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Words: 3.5k

Jungkook took a deep breath and began to count from hundred to one as he waited. He didn't know what waited but he knew he wasn't in the wrong. Maybe the hospital was suspicious because he was a regular omega who had not one but three black cards in possession.

This is all a huge misunderstanding, he wanted to say, but they didn't seem to be in a mood to listen.

Jungkook tried to talk to the cops one more time before they shut him up, saying it would do him more good if he can shut th fuck up. He realized there was no point in talking to them.

Behind the police vehicle, he saw two black Hyundai Palisades following closely. He'd recognise them anywhere. Jungkook had no doubt Jimin would have been notified by now.

He bit his lip to keep the rising anxiety in bay. His alpha or someone will be there at the station. They won't let him get punished for something that wasn't his fault. Maybe Mr. Park or Jimin or Aera.

"What the hell is with these Palisades?" One of the cops wondered. "We got two behind and two on the side." They looked out.

"Maybe there's a VIP on the road. You know how some Elites and celebrities have top notch protection these days," another said.

"Who do you think it could be?" the omega cop beside him asked curiously. "I see a lot of cars. Is there any event happening nearby? Only A-list celebrities like Kim Taehyung would use such protection." She giggled. "Figures since he has so many fans who'd love to get a piece of him." Then she turned to him. "Speaking of which, how did you even manage to get your hands on that card?" She cocked a brow. "Could that card be a compensation for your services?"

Laughter echoed inside the car and it was nothing close to being pleasant.

Jungkook glanced out at the Palisades. "He's my brother," he gritted out, knowing it wasn't going to make any difference. More laughter followed but it was expected. He scoffed. "You wouldn't be laughing when he finds out."

"What did you say?" she growled.

"Nothing." Jungkook sighed. "Just said I can't wait to get to the police station so I can clear this misunderstanding."

The omega cop laughed again. "He really believes he can get out of this. Newsflash, omega, a bottom feeder like you is not significant and no one cares about your innocence. You're going straight to jail."

"What?" Jungkook's eyes widened.

"Stop scaring him, Eunji," the alpha cop said. "His pheromones are not even that strong to give an adrenaline rush. I can barely get a whiff over all that alpha pheromones clouding him. I can smell at least two scents on him. You can guess what his real profession is just based on this."

Jungkook blinked, sniffing at himself. He realized the shirt belonged to Taehyung. It was supposed to be in his nest and in his hurry, he hadn't noticed.

"That shirt looks familiar," the female cop observed. "I've seen it somewhere."

"In one of the shops you couldn't afford maybe," the beta quipped and she shot daggers his way.

She then scoffed. "Even as a purebred there are people like us, who scrape for leftovers, but then there are good for nothing regular wolves like you with nothing but some beauty and they get everything. Wish I could follow in your footsteps. Bet I'd be richer than I am."

Jungkook's skin crawled at the insinuation. But instead of defending himself like he wanted to do, he refrained from answering them. There was no point. It only seemed to fuel the fire and entertain them. He put both his hands between his knees, bouncing one leg and he chewed his bottom lip. His heart raced and the siren on the cop car wasn't helping with his rising panic.

What if Jimin didn't reach on time? Will they lock him up? That thought alone was scary to Jungkook. He swallowed thickly and glanced outside the window to see two more Palisades driving parallel to his vehicle.

One of them lowered the window and he saw the familiar faces of the bodyguards inside the car. Jungkook released a breath he didn't realize was holding and a shudder raked his body. Tears welled in his eyes as he noticed them talking seriously into their bluetooth headset.

Please be it my alpha, he prayed.

The very sight of the familiar bodyguard offered a sliver of hope but he didn't know how good they were against the law enforcement. Out of the three cops inside, one was a purebred alpha and seemed to be the leader of the three people squad and the other was a beta while the third was a purebred omega.

Jungkook swallowed. They had different teams to handle crimes of the purebred and the regular wolves and wondered why his so-called crime would be handled by a team of purebred officers instead of the regular wolf officers as per the law.

Was it because he was arrested in a big hospital that acted as a hub to the purebreds alone? No law stated the purebred hospitals shouldn't treat the regular wolves. It was just that they were too expensive and hence no regular wolf went there.

