*******Aurora's POV*******

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. I was still damp from my shower, with a towel wrapped around me, but I didn't care at the moment. My eyes were transfixed on the mark on my neck. Two rows of perfectly straight teeth, except for one adorably wonky one in the middle.

Arms slid around my waist and I looked in the mirror to see Jimin as he rested his chin on my shoulder as he reached past me for his toothbrush.

"Good morning, my beautiful mate."

"Good morning, my handsome mate," I said back with a giggle.

He tilted his head and pressed his lips against my mating mark. "Want me to help you cover that up with makeup?"

I furrowed my brows at him in the mirror. "Cover what up?

"Your mark, love," he said, like it was obvious.

I gasped and covered my mark with my hand, then spun around and pushed him back a little.

"Don't you dare," I told him. "Why in the hell would I want to cover it up?"

"Uhh....because you have to go to work?" He asked, confused by my objection.

"Jimin," I said, pointing my finger at him. "If you make one move towards covering up my mating mark, or yours for that matter, I will get on Google and research how to get rid of a true mate."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry that I suggested it. But...You're not worried about what people will think?"

"Why would I care what people think?" I asked him, because this man had clearly lost his damn mind. "It's a mark tying me to you forever. It's the most important thing that I possess."

He quirked a smile at that, but continued anyway. "But your principal..."

"What're they going to do?" I asked him. "Fire me? I already turned in my resignation, remember?"

He reached for me and I finally let him come closer. "I didn't mean to upset you or your wolf, Aurora."

"You upset her?" I asked, confused.

"Judging by how your eyes kept flashing back and forth to bright blue," He said, pointing at my eyes. "I'd say that I did. Probably most of that hostility was coming from her."

I laughed and shook my head. "No. She might have jumped in, but the brunt of it came from me."

"Can I ask why?"

"I....I'm not sure, really," I told him with a shrug. "I did not like what you said. Telling me to cover it up, it...it hurt."

He frowned and reached up to brush the pad of his thumb across my cheek. "That was not my intention, my love. I was only trying to help."

A thought occurred to me, and I frowned, looking at the mark on the side of his neck.

"What is it?" He asked me. "I can see that something just crossed your mind."

"Are...are you going to cover it up in public?" I asked him in a quiet voice, the thought of him doing that causing a deep ache in my stomach again. "For the concerts?"

He kissed my forehead, then pulled me into a tighter hug and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I don't have a lot of control over the concerts, Aurora," he said. "My makeup is done for me."

I whimpered a little and he pulled back just enough to look down at me.

"However, I will ask them not to."

"You will?" I asked, hopeful.

"I will. I won't let them do it," he said with a smile. "I didn't know that it would mean that much to you."

"Does it not mean anything to you?" I asked, the pout still evident on my face and in my voice. "You don't want people to see it? You're not proud of it?"

He quickly shook his head. "No. That's not what I meant. Come here."

He took my hand and walked me back into the bedroom, then sat us both down on the bed before turning slightly to look at me. He reached up to touch my cheek, then he pushed his fingers back into the edges of my hair.

I gave him a questioning look.

He took a deep breath, then reached for both of my hands, holding them in his.

"Aurora," he started. "Please don't think that my mark means nothing to me. It means everything to me. I want the entire world to know that I'm taken." He cocked his head from side-to-side. "Well, at least the Lycan part of the world will know what it means. And I want them to see yours, too. I want them to know that I'm yours and you're mine."

"Then why talk about covering them up?" I asked him, no less confused.

"You're new to this world," he told me. "The werewolf one, I mean. You didn't grow up in it. You don't know the customs, even the stupid ones."

"It's a werewolf custom to cover up your mate's mark on your neck?"

He shrugged. "It didn't used to be. But then the world got really vain. The female wolves, especially. They didn't want any blemishes on their skin. So they started covering their mating marks up, and it spread and it became common. Then the men started doing it, too."

"That's....so stupid," I told him. "And...disrespectful."

"Disrespectful?" He asked me.

"To your mate," I explained. "Why would you want to hide from the world that you have a mate?"

He shrugged. "So that you can join in on werewolf gangbangs without feeling guilty or making the other wolves that are spit roasting them feel guilty or like they're in somebody else's territory. Werewolves can get really territorial and possessive."

I laughed and slapped his shoulder. "Park Jimin!"

"What?" He asked, then shrugged. "It happens. Another part of werewolf culture."

I frowned and looked at our hands, then back at him. "Have you ever...?" I tried to ask, but couldn't finish the question. Both because I didn't want to know, and because it wasn't really my business what he did before me.

Jimin shook his head and I noticed a small shiver go through him. "God, no. I find it gross and barbaric. You're right in using the word disrespectful. That's exactly what it is. To themselves. To whoever is involved. To their mates or their future mates."

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding, then I pushed Jimin back on the bed and climbed on top of him. His eyebrows raised when I reached between us and removed the towel that was around me.

He laughed as he grabbed my hips. "You're going to be late for work, my love."

I shrugged at him. "I'll make it quick."

He shrugged back at me. "Even in a time crunch, I think that I can send you off with a smile on your face."

I laughed as he rolled us over and did just that.

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A/N: See? As promised. An update. And another will come in a few days. -------Kat

And of course, some Jimin sunshine: