[[ Tired author is tired and uncreative. ]]
The Howling - Part IV: Inevitable
Jongin woke to a warm figure buried in his arms, soft breath tickling against his skin and slender fingers holding his waist perhaps a little too tight. For a moment, one sweet, sickening moment, he drew the person closer, the thought of Joonmyun in his mind’s eye before he heard the soft whimper of pain, and abruptly pulled back. As his eyes refocused, he met Taemin’s bright eyes, watching as the younger male drew back into himself, and a soft curse escaped Jongin before he crawled closer and wrapped his arms back around Taemin.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” he whispered as the smaller boy immediately broke down, silent sobs shaking his thin shoulders and tears splashing onto Jongin’s bare shoulders. “He’s gone now, Taemin. He’s gone. He’ll never hurt you again, or me… or Sunny.”
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, rocking the sobbing Taemin gently, but when Yunho , Changmin and Jaejoong stepped into the room, Taemin was lying curled up in the bed beside him. After looking up at the two boys, he tugged the blankets up over Taemin and carefully climbed off the bed, following both men over to the far wall where Taemin had a collection of furniture - the boy’s room was always more comfortable than his own.
Going by the look on Yunho’s face, he shut his mouth as he went to say something, knowing that the elder wanted to talk first. Jongin sat silent for a long time, waiting, fingers curled into each other in his lap as he tried to fight the dizziness and nausea that still nipped at his body, while Yunho and Jaejoong exchanged glances.
“Jongin… we want you to know that we don’t blame you for what you did,” Yunho murmured voice made Jongin look up, watching as the eldest of the three sat down first, his own fingers tapping against his leg as he looked up at the other two. “Yoochun was… always the least stable of the four of us. Your mother seemed to be the only one who could keep him in line, and when she passed and he became your father’s Beta, he changed. Your mother was the one who told us not to tell you about your connection to Yoochun, because she was afraid that it might… affect how you see him. But now that he’s gone… it doesn’t matter.”
Jaejoong sat down next, beside Jongin, an arm looping around the boy’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be okay… Sunny’s okay, she’s been sleeping, and it turns out that Yoochun didn’t actually-- he only ripped her clothes and hit her. You aren’t at fault for what you did, protecting your brother and mate like that.”
Jongin flinched at the word made, pulling away from Jaejoong as he hugged his arms close, head bowed as the feeling of emptiness and dizziness hit him again. His mate? No… he had to give him up to protect him. Even if it meant a lifetime of being alone… Biting down on his lower lip, Jongin looked up slowly to meet Changmin’s eye, not a moment before the youngest of the three elder males was on his knees in front of Jongin, arms wrapped tight around his body.
“Don’t blame yourself, Jongin,” he whispered as Jongin let himself cling to the comfort that Changmin offered. “You did what you had to, and no one would’ve expected Yoochun to… Whatever happens next, we’ll protect you.”
A lot of good that promise was…
Jongin rolled onto his back some hours later, not realizing he’d out until he tried to move more than that and his head exploded into pain. For a long time he was confused as to where he was, but when he saw the tear in one of the curtains hanging off the end of his bed, he relaxed; he was back in his own room.
“You’re awake… Good.”
All at once Jongin lurched into a sitting position, eyes wide and breath caught in his throat as his head rocked at the sudden movement, before his gaze fell on the tall figure watching him. The Alpha, when he wasn’t hurling insults or being the degenerate that Jongin knew he acted like most of the time, was full of charisma and dangerous seduction. There was a reason his mother had fallen in love with this dark man, and Jongin himself couldn’t deny that if he used his words the right way, everyone would bow to him.
“I know, Jongin. About the bond. I can recognize the signs; dizziness, nausea, an emptiness that can’t be filled by anything…”
There was always talk that the Alpha hadn’t been the way he was now until after his mother died, that when one lost their mate they lost their grips on reality. It made sense, but that didn’t mean he had to give him any of the sympathy others might have. He might have lost his own mate, but he didn’t know how Jongin was feeling.
“You have no right to talk to me about that,” Jongin replied softly, looking away as he draped his arms over his knees, head bowed to try and stop the dizziness and short of breath.
He didn’t realize the elder had moved until he felt the dip in the mattress, and looked up to find the Alpha watching him with dark eyes. The closeness made him shudder, and he crawled back until his back hit the headboard of his bed before he stopped. The Alpha still hadn’t moved from the end of his mattress.
“I know you imprinted on that human I gave you as a pet. Very naughty, Jongin. And then you killed my beta because he tried to touch your mate. If you weren’t the Alpha’s heir, I’d be dragging you before the council and demanding retribution for killing my second, but as it is…My hands are tied.”
He didn’t need to finish his sentence because Jongin could hear the intent behind his words, and he braced himself as the Alpha’s hand shot out and tangled through his hair, yanking him forward and off the bed. Because a matter like this couldn’t be brought up to the council, he had to do what he always did… take it into his own hands.
By the time morning came, Jongin was near unconscious, curled up in the bottom of the shower cubicle, face bruised and swollen, body hurting in more ways than just physical.
A few days passed -- or maybe it was a week -- and still Joonmyun wasn't getting better. He slept most of the day, and when he wasn't sleeping, he felt like he was dying. The room spun constantly, his head feeling like it was going to split open; medicine didn't help, and the only thing he could do was sleep, but once he woke up, it started all over again. A never ending cycle that only worsened as the hours went by.
Joonmyun's parents were worried about him, and more than once they'd been about to take him to the emergency room, but he, with the help of Baekhyun, had talked them out of it. Doctors and medicine weren't going to help him; he could feel it, the way it pulled not just physically, but mentally, emotionally at him. It wouldn't be that easy.
Things had never been that easy, and so why would they be now?
On the fifth day, his fever spiked a dangerous high, his head bursting with so much pain that his vision faded in and out, and on one occassion he nearly out. Baekhyun came and went, bringing with him liquids, cool cloths, and ice packs; trying to get Joonmyun out of bed for a cold bath had proved near disastrous once, and he wasn't going to try again.
When he fell into a deep sleep that afternoon, a sensation like no other washed over him, pulling him down, tying him to another force that lingered too far to be touched. He was drowning now, suffocating and dying, and just when he was about to be pushed over the edge, Jongin's voice pulled him back. Joonmyun snapped up, head spinning as he collapsed back on the bed, chest heaving.
His arm burned, ringlets of fire twisting their way to his shoulder; his cheek smoldered beneath the skin; and it felt like there was a weight wrapped around his chest, holding him carefully, being mindful not to crush him with the strength that he could feel. It was all so familiar that it added to the empty ache in his chest, and he clawed uselessly at the skin over where his heart was, hammering away against his ribs.
That was when he knew he needed to do something before whatever this was killed him; that was when he /knew/ what he needed to do. Never mind that it might get him killed; he at least needed to try before /this/ killed him first.
Without even considering the fact that his legs might not be able to hold him, Joonmyun pushed himself up off the bed, glad that Baekhyun wasn't home to stop him. He shuffled over to the dresser, using the edge for support as he lowered himself to the floor and opened the bottom drawer. Inside lay a collection of his belongings that he'd kept at Baekhyun's house for different occassions: a bag, two weeks worth of clothing, and a pair of sneakers.
Joonmyun didn't miss a beat as he pulled out a clean set of clothes and set them to the side, along with his shoes, before moving to pack the rest into the bag. It wasn't until he was dressed and standing on his feel that he realized his fever had broke, his head no longer tried to split open, and his nausea only made him feel like vomiting a little.
So, that's how things were going to be? This was his.... was something.... trying to tell him that he no longer belonged where he'd come from, the world he knew.
Before leaving, Joonmyun wrote a short note to Baekhyun, telling him firmly that he had to go back, but that no one should come looking for him; he'd be okay and he'd call in a few days to let everyone know he was alright. After taping it to the door, he left, not pausing, not looking back.
It didn't take long for him to reach the edge of the forest, but from there Joonmyun wasn't sure which way to go; he hadn't been paying that much attention before, not that it had been a priority. So, he'd have to take his chances and hope he'd end up where he needed to be before something else found him.
Okay guise! There is a new feature and I'm going to abuse the hell out of it! WOOOO!
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