The Seoul National Healthcare offered some consideration for the regular wolves in terms of treatment and accepted the cheap health insurance to some extent. It wasn't enough but it was better than nothing. The government subsidies for the regular wolf welfare never reached them and there was no one to question this.

As a minority, their voices were never heard. Hell, they didn't have a voting right up until a decade ago. Just how much this society had to be fucked up to run things just from a purebred perspective?

He knew where the police station was situated. Just one more signal and he'd be right inside. They arrested Jun-Myeon too and he didn't know how Jimin would be able to help him in this scenario. He was being confined wrongfully. He wasn't a thief. Just Jimin or Taehyung or someone has to prove that the cards were given to him willingly for his use.

When the police car took a sharp turn, Jungkook could see the tall police headquarters looming in the distance. He frowned. Why was he brought here? Shouldn't they go to some precinct within the hospital surroundings? He had a doubt when they crossed it and headed straight but now his suspicions were coming true.

The omega swallowed as his stomach churned. He clutched his knees tight, knuckles turning white from the pressure. The Palisades flanking the car stayed close and just as they approached the signal, he saw it turn red.

The car came to a screeching halt and the alpha cop cursed. "Fuck this! I wanted to cross the signal before it closed."

He hadn't even finished talking before several black cars and amidst them was an Onyx black Aston Martin Rapide that slid in front of the car in slow motion. Before the driver even got out opening the door, the passenger door burst open and he spotted a polished Chelsea boot landing on the road.

Jungkook's heart skipped a beat as the alpha's entire form came into view, looking furious and lethal. His lips parted and tears spilled out as the alpha rushed toward the police car.

"Park Jimin?" one exclaimed.

"What is he doing here?"

"Isn't he from one of the top ten?" The female cop gasped. "No wonder there were so many cars."

But Jimin was already at the passenger side of the car, looking inside with a snarl. Jungkook noticed his red irises, heart racing and stomach swooping. Relief flooded him but also the adrenaline joined the party.

"What's going on?" the alpha cop asked. "Why is he charging at us?"

He said something Jungkook couldn't decipher but then the alpha started to punch the window. Jungkook gasped, trying to unlock but knew it was of no use. The window didn't budge but that didn't stop the alpha from punching.

The alpha cop lowered his side of the window. "Hey, man, you gotta stop doing that. This is a police car and as you can see we are on duty, transporting the accused to the detention center.

"Open it!" Jimin demanded, when the alpha cop wouldn't do it, he proceeded to punch the glass a few more times in quick succession, causing a crack.

"What the hell! This is assault." The alpha cop jumped outside first and tried to detain the alpha but the alpha pounced at him as if he was waiting for that to happen. He gripped the officer by his throat, slamming him against the vehicle and lifted him off the ground with a thundering roar that could now be heard inside the vehicle through the open door.

"I said open the door!" Jimin growled. "I swear if there's even a single scratch on my mate's body, you're dead."

Jungkook couldn't see the alpha cop's face but several black suits surrounded their car and some were armed.

"M-Mate?" The alpha cop coughed.

"What are the charges, huh?" Jimin snapped, giving a shake to the cop who was equal height as the alpha with a similar build but Jimin looked formidable even in his office suit and sweater vest.

"I'm a cop!" The alpha cop struggled. "You'll be charged with assault and—"

"Fucking answer me, asshole! Who gave you the orders to make an unlawful arrest?!" Jimin shook him. "Where is the warrant? What are the charges?"

"He's a fucking thief!" The cop answered brazenly. "I'm just doing my job here, sir. Let me go. You're committing a crime."

Someone hurried to him, seemingly having arrived just now, trying to calm him down and Jungkook peeked through his window for a better view to see it was Attorney Kim. Jimin slowly let the cop down and removed his arm from his body.

"Mr. Park, please..." he spoke gently. "I got the bail. They cannot harm your mate."

Jimin growled. "They had no right to take him in the first place."

"I know. I know." Attorney Kim spoke in a calm tone. "Let me handle this. They won't get away with this."

That seemed to calm Jimin a bit.

