Let's do this together, I will overcome this troubling mind as well if you hold my hand through it. This time shall pass.

Please be gentle towards the writing.

I hope you will enjoy it💜.

Not much but the first part is here and you are still not ready for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A crowd of people was gathered around a deep well where two soldiers were pulling out fresh and cool water to serve and fill the uncountable amount of pots surrounding them. Wearing a blue hanfu, an old lady waited for her turn and swept off the filled pot with a grateful heart.

She was aware that her daughter-in-law must be waiting for her as two hours had already passed, so the old lady pushed herself forward on her wobbling but sturdy legs to cover the last mile. The waterpot against her waist started to dribble out a few drops due to the sudden change in her pace. There was a big smile on her face as she recalled the day when the Empress praised her in front of the entire field for showing up instead of her daughter-in-law.

In between the hustling and bustling path where the people were talking about absolute everything, she followed a group of omegas silently. The ground under her feet was drenched with water, turning into more muddy than dry to walk upon. She focussed on the path and took one step at a time.

Suddenly the chaos around her went into nothingness and her smile faded into a terrified gasp when her feet swooned off the ground and got secured in young arms. Even before she could raise her head to see the man, she heard a rich voice just above her head, "Your dreams of getting a good daughter-in-law must have shattered badly. Your bones still work, I suggest you go for a second son."

The old lady laughed loudly and smacked the board chest of the young Alpha before shaking her head in denial, "You are wrong, Crown Alpha. I do not need a second son and surely I'm way too old to give birth to one. I'm blessed with my first son and his wife."

The young Alpha scoffed above her head,"It looks otherwise, old lady. They should have taken care of you instead of sending you here to fill their thirst." She felt herself raised against the young Alpha's chest when she balanced the waterpot on her stomach.

The lady clenched her tongue and rolled her eyes while looking down when she picked up the teasing tone of the Alpha. She finally raised her head to see the Sun that was illuminating the skin of the Crown Alpha, "We must note today's lesson at this point. Not everything we see, ought to be real. Not everything we hear ought to happen. You have misjudged your surroundings, Crown Alpha."

The lady looked away, flushing furiously when she observed how all omegas have made a circle around them and walked forward while throwing winks and chided laughs at her. She whispered out her request instead, "If you oh so humbly can pick up my waterpot, I will be able to walk on my own." She suggested.

"Mother says when you receive help from someone, be grateful and accept it. After all, they offered help because you needed it."

The lady had to look down at that because there could be no way where she could defy herself against the teachings of their Empress. Moreover, she is familiar with these thoughts as her own son helps her and her daughter-in-law with house chores whenever he gets a little time at home. Right now, he is accompanying their Royal Alpha in a terrestrial tour around Europe so she is the only one who could come out to do her duties as the forthcoming grandmother.

In the absence of his father, as always Taehyung took the role of Crown Alpha and visited all the crowded spots to avoid conflicts and maintain peace between folks because only Moon Goddess knows how their inner child awakens around the autumn moon festival.

Almost all of them were indulging in the preparations of the big festival and storing as much food and water in their huts to enjoy the after shocks of the festival together.

Taehyung smiled at the parting folks when the huts of the old lady came into view, reaching the threshold he lowered her body weight and held the waterpot when she balanced her two feet on the ground. However, he halted at the door of the hut when it opened and a heavily pregnant omega walked towards the old lady, "Mother, Where were you!?! It's been two hours, I was so worried."

"Worried for what? I told you that rogues no longer take that route after our Crown Alpha presented them the gift they deserved."

The gift of death....

Taehyung couldn't even feel the weight of the waterpot in his hand as he shamelessly stared at the large puffed up stomach of the omega. It falls at the very end of his Royal mannerisms but he was bewitched to see an omega glowing so fiercely at the verge of creating a new life. He has seen pregnant omegas before even helped them with necessities but either this omega upholds twins in his womb or something is definitely wrong.

The omega must have noticed his stares and tried to cover her stomach that instantly pulled the Crown Alpha away from the crime that he was doing unconsciously, "I apologise. I wasn't informed that this colony enclosed pregnant omegas as well. I think physicians aren't doing his work properly."

The pack of Eclipse accommodate separate chambers for the omegas who have entered in their last trimester to avoid any conflicts and provides a healthy gestation period. So it was unusual to see an omega who is so close to her labour cooped up inside a hut.

"No. No. It wasn't their fault, Crown Alpha. They had come to take me to the labour chambers but I felt anxious when I'm away from my hut so I refused and persuaded them to not inform the authorities."

After realising that it was her own choice to stay in the hut, the Crown Alpha's shoulders seemed to relax a bit. He suppressed his scent when he crossed the threshold and placed the waterpot beside the front wall, "So when are you blessing us with joyful pups?"

The omega smiled brightly and a red hue covered her face as she took her mother's hand and walked to the chair that her husband made just for her.

"Two more days and these two will be out to serve the soil of Eclipse." She caressed her stomach lovingly and looked down.

"Ah then they must hear the news about their father General Hua's arrival."

Both the ladies gasped at those words and blinked their misty eyes which have started to woven the hope to see the General finally after two weeks. Taehyung chuckled at that while nodding his head, "The troops are about to arrive at any moment today."

The omega clutched his stomach tightly when she felt the excited kick in her abdomen, "oh you heard it? Your father is coming today and I won't forget how you tormented me in his absence in these two weeks."

The omega kept talking to her pups ignoring the fact that her mother went to the kitchen to retrieve a palate of fruits and the Alpha was still staring at her stomach unconsciously. This is the first time he is seeing a mother so close to giving birth to a child and he found it similarly enchanting as talking to his swords during practices. But here, life is producing another life.

Nature.

Taehyung still remembers her father continuously praising General Hua for his incompatible fighting spirit and devotion towards the well-being of the folks. He remembers her mother's worries about how the same General hadn't found any mate even after crossing the age of 35. During their combats, the Crown Alpha never felt any remorse on the General's face but he had noted that familiar longing when such festivals came around.

That continued until the last autumn moon festival when for the first time his father arrived at the celebration when the moon was about to set for the dawn but his mother forgave his father because behind him was the General carrying an injured omega.That heavily injured omega was his mate that he found in the woods while fighting with the rogues, the very omega who is now sitting in front of him with love dripping in her eyes for her Alpha.

"Would you like to bless them?"

