again.

After letting all of the details sink in, the leader of their little family sighed heavily and rubbed his face. This was great. Just great. Not only had the Bangtan Pack and Lucky Seven Pack gotten along for years, but just yesterday their leader and some of his boys were helping rebuild what you had lost. And now he was being told one of the members could have actually caused the damage in the first place?

“It all fits, Namjoon. This is payback for losing her to me. Because we all know how Jackson likes to go around and brag about how he never loses and always gets what he wants.”

It was silent for a moment. Or what felt like several moments. Surprisingly enough, it was Taehyung who was boiling while Jungkook remained cool as a cucumber. The second youngest just couldn’t help it. You were so special to him. You were like a sister-in-law already and you made his own mate extremely happy. And anything that made Black Widow happy left Taehyung a very happy puppy. And now someone was threatening that happiness. This wasn’t cool, bro. Not cool at all.

“Yoongi, start collecting the security footage of the office building. I want every second she and Jackson were together on film. If he really is harassing her, he’s going to have consequences for his actions in my company. Whether he’s targeting her and Jungkook or not, I will not allow harassment in my company.”

The leader then looked up at his pack and started giving more orders.

“Jin, see if you can get Jaebum on the line. We need to talk. Hoseok, see if you can get Mark to talk. I know he’s closer to Jackson than the rest of them. He could be an accomplice because I highly doubt Jackson could have possibly done this by himself. And you three.....”

He was eyeing the three youngest pups of his family and added with a little more warmth and gentleness,

“Go take care of your girls.”

“Oh we’re just fine. But we got plans for Kook here.”

All seven pairs of eyes looked up and Jungkook ended up turning around only to be face-to-face with two very mischievous looking young girls. Yikes. They were playing the part of she-wolves way too well and way too soon. Not a lot of things scared Jungkook. But when females got their heads together, now that was scary.

Not long after the girls left, you saw Jin coming in and tried to give a bow of your head to him. He was the vice president of the company you work for after all. He simply chuckled and waved his hand as if swatting at a fly and said casually,

“No need for the formalities, child. I’m here as a friend, not your second in command of a boss. How are you feeling?”

“Really sore. Where’s Jungkook? Is he okay? He looked......really stressed earlier when he left.”

“Kookie’s fine. Aside from the concussion, of course. Namjoon sent him home to freshen up but the little snot nosed brat promised that nothing was going to keep him away from here for long. I imagine he’ll be back soon.”

You tried not to blush at the information. Perhaps the girls weren’t exaggerating? Had your coworker and roommate really been that scared for you? How long had he been sitting next to your bedside? Clearing your now once again dry throat, you looked back up to see the male smiling in amusement and you pouted.

“Not you too???”

“Hey. I may be a man but I notice these things too. I’m not totally and completely clueless. Only when I don’t want to take orders from Namjoon. Then I act like the dumbest male on Earth. It gets me out of everything.”

The both of you laugh and even though it hurt in some places, you welcomed the entertainment. It felt like years since you had laughed but really it was just the weight of everything that made it seem that way. All of this bad luck could really get to a person.

“Thanks, Jin. I’ll be waiting for him.”

Indeed you waited. It felt like several hours but really it was only about three or four. Looking at the clock on your phone, you saw it was almost 9:00pm. The irrational part of your brain kept bringing up all the bad possibilities. What if he had decided to go home and just rest for the night? What if something happened to him next? What if he was trying to make his way here and got in a wreck because of his concussion? What if----

“Hey sorry I’m late, beautiful. It’s gonna sound really cliche but traffic was horrible. What are so many people doing out on a Sunday night is beyond me.”

He was only slightly out of breath as he carried his duffel bag over to the couch that was in your room. The hospital had moved you out of critical condition and now you were in a cozy little room that looked much more inviting despite it still being a hospital room.

“What’s with the bag?”

“Oh this? I’m staying the night. The doctor said you’ll be free to go home tomorrow once he makes sure you’ll be okay. He said you could go back to work Tuesday if you’re feeling up to it, but for now he’s keeping you here for observation. Typical doctor stuff.”

“Kookie. You don’t have to stay with me. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“But I brought your favorite.”

