At the end of the same week, Jungkook finds himself sitting inside the small cottage that Beta Seokjin and his mate have been living in ever since they both moved into the pack. It was said that the pair had designed and built this cottage themselves, choosing to create the place as a replica of the old home that they used to reside in back in the North, where they had met and finally consummated their mating bond.

Sitting right beside him is Yoongi, who seems just as calm and collected as he always has been and is always hard to read. No matter how hard Jungkook is trying to stay calm and act like he is holding himself back from running out the door, there is no doubt that everyone can see from the look on his face just how uneasy he is about this. He envies Yoongi for being able to mask his feelings the way he does, wishing that he can sit as still as the fox as they wait for Mage Kim to come out of the sunroom at the back where she is just finishing her morning ritual.

Mage Kim, that is how she prefers to be called ever since she arrived in the pack, saying that it would be easier for people to address her that way and to make it easier for her to explain her role in the pack. Except that there are also rumours that she had refused to use her real name simply because she is hiding, and for her to be able to live anonymously in the pack without her past chasing her all the way here. Jungkook had never thought much about it, as he had never once come across the mage until today. But waiting does a lot of things to an idle mind, and he cannot help but wonder about too many things—about who the mage really is, where she came from, what secrets she may have, and how much she can truly help to solve their problems.

After sharing a long, uncomfortable silence, Yoongi is the one to break it first. At least, he is about to, when he opens his mouth and turns to Jungkook to speak, only for the Mage to come out of her room. "I'm so sorry it took me so long. I had to consult the Elders—I mean, my Elders, about something," she says as she breezily moves into the living room, taking the empty armchair right across from the pair and sitting down gently.

As she raises her head, looking at the pair of shifters sitting right before her, both males grow stiff. There is a different kind of energy flowing around her. Even if it may not be as intimidating as their Alpha's powers or even the power of the Elders combined, it feels so odd and unfamiliar that both shifters can feel the weight of her powers. The air instantly trickles with tension, while the Mage still appears calm as she regards her guests.

"Now," she starts to speak while resting her entwined hands on her lap. "What can I help you with, gentlemen?"

Yoongi throws a quick glance at Jungkook, silently questioning his 'mate' if he should proceed. Jungkook looks a bit unsure himself, but nods anyway, reminding the two of them of the reason why they had come here in the first place. With a deep breath, Yoongi takes over, starting the conversation with—

"We both have some kind of a—predicament."

The mage tilts her head. "What kind of predicament?" she questions, though Jungkook doubts that she is actually clueless when she looks at them with a knowing smile.

"I'm sure, being mated to a shifter yourself, you understand the dynamics of our mating bond," Yoongi continues, unaware of the questions echoing inside Jungkook's head, while the mage nods at him so he can carry on. "Jungkook and I—we are mates. At least, we recognised each other with the signs."

If the revelation was surprising for the mage to hear, she clearly isn't showing it. The only thing she does is give an understanding nod and ask, "But the situation is complicated, I presume?"

"It is," Yoongi answers with a sigh. "Jungkook and I, neither of us are—" Yoongi stops to clear his throat, clearly feeling uncomfortable with what he is about to say. "Neither of us are homosexual or even bisexual. Past experiences have proven many times that we are both straight," he finally adds, and Jungkook isn't quite sure if what Yoongi mentioned as 'past experience' would be vague enough for the mage to decipher. Anyone would simply assume that both of them had tried dating others before or even being intimate with others to put their preferences to a test. But Jungkook knows that Yoongi's words had also included the fact that they had once 'tested the waters' only to be left disappointed and feeling oddly guilty about it.

Once again, the mage is silent. All she does is take a moment to study Yoongi and Jungkook's faces before a smile forms on her face. "Why don't I make us some tea and you can start telling me everything? From the beginning—" she says, before giving each of the shifters a pointed look when she adds, "And make sure not to leave anything behind. Anything."

As the mage steps away from the room to make their drinks, the pair looks at each other and shrugs.

'Well, I guess she knows.'