Taehyung blinked his eyes and tilted his head when he realised that the omega was actually talking to him, she must have noticed his constant stares which made him embarrassed to no end, "I apologise again. My elder brother always says how omegas glow during their reproductive phase but It's my first time to see one. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable."

"I don't mind. The General says you are like our child too. He took pride in you being the Crown Alpha of Eclipse and I may not brag but he wants our children to be trained by the first Alpha who had the capability of defeating Seors at the mere age of 13." From his childhood, Taehyung wasn't good at receiving praises so he tried to look around avoiding the warm gaze of the omega.

"She is right, Crown Alpha. Hua would be delighted to hear that you stepped inside our hut to bless his offspring." The old lady brought the palate of fruits, placing them on the table where she took a seat beside her daughter-in-law's chair.

The Crown Alpha stepped closer to the omega and the old lady gaped in surprise when he kneeled in front of the chair instead of leaning down and asked, "What do I need to do?"

The omega smiled innocently and removed her hands from her stomach and placed them on her hips while resting backwards, "I advise you to feel them and bless them with your strength or the first phrase that comes to your mind."

"I would say your stomach seems uncomfortably large, isn't it painful?" His hands hovered above the swollen stomach and felt the energy around the womb. Just when his hand touched the stomach, something moved under the layer of that thick hanfu. The Crown Alpha's eyes enlarged in euphoria, with a terrible frown forming on his temple he asked, "Has something broken? Why does it move so freely?"

"They aren't kicking anymore so I assume they liked your touch." The omega replied.

The old lady caressed the long open hair of the Crown Alpha and patted his back, "I remember His Highness supporting the similar womb twenty four years ago when you were about to shower us with your presence. His second pregnancy was much more painful than the first but whenever we asked him if he was feeling some kind of pain, he always replied with a breathtaking smile."

Probably it could be the happiness that surpasses every pain of the body to bring a new soul on the Earth, to nurture that pup with all the love and admiration that the parents coiled in themselves for so long.

The ladies noticed that the Alpha had closed his eyes and murmured some blessing into the air, the magic of those words could either be understood by his teachers or the womb that stirred under his fingertips. Taehyung smiled when he pulled his hands away from the omega's stomach, "They are healthy."

The omega reached for her mother's hand and grabbed them with sheer happiness, blinking away the excited tears she nodded frantically, "Thank you."

The Crown Alpha moved on his feet and walked back to the door after grabbing a slice of pineapple from the palate. He halted on the threshold and looked back at the old lady, "My suggestion still stands though. This fine autumn season you should indulge your mate into the talks of another pup."

The omega gasped when her mother turned red from head to toe and scrambled out a few words that went like, "Moon Goddess?!? Your tongue!? I need no other pup!?!" But the Crown Alpha was already out of the hut, leaving both ladies giggling in each other's arms.

In between the uncountable mud houses, Taehyung walked almost unnoticeably. The heaviness of his lone thoughts once again swarm his chest. Nami, his friend, says it's the harmful effects of being the Alpha son of the most loving couples. Since the beginning of his life he has seen, breathed and longed for the love that his father showered upon his mate.

Mate.

A person that takes birth so that you won't be alone in this world anymore. A person that admires you in sorrow, happiness, injuries, defeats, victories and grabs your hand when you feel dejected in your own decisions. Taehyung can't recall a thing present in nature to whom he had not prayed for the presence of that person.

But even after turning the age of twenty four, Taehyung was still deprived of that blessing. His heart aches sometimes, seeking such eyes that search for him in the crowd for the sake of looking at him, far different from the eyes that carry lust and teasing gestures. Maybe he would find them when the Goddess finds him suitable enough to handle such eyes because for now he knows that he can tear apart the world if only he got one glimpse...

Just one.

His head has gone crazy. Just like always. Just as the soul that he has kept hungry for years. He has seen Alphas turning to other omegas to relieve the pain of ruts, giving the excuse of learning better for their fated mates but according to the Crown Alpha, one can learn the art of seduction without using the other omegas to portray the prompt objects.

But does the fulfilment of bodily needs are the prime source for seeking a mate?

No.

He doesn't believe that.

And he hopes that his fated blessing won't believe that too.

His heart contracted as Taehyung heaved a lonely sigh and ignored the ache by looking at the entrance gate of the colonies where a bunch of running horses crowded the place, announcing the arrival of his father's troops. His feet picked up the pace as he appeared and disappeared from one place to another till his hands grabbed the reins of the horse his father descended from.

"Greetings, Father." He bowed graciously to his father who laughed at the sharp presence of his son and engulfed him a tight hug, "My Ace! Son, will you ever stop appearing in front of my horse like this? I wonder why he never gets spooked by your sudden presence."

Taehyung pulled away from the hug and caressed the horse's long furs around the neck, "Arcon is habitual now so there is no point in stopping my desire to meet you first before everyone."

Their toothy smiles peeked in between the crowd that surrounded them as the father and son walked through while the Royal Alpha waved his one hand and held his son's shoulder with another, "So what are the good happenings behind my back?" He whispered to his son.

"There are not more but three."

"Well, I wish to listen to all of them."

Taehyung handed over the reins to the soldier while the duo walked towards the courtroom, "Firstly, the river corridor that leads for fresh water resources for us... is secured from the rogues now."

"You get rid of them?" There wasn't a tinge of disbelief in his father's voice but the teasing pride that always increases Taehyung's chest size inch by inch, "All of them."

The strong pat on his shoulder pushed Taehyung to talk further, revealing the second news, "We must consider relieving General Hua for a week. His omega is about to deliver pups."

"Ahoy!#! New pups on the way. Am I going to lose one more general to cutesy creatures? Alas! Soldiers! Spread the news to our dear General, he can regain his position when he becomes strong enough to leave the house."

The courtroom being a vast open area was filled with uncountable ministers who were ready to bombard the Royal Alpha with all the questions they restrained in his absence. Taehyung pressed his lips in a tight smile and felt miserable for his father who straightened his position, "And what's the last one?"

"Ah... Mother said he will meet you at the festival directly."

"What? In any scenario, this news could never be a good one."

Taehyung saw his father aging two years more right in front of his eyes and couldn't help but nudge him towards the courtroom, " For me it is. He had been busy the entire time you were touring so my time with him had reduced to a luxury. I'm assuming I can help him getting ready better than you."