Your eyes widened as he pulled something other than clothing out from his bag. It was a takeout box. You recognized the logo too. It was from your favorite restaurant. Turning extremely flustered, you asked with a stutter,

“H--How did you know it’s my favorite?”

“Widow told me.”

And suddenly it clicked for you. Narrowing your eyes in suspicion at him, you asked with folded arms; being careful of all the cords attached to you,

“Oh yeah? What else did she tell you?”

But the young male just chuckled and started taking out more boxes. Looks like he had grabbed a little of everything they had on the menu. You didn’t know how to feel at the moment. Things were starting to feel......intimate again. It was that same strange, almost intoxicating feeling again. You itched to hold his hand some more and you wanted him over next to your bed so badly you couldn’t stand it. So confusing.

Truth be told, Jungkook felt like he was dying right now. With it being so close to Monday, his heat was starting to kick in and you smelled like absolute Heaven right now. Your ovulation in full swing as you would approach your period not this week but next week. But he was going to go through with this. And then in the morning he’d be gone and leave you in the care of his pack. Well some.

A FEW HOURS AGO.....

“Namjoon......I need to go to the island for this one. It’s not safe for her to be so close to me. The cabin and chains aren’t going to cut it this time. I need to be across water and even that I fear may not be enough. Can Tae come along? Just to help keep me grounded from losing my mind.”

The two of them were in the boy’s apartment as he packed a few sets of clothing into a duffel bag while keeping another one for things like toiletries and other necessities. This week was going to be hell. He could already tell. Being just this far away from you was killing the poor boy. It was only a small taste of what was in store for him.

“Actually I think that’s a good idea. While I know we’re eventually going to have to talk to her, especially if Jackson is behind this, now definitely isn’t the best time. We don’t need her finding out what we are because of heat. How you holding up, by the way? You look a bit warm.”

“Honestly? I feel like I’m dying. It’s not even the whole being horny thing. It’s......My heart hurts, hyung. I need to be by her side. She’s hurt and in pain and I want to lick all her wounds clean and groom her and-----”

“Aigoo aigoo. Still a young pup trying to control his canine urges.”

Jungkook pouted like a child as his pack leader sat there in the desk chair and laughed at him. Of course it wasn’t in any mean way but still. He couldn’t help it. His inner wolf liked to try and take over when it came time for heat week as the young male liked to call it. However, the older between the two nodded once more and said casually,

“I’ll have the private jet ready for you in the morning and I’ll have Taehyung pick you up from the hospital where I will personally escort her home to your apartment. Sound good?”

“It sounds great, hyung. You’re the best pack leader I could ever hope for. Thank you so much for this.”

“Don’t mention it. But, Kook......do you think it wise to be spending the night there? You’re already starting to struggle with the tug.”

“I think I can deal with it till morning. It hurts and it’s painful but it’s not unbearable. In fact, I feel like being next to her might at least help with some of the pain.”

He added with a sigh and a nervous rub to the back of his head; looking completely stressed out as he stared at his two luggage bags,

“Besides.....The girls told me they’re getting tired of waiting on me.”

BACK TO THE PRESENT......

“You sneaked in dinner from my favorite restaurant?”

“Yep. Hope you don’t mind.”

You stared at him in complete disbelief. Not in a bad way. You weren’t ungrateful, no. Just......surprised? The hospital had already fed you dinner while your roommate was out but, one, you weren’t about to tell him that. And two, it sucked and this right here was going to be ten times better.

So after getting two pairs of disposable chopsticks out of the takeout bag, Jungkook carefully arranged all the food boxes on your nightstand and the two of you started to eat. You noticed he looked a little ragged. Wasn’t the whole point of going out was to freshen up?

“You okay, Jungkookie? Is it your injuries? Are they bothering you?”

Not wanting you to stress any more than you already were, he quickly shook his head while in mid-chewing and swallowed just as fast. Flashing you a wide smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, he replied casually,

“Oh no. No those are fine. Honestly they don’t even hurt anymore. No I just.......I wanted to be able to finish our day together somewhat like we planned, you know? We were supposed to go out and have di-dinner.”

