Comments are appreciated, my loves. And thank you for being here💕

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Two days went by after Taehyung's little contradiction with himself regarding Jeongguk, and the alpha still hadn't been able to confess to Namjoon about what he had heard. He excused his behaviour by telling himself that he would gather more evidence and see Namjoon about this after he has compelling evidence. Which was why he spent the late hours of the next two nights outside, trying to see if Jeongguk would sneak out again, to no avail.

Until Saturday night, Taehyung was sitting on the same bench as Wednesday and he saw Jeongguk sneak out of the packhouse, wearing similar clothes to the previous day. Taehyung, delighted that his efforts had been successful, started following him.

Around five minutes passed by, with the two wolves walking down the streets silently until Jeongguk halted in the middle of the moonlit street, making Taehyung come to a halt too and hide behind a bush.

Jeongguk turned around and Taehyung's heart leapt to his chest. He tried to control his breathing since in the silence of the night his breathing was too loud. He saw Jeongguk look around a bit more, turn back around, walk a few steps much to Taehyung's relief. And then turn back around.

Jeongguk let out a sigh.

"You know Taehyung, you're dumber than you think"

Taehyung's eyes widened comically. He stayed silent and frozen. Maybe Jeongguk was just-

"Come out of that bush, Taehyung"

Taehyung wanted to pass out. He had been found out and there was no escape now. He stepped out of the bush and walked towards Jeongguk with a blank face.

"I wasn't following you" Taehyung tried.

"Yeah right. Taking a walk at night?" Jeongguk scoffed.

"Yes? This is my pack. I grew up here. I can go wherever I want"

"You were following me. From the moment I stepped out of the garden"

Taehyung looked away. "How did you know?"

"Your scent, man. Too fucking strong. I can almost taste it. I swear you have the strongest scent in the whole fucking world. How do you even live in a pack? Doesn't it bother other wolves?"

Taehyung's mouth hung open. "My scent? You talk as if yours isn't strong either! Whenever I'm near you, it's like I'm sucking on some caramel candy! Makes me want to throw up"

Jeongguk scoffed. "No one had ever told me my scent was too strong! I've always had a faint scent. My previous partners had to fucking scent me to get a whiff of what I smelled like. Give me a break" He rolled his eyes. "You're like a fucking Wine cellar. Makes me feel tipsy when I'm not even close to you

"Wine?!"

"Yeah, your scent is like... Red wine and forest"

"I've been told about the forest one but not about the red wine. It had always been too faint for anyone to pick up," Taehyung muttered to himself. "You know, you're being too fucking much. Don't insult my scent when you smell like a candy factory. I can't imagine how painful it is to be near you when you're on heat"

Jeongguk smirked, taking Taehyung off guard. "You've been thinking what I would smell like when I'm on my heat?"

"What? No!" Taehyung protested, feeling flustered.

Jeongguk laughed. "You're being such a pervert, aren't you? Do you want to spend my heat with me? Help me? So your dreams could come true?"

Taehyung scoffed. "Stop being weird, Jeongguk. It's you who's been sniffing the air for my scent like you wanted to scent me"

Jeongguk's smile dropped, something dangerous taking over his twinkling eyes. "You've been following me" He took a step towards Taehyung. "And you must think I'm a fool to not notice your scent in the air. I felt it on Wednesday too but I let it slide. And today I caught it because of the wind flying from behind me. You're so fucking dumb for an alpha"

"And you're too dumb to think that you can lie to us all and get away with it"

"So you were listening to me that day" Jeongguk muttered. "I didn't lie to anyone"

"You said you needed shelter because of your heat but that's not why you're here. You're running away from someone. A potent threat to my pack by keeping you here"

"Stop talking about things you don't know, Taehyung," Jeongguk hissed. "Keep your snout out of my business"

"Your business becomes my business when whatever the fuck you're hiding is a threat to my home. My family" Taehyung snarled, making Jeongguk's eyes widen momentarily.