The rest of the afternoon is spent with them talking about their mating bond. Each of them takes a turn to share everything that they had experienced, starting from Yoongi who tells the mage everything from his side of view—from the day of his arrival when he sensed Jungkook for the first time and had mistaken him as a female Enforcer, to the day they recognised each other—while Jungkook continues by repeating the same old story that he had shared with Hoseok only a few days ago.

Mage Kim continues to listen silently while carefully sipping on her tea and looking thoughtful the whole time. Sometimes she would throw a question or two as the shifters relay their stories. Sometimes she would just nod her head as if she can see the events happening inside her mind.

Once both males are done telling their stories, Mage Kim calmly takes another sip of her tea before speaking again, "So you both feel the sparks, caught the scents even before you met each other. What happens if you touch and kiss? Have you tried to be—intimate?"

This is it. Jungkook knew that there is no way they would be able to hide it forever, and it would be too easy for the mage to catch on to their lies if they choose to deny it. Beside him, Yoongi releases a deep sigh and answers first, "It felt odd and so wrong."

It also felt right in some kind of way, Jungkook wonders silently, before admitting that there was something off when they touched that night. The bond was there and it helped stop them from killing each other when the touches they shared seemed like a violation of something that was sacred, or perhaps even a violation of trust.

"To me, it almost felt like there was something that was missing," Jungkook adds. "Yoongi was right, it felt wrong. But not in the way that it made us feel like we wanted to kill each other or even disgusted at what we did. It just felt like there was something that we needed to make it work. As if the mating bond itself wasn't enough."

The mage gives another nod. "And what is your reason to hold out for so long without breaking the bond and moving on?"

It was the dream. The words come into Jungkook's mind just as the images come flashing inside his head, showing him the exact same scenes—of him and Yoongi on his bed, with the figure that felt so soft and small in their hands and yet their presence feels so right.

The dream hasn't been coming to him as often as it used to, but it still haunts him from time to time. Always comes unannounced whenever the burden from the mating bond is placed on the back of his mind or whenever he is drifting apart from Yoongi.

And then suddenly, just after the night he revealed to Hoseok about his situation with Yoongi and right after he decided to turn to the mage for help, the dream returned to him, and the image came to him just the way it did when he had first gotten the dream in his sleep.

Jungkook knows that he would have to share this with the mage, but he has no idea how Yoongi would feel knowing that he has been dreaming about the fox. Right as he is wondering how to reveal about this without making things between him and his 'mate' to become even more awkward than it has been, Yoongi speaks up one more time, surprising him when he says,

"Ever since the night it happened, when we, uhm—crossed the line, I've been having these dreams. Of the two of us, and how it would be like for us together. At first, I simply thought that those dreams were created by my own mind, conjured by my own wishful thinking for being so hopeful that things might work between us. But as time goes by, I keep having these dreams and they mostly come to me during the full moon, as if reminding me of the mating bond that I've been trying to ignore."

After saying all of this, Yoongi keeps his head down, keeping his eyes on the ground as if he is completely embarrassed for having these thoughts to himself. But Jungkook quickly snaps himself out of his shock, and reveals to the room, "I've been having the same dream as well."

Jungkook stops for a moment as his revelation seems to surprise himself as well, but he quickly takes the chance to explain before he would lose his courage to speak. "It started from that night at the full moon. It kept coming since, and then it started to grow less and less and I've only been getting it either during the full moon or whenever I start questioning about—well, everything. About the bond, about how odd our pairing has been and things around it."

Yoongi keeps looking at Jungkook with a surprised look on his face as he listens to the wolf speak, before relief comes over him and the tension on his shoulders simply subsides. Seeing this, Jungkook realises that they had both been carrying the same burden, the same secrets for a long time. We should've talked about it and shared this a long time ago, he wonders, blaming himself for never bringing this up to his 'mate' and letting him wonder about these dreams all alone. Though he knows that he has nobody else to blame when they both had a mutual agreement to stay indifferent to one another to a point that they simply ignore everything about their bond.

Until recently, when Jungkook couldn't help himself and fell to the urge to protect his 'mate' that he ended up revealing their secret bond to other people.