Before the sour scent of the Royal Alpha grabbed his son's nostrils, Taehyung abandoned the premises of the courtroom yet felt a little bad for the ministers who would get a reflection of his own teasing in the form of rigid bashing.

Avoiding his friends who were practicing in the middle of the grounds , Taehyung decided to remain at his mother's side for the entire day. A place where his heart would no longer feel like a stone. The large wooden gates opened to a beautifully crafted corridor, lushes of peonies spreading widely on the barks of trees.

The corridor leads to a much more intimate setting of huts where the Royal family made a shelter away from the hustling village activities. The first two rooms belonged to his elder brother and his premature infirmary where he builds his new life among the different potions. The next three rooms belonged to the Royal guests, while one of them was his own. And then at the last, after crossing a big gazebo, situated his parents' hut. Big enough to create one of its own colonies but abundant to provide information about his mother's location accurately.

He knocked at the open door and called for his mother but what appeared was the bunch of omegas sitting in the entering hall. Seokjin was sitting in the centre beside the goldsmith and jewels were spread out to sort out the ones which will be used for tonight.

"This shoulder ornament should be enclosed around the bicep instead of the lower elbow, two hooks would be enough for the grip. And for this ornament the combination of gems should be jade and amethyst." Taehyung was hearing everything as he stepped inside the hall and sat behind his mother silently after avoiding all the raising eyes towards him.

"Nice choice."

"Marvellous."

Among the light murmurs, The Empress picked up the heavy scent of omegas that started to thicken around him. It brought a stretch around his lips as he closed the jewel box and said, "That would be all from me. However, it occurs to me: why shouldn't we ask our Crown Alpha about the choice of jewels he wants his mate to wear for him during such festivals?"

He turned towards his beloved son whose eyes enlarged when the entire attention of the hall fell upon him so openly, "Me? I feel no such need."

"Why?" The Empress tapped the floor beside him and called his son to take a seat who followed his mother's words without any hesitation, "Soon, Eclipse would want to welcome their Crown Empress with all the amenities this nature allows. So why wouldn't we prepare for it beforehand? At such a prime age as yours, one of these days you will meet your mate, wouldn't you want to be prepared with courting gifts to pursue your bond?"

The crowd laughed heartedly at the bright red face of the Crown Alpha who rolled his eyes while shaking his head in denial but only he knew how fast his heart started to race at the mere mention of his mate.

"Am I wrong?" The Empress asked the crowd who supported Luna with loud cheers. However, Seokjin was able to observe the suggestive smiles and fingers that were constantly combing their hairs to grab the Alpha's attention among the crowd so he raised his hand and dismissed the meeting.

When the hall emptied, Taehyung asked, "Hyung is older than me. Has he prepared his courting gifts yet?"

The Empress brushed off his veil from the sparkling flickers that covered his lap due to the glittering box, "I will ask him too whenever he completes his tests with Kenji. I just hope he doesn't burn his whole body this time."

Taehyung snickered at his mother's misery, "It was just a blister last time, nothing serious." Alpha chided, remembering the spell where Jimin asked Kenji to put a burning coal inside his mouth, claiming that he would make the coal disappear just before it could touch his tongue. But something else happened instead.

"Kenji couldn't eat anything other than porridge for a month, don't support your brother in his crimes."

Taehyung turned his body and laid his head in his mother's lap. The Empress gasped when the sparkling flickers coated a layer on the Alpha's long black hair, Seokjin caressed the top of his head and started to take the flickers out one by one, "Taehyungie, tell me something honestly."

"What is it?"

"Have you truly ever thought about the person who would walk beside you in the long path of your life?"

Taehyung closed his eyes and sighed when the experienced fingers massaged his scalp in the right way, "I have. I have thought about that person to the point that now I started to believe maybe it doesn't happen for all the werewolves. The concept of fated mates. Maybe not all deserve it, only the pure hearted people like you and father."

"Why so eager to judge that? Be patient for their arrival so that you can preserve his presence in your heart instead of your body and brain."

"I'm not eager. I just feel someone's absence beside me and I don't know how to fulfill that absence to cater my own thoughts on the right path."