"I wasn't lying. My heat is close"

"Really? I can't smell anything on you. Your heat isn't close at all"

"Oh you checked?" Jeongguk laughed humourlessly. "Maybe you should come closer and check for real"

Taehyung frowned.

"You're such a fucking weirdo. You really want to fuck me, huh?"

Taehyung gulped, cheeks heating up uncontrollably. "Don't alter the subject, Jeongguk. I don't even know you. The only reason I'm doing this is thatI'm suspicious of you. And I know for a fact that your presence here is dangerous to us all. And you've also been lying to my pack alpha. How dare you?" Taehyung stated, "So don't get funny ideas. I know the game you're playing. You're trying to take control of the conversation for your benefit by making me flustered"

"Oh? I make you flustered?" Jeongguk smirked. "I didn't know I had such an effect on you, Taehyung. This is truly-"

Taehyung lost it. "Omega"

Jeongguk's smirk was slapped off his face and Taehyung felt his scent spike up. It turned sour, like burnt caramel instead of sweetness. Something clouded Jeongguk's eyes and they no longer twinkled.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that" Jeongguk snarled at Taehyung. "You are not my mate to call me by my subgender. You do not have such power over me. If you ever do that, I will make sure to ruin your whole fucking life"

Taehyung gulped. "Fine. I apologize"

"You must think you have power over omegas because you're an alpha, huh? By the moon, I suppose you really are a fucking creep"

"Jeongguk, what I am is none of your business. I don't give a fuck about you. All I care about is my pack" Taehyung said.

Jeongguk stared at him through knitted eyebrows. Taehyung thought he looked like a lioness, ready to attack.

"I want you to tell Namjoon why you're really here," Taehyung said.

"Namjoon is my friend. He already gave me permission to stay here. I'm not going to-"

"But you haven't told him why you're really here. I want you to tell him your secret, what you're hiding and why you're in danger. So he can decide if it's actually worth keeping you here"

Jeongguk gritted his teeth in anger. "I'm not telling him"

"Then tell me" Taehyung said, voice softer. "Tell me what that was about"

"I will not tell anyone to a creep like you"

"Then tell Namjoon, for fuck's sake. I'm not asking you to tell me that because I'm actually interested in your life. This pack is my whole life. They're my family and I will do anything to protect my family, you hear me? And that will include kicking you out, regardless of the consequences. As long as my family is safe"

Jeongguk stared daggers at Taehyung. "Fuck you"

"Tell Namjoon. Or I will tell him"

"I have a right to keep my secrets to myself" Jeongguk hissed. "Just because you've found it out, when you weren't supposed to, doesn't mean you can spread my secret around, Taehyung"

"I should tell him because this concerns my pack"

"You're an assshole"

"I'm just a member of this pack. And you're a guest here. I assure you, you would do the same for your pack if you had one"

Jeongguk gulped. "I'm not telling anyone"

"Then I will. Tell. Everyone."

Taehyung shot Jeongguk one last look and turned around, marching straight back to the packhouse, leaving a cursing Jeongguk behind in the middle of the moonlit street.

-

Jeongguk lived the rest of the week with unease. When he moved into Shadow Bora pack, he wasn't hoping to settle down. However, it had already been a week and Jeongguk felt like he would be staying here for a while.

Unless Taehyung rats him out.

He hadn't seen the alpha more than a few times after their encounter in the street and every time their eyes met, the two of them had been shooting daggers at each other. However three days passed and nothing happened.

Which was why he spent the entirety of his second week searching for a small job. He only had little money and it seemed like he would have to make a living if he didn't want to move from packhouse to packhouse, live and eat for charity. He will need money to permanently move out of this country to somewhere he would never be found out.