Attorney Kim faced the alpha cop. "Jeon Jungkook is his fiancé. We've been informed that you've arrested him unlawfully without any evidence or fact check." He came to stand in front of him, thrusting a set of documents into his chest. "Anticipatory bail even though he doesn't need it. You bet a legal suit is definitely being filed as we speak against the unlawful arrest, denial of legal rights, unethical and wrongful handling of a student with no care for his reputation and obviously damages." He smirked.

"Sooner or later, I'm gonna find that person who threw you a bone to bite," Jimin hissed. "When I do, it's game over for you, your team and that someone who believes they're safe." He closed on him one more time but a bodyguard stopped him this time by slightly stepping between him and the alpha cop, but not obscuring Jimin's view of the cop. "Open the fucking door." Jimin's voice was extremely calm despite the fury radiating off him in waves. It sent a nervous shudder down Jungkook's spine.

As if on cue, his side of the door unlocked. Jungkook pushed it open and jumped outside and into the arms of his alpha. Jimin's entire demeanor changed as soon as he was outside. The alpha lunged at him, grabbing him by the nape and pulling him into a bone crushing embrace. His other arm enclosed Jungkook's head and held him closer.

Burst after burst of evergreen pine, thyme and sage exploded into his nostrils and Jungkook willingly sank into his embrace with a hiccup. He was home. He was safe. His shoulders shook gently with the silent sobs he was letting out.

Jimin pulled away to cup Jungkook's face with both hands and his gaze scanned every inch of his face. "Did they hurt you?" he growled. "Tell me this instant. I'll make sure they never repeat it in this lifetime."

Jungkook shook his head, sniffling as wave after wave of relief flooded him. Jimin was here. His alpha had come to his rescue. The cars entirely blocked the traffic, causing a severe jam but no one seemed to be able to get past the Palisade barricades and a sea of black surrounding them.

Jimin's demeanor shifted again when he saw the cuffs. "Who cuffed you?" He lifted Jungkook's hands. "Who did this?" His head snapped toward the alpha cop. "You?"

The alpha cop shook his head fervently, looking like he saw a ghost. "We were just doing our duty."

"Without a warrant or a proper cause?" Jimin growled once again.

"It's her." Jungkook pointed at the omega cop hiding inside the car just like the beta who didn't step out.

First thing Jimin did was, bent to her eye level, sneering at the omega cop cowering in the backseat. "Ahn Eunji, consider this is the last day on the job and better luck finding another job in my city." Each word was spoken with such clarity and calm, emphasized deliberately to make them feel the weight each of them carried.

Jungkook's eyes widened as the alpha calmly extended a hand. "Keys. Consider yourself lucky if there's no cuff mark on his hands. Because I'm gonna do worse than I have already planned if I see something I don't like on his body."

Eunji's eyes widened as she wordlessly handed the key with trembling hands to the alpha.

Jimin straightened and grabbed his arms once again, unlocking the cuffs quickly. He threw them to one of his guards. Then he began to inspect his wrists, gently massaging them with a silent exhale, releasing them only after ensuring there were no marks.

"Mr. Park." Attorney Kim leaned toward Jimin. "The public is closing in. Cameras."

Jimin pursed his lips and his hand immediately shot out, pulling Jungkook toward him. The omega happily hid his face in his neck as he was led to the alpha's car. But then he remembered something.

"Wait," he told the alpha before whipping around to bend toward the car and met the female cop's gaze. "You're a bad and bitter person," he said. "You have no respect for others and I despise the way you treated me. There's another reason someone like me could own three black cards and that's because they were a gift from my family. You failed to consider an unmated omega tends to carry the scent of an alpha who is family. We cannot walk free without an alpha scent for the sake of our protection. Every unmated omega carries an alpha scent on their body for their protection, but you chose to assume the worst. Park Jimin is my mate. Actor Kim Taehyung is my adopted brother and he's gonna be so so furious when he finds out about the things you said about our relationship. And I promise I won't stop him or my alpha from teaching you guys a lesson." He took a deep breath. "And yes, this shirt is familiar because it belongs to Taehyung. As for whatever my alpha promised to do to you, I tried but you wouldn't listen. So I won't bother about you anymore. You can crawl on your knees in front of me but I won't show an ounce of remorse for my decision and I know my mate wouldn't listen to anyone but me in this regard." He shut the door and took Jimin's hand, following him to the car.