"Maybe you should step out of Eclipse for a while. Your father has arrived from his troops and Jimin would be enrolled in your godmother's village for showcasing his powers to achieve the designation of a healer. Why don't you accompany him?"

~~~~~~~

The scar pouch that resides at the centre of the Alpha's chest started to burn when Taehyung coughed violently and stirred awake from his dream. The wooden ceiling of the hanok appeared blurry in front of his eyes, with few blinks his eyes fell closed and the dream started to turn into a nightmare when the centuries wide memories shattered his treasured moments into nothing.

His hand moved unconsciously and claws at the scar pouch to stop the burning sensation that was spreading in his entire chest. His shoulders contracted and lips parted to gasp around the airless surroundings. The heat inside his body seemed to burst apart, compressing his muscles in tight knots. He coughed loudly and felt tears running down from his eyelids before seeping into the dark tresses which were already drenched in sweat.

He couldn't open his eyes no matter how his body threshed around, this darkness would consume him whole and this... this boneless body would melt down on this same mattress. But then... he felt hands... cold hands tapping on his cheeks before grabbing his wrists and pushing away the claws that had been damaging his scar pouch.

His lips trembled around a dry sob when the same hands touched his scar pouch, stopping the burns with the cold touch. His skin welcomed the touch and spasmed beneath the roaming fingers which were opening his lungs as the Alpha inhaled with an open mouth.

His closed eyes brimmed with tears, started to empty themselves when the same hand moved to his cheek and caressed the wet skin with some words. He can swear on all of his abilities that the voice feels real as if there is a person beside him, tending his burning skin with utmost care. But Taehyung knows, the moment he will be able to open his eyes, destiny will laugh at him once again.

So he moved his head into the cold hand and nuzzled his face into it, letting those fingers pull away the wafting heat with their roaming notions. Very much familiar yet unconscious to his brain, a scent of pines filled his nostrils. The same voice was calling him again but he doesn't want this touch to leave him or the heat of his body will drown him whole.

Jungkook jerked away from the mattress when he heard the scratching of claws beside him and then the continuous cough alarmed him to no end. His teeth pinched his lower lip in a hiss when he checked the temperature of the Alpha. The honey-blazed skin was now burning with heat and the sweat coating over it seemed like the gasoline that was helping the fire to spread into the Alpha's bones.

"Alpha," He called, hands moved to pull away the Royal Alpha's claws by his wrist and caressed the skin that was once smooth with a thread scar but now upholding bleeding streaks. The omega immediately sat on his knees, folding his feet into a cushion and hovering above the Alpha's face.

"Is it too painful?" He was continuously asking questions so that he could know how to approach the person threshing in front of him but in response he witnessed the unseen tears of the Alpha. Jungkook gasped and cupped the Alpha's cheeks from both sides, "Won't you open your eyes?" It could be a nightmare as well, no wonder such extreme temperature of the body could lead the mind into a subconscious state.

The Royal Alpha shook his head frantically as if denying the omega's request. Jungkook's hair fell across his left shoulder entirely when he leaned down and moved his fingers to wipe the moisture beneath the red rimmed eyes, "Is it because you don't want to look at me?" His chest bloomed with admiration when an immediate response came for his miserable voice, the eyelids moved but instead of opening the eyes, the Alpha nuzzled his face in his palm.

His thumb raised and caressed the closed eyelids slowly and felt an enormous devotion building under his chest which he couldn't help but release in the form of flourishing pines. His lips touched the burning skin of the Alpha's temple and breathed out to inhale the fresh sandalwood again. The scent was drenched too with lying undertones of something sweet, his tongue pushed at his front teeth in a wish to peek out and collect some taste but Jungkook resisted and pulled away to call the Alpha again, "Stay with me, please."

The time stopped for a moment when the eyelids halted at his words and the entire face of the Alpha contracted in pain before he pushed open his blurry eyes to see the omega hovering above him. Jungkook maintained the distance when he noticed an unfamiliar pain in those grey eyes, so unfocused that one can't possess what he is seeing. The Alpha was looking at the omega as if he didn't recognise him and it frightened Jungkook because his limbs stopped working and wouldn't move from his position.

Those blurry and moving orbs settled in a vision when he looked at the omega, the hovering face itched with worries. The Alpha tried to move and soon pressed his fingers into the omega's cheeks, pulling his face closer. More tears spilled out of his serene eyes when he whispered in the words, "Jungkook?"

Something is not right, the omega blinked his eyes rapidly to flicker out his own tears because something was deeply wrong with the way the Alpha whispered his name. His hands captured the Alpha's wrist and nodded, "Yes."

Taehyung brought his face closer to his own and just when he breathed the same air as the omega, the bridge in between the coherency and confusion fell apart. Their foreheads matched and there was nothing that could stop those heart wrenching sobs of the Royal Alpha, there wasn't any sound but his sharp inhales explained the pain, the hurt of not being chosen for centuries.

Jungkook couldn't stop his tears anymore, his nose brushed with the warm one and let his hands caress the Alpha's quivering shoulders. He asked nothing more, just kept holding his position and listened to his Alpha closely.

"Jungkook, my mate?"

The omega encircled his arms around his shoulders and halfway laid on the Alpha's body before burying his head into the awaiting neck. From wherever his skin touched the bare body of the Alpha, it felt like melting and sprawling all over, "I am."

His tears didn't stop but the Alpha's hands came forward to rest on the omega's back in a bruising grip, "Why are you still here?"

"Where should I go?" Jungkook kept releasing the calming pheromones till the air inside the hanok thickened with the scent of pines, overpowering the heat of burning sandalwood.

"Was it a nightmare?" He murmured while being buried into the Alpha's throat and didn't expect to get an answer in return because he knows that no one can hold basic conversations while supporting a body that was trembling with blazing heat.
But to his astonishment, the Royal Alpha replied, "Not a nightmare, it was memories of my early life in Eclipse. Good memories which turned unbearable afterwards."

Jungkook pulled away and matched his eyes with the Alpha who had red eyes and red lips, both of them leaking fluids that he had to wipe off. He leaned down to place a kiss on the left eyelid while wiping the tears from the right one. Taehyung closed his eyes and let the touch gather away his fears when he felt the omega in his arms again.

"Does it happen often?" He could sense the fear in omega's voice which awakened his mind to clear his thoughts properly. He didn't want to spread such fear in the omega's heart so he turned his body a little to make him lay beside him. However, Jungkook was quick to cradle the Alpha's face in his arms when he heard the groan under him. Both laid side by side while the omega was positioned one head higher than the Alpha who placed his side temple on the omega's arm while looking at him.

"No. I was watching everything as if I wasn't the same person inside the dream. Everything seemed to be crashing down twice." His eyes weren't focused, still floating in between the tangible and abstract moments.

"What did you see?" The omega placed a fist under his own chin and held the Alpha's eye sight.

"It started with the memories of my last moon festival where..." He had to breathe out the coiling heat inside his abdomen which resulted in shivering shoulders making the omega move his hand swiftly to cover themselves with the blanket. If possible he would have moved closer to the Alpha but their bodies were already inclined with one another so he decided to not disturb anything.

