When Hoseok woke up the next morning, he turned to the other side of the bed to find no one next to him. Hoseok sighed, whether it was in relief or disappointment wasn't Hoseok's priority, and he sat up, stretching his arms before looking up to meet a pair of feline eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you, sunshine, that you tend to mumble in your sleep?"

Hoseok's cheeks immediately tainted pink, and his lips pressed together, his mind trying to remember if that was a habit that he had. Considering that the only person who would logically know was Jungkook, and Jungkook being in Hoseok's life had been nothing more than an illusion, Hoseok knew there wasn't anyone who could thoroughly prove that Hoseok talked in his sleep. Maybe his father, but Hoseok didn't have his father right now, and with how everything stood, Hoseok didn't even know that he could trust his father for anything.

"You also tend to grab others' sleeves," Yoongi tsked, only causing Hoseok's cheeks to flame even more. "I must admit, it was rather strange that you did that and then asked me to stay, but you should have seen yourself. I can only wonder what else you do in your sleep."

"I'm glad to have been your source of entertainment these past couple of hours," Hoseok responded, more embarrassed than annoyed. Yoongi laughed, the sound of it further embarrassing Hoseok, who covered himself with a pillow in an attempt to hide himself from Yoongi's line of vision.

"Don't feel embarrassed, sunshine," Yoongi's lips quirked upwards. "It's not like you said anything coherent. The only thing I understood was when you told me to stay. How could I say no to someone that was calling out for me in their sleep?"

Hoseok stared at Yoongi, agape. "You're joking. I would never."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. "Never what? Lay in bed next to a Pureblood? You'll have to get used to it, darling, because that will be a regular occurrence from now on. Granted, sleep will no longer be a necessity, but I digress."

"How are your injuries?" Hoseok asked, mostly in an attempt to change the conversation. If Yoongi quickly caught on to the abrupt change in subject, he didn't show it. Instead, he smiled, showing his palm, and with his free arm, lifted his shirt. All that was left now was an angry red scar, one that did had started fading away but was very much prominent on the Pureblood's almost translucent skin.

"Your father wouldn't have gotten me if I hadn't been distracted," Yoongi sighed, bringing his shirt back down. "It wasn't too deep of a wound but did draw lots of blood."

"It isn't' healing as fast as I thought it would be," Hoseok admitted. Yoongi chuckled.

"That's what happens when humans hold weapons that are meant to kill Purebloods," Yoongi mused. "Especially with the loss of blood, we heal slowly. It's not a regular wound, after all. No matter the wielder, any trace of soulmate blood infused with a weapon is fatal, even more so when the blood is drawn at the time in which our soulmate hates us the most."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Yoongi waved Hoseok off. "None of this is your fault. It's your father's. Yes, he's your blood, but what he does is not your fault."

Hoseok frowned. "He used a weapon that he made using me. I was influenced so much by him that I accidentally gave him a weapon that could kill you and your brothers."

Yoongi shrugged, his expression somewhat indiscernible. He refused to take the apology Hoseok had given him and instead adjusted the collar of his shirt, leaving Hoseok dumbfounded. Nothing that Hoseok had said was untrue— the weapon his father had made using him had caused Yoongi to be injured, so while he hadn't held the hilt of the sword, it wasn't like he was completely out of the clear. Maybe it was Hoseok's consciousness, something in him continuously nagging at him that it was somehow his fault that Yoongi was injured.

He shouldn't even be caring about Yoongi's injuries. It's not like Yoongi was dead. He was very much alive— at least as alive as he could be. Still, it was nagging at Hoseok, and after a couple of moments, Yoongi sighed. He weaved his way back to Hoseok, sitting on the side that he had slept on. Hoseok looked at him cautiously, scooting a bit, even though there was still prominent space between them.

"The only reason I lost blood, to begin with, was I underestimated your father," Yoongi said, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned onto the bedrest. "I didn't think that he'd have any weapon tainted with your blood with him, and I certainly didn't expect him to be idiotic enough to throw it in my direction. When adrenaline courses through you, your heart beats faster, and that's what happened to me."

