Jungkook awoke with a gasp.

Was that a dream?

No wait!

His eyes scanned the room he was in.

Where the hell was he?

This wasn't his apartment.

The walls were blood red. A dimly-lit chandelier hung from the ceiling. Everything about the interior of the room was luxurious. The bed he was laying on was soft and comfortable

Yep, definitely not his apartment.

Was he still dreaming?

Possibly?

Slowly sliding out of the bed, he crept silently towards the closed door.

That's when he heard it.

Voices.

But they were muffled. He placed his ear to the door hoping to catch a few words.

"...can't keep him...might be dangerous."

"...the mark...our packmate..."

"...human...not possible..."

"...saved me...not like the rest of them."

Jungkook couldn't make head nor tail of the conversation.

Mark? Mate? Dangerous?

What the hell were they even talking about?

Too late did Jungkook hear footsteps approaching the door. Before he could react, the door was pushed open and he found himself come face to face with none other than Taehyung!

"Taehyung-ssi?"

Taehyung smiled, "Call me hyung, Kookie. How are you feeling?"

"Physically, I'm great. Every other aspect, I'm not so sure."

Taehyung laughed.

"Confused?"

Jungkook nodded.

"Unfortunately, so are we."

"We?"

"Yes, we. Me and my uh, family."

"Oh, how did I get here?"

"I promise I'll tell you everything, Kookie, but first let's go meet the rest of the gang, alright?"

Jungkook nodded and Taehyung took his hand as he led him out of the bedroom and into a well lit passage with photographs of Taehyung, Namjoon and four other boys, Jungkook was yet to meet, on either sides.

"Here they are," Taehyung exclaimed as they entered a hall. At a grand table, sat five gorgeous men, their eyes fixed on the newcomers and Jungkook suddenly felt nervous, "Hyungs, meet Jungkook. Jungkook, these are my hyungs. I believe you already know Namjoon-hyung."

At Jungkook's nod, he continued, "the pale one is Yoongi-hyung, the handsome one is Jin-hyung, the guy with the heart-shaped smile is Hobi-hyung, and the short one is Jimin-hyung."

"Yah, stop calling me short!" Jimin yelled as he shook a fist in anger.

Taehyung stuck out his tongue at Jimin while Jin rolled his eyes at the two.

"Children," he muttered, under his breath and Hoseok giggled.

"Jungkookie, it's a pleasure to meet you. Taehyung told us a lot about you. We really are grateful for what you did for him," said Seokjin, voice gentle and Jungkook felt his nerves calm down a bit, "There's something we need to discuss. Something really important, Jungkook. Please take a seat."

Shakily, Jungkook sat at the table, Taehyung taking a seat beside him.

"Jungkook, could you tell me what happened yesterday? Do you remember anything that happened?" Namjoon asked.

"Uh...I saw Taehyung being beaten up by an elderly man so I interfered. I took Taehyung to my apartment where I treated his wounds and helped him into fresh clothes. I was pinned against the wall by your wolf form. You thanked me and when you were saying your goodbyes . . . you did something to me and I blacked out. The morning I awoke with a splitting headache and went to work and I don't really know what happened because one minute I was asking my customers what they wanted and the very next minute, I was writhing on the ground in pain," Jungkook spoke, anger seeping into his tone as much as he tried to keep it at bay.

"What did you do to me? Why did I black out? Why couldn't I remember anything in the morning?" he demanded.

"Watch your tone," Namjoon growled, his eyes narrowing.

"Jungkook, do you know what we are?" Jin questioned, placing an hand on Namjoon shoulders to get him to calm down.

"Yes, Namjoon-ssi and Tae-hyung are werewolves. So I'm guessing you guys are too, since Taehyung did mention something about packs."

"You're smart," Taehyung smiled, ruffling the younger's hair.

"What did you do to me? And why did you do it?" Jungkook demanded again, his eyes fixed on Namjoon's.

"He deserves to know, Namjoon-ah," Yoongi stated and their leader sighed.

"Fine. We're werewolves and our wolves possess certain powers. My wolf has the power to control one's mind. I can wipe your memory or hypnotise you. I tried to wipe out your memory of Taehyung and myself because I am the leader of this pack and I will do anything and everything to protect my pack from the evils of this world...to protect them from you humans," Namjoon explained, his expression hard.

Jungkook felt all his anger drain out of him. Just listening to Namjoon speak about his pack made his heart clench. It was obvious how much he loved and cared about them. What would he not give just to be treated the same way by his own family.

"I'm sorry, Namjoon-ssi. You're right. I understand why you did it. I didn't mean to speak to you with such disrespect," Jungkook spoke, ashamed.

"You're really precious, aren't you?" Jimin said as Taehyung wrapped an arm around the younger boy.

Namjoon looked a bit surprised at the younger's apology, not having expected it.

"Call me hyung, Jungkook-ah. It's alright. I owe you an apology too. I'm sorry!"

Jungkook smiled softly and Hoseok cooed, reaching over to pinch his cheek, startling the younger.

"He's got bunny teeth," Hoseok stated and Yoongi gave him an are-you-serious-right-now look.

"Hoseok-ah, you startled the kid," Jin pointed and Hoseok gave Jungkook an
apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"That's alright, hyung. I startle easy. It's not your fault."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did I get here?" Jungkook asked after a pause.

"That is also something we need to speak to you about. But it can wait till after lunch," Jin assured, giving the boy a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about it too much, Kookie. For now just enjoy Jin-hyung's food," Taehyung said and continued to babble praises about his hyung's food. Jungkook couldn't shake off the nervous feeling though as he listened intently to Taehyung.

14 March, 2023