Sitting across from them, Mage Kim hums softly, as if she is slowly putting everything together just from their shared stories.

"Just like I had thought," she muses as she gently places her cup of tea down on the table between them. Sitting back, she keeps her hands entwined on her lap the way they did when she was studying them closely as she shares her thoughts. "I had suspected that you were mates when you first came in. And you were right, there was something off about the two of you. Now, after listening to your side of the story, I am beginning to understand why.

"There is obviously a connection between you, as I can feel and see the thread holding you together the same way mating bonds do to fated mates. But just like what Jungkook had mentioned, there is something missing. What is wrong with your bond is that you are incomplete. There is a missing link in your bond that needs to be there to make it complete, and for the bond to manifest into its final form and becomes absolute."

"And what does the dream have to do with it?" Yoongi asks her, sounding intrigued to hear more.

With her lips curling down, the Mage Kim only questions him back, "Since it's revealed now that both of you have been having the dreams at the same time, perhaps it is the Moon Goddess' way of answering your questions?"

She looks between Yoongi and Jungkook as both shifters take a moment to consider this. Yoongi turns to his 'mate', exchanging gazes with the wolf while both of them have their minds recalling back to the things that they have learned so far, to the words that people around them had been telling them about the Moon Goddess and her magic which comes to them in the form of fated mates and their mating bond.

"The moon is never wrong."

"The moon never makes a mistake."

Maybe, just maybe, the moon does have its trick after all. And that they are not some kind of anomaly among the history of fated mates. Not a mistake that had been made because the Moon Goddess had experienced some kind of a blunder when she decided to pair two straight males together with the sacred bond.

Yoongi and Jungkook stay a bit longer in Mage Kim's company and spend their afternoon with her to talk about the different theories of their mating that they can think of and the possibilities regarding their missing link. It isn't until the moment the sky slowly turns darker with the red streaks of sunset dancing on the horizon when both males finally bid their goodbyes to the mage. And it isn't until Mage Kim has kindly promised them to do a ritual on their behalf so she could speak to the universe and their ancestors for more answers when they are finally able to walk home, feeling their footsteps lighter and their chest expanding with relief.

Because finally—after a long while of living with doubts and unanswered questions—both of them can allow themselves to start feeling hopeful again.

That night, as they lay down in their respective beds, alone, the dream returns. Only this time, Yoongi can see flashes of red flowing around his wrist, while Jungkook can see a pair of yellow eyes looking down on him as the three of them are entangled in a heated lovemaking with their desire burning around them so strongly it feels as if the world does not exist outside of Jungkook's old bedroom.

Holding onto their hopes and the dream that makes it seem as if their fate has been sealed, Jungkook and Yoongi depart from their homes to meet up with Mage Kim again three days later in the hopes that her rituals have helped her to find the answers that they all need. Except that on their way to the Mage's home, Hoseok appears in their path, stopping them from leaving.

Perhaps if Hoseok has his usual sly grin and eyes glinting with mirth as he regards them, then the two of them could simply ignore his presence and continue on with their plans for the day. But the Head Enforcer wears a different stance as he stands there in their path, with a worried scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest, leaving the pair of confused mates wondering and realising that something is wrong.

"Hoseok?" Yoongi asks their superior as the males come closer to him. "What's going on?"

Hoseok looks between the two of them before he releases a defeated sigh. "I'm afraid whatever business you two are up to will have to wait. The Alpha needs you," he says, once again meeting their eyes before adding, "Both of you."

Neither Jungkook nor Yoongi says a thing. Even before they had departed from home, both of them have had an inkling that something peculiar was happening in the pack. They had known to be ready when their pack welcomed a guest the other day—the Warrior Princess from Supreme Wolf Pack who had arrived with Beta Taehyung after their long journey—but they had decided to carry on with their plans today since they too had been waiting for this moment for quite some time.

Noticing that both shifters have grown quiet, Hoseok finally explains further, confirming their thoughts by saying, "It's happening. It seems that we're going to war."