"Your heart?"

Yoongi tilted his head slightly, smiling crookedly. "You look surprised. My brothers and I were born, not made. Did you think I just came out of nowhere?"

"Maybe," Hoseok responded, slightly shrugging. "I just assumed that because you were immortal, your kind just didn't have a heart."

"My kind?" Yoongi mused. "My mother is a goddess. My father was a vampire. There are only three of us in existence. Everyone else has been Turned. I get the confusion, though. It's not like my brothers, and I were supposed to exist."

Hoseok raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't surprised. "Tell me."

"Ambrogio was my father's name. He fell in love with my mother, Selene, who was one of Artemis's Maidens. She wasn't a part of Artemis's Hunt but still had enough association to follow everything Artemis told her. The Gods fall in love with so many mortals, it's hard for them not to— especially when they have eternity. My mother had a previous love, Endymion, but, to preserve his youth, he was granted immortality in eternal slumber. Ambrogio was the next man that caught her heart, which only doomed them in the end."

"Your father did something to anger the Gods," Hoseok guessed. Yoongi nodded.

"There was another God in love with Selene, and in jealousy, cursed him. It's where one of vampires' biggest weaknesses comes from. He became allergic to the sunlight, and in his desperation to be with my mother, he stole Artemis's silver bow, which only led him to be cursed, leading to vampires' other weakness, silver. Long story short, Artemis made him a vampire so that he could be with my mother. The only condition was that my mother and father remain chaste, which didn't happen. My mother had two of us before finally getting caught."

Yoongi paused, assessing Hoseok's attentive and seemingly intrigued face. Sensing no questions from Hoseok, he continued.

"I was the oldest, and she was able to conceal me pretty easily with Hecate's help," Yoongi explained, smiling. "She was raising Yeonjun at the time, so she was more than happy to take me in too. I owe a lot to her— all of us, really. She made sure Artemis couldn't detect that my mother was pregnant and took us in so Artemis wouldn't try to kill us either. Jimin was the second oldest, and he was born a couple of decades after me. By then, Yeonjun and I could take care of him, using Hecate only when necessary. The third time my mother got pregnant, however, Artemis noticed.

"She had always been suspicious, but it wasn't like she could outright say anything. My mother and father would come to visit us often, but never at the same time. My father would spend the nights with us; my mother would come during the day. Every time she had fallen pregnant, Hecate had made sure that she couldn't be detected, and my mother always gave birth where Artemis was out of reach and where it was loud, ensuring that we wouldn't be heard."

"What happened the third time?"

Yoongi's sighed, eyes fluttering closed. "She caught a glimpse of Jimin and I with Yeonjun, and she knew instantly what had happened. My mother was close to labor by then, and with Artemis finding out, Namjoon came sooner than expected. No sooner had Namjoon been taken away to hide had Artemis stormed in. My father was killed on the spot. We would have been killed, too, but Hecate kept her at bay— at least until Namjoon was fully grown."

As Yoongi continued to talk about his parents, Hoseok couldn't help but feel sorry. Though there was no pain in Yoongi's eyes or his tone as he relayed the story, Yoongi and his siblings had their father taken from them, with Namjoon not even catching a glimpse of his father. Artemis, this goddess, the one that had also encouraged Taehyung's village to kill Taehyung to stand a chance against the Purebloods— who no doubt interfered with Namjoon's soulmate, who could very well try to interfere now.

"Artemis hadn't realized that we possessed abilities." Yoongi chuckled. "To be fair, neither did we. We just grew up the same way you did. We didn't have to rely on blood to survive, so we never drank any, and if we had to, then it would be animal blood. It wasn't until we drank human blood that our abilities awakened. Once that happened, she tried killing us and failed. So, unable to kill us, she went after the next best thing. Our soulmates. She made sure to spread them far and wide, and she made them— you human so that you could be easily killed. Killing soulmates kills us. Ask Yeonjun. His soulmate doesn't even exist."

