"...was scenting Hoseok, hyung. He said Hoseok smelled like freshly plucked oranges. Humans can't scent though, hyung, so how is that possible?" Jungkook heard Jimin say.

"Jimin-ah, werewolves cannot have human soulmates, yet here we are with Jungkook as our soulmate, aren't we? We know the mark is never wrong, although I am still suspicious of this whole thing. Maybe the mark has something to do with the fact that he was able to scent Hobi," a familiar voice reached Jungkook's ears.

Namjoon.

"Or maybe this is all some twisted kind of trap."

"Namjoon-ah, Jungkook isn't that way. If he was, my wolf would have easily sensed it. The boy is kind and loving. He's not had a family to care for him and my wolf has already taken a liking to this kid. Frankly speaking, so have I. He isn't bad, Joon-ah. Just get to know him. Hang out with him or something. You'll see what I'm talking about," Jungkook heard Hoseok say.

"Hyung, we're making Jungkook nervous. He's awake and he can literally hear everything we're saying. How about we talk to him instead of talking behind his back?" Jimin suddenly laughed and Jungkook's eyes widened.

How did...?

Oh right, his wolf.

The door to Jungkook's bedroom opened, and in walked the three wolves.

"Hey, little one. How are you feeling?", Hoseok asked as he took a seat beside the younger and wrapped an arm around him.

"Much better, Hobi-hyung. Thank you."

"You have a question for us, pup?" Jimin asked and ruffled the younger's hair, "I know you overheard our conversation."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, pup."

"Um, you said something about scenting and that humans don't scent but apparently I did. But um—"

"Scenting is something that werewolves do when they want to provide comfort or when they are in need of comfort. It helps to calm down our nerves you can say," Namjoon explained.

"The way you did with Hoseok last night," Jimin explained and Jungkook distinctly remembered telling Hoseok that he smelled like freshly plucked oranges.

Jungkook nodded and Namjoon continued, "Jungkook, could you tell me what is Jimin's scent like?"

Jungkook looked at Jimin, silently asking for permission and Jimin nodded, cooing at the boy's politeness. Jungkook leaned into Jimin and buried his nose in the older's neck, rubbing the tip of his nose against the skin, drinking in his scent.

"Like opening up a new book and flipping through the pages to breathe in its scent, hyung," Jungkook said, as he continued to scent Jimin.

"Wow, you can really scent us. You really are something, Kookie," Hoseok exclaimed, "Can you scent Namjoon? Tell us what his scent is like?"

Seeing the hesitant look on Jungkook's face, Namjoon sighed, "Go on, pup. I don't bite. I promise."

Jungkook crawled over to Namjoon, and repeated the same action, burying his nose in the other's neck and brushing it against the scent gland.

"Coffee. You smell like coffee beans, hyung," Jungkook murmured, slightly dazed as he recognised there was something else in Namjoon's scent. Something that screamed power and authority.

"Alpha," Jungkook found himself whispering which caused Jimin and Hoseok to gasp while Namjoon froze.

"Kookie?" Jimin whispered, placing a hand on younger's back.

"Alpha," Jungkook whimpered, burying his face deeper into Namjoon's neck.

Instinctively, the leader wrapped a protective arm around the younger, dropping a kiss to the younger's hair.

"Shh, pup. Alpha is here. Alpha's got you."

"He doesn't know anything about werewolves and we didn't tell him that you're an alpha so how did he—" Hoseok began.

"Before you complete that question, I really don't know the answer to it. I'm as puzzled as you are. Right now, I'll say the same thing I did before. This might be because of the mark," Namjoon said, cutting Hoseok off as he continued to run his fingers through Jungkook's hair.

"So many questions and we have not a single answer to any of them," Jimin sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"We'll figure this out together...as a pack," Hoseok promised as he watched Jungkook scent Namjoon like a newborn puppy.

14 March, 2023