The alpha once again urged him to hide his face in his neck as he led him to the car. With the bodyguards forming a protective barrier around them, he carefully climbed inside, waiting for Jimin to follow. As soon as he did and closed the door, Jungkook hugged him.

The alpha went a step ahead, gathering him on his lap, proceeding to scent him vigorously. "I'm so sorry for being late. I left as soon as Eui called. Then the head of security called in panic. They didn't understand what was going on so they resorted to following the police car and continued to give me updates while I called the lawyer. It was hell."

"It's okay," Jungkook sniffled, sobs mixed with hiccups and body finally draining off all the adrenaline and fear. "You came."

Jimin cupped his face again. "Were you scared, my love?"

Jungkook nodded wordlessly. He was. The fear of getting locked up in a cell with or without other inmates frightened him. He couldn't help but worry what would happen if there were other inmates. He'd heard horrible stories at work about a night stay in a police station and it didn't bode well with him.

His alpha's face crumbled. "Shit. I'm so sorry I was ignorant of how you guys could get fucked over something so trivial. I'm so fucking sorry." He hugged him again. "I won't let this happen ever again."

"You couldn't have known," Jungkook sniffled. "I didn't know either. I was so afraid they were going to lock me up and never let me see you again."

"No one's gonna lock you up. Not on my watch," the alpha promised. "I'll burn the entire head quarters down if they touch a hair on your body."

"That's not possible." Jungkook pouted. "I don't want you to get into trouble because of me."

Jimin scoffed. "Oh, baby, you have no idea what I'm capable of." He cupped his face with a soft smile. "My heart almost stopped when I got that call. You have no idea. I wasn't myself until I could see you again and make sure you're unharmed." He leaned his forehead against his. "Never again. Gonna marry you and mark you so every fucking cunt in this world knows you're mine."

Jungkook smiled through his tears. "That's one hell of a statement." He buried his face into the alpha's neck, so happy he could smell the rich alpha pheromones. Laced with fury, it smelled even more divine to the omega. To the others, it might be threatening but for Jungkook it felt like a safety net.

"I'm worried about Kwan. I was afraid he'd be left unattended and I didn't know what was gonna happen to him. He was already in a critical condition." He sobbed, letting out his emotions finally. "I don't know what I'd do without him. I thought the cops were coming for a formal inquiry because he slipped and fell on his way to one of the classes."

"Shh...Kwan is safe. They were able to stop his bleeding and treat him on time. He and the pup are safe."

Jungkook lifted his head. "Pup?" His eyes widened. "So he was pregnant for real?"

Jimin chuckled. "Yeah. I got an update on my way here." He caressed his cheek. "You have nothing to worry about, my love. I'm gonna protect you and everything dear to you. Just relax, alright. Let alpha handle this."

Jungkook nodded, leaning into his touch one more time and lay with his nose buried to the alpha's neck. "I'm scared," he admitted out loud but it was nice to know he wasn't alone.

When his dad was sick, he had to fight alone and oftentimes didn't know how to fend for himself. But now, he didn't have to worry about that. Jungkook inhaled the alpha's rich scent, relishing in the love, comfort and safety. It wasn't about whether or not he could handle a certain situation, he realized. It mattered the most to know Jimin would turn the world upside down if something were to happen to him.

"You're safe," Jimin assured. "No one is taking you from me. Your alpha has more money than he could count. I make millions every passing hour and I've always been a law abiding citizen. I pay my taxes and don't even have a single speeding ticket. I fund their projects often and donate to various political parties just so they won't cross me. No one sane will make an enemy out of me." He stroked his hair.

Jungkook hummed, nuzzling further into his neck. The pheromones were addicting. He knew he might pass out if he inhaled too much but he couldn't help it. The entire ordeal had left him emotionally drained and he could only think about how heavenly it felt to be in the alpha's arms.

With a soft sigh, he announced, "I wanna sleep."

"Okay."

"Don't push me away."

"I won't."

"Just wanna..." he drawled. "This feels so good."

"I know, baby." He patted gently on the omega's back.

"Love you, my alpha."

"Love you more, Cherry Blossom." The alpha's grip tightened around him.

Jungkook didn't even realize when his breathing evened out or that he had passed out with a peaceful look on his face.

***

A/N: That's it for today. See ya on Monday or after, depending or my monthly volcano burst...