"Exist?"

Yoongi nodded. "Your father was a peasant when he came to my siblings and I. He had me destroy the Gwan line, the legitimate royal family, and put the Jung lineage instead. To undo a line and its history is to erase the past, the present, and the future. Yeonjun's soulmate was a part of that line, but now that the Gwans no longer exist, his soulmate doesn't either. Yeonjun had a bright future ahead of him, and he was supposed to be on the throne your father holds, ruling alongside his soulmate. Funny how things work, don't you think?"

Things were starting to make a lot more sense to Hoseok. He knew that Yeonjun despised his father but didn't exactly know why, and if what Yoongi said was true, then Hoseok's family owed so much more to Yeonjun. Hoseok couldn't imagine the pain that Yeonjun had gone through— Yeonjun hadn't even had the chance to meet his soulmate, and it was all because of his father.

His father, the person Hoseok looked up to the most, was the one that caused havoc, pain, and suffering. His father, the one that swore to do everything to protect his son. His father, the one who willingly had a family decimated so that history could be rewritten in his favor. His father, the one that had hurt Yoongi using his own son's blood.

And here Hoseok was, always believing that the vampires, the Purebloods were the evil ones.

"There's no such thing as pure evil," Yoongi said, noticing Hoseok's expression. "No one is ever purely evil. Protecting your loved ones motivates evil, ensuring your victory resorts to evil, ensuring that everything is in the place it was before. I don't think your father's evil. Selfish, arrogant, scum on Earth, yes. But evil? Look at everything he did and everything he is doing to get you back. Selfish aside, he's trying to keep his son from falling into the hands of his enemy."

Hoseok's jaw clenched. "It doesn't erase the pain he's brought to you, to Yeonjun, to everyone. The throne isn't even his! You gave it to him. He knew that he had to give me up and is currently starting something that will result in so many other deaths. I thought he was good."

"The purest need only one seed of doubt to fall into temptation," Yoongi murmured, keeping his gaze trained on Hoseok. "Humans are weak. Frail, easily manipulated, vulnerable. But, as long as they have something— someone to protect, they'll do anything. Have you thought about Kim Seokjin at all lately?"

"I—"

"You haven't, at least, not in the way you were swearing you would," Yoongi hummed. "It's okay. You were never meant for him anyway. But what do you think Seokjin is willing to do to get you back? If he were anything like me, he'd do everything in his power to have you back."

"He wouldn't hurt anyone innocent, though," Hoseok responded, though his voice sounded uncertain.

"You don't sound so certain of that," Yoongi chuckled. "It's okay. You haven't been put into a situation that requires you to make a sound choice. But, still, I ask, how far would you go to make sure the love of your life remains by your side for all eternity?"

There wasn't any judgment tainting the question. It was more of genuine curiosity, but it still left Hoseok silent. He knew the easiest answer would be 'anything,' but how far would that go if Hoseok were put into such a situation. What would he do? What would he give for the love of his life? What would he give up and sacrifice? Who would he sacrifice?

"The question isn't as easy as it seems, is it, Your Highness?" Yoongi laughed, eyes looking away from Hoseok. Yoongi focused his gaze in front of him, and Hoseok noticed how quickly Yoongi's eyes glossed over as if he were now looking farther away.

"Yoongi?"

Yoongi made no response at Hoseok's calling. He continued staring off into space, lips parted, expression clouded. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke.

"When are you going to accept me, Hoseok?"

Hoseok was taken aback by the question, even more so than the previous one Yoongi had made. He knew now that he and Yoongi were bound together by fate, that they were soulmates, but being asked this question so abruptly left Hoseok more at a loss of words. It wasn't just a question— it was the future, and the future was something Hoseok knew nothing about.

"Every day that goes by, you inch closer and closer to death," Yoongi said, gaze still remaining unfocused. "You're running out of time. I can't guarantee your safety unless you remain permanently by my side. How long are you going to keep me waiting? What more do you have to know to finally accept your role with me?"