Curse him for stuttering. Good lord how old was he? 16? He needed to man up and take control. But in his small defense, the smell of you was killing him and making it extremely hard to think straight. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea. But he couldn’t leave you. Not yet. He wasn’t finished.

“So um......Princess......There’s something I want to talk about before I leave for vacation in the morning.”

“If you’re about to tell me to make sure I turn all the burners off and the oven off when I’m done in the kitchen, I think I can handle it, Kook.”

Honestly, you had completely forgotten about his vacation being this week. Your chest grew tight and you felt like your throat was closing up despite the joke you tried to pull. Jungkook had gotten you through the last few days and to think you’d suddenly be without him scared you a little. He was like your life jacket and now it was floating up river and out of your hands. You were going to drown without him. It was then that his soft chuckles calmed your frazzled nerves.

“Ani ani. I um.....It’s about......”

He took a deep breath and set his now empty box of takeout on the night stand and placed his hands in his lap. Staring up at you, he briefly bit his bottom lip before saying,

“I like you. A lot.”

Oh boy. This was it. Here we go. You knew something had to be up when he said Widow had told him about your favorite restaurant. Seeing him all cute and sweating over it, though, made you want to tease him a bit. Smiling what appeared to be an innocent smile, you said casually,

“Awes. I like you too, Kookie.”

“No that’s-----No that’s not what I-----Aish, woman. Don’t make me spell it out for you.”

Giggling behind your free hand that wasn’t holding the chopsticks, you watched him with crinkled eyes as he pouted with his shoulders slouched and sliding down a bit in his chair. He looked so cute all flustered like that.

“What if I want you to spell it out for me?”

“You’re evil. How long have you known?”

“For as long as the girls have kept bugging me about it. I kept trying to deflect them but today they were pretty persistent about it. They um......They said you were out of your mind with worry over me.”

“I was.”

You stared at him; now having set your chopsticks down in your takeout box which sat in your lap now that you were fulling sitting up in bed. His eyes were warm and soft like two chocolate orbs as they stared back at you. Trying not to gulp too loud, you watched him take your hand.

“I care about you so much, beautiful. The day we bumped into each other was cliche but I guess you could label me a hopeless romantic. I started hanging out with you and I just......I fell, baby. I fell so hard. You have no idea.”

You were an absolute blushing mess. You were a hot mess to be exact. It was true. Everything the girls had told you was true. Jungkook really did feel strong things for you. It just didn’t seem possible. But here he was, a fine specimen of a man was telling you he pretty much loves you. Or is at least in love with you.

“So......What do you say? Wanna be my girl?”

“On one condition.....”

You watched his face pale despite his rosy cheeks and light sheet of sweat making his skin shine in the dim lighting of the room. Grinning, you said,

“I get the last box of takeout.”

MEANWHILE......

“This is a very serious accusation you’re making.”

Jaebum, the COO of the company you work for and who had worked his tail off helping rebuild yesterday, was wearing a deep frown on his face as he stared at the three men in front of him. Namjoon was the first to respond while Jin and Yoongi were looking through the security footage.

“Jae, trust me. I don’t like this either. I don’t want to believe it. We shouldn’t have to be sitting here at nine forty-five at night on a Sunday looking through our own security footage but if our theory is right, one of our own could be in danger. More than one someone.”

The COO’s adams apple bobbed roughly as he swallowed hard. His dark, sharp eyes flickered over to the laptop screen and his jaw made a soft tick when he saw one of his pack brothers on the screen. Over and over again. Sometimes leaning against you; almost cornering you. Since there was sound, they could hear everything. Some of the things Jackson was saying to you made Jaebum ill. And almost every time, Jungkook was there to eventually save you. Making up some kind of excuse to get you out of Jackson’s clutches.

“The evidence doesn’t lie, Jae. Even if there’s a chance Jackson didn’t cause the fire or the car bombing, he’s been harassing her and it’s only going to be a matter of time before Jungkook runs out of patience. And he has every right. She is his mate and he will not hesitate to take out a threat.”

“I know. I just tried to call and he’s not answering.”

It was then that Yoongi spoke in his usual soft but smooth voice.