"Where I prayed to find a mate."

Jungkook's eyes softened as he listened to the Alpha closely, "In less than a month, I met them. But then the memories of the scar pouch surfaced and the years of agony pushed me to the celebrations of this moon festival. There... I watched fate laughing again when you walked away from me."

Those soft eyes turned into sharp slits when he realised that the Alpha still had doubts about his appearance in his life. However, the anger turned into misery when he watched a lone tear escaping the Alpha's eyes and slide down the bridge of his nose. Jungkook placed his lips above the same bridge and breathed out his denial, "I do not bear such audacity of walking away from you. I will die."

It was terrible how afraid those grey orbs were when he gazed into the worried black ones. The omega realised that it's the same fear that his heart endures and connected to the presence of the Royal Alpha in his life, the cold suffocation he feels whenever the Alpha announces his departure. So when Jungkook pulled back he wasn't prepared for the question the Alpha asked from him.

"And after your death what remains behind?"

The omega knows that he didn't mean to add I will die with those words so frantically and he understands what meaning it implies but now that the arrow has left his bow, he can't seal its path and avoid the impact that he created on the Alpha but he still tried, "I didn't mean to imply my death. My words meant that departure from you is a worse punishment than death."

The Alpha closed his eyes momentarily and he had to perform such activities deliberately because the surroundings are becoming less abstract the more he stays awake, "Death is only a punishment for those who possess a determination in their life. For me, it's a reward. A reward that ripped away the moment I was born as a Royal."

"No. Immortality is a blessing when we survive with our loved ones around us. Including the entire family, Hyungnim said, I behold the title of a Royal when I married you. So my presence beside you becomes the permanency of our life. I apologise for the metaphor I used earlier, I didn't mean to hurt you." Jungkook rushed his explanation when he noticed the Alpha groaning in pain as he moved his head and looked at him.

The eyes were wide, consuming the omega whole into the abyss where he could do nothing but stare at the Alpha without blinking his eyes, "Your Grace," with such longing whisper, Jungkook's heart skipped several heartbeats and couldn't help but move his hand to fix the black lock behind the Alpha's ear because he needs something that will remind him that the Alpha is in pain and he still needs to tend his worries instead of growing his own.

"Yes, Alpha."

Taehyung's eyes dimmed a little as he tilted his head and asked, "You haven't forgiven me yet, have you?"

"I have," Jungkook answered in urgency, breathing the words just above those parted ones, "You haven't given a reason to do otherwise."

"If so then... why am I still...being called by my rank?"

Jungkook's toes curled under the blanket when he didn't find enough words to answer that question. His lowered gaze implied the same but the Alpha was waiting, "There are no words that can define your place beside me. I always find myself illiterate in this manner, how will I define the one who bears my oath, The crown of my soul?"

Moving his lips above the plaid ones, wasn't an easy task for the Royal Alpha to do. Because with every swipe, bite and grip, the pain of his abdomen knocks down his ability to breathe properly. But he was persistent as the moth that revolves around a burning flambeau till it burns all of its wings and drowns itself in the fire of death, so the Alpha keeps his lips latched to the Omega. He was breathing just above those parting lips as if pumping excessive air to the omega's contracted lungs.

Jungkook was caught completely off guard when he raised his eyes and their lips met in a bruising kiss. He accepted those warm lips above his own and melted beneath the Alpha who hovered above him with a deep groan. The Alpha pushed his elbow behind the pillow and wretched himself away from the Empress, harsh breathing disturbing the plump lips that looked too soft to touch. He gritted his teeth to prey himself away from bending down to appreciate those lips again. Engraved with defined veins, his entire arm was trembling to keep his control at one place.

He loosened his grip around the omega's waist and let his fingers map the whole expanse of the partially covered side of the omega. The skin felt cold under his fingertips, nails combing the small wisp of hair that raises in the wake of his touch. It was fascinating how the omega's body was reacting to his warm touch or maybe the reason was him spreading the unbearable burns all over the plush skin.

He isn't aware any more.

The Alpha's skin welcomes the chills of the omega's body with an open arm and tries to regulate his breathing along with the conscious omega and stops the motions of his hand when it arrives under his chin. He didn't stop himself at the sharp jaw and crossed the boundaries by letting his knuckles run over the bruised cheeks.

The Royal Alpha's eyes softened in utter sadness as he whispered, "Your tears have become a tenacious rival of mine." His lips pressed an open mouth kiss at the centre of the omega's cheek and suckled till the moisture of his saliva brought his lips to a closure.

His eyes noticed the redness under his thumb and moved his face closer to the omega, " And I'm afraid they can bring me down to my knees against all of my pride and dignity."

It took a long time for Taehyung to believe the presence of the omega in this hanok. Even when the omega was moving around the chamber to collect the finest fibres for the nest, only the Alpha knew how many times he had to blink his eyes open to mask his faith upon the scenery that was being played out in front of him. Because what could be the possibility to find a man searching for him beyond the territories of their stay just so he could make his mate feel safe when the said mate had spent centuries in such isolation.

Just when he heard the calm breaths of the omega, his body moved down and captured those plush lips once again. His hand that was placed behind the pillow, coiled into a fist when the omega opened his mouth and entwined his tongue with his own.

The gruttal of his throat was threatening, dangerous enough to scurry the prey from afar, a warning from an Alpha to the omega to return back to the safety of his chamber before he seized all the directions and kept him captivated in between his arms. But unwilling to act towards such a warning, the omega lost his last chance to save his honour.

The Alpha's tongue reached deeper and touched the soft upper palate which resulted in a long mewl from the omega, his chest raised in the air to engulf the remaining air in his lungs and swiped back at the plump lips hovering above him. Both of his hands touched the Alpha's waist and moved further till one hand caressed the scar pouch and the other pressed in between the contracting shoulder blades of the Alpha.

The large hand moved back to the omega's nape, fingers penetrating the red lushes with a grip so gentle that made Jungkook's eyes roll back in pleasure. The touch snatched away the mobility from the omega lips, leaving him as good as a puppet under his caretaker. The kiss turned brutal when their lips charged towards each other in pure hunger, unsatisfied, unfulfilled and eager to capture the taste. The rising moan escaped from the omega's throat when the Alpha dug his teeth into his lower lip and stretched it till he moved along with his lips.

When those lips slipped away from his own, none of them seemed satisfied but Taehyung pressed his thumb at the red nose of the omega and spoke while hovering above him, "Breathe. I need you conscious while I touch you or..."

Barely open eyes of the omega fell closed as he filled his lungs with its necessity, "Or?"