"You've told me many times that I will die, but you've never told me how," Hoseok said, inching closer to Yoongi. "How can you be so certain that I will die?"

"My insignia marks you as mine," Yoongi answered monotonously. "Once activated, it only gives a month to live. I activated nearly two weeks ago. I'm sure you've seen how it's starting to wrap around your body. Once it consumes you completely, you'll die."

A flash of anger burst through Hoseok. "And you're just telling me this now?"

Yoongi turned to Hoseok. "Would you have believed me?"

"I'm dying, and you didn't think to tell me how?" Hoseok asked, incredulous. "If you didn't want me to die, why'd you activate your insignia? Why put me through that?"

"That's the only way I can safely Turn you, Hoseok," Yoongi gritted his teeth. "I'm half-God. I could have accidentally killed you if I had tried anything without activating it first. This is out of my jurisdiction. My mother put that in place so we could know the identity of our soulmates, and Artemis was the one that made it something. She's the one that made sure there was a time limit on you."

"You didn't have to activate it," Hoseok snapped. "You could have just taken me, and if we're meant to be then, it will work out. You could have waited, and you didn't."

"I've waited for you for centuries," Yoongi hissed, his expression storming. "Your father bound you with someone else, you were seconds away from marrying someone else, and you're still acting as if I'm the impatient one? I'm extremely patient with you, far more than my other siblings ever were with their soulmates. Jimin almost lost Taehyung to the humans, Namjoon almost lost Jungkook to the humans, and you think I'm going to put you through that? The last thing I want is for you to be in danger."

"You said you'd give me a choice!" Hoseok nearly shouted, anger flaring inside him. "What choice is there if I'm already set to die in two weeks? You're killing me."

Yoongi's eyes flashed purple. "I'm trying to save you, Hoseok. I've given you so much information. I have never once lied to you. I've given you space. Does all of that go away because of something you weren't informed of? It can't be helped. I'm being very patient, Hoseok. It seems like you're taking advantage of it."

"You can't expect me to love you in two weeks!" Hoseok said, exasperated. "No one falls in love with someone that fast!"

"I'm not asking you to." Yoongi retorted. "I'm asking you to accept that you will. I'm asking you to be by my side because we're meant to be. I'm giving you the freedom to use everything I have to make your conclusions. What else do you want me to do? What more could you possibly want from me that I haven't already given you?"

There was an edge to Yoongi's voice— strained, borderline painful, and Hoseok couldn't stand it. Yoongi's eyes glinted, not of fury, but frustration mixed with the tiniest hint of desperation. Part of Hoseok was furious. Here he was, starting to trust Yoongi a little more than before, and then he's told the reason he has a time limit is because of him. Hoseok had a right to be angry. It didn't take a genius to figure out Yoongi had tricked him into activating the insignia— something he'd always thought was just a birthmark. And now, if he weren't killed by anyone else, the insignia would kill him.

Are you prepared to die?

Yoongi's question resonated in Hoseok's head. When Yoongi had asked, it had been based on the hypothetical; what Hoseok knew couldn't be true. Hoseok remembered how easily he'd said that he was ready to die, but now that he knew that his dates were numbered, he didn't know what to think. He knew he wasn't going to be dying, at least not then, but now, Hoseok knew he was going to. If he didn't let Yoongi Turn him, then he would die.

Yet, a part of him yearned to comfort Yoongi. Yoongi had a point— he'd waited centuries, and despite everything Hoseok instigated, Yoongi remained patient. Yoongi could have already had his way, forced Hoseok to bend to Yoongi's will, but he didn't. Yoongi had gone above and beyond expectations that Hoseok had of him, and Hoseok was still hesitating. It made sense why Yoongi was so aggravated, so frustrated at Hoseok's constant righteousness.

The words, 'I'm sorry,' lingered on the edge of Hoseok's tongue the longer he stared at Yoongi, but he couldn't force himself to look away. Hoseok was still shaking in fury, yes, and he knew he'd be furious for the next couple of hours. However, Yoongi had never kept the truth from Hoseok. Yoongi could have kept it a secret, but he didn't. Yoongi had told him so many things, altered his perception of the world, all in a matter of weeks, not asking for a single thing in return.

