Taehyung sighs as he drapes the freshly washed sheets over the laundry line to let them air out and dry. After being up most of the night with Taegi, Yoongi had pressed Taehyung into the bed they shared with Namjoon, who was dead asleep, kissed him softly and murmured he’d take their pup downstairs so the Omega could get some rest.

He hadn’t been able to sleep at all after that, resting quietly beside Namjoon in their big king sized bed, wondering if Taejoon was being fed decently, if he had a good bed, if he wasn’t hurt, lonely or sick.

Taehyung refuses to tell his mates that his worry for the pup has caused him to be sleepless most nights, only getting a few hours of fitful, unrestful sleep a day, barely enough to function properly throughout the day, and he knows that his quiet behavior hasn’t gone unnoticed by Jin and Jimin, who are probably the most observant shifters he’s ever met.

The fresh air coupled with the warm sunshine, and the slight breeze from the north makes Taehyung tired suddenly, as if his wolf form wants to lay down and take a nap. It’s rare for his wolf to surface without him noticing the signs, especially since Taehyung’s wolf form has rarely made an appearance after Taejoon had been kidnapped.

Taehyung yawns, trying to fight off the sudden sleepiness he feels, but his arms grow heavy, and the Omega falls unconscious as his wolf takes over, shifting into his wolf form, and curling up underneath the laundry hanging above him, providing some shade as the shifter sleeps away some of the bone-deep fatigue.

Jin finds Taehyung a few minutes later, wondering where the younger Omega had gone off to when he hadn’t come back into the house after hanging the laundry. “Poor thing.” Jin murmurs, running his hand through Taehyung’s fur.

He leaves Taehyung sleeping peacefully underneath the drying laundry, not knowing