"Or we will witness the things that we both aren't prepared for." Taehyung can never touch his omega under the influence of his heat. His maddening thoughts will ruin everything around him, including the fragile innocence of the omega. So he moved when his nostrils lured him towards the omega's neck. His face rested under the omega's chin and nosed the skin between the jaw and neck to inhale the sweetness of pines that he missed in this barren hanok. The scent reflected on his tongue as it swirled inside his mouth as if tasted the dripping scent off the skin, his taut body left stiffness when his body thawn beside the omega.

His nose buried deeper in the junction and gasped when his warm face came in contact with the cold tresses of the omega. His fist coiled around the nape hairs once again and tugged till the omega's neck moved and presented more of his skin. The burning lips of the Alpha left an imprint on its wake, tracing the raising and falling veins of the omega. Something vile stirred in his heart, breaking the stance of the Alpha and pushed his body more towards the omega.

It was absolutely annoying how his one hand was fully capable of covering the exposed expanse of that rigid but petite waist of the omega. His fingers captured the mass of the omega's hips and gave a relatively hard squeeze to observe their fullness. His other hand that was holding the omega by his nape moved and collected a handful of red tresses from the back of the omega's head only to bring them forward and push them under his nose.

He inhaled the brewing fragrance and let his eyes fall closed to make a little remembrance in his heart. Soft bundles of hair sprawled over the Alpha's face and left delicate brushes against his cheek before merging themselves with the thick eyelashes of the Alpha.

With one last whiff of that mesmerizing scent, Taehyung combed those hair back to their previous position. His breaths came out a little ragged when the pain of his chest and abdomen combined, making him wince under the omega's jaw. His hand comes forward to hold the omega by his cheeks and squeezed till his lips parted to invite his own.

Tangled lips fought with each other and the defeat came in the form of a gasp when the Alpha sucked on his tongue fervently. His emptied hands clutched around the skin of the Alpha's shoulders and used his nails to coax his body leaning above him. When the breathing wasn't an option to break apart from their intimacy, Jungkook realised the actual taste of those plump lips. His mouth buzzed when the Royal Alpha tended his upper lip and sucked the thin skin till his tongue penetrated his mouth once again.

Jungkook combined his trembling thighs and strained his legs to compress the skin from reacting towards the touches of the Alpha. His every thought that described his willingness to help the Alpha non-intimately drained to his pathetic moans when the Alpha slid his hand on his waist before moving behind and arching his back till it touched the burning skin of the Alpha.

Their bare ribs brushed together, however, their abdomen stayed pressed when Taehyung pulled away from the kiss for the sole reason to let the omega breathe. But Before he could see the dishevelled eyes of the omega, Jungkook pulled him down by his nape and kissed him again. His thighs loosened the strain along with the dignity he oh so wanted to behold but no longer felt the courage to fight against his instincts when his pheromones entwined with the delicacy of dripping sandalwood.

He gasped into the kiss when he felt the first streak of slick sliding down to his inner thighs. His eyes opened in alarm but the Alpha was quick to pick up the raw scent when he moved away to look at the omega while licking his lips clean from the saliva.
The hand under his back kept holding the omega's abdomen against his own and used his elbow to move around the omega's ear to whisper, "I can't touch you the way my body is forcing me to."

Jungkook bit his lips and stopped the voice that was about to fall out of his lips and focused on the arms of the Royal Alpha instead which seemed too stoic to hold themselves together. His hands moved and felt those muscles under his fingertips only to find the trembling vibrations, "But you need to release this heat out of your body," he suggested.

The groan rising inside the Alpha's throat felt by the inner ears of the omega and couldn't help the wetness that spread in between his legs. His coiled toes bunched the spreading sheet in between his legs but the wild eyes of the Alpha stuttered his movements and waited with a bated breath.

"To achieve that I need to knot something and the slick running down your legs is testing my strength, Luna."

The elbow that was keeping him aligned with the omega, lapsed on the mattress making him lay where his upper body was inclining over the omega while the lower half was sprawled beside him. The omega hasn't looked at him once since his lips expressed the desire of his body and the entire world was aware that the Alpha won't move a single finger till he receives the response from his mate.

So he laid beside the omega, eyes focused on the lashes that were hiding the permission behind the eyelids. The omega's swollen lips were breathing with a little force, hands clutching the fabric of the blanket above his stomach. The delicate wrists pulled at the blanket slowly till it reached up to the omega's chest which was falling and rising with each movement.

When the blanket touched the omega's chin, the lashes moved, lifting to match the Alpha's gaze. The fabric covered his lips and crossed the bridge of his nose when those eyes conveyed his permission in a way...that prayed to lose his strength once... leaving Taehyung reaching towards his face but the blanket had already hidden the man who ignited the flickers of fire inside his burning body and spread the emollient all around with one gaze.

Refusing to listen to that permission in words as the Alpha doesn't want to make the omega feel more nervous but he needs to wait to calm down his heart that plopped out of his chest and bled in space remaining in between their bodies. The hand that was hovering above the omega's face recoiled to tangle around his own nape and breathed out deeply.

When the Alpha opened his eyes, the flambeaus around the hanok diminished, leaving the chamber wafting in the glow of the crescent moon that was illuminating in the sky. His hand reached for the blanket and raised it enough till his entire body found a sufficient place beside the omega.

He reached for the omega's coiled hands first and brought them towards his face to sigh when those cold fingers spread around his cheeks, "Burdened with the honour of your dignity I have no words to express my gratitude towards you but I reciprocate this devotion with all my heart. Touching one part of you is enough to offer me never ending pleasures of mortal life."

The omega breathed under the Alpha's chin and closed his eyes when a deep token of love caressed his temple, "Every part of mine rests under the willingness of my mate." His whisper wanted to woven each broken thread in between their skin by his affection but he couldn't help but melt in the Alpha arms when those strong hands held him in a gentle care.

The Alpha's one hand embraced the omega's shoulder and rested him under his chin while the other hand touched the omega's bare stomach before raising his fingers to spiral across the soft waist. The omega nestled his face in the burrow of Alpha's neck and nuzzled his cheek to lose himself in the scent so that no embarrassing noise could escape his lips.

He failed miserably when the Alpha's hand moved down to his thighs and pulled him till his legs crashed across his own. He panted heavily when his ears heard the sound of a button plucking and then the sliding chain of the pants. He squeezed his eyes shut and encircled his hands around the Alpha's neck in a crushing hold.

Moments passed but nothing happened as Jungkook anticipated, the fingers returned to his waist instead and the thumb caressed the skin as he moved his face towards the laboured breaths of the Alpha. Chasing those lips with his own diverted his brain from the condition his body was about to indulge into.The omega realised that the Alpha was purposely avoiding his lips because there wasn't any direction left where he hadn't tried to reach with his lips so the low whine was the absolute path that he could take to grab that attention closer to him.