Knowing that their conversation was no longer going to go anywhere, Yoongi scoffed. Shaking his head, he stood up, and after stretching a bit, he turned to Hoseok one last time.

"I don't want you to get overwhelmed with the number of visitors around, so stay here," Yoongi instructed, all trace of vulnerability gone from his face. "I'll bring you your breakfast in a bit. I have to do some household things first. After breakfast, you can wrap your head around more history. We can talk about this later."

Hoseok nodded meekly. Yoongi stared at Hoseok for a couple of moments before nodding his head once in confirmation. Hoseok watched Yoongi go, feeling his heart heavy at the sight. He wanted to call out, to say something, but he couldn't. No, not when Hoseok was completely furious at the details surrounding his death.

He stood up, making way to the bathroom so he could freshen up. No sooner had his hands circled the knob, a voice called out from behind him.

"Don't let his words move you, Your Highness."

Hoseok froze at the sound of the voice. He didn't dare move— not when he couldn't recognize where it was coming from. The voice resounded in his ears, sending chills through his spine. As light covered the room, Hoseok made sure to shut his eyes, his back still facing the person who'd spoken.

"You can turn around now, Jung Hoseok," the voice— a lady's, said. "I won't hurt you. I just want to talk."

Hoseok's eyes glanced at the door. If he made a run for it, maybe he could get out in time. He didn't have a clue who this woman was, and a part of him told him that he didn't want to know either. The last thing he wanted to do was turn around. Whoever this was, she was powerful. She managed to slip into the room right after Yoongi left.

Hoseok wondered if Yoongi could feel the woman's presence.

Making up his mind, Hoseok immediately ran towards the door, and at the top of his lungs, he screamed Yoongi's name. He could hear the woman behind him huff, muttering to herself. Before he could step one foot into the hallway, he felt a hand grab him and pull him back.

"Why are you making this difficult?" the woman murmured. "Now I have to get you out of here. Keep your eyes closed, Hoseok."

Hoseok could feel a gust of wind around him, the smell of the forest invading his nose. He could hear the birds chirping to themselves, and when he was finally let go, he looked at the woman for the first time. The woman smiled at him, her silver eyes showcasing nothing but kindness as her lips moved.

"He won't find you here," she said, warmth in her tone. "You're safe, Hoseok. I wish I could show you my true form, but if I did, you'd die."

"Where did you take me?" Hoseok tensed, looking around. "Are you going to kill me?"

The woman shook her head immediately. "Of course not, Hoseok. I value your life. I value human life. Do not be frightened. I am only here to offer my help."

"Help?"

"Yes," she hummed. "Selene's son took the one weapon that could help you escape and free humanity. That leaves everyone at a disadvantage. I cannot have that."

How does this woman know about Yoongi's mother? Unless...

"Artemis," Hoseok breathed, earning a nod. His heart sunk for the second time that day, stomach flipping inside out at the goddess standing before him. He took a step back, almost losing his balance. Now, more than ever, he wished Yoongi were by his side. The one goddess that he was meant to stay away from approached him, and from the looks of it, Artemis wasn't going to go anywhere.

"Son of Jung," Artemis boomed, her expression turning serious. "Sit. It is time to discuss."

Hoseok was screwed.

a/n: this was almost 4k (3.9k), so I APPLAUD Y'ALL BC HOLY I NEVER EXPECTED MY CHAPTERS TO BECOME THIS LONG. haven't been feeling like myself lately, but writing this has given me slight serotonin and energized me, so expect another update by the 15th (:

i wanted to focus on the backstory regarding yoongi's parents and the feud selene and hecate got going on with artemis, so there was def a lot to unpack here. like a lot. at least sope got a teeny tiny bit of progress, i think. hehe. 

sorry for the cliffhanger ;)

hope you enjoyed !

thank you for reading <3