Friday closed up sooner than Jeongguk expected, with him getting a small job at the florist in the town, which was only a twenty-minute walk from the packhouse. True, he had been living in fear. In fact, the week after Taehyung's incident had been hell for Jeongguk. Being an overthinker, he couldn't imagine being kicked out. And most importantly, he couldn't imagine Namjoon, the sweet alpha Namjoon, who invited him to stay with them out of the kindness of his heart, feeling betrayed just because Jeongguk didn't have the guts to be truthful to him.

However as the week went by, Jeongguk's fear slowly subsided. Every morning, he was greeted by the pack members' sweet, welcoming smiles and 'good morning, have a great day's. He met Namjoon too throughout the day or in the evening when Jeongguk came back from work, where he was able to talk to the alpha, who questioned him about how his stay was.

Jeongguk figured that Taehyung really hadn't told Namjoon, or anyone about it like he said he would.

Jeongguk didn't know how to feel about it. Was he keeping it for later? Maybe to take revenge from Jeongguk? Or maybe he was waiting for the best opportunity.

Or maybe... he wasn't planning to tell Namjoon.

But what was he waiting for?

And Jeongguk didn't know if what he felt could be called anger or gratitude or....something else. He simply didn't know what to feel about the alpha.

The first time he had seen Taehyung was at the party, two weeks ago. Jeongguk would also be lying if he didn't feel a sudden attraction to the alpha that day. Not only for his handsome looks, though. Strangely, the first thing he noticed was Taehyung's intoxicating scent. Back then, he had thought the scent was quite attractive. Unique, even. Because he had never met someone with such a strong scent.

However the addictive scent had lost its attractive qualities when the alpha had started to question him out of nowhere as if he was some criminal. Since then, he couldn't stand the alpha's scent. It made him want to stop breathing or wear a mask. Because the sweet scent has become too sweet, and he could no longer stand it because it belonged to the asshole Taehyung.

And now, it was a Saturday night and the pack members were having a grill. There were bottles of beer on the tables and Jeongguk sat next to Jin, Namjoon's mate, and Jimin, who he had managed to be friends with. Taehyung sat a few tables away, munching on a sausage as he listened to the alpha in front of him, Hoseok Jeongguk remembered

Jeongguk watched as Taehyung laughed at something the latter had said. His eyes scrunched into crescent moons and his mouth widened into a boxy shape adorably. Bubbly laughter left his lips and Jeongguk found his heart leap in his chest at that.

There was no denial that Taehyung is probably the most handsome alpha Jeongguk had set his eyes upon. And he couldn't deny the fact that Taehyung wasn't really an asshole. He just wanted to protect his pack.

And yes, Jeongguk would've done the same at any given time. To his own pack.

If he had one left, that is.

Jeongguk heard Taehyung's voice, saying something loudly to Hoseok, who burst into chuckles. He had such a smooth, velvety voice. It was rough and deep and Jeongguk had thought it was attractive the first time he had heard it. Jeongguk watched as Taehyung laughed and took a sip from his glass of wine. He placed the glass back on the table and brought his thumb to his rosy lips, brushing over the skin to wipe the drop of wine. He then took another sip and the prominent adam's apple of his thick, veiny neck bobbed up and down.

Jeongguk's mouth dropped open. His lips grew dry at the sight and he instantly looked away. He fanned himself a little. Why was it so hot today? He was sweating so much.

He took the bottle of beer in front of him and gulped down the cool liquid, he wiped his mouth from the back of his hand and his eyes glided back to Taehyung's spot.

Only to see the alpha staring right back at him.

Despite the way Jeongguk's heart jumped to his throat and the way his cheeks heated up, he managed to frown at the alpha and look back at his plate.

A few minutes later, he saw Taehyung talking to some people, his attention no longer on the omega. So Jeongguk took liberty in having his eyes spring back to the handsome alpha, despite not knowing what kind of emotion he should be having towards him.

However as he watched Taehyung have fun, talk and laugh, play with pups and other wolves, all Jeongguk could think of was that maybe, Taehyung wasn't that bad after all.

🌸

Thoughts?
Any ideas what secret Jk hiding is👀
Thank you for reading ♥️