Just as the first time, Taehyung's astonished ears couldn't believe that sound. Precisely what part of his heart or brain that an omega uses to create such a sound? A low vibration that brings his mind to provide the claimer each and everything he demands. So he raised the omega's head by his nape and latched his lips over the whining ones.

The kiss sucked Jungkook's soul out of his body before feeding him a new life, the hot lips made him dizzy leaving him unaware of how the Alpha's hand lowered to the slope of his ass and grabbed the mass of his thighs. The omega choked above the Alpha's parted lips when he felt the warm shaft penetrating his drenched clothed thighs.

"Shh... I'll be gentle."

The said promise lured the omega towards his fleshy lips again and both of them panted against each other when Taehyung moved his hand to grab the hips to move forward. The loud grumble of the Alpha made Jungkook dug his nails deeper in his burning skin. The deep heaves and slow movements of their hips pushed the omega into a hazy vision as the girth of the heavy shaft brushed against every fabric of his pants.

His entire body tingled with the sharp spikes of pleasure that ran through his toes and danced at the top of his head. Every hiss of the Alpha pulled a whine out of the omega's heart. The strokes of their hips increased soon when Jungkook felt part of a wrist pressed against his lips and the heavy voice running at the lowest octave commanded, "Mark me."

Driven and devoted to that voice, Jungkook opened his mouth and collected the warm skin beneath his teeth. His canine enlarged as he engulfed the heavy air around him, patiently waiting till his lips sensed the veins running under his tongue to avoid puncturing that area. The canines converted into long fangs as the skin under them broke apart, the omega mewled with a deep moan when his lips tasted the blood and latches on the mark with a chest swelling in uncountable pride.

"Ugnh hell and heavens!"

The loud cursing words strained Jungkook's legs and his lips slipped down the wrist when his body spasmed the knot that was pressed against his genitals. He lost the counts of his own pleasure because when calm breaths of the Alpha resurfaced under his lips it became the rhythms of a tale that invited the omega's slumber with a simple blink. His hand became limp against the Alpha's shoulder and tongue swirled around his teeth one last time to gulp down the taste of roasted raisins before submitting himself in the care of his Alpha.

~

When the heavy night passes, the new dawn brings a dull ache in omega's bones. His throat seemed to bear the thorns of a rose garden due to how parched it felt. He closed his lips to soothe his throat with a gulp but frowned when he found it drained instead of producing moisture. He moved his hand and touched his throat only to find wetness around the corner of his jaw. His eyes fluttered open and jerked away from the chest he was drooling upon.

Kneeling on the mattress, he found his veil and dabbed on the chest with careful but hurried notions to wipe off as much saliva as possible. He didn't know that the night he would be able to sleep with his mate would become his last due to his dooming habits. How tired he could be to drool like an open faucet on such a smooth, sturdy, sparkling, so surreal and absolutely striking, serene-ugh torso.

His hurried movements made the Alpha change his side who was about to turn towards the omega when Jungkook moved and stumbled out of the nest hurriedly before that same torso could touch his lap. Nothing moved inside the hanok for the next passing movements, no air crossed Jungkook's nostrils till he sensed that the man in front of him was still in deep slumber.

Dangerous.

He rested on the floor for a while and noticed the condition of his own. Dishevelled hairs charged in several directions?checked, sloppy clothes falling off of his skin?checked, soiled pants sticking to his thighs?checked, drool covered jaw?checked, wish to go back to the nest?checked, plan to become a mold to the blanket?in process? He shook his head frantically and gathered his thoughts together so that he could only focus on cleaning himself.

Ever so slowly, the Empress walked on the floor and engulfed the lone violet hanfu that he couldn't use in the making of the nest. Completely forgetting to take a towel, Jungkook solely focused on crossing the door. He knows the place which can provide his brain and body the disputable sanitizing it requires. The only hazard? The door.

He looked over his shoulder to gaze at the sleeping Alpha one last time and moved his hand to unlatch the door. The Empress thanked the moon goddess when the wooden door didn't creak along the floor and opened without making any noise. He lifted one step after another and skillfully closed the door once he slipped out of it successfully.

Enclosing the spilling clothes under his arms, he moved in between the thick twigs hardly escaping from the soft dews that covered his feet. He walked towards the noise of the falling, raising his nose in the air to navigate the new direction that occurred after the impact of the earthquake. His feet followed the truthful tugs of his soul and let his heart drift away along with the scent that was soaking his body entirely.

He just wishes that the Alpha won't wake up from his slumber till he comes back from his little but necessary adventure to take a bath. If it does happen then he won't be able to see those eyes moving away from him in a disheartened manner. His feet halted in the middle of nowhere as he looked back abruptly, heart racing and beating in the rhythms of a song that sings his admiration towards his mate. His eyes fell on his arms and clenched those clothes before turning around as he refused to present himself to the Alpha in such an undignified stance.

Jungkook tucked his open tresses behind his ear and walked through the collapsed trees as a small smile bloomed on his face. Nature swayed with his hair when a blush covered those puffed cheeks and made a residency because there wasn't a way possible for the omega to block the memories of the night when the Empress wants nothing else but to live those emotions again.

He missed those strong arms around him, shimmering in heat but trying their best to not crush the omega, those soft touches. None has ever touched Jungkook like this before, not the feather that often caresses his cheeks when he writes in the library, not the silk that he drapes over his face to cover himself, not the skin of those squirrels who eat from his hand regularly.

Nothing felt like those arms that enveloped him in a cage and brought his body a kind of care that he never received.

Jungkook wiped his cheeks when they started to hurt from the excessive grin of his lips. Lips. His stomach contracted in fresh knots before whooshing out a bunch of butterflies as he bit his swollen lower lip with his teeth. The deliberate noise of the waterfall became loud when the Empress turned a corner and admired the beauty of the stream that concealed the mesmerizing view of the dawn.

He sighed in relief when he finally found it, although the scenery had changed drastically. Instead of the previous huge waterfall, the water flows in a calm stream now. He doesn't know from where it emerges and where it finally satiates its hunger of meeting the ocean but he doesn't have to know all that for taking a deep neck dive in the sauna.

He placed his belongings on the shore of the stream and without removing his clothes pushed his sore limbs inside to absorb the heat of the running water. His feet touched the ground when he dipped himself up to his shoulders, swimming towards the middle rock to find a place where he could sit for a while.

He used that middle rock to rest his back as he found a place to sit beside it. He moved his hands to wipe his face and pushed the hair at the back of his shoulders, massaging his collarbones, the Empress sighed in peace when the warm water touched his core.

Under the gargling sound of the stream, Jungkook hummed a soft hymn while letting his eyes fall closed, letting himself lose in the remaining sorcery of the night. The light behind his eyelids navigated him towards a new dawn or a new birth that brought this omega closer to the origin of his soul. He can't be the same omega anymore, he can't look into his mate's eyes and pretend that his heart doesn't get swooned out of his chest every time.

He is trapped, trapped under the spell of the touches, words and those eyes that render him into a weightless body which floats in the air without any wings. Ella was right, he should have been careful before choosing to search for the Alpha and visiting him during his rut because now his body is ruined. It seeks those touches again, feeling tedious while drifting away from those warm breaths that mapped his neck entirely.

His hand caressed the sensitive skin of his neck and whimpered when the nodes of his fingers touched the bruise just above his collarbones. His ears perked when he recognised the noise that fell out of his lips, splashing the water over his face, he drowned under the stream to drive his thoughts away from his mind.

The bubbling growl under Taehyung's ribcage felt unfamiliar when his heavy body turned on the mattress only to feel emptiness around him. His droopy eyes peeked out through the thick locks scattered over his head, looking and conceding his surroundings, nostrils absorbing the wavering scent of pines and proving the absence of the omega.

His heart would have felt hurt by his unsaid absence if the Alpha hadn't known about the conscious habits of the Empress to keep himself presentable. He brought this misery upon himself because he hadn't made enough efforts to clean their nest after the happenings of the night. He wanted to, his heart knows, he wanted to tend the omega's aftercare if only their bodies supported the intentions of his heart as no arms pulled away from his back and let him pull away from the omega's embrace.

He twisted his body and laid on his back while gazing at the ceiling of the hanok. Pushing his hair back from the temple, he felt the fruitful drop in his body temperature. The heat was still wafting in between his strained muscles but his head was lighter, much lighter as he would compare it with the clouds.

His vision diverted from the ceiling when his eyes captured the image of a blue Mark on his wrist. The hand that was pushing his hair back halted over his face as he admired the imprint of two fangs right in the middle of his wrist.

Beautiful.

His chest raised in pride as it got filled with a blooming emotion that came from his heart. His gaze softened to the point that they twinkled under the bare light of the dawn. He observed his skin around the mark, observed how his cells spread and evolved into weaving threads to make some kind of symbol. He can't predict what kind of symbol he would bear on his wrist, but he is aware of one fact that he will lose his heart once he witnesses it in its full glory.

Moreover, under the layers of their bond Taehyung was able to feel the newfound connection that pushes him towards the scent that was coming from the north of the mountain. The Empress is here. He sighed with a small smile that stretched his jaw before lifting the bread cheeks to show the happiness that buzzes below his skin.

Those grey eyes shone with moisture when the overwhelming thoughts of belongingness crossed his mind. His ruts always make his heart weak, let him feel all the coped up emotions he buried deep under the baggage of his duties. But the mark on his wrist spreads salvation to his scars, a proof that he won't be alone anymore. The marks among the mates is a promise, a promise of never leaving the other behind. If fate again aligns the stars to break them away, the Alpha would be able to choose death. It's a promise where rejection brings an end, uncaring the status and duties of the partner.

His heart felt light when the absolute fear of getting renounced lifted off his shoulder. He had felt stranded before like a dead leaf that flew away with a storm and got crushed to the freckles of dust. He wouldn't have to be that leaf again, this time, he could take the journey of a river that will drag his soul to the abyss of nothingness.

He has become selfish, hasn't he?

Yesterday night, he was aware of the omega's subconscious mind when he brought his wrist in front of him, demanding the mark for his own security. He had found a mate, his own light around which he could revolve till the end of the time so why would he let it slip out of his palm just because of the fears that remind him of the worst parts of his memories.

So he chose to find that connection about which he could make his life revolve around his mate. Without the bedding of expectations, without the said confessions, without the swellhead promises, he demanded the one thing that grounds him beside his mate for eternity. His mark.

And the omega, the divine creation of nature, blessed him with his acceptance without any questions.

Every part of mine rests under the willingness of my mate.

"Mine too, your Grace, mine too."

Yet he didn't reciprocate the mark on the omega's wrist because he is selfish. He can't let his fangs claim that soft skin under the influence of his rut and let the omega think that his mark was a mere outcome of his uncontrollable desires.

His hand came down to his chest when the Alpha pushed himself on the mattress to look beyond the window. He watched the light of dawn sparkling over the layer of fog, the absence of sunlight shows the authority of winter in the air.

He folded the blanket in half and made his nest look neat after pushing the excessive clothes around the corners. Stepping out of the nest was a difficult decision but the urge to find the Empress in the dense forest weighed more in his mind so he vacated the hanok in a beat and walked in the directions that provoked his nose towards the fresh pines.

The thick layer of fog surrounded his bare chest as he penetrated the forest and followed the waves of twigs that tells him the story about an enchanting omega who crossed this path not a long ago. Disappearing and appearing from one place to another, the Alpha seemed uncanny to see the omega with his own eyes.

In order to not intrude the privacy of the Empress, Taehyung decided to glance around the surroundings when the stream comes into his view but that short glance soon changed into constant staring when the thick fog failed to hide the purple hue that was covering the omega's body in the form of the violet hanfu he was wearing. The drenched red tresses were tucked behind his back obediently as the omega seemed to be doing something in the corner.

The revealed reason left Taehyung's stomach twisting in hunger because when he stepped closer, he was able to differentiate the fog from the drifting smoke in the air. The aroma of food hit his nostrils that left the Alpha in wonder as how exactly the omega found something to cook in such a deserted area?

Jungkook heard the steps behind him, the high pheromones of sandalwood gave away the identity of the intruder as he shielded himself better from the Alpha. He was sure that the goosebumps running over his elbow weren't due to the frequent striking of his cold tresses along his arm but the steps that kept decreasing the distance.

He remembers how he returned to hanok a few moments ago only to notice the trunk that was placed beside the last staircase of the hanok. The scent of lavenders surrounding the food articles dissolved his worries as he accepted the care of the Royal omega and decided to cook something for themselves.

In the process of going back and forth, mayhaps, he awakened the Alpha from his deep slumber, resulting in him standing across the stream. And no, he didn't peek above his shoulder to realise that. The stick that he was using to flip the thin sliced meat slipped out of his hands when he heard the familiar sound of the button plucked out of the pant and then the chain sliding- splash

His mind couldn't be more rotten than now as he desired to smack his head about having such thoughts when the Alpha was only going for a dive just like himself. Jungkook didn't look behind even once and kept his focus on his little makeshift griddle that he made after finding the finest dry stone. The sizzling of the meat and the boiling bubbles from the mixed millets will be the only noises he would occupy himself with till the remaining mountain decides to collapse or the river floods or his heart jumps out of the claws of his ribcage.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜.

I just know that I'll be putting alarms to read your comments the first thing in the morning.

Sleep is a subjective opinion nowadays.

I'm missing you all so damn much. My mind just suçks.

Good night, lovely readers.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜.