That was the only time that Jungkook was allowed to Yoongi during that heat cycle, and things between him and his friends had begun to change. Not in a good way, either. Yoongi was more clingy toward Jungkook—not that Jungkook minded that. The part that upset Jungkook about it was that Hoseok didn’t seem to like Yoongi clinging to him, and he became a lot more possessive over his omega. He distanced himself from Jungkook, and it was a little unfair.

Then Jungkook realized something.

Hoseok was never the one to suggest Jungkook having playtime with Yoongi. But, of course, he also didn’t say that he didn’t want Jungkook to play with Yoongi. Still, Jungkook couldn’t help but get the feeling that Hoseok was upset because Yoongi seemed to like Jungkook a little more than Hoseok was comfortable with.

“You seem down,” Taehyung noted one day after dinner. He waited for his parents to clear the room before saying anything.

“I’m not down,” Jungkook said, and he stood from the table. “I need to get to work.”

“Not so fast,” Taehyung jumped up and ran around to Jungkook. He pinned the younger against the table, keeping him there. He leaned in close, his hot breath only inches from Jungkook’s lips. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You come down for breakfast, and you go to work. You come home for dinner, and you go to work. Sometime, late at night, you come home to rest before going through the same routine. You are working so much that you’re leaving little time for sins. We demons need to commit sins to be happy, so I’m guessing that’s why you’ve been feeling down these past few days.”

“Because I haven’t been sinning?” Jungkook asked, raising an eyebrow at the elder demon. Taehyung was supposed to be the devil one day, but he was nowhere near as intimidating as his father. Jungkook wondered if it would come to him as he aged.

Taehyung nodded.

“Well, Yoongi always said I wasn’t much of a demon, didn’t he?” Jungkook reminded him with a frown, and he pushed Taehyung off of him. No matter how tall Jungkook got, Taehyung was always taller. And no matter how strong Jungkook got, Taehyung was always broader.

“Is that what this is about?” Taehyung asked, looking Jungkook in the eyes.

“What?” Jungkook asked, his expression softening.

“Yoongi?” Taehyung dropped down into the dining chair next to Jungkook, so Jungkook sat, too, in a dining chair next to Taehyung. “You’ve been avoiding hanging out with us ever since you two had . Are you afraid to face him?”

Jungkook’s expression was exasperated. How could Taehyung not know what was bothering Jungkook. Had he not seen the way Hoseok had been acting around him ever since that day? “It’s not Yoongi,” Jungkook mumbled.

“Well if it’s not—” Taehyung paused and his mouth dropped open. “Hoseok? It’s Hoseok you’re afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of him…” Jungkook frowned. “It’s just—Yoongi is his, and...I think he’s pissed at me—”

“You’re right,” Taehyung assured him. “He is pissed at you, but I doubt it’s for the reason you think he is.”

“What do you mean?” Jungkook tilted his head, blinking in curiosity.

Taehyung sighed, and he ruffled Jungkook’s hair. “I think that’s something you are going to have to talk to him about,” He informed the younger. “It’s not my responsibility to apologize on anyone’s behalf and tell people’s explanations for them. I can’t be bothered with such tasks.”

“Yeah, but how—”

Before Jungkook could finish his question, Hoseok appeared in a puff of smoke. He was wearing his lab coat, indicating that he was probably at work, and he glared at Taehyung once the smoke cleared.

“Really? Can’t you give a guy some warning before you summon him?”

“Sorry,” Taehyung said, and he stood up from the chair. He pushed Hoseok to take the seat instead. “Everyone has been all pissed off at each other since Yoongi’s last heat, and I’m tired of it. So you two are going to sit and have a chat while I go with Namjoon to meet my new human. I expect to see an when I get back.”

With that, Taehyung turned around and left him, his tail swishing with pride and confidence as he walked away.

Jungkook looked at Hoseok, only making eye contact for a split second before looking at the ground between them. Somehow he found this alpha to be way more intimidating than the demon prince himself, and Jungkook wasn’t even sure how that was possible. Not when Hoseok was probably the least intimidating alpha to ever walk the underground.

“S-so, uhm, I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to Yoongi,” Jungkook said, twiddling his thumbs and keeping his eyes trained on the ground. “You could have just said, and I wouldn’t have, you know. I know Taehyung is the prince and all, but—”

Hoseok scoffed. “Please, you think the reason I’m pissed at you is because you ed my omega?” Hoseok gave Jungkook a pointed look, which the younger might have missed if he didn’t glance up at just the right time. “Taehyung can’t give you permission to Yoongi. He may be the prince, but I would personally tell him to go himself if he took control over Yoongi. Omegas deserve more respect than that.”

“Then why…” Jungkook frowned and looked up. He hated sitting here with Hoseok’s serious eyes on him. As nice as the alpha was, he was very scary when he was pissed. Intimidating.

“Why what? Why am I pissed at you?” Hoseok raised an eyebrow, and Jungkook nodded, softly biting into his own lip. “Like I said, omegas deserve more respect. You can’t just an omega because he’s in heat, but then run off like nothing ever happened. That’s objectifying, and it’s not okay.”

“What—”

“Yoongi was upset when you distanced yourself after that night,” Hoseok pointed out. “Yoongi always hoped that you would be alpha, and, sure, you can say that he was objectifying because of that, but it wasn’t about the . He wanted you to be an alpha because he wanted you to join our pact, but he didn’t want you to be mine. He’s a greedy bastard, and he doesn’t want to have to share my attention with another omega. But he’s perfectly content making me share him with another alpha.”

“And you’re not happy about that?” Jungkook asked.

“Well, I’m not thrilled about it,” Hoseok confirmed. “But I’m okay with it. If I wanted Yoongi to myself, that would have been written into our pact. I love the hell out of that , but I’m also aware that his amount of stamina is unreal. I’ve only ever seen Taehyung last long enough to get him off alone, and Yoongi had always mentioned wanting another alpha in our pact.”

“Why not Taehyung?” Jungkook inquired.

“We’ve asked Taehyung to be a second holder in the pact, but he refused,” Hoseok explained. “He’s very different from most demons in this way, but he insists that he only wants to form a pact one time, and it has to be with the right demon.”

Jungkook didn’t respond. He just nodded in acknowledgement to what Hoseok said, and he looked at the ground again. After a moment, he took a breath to speak.

“I ruined my chance, didn’t I?” He presumed.

“Not at all,” Hoseok assured him. He placed a finger under Jungkook’s chin and lifted his head up. “Yoongi’s upset about you ignoring him, but he’s a big boy. He’ll get over it. And, when he does, he’ll give you a second chance.”

“And what about you?” Jungkook wondered, assuming that Hoseok would have to agree to adding Jungkook to the pact.

“Let me just say, I’d pick you over Taehyung anyday,” Hoseok said with a soft smile on his lips. “Less arrogant, and I actually think you’re kind of cute.”

Jungkook’s face flushed as Hoseok leaned closer to him.

“I’m glad you turned out to be an alpha, too,” Hoseok whispered, and he pressed a kiss to Jungkook’s cheek. “Because Yoongi wouldn’t be okay with this otherwise.”