*******Namjoon's POV*******

Thank you.

'For what?'

Not fighting him being your mate.

'I wasn't really fighting it before, I was just in shock that my mate was a man.'

Seems like you came to terms pretty easily.

'I didn't have much of a choice with your dumbass yelling at me about it all of the time. It was either that, or get him to do that cage spell for me.'

Very funny.

'Who said that I was trying to be funny? I was being serious.'

Do you.... Do you think that he might break the spell now, and let Delwyn out of his cage? I miss him.

'I really don't know, Osian. He gave no indication that he would. He's been through a lot. I understand now why finding his True Mate is hard on him.'

But as you said, you two are not his parents. Surely he sees that now.

'He has a lot of pent up trauma. If he does decided to break the spell on your mate, it won't happen right away.'

Oh.

'I'm sorry, Osian. Truly, I am. I will work on him, okay? I want him to be happy. And the headspace he's in right now...he's definitely not.'

Do you think that you could make him happy?

'I...I hope so. But he has to give me the chance first.'

I see.

'Today was a big step, okay? Just give it time.'

**********************

"You're being quiet," Isaac said when we started walking again.

"Not in my head," I said with a small laugh.

"Your wolf again?" he asked me.

"Yeah."

"Is he telling you to kiss me again?" he asked with a giggle. "I find it funny that he was yelling at you about that."

"He yells at me about a lot of things," I said, laughing with him this time. "But no. He's sad."

He frowned, looking down at the ground as he walked. "Because he can't talk to his mate."

"Yeah..."

He looked over at me. "What's your wolf's name?"

"Osian," I told him. "He tells me that he was originally from Wales in his first life."

"Yeah, so was Delwyn."

"That makes sense," I said with a smile. "Since they're mates and all."

"Osian is a pretty name," he said. "Do you know what it means?"

"I know that names back then always had meaning, but he wouldn't tell me."

"Ahhh....okay," he said with a shrug.

"So I looked it up," I told him with a smile, making him bust out in that cute, little giggle of his again.

"Of course you did."

"It means 'little deer,'" I said. "He was really mad when I told him that I knew. I think he's embarrassed by it, being a big, bad wolf and all."

"Did you ask him why he was named that?" he wondered out loud.

"I did," I told him. "I ask a lot of questions. I like to know things and it annoys him."

He giggled again. God. I would do anything in my power to be the one to get him to keep making that sound.

"So what was the reason?"

"I will admit that I don't fully understand how new wolf spirits are born," I admitted. "But he said when his mom was pregnant with him, their pack was being hunted down, and she felt like prey for almost the entire pregnancy, like a deer being chased through the woods. So she named him that, and would even call him 'little deer.'"

"I can actually answer that for you," he told me with a proud smile. "When mates get pregnant, the wolf spirit does, too. There aren't always new wolf spirits born. Usually, they stay in the same family in all of their lives, though in different configurations. And somehow True Mates are born in a way that Fate will eventually make their lives cross. But every once in a while, a new spirit is born. When a werewolf is pregnant, the next wolf spirit that should be born into their family again is given a choice. Usually, they chose to be born again, but sometimes, after many lifetimes, the wolf sprits decide that they're ready to be let go. True Mates usually decide together. I don't completely know how it works. I guess the Moon Goddess gives them the choice and they tell her what they decide. But I only know that because every new one has to be registered with my coven, so that they can keep track of them. It still confuses me, though."

"Huh," I said, surprised that it was so organized. "I guess having a witch for a mate will come in handy with all that extra knowledge."

He scratched at his neck and didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," I told him. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You uhhh....you didn't, actually," he said, glancing over at me. "I was just thinking that yeah, it probably would. I have a lot of knowledge, because of my coven. A lot of history, especially."

"I like that," I told him, giving him a smile. "I love to learn new things."

"So do I," he said, smiling back at me. I noticed, for the first time, that he had a dimple, just one, on his left cheek. It was cute. "It's a small part of why I wanted to become a doctor. There's always new medicine, new techniques, new theories to learn. It fascinates me."

I leaned my head back a little and laughed. "Yep. You're definitely my mate."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Isaac," I told him, giving him another smile. "You can ask me anything."

"You said that music was part of your regular job, outside of the military," he said, looking over at me again. "I just wanted to know what that meant."

"Oh...I uhh..." I reached up and ran a hand over my short hair. "I'm in a K-pop group."

He stopped walking and turned to look at me, and I did the same.

"You are not."

"I am," I told him, blushing a little.

He stared at me, his eyes roaming my face, then his eyes got wide and his whole face lit up. "Oh my God. How did I not notice it before? You're RM."

"I am."

"I can't believe that I was that stupid," he said with a laugh. "I mean...I'm more of a Stray Kids guy myself, but still. I do like BTS."

I swatted at a bug on my arm, not really looking at him.

He frowned. "I'm sorry. Now I'm the one that made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't," I told him. "I just...it was nice to talk to somebody who didn't know who I was."

"I get that," he said. "You also could have told me sooner, so I didn't make a complete idiot of myself."

"Some people don't deal with who I am very well," I told him, turning to start walking again. "I didn't want it to have any influence on your decision towards us being mates. You deserved to be able to make an unbiased choice."

"It won't, I promise," he told me. "It's cool that you are who you are, but that person isn't the same as the person I've been getting to know the past couple of days."

I glanced at him again. "I am both versions of myself. A lot of Namjoon bleeds into RM and a lot of RM is also Namjoon. It's hard to explain, really. The other members and I...we try to be true to ourselves, even in front of everybody. We don't want to give them fake personas on stage, and be completely different the rest of the time. But at the same time, when we first started, the company gave us suggestions as to what we should act like, and some of us just ended up becoming those people. Like Jimin, they wanted him to be sweet and cute, and he's now one of the sweetest people I know, and he's so damn cute that it sometimes gets annoying."

"And you? What did you do? Who did they want you to be?"

"Jimin is our alpha, and a damn good one," I told him. "But as far as BTS goes, I am the leader. I was the first one assigned to the group. When we first started training, it was hard. I'm a beta, and I wasn't used to having that much control or any leadership responsibilities. Back then, I was nervous about it all of the time. But now, it just comes naturally. It's part of why I stopped going by 'Rap Monster' and just changed it to RM. The person I am now is not who I was when we started, and I wanted to signify that."

He smiled at me, showing off that adorable dimple again.

"I like that," he said. "And I get it. Probably more than most people would. The person I was at 18 or 19 is a million miles away from who I am now. After everything I've been through, I barely even remember who that person was."

I stopped walking again and turned to look at him. "That is exactly what I was saying."

"I don't hate who I am now," he told me. "I worked my ass off to get where I am. But I wish that I didn't have to go through all that other shit to get here."

"Isaac..." I started, but then sighed and stopped, not sure how to continue.

"What?" he asked me.

"I want to give this a shot," I told him. "Me and you, I mean. I really do. I like who you are. I like the person you've become, no matter what you had to go through to get here. But if this truly isn't something that you want, then tell me, and I will leave you alone. I don't want to be pushy or make you feel like you have no choice but to be with me, just because we're True Mates."

I watched as he chewed the inside of his bottom lip, thinking over what I had just said.

"I've lived most of my life fighting against the idea of a mate," he said, looking down at his feet. "I don't know how to wrap my head around the idea of actually having one, or being a mate to somebody."

I frowned, but nodded my head, looking to the side, at the trail we had just been walking on. "I get it. I'm sorry."

"Hey...look at me," he said, reaching out to touch my shoulder, then pulling his hand back.

I turned my head back to look at him.

"But I'm willing to try," he told me.

I stared down at him. I knew he could see the surprise written all over my face. "You are?"

He gave me a crooked smile and nodded his head. "I am. But we have to start small. Focus on one step, and not the entire staircase."

"Small...." I repeated the word back to him. "I can do that."

"Maybe by holding my hand?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at me and holding his hand out towards me.

I looked at his hand, then back up at him. "You realize if we do that, then your wolf will probably start yelling at you, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I've decided maybe it's worth it. But if I'm quiet for a few minutes, just know that that is exactly what is going on in my head."

I laughed at him. "Mine does that, too. He yells. A lot."

He moved his hand back-and-forth to draw my attention to it. "Well?"

I chuckled softly and took his hand, wrapping my fingers around his smaller ones.

One step at a time.

**********************

A/N: Hobi seems stable. Now that the crisis is over, I don't know what to write here. Please leave comments. I hope you're enjoying Joon and Isaac's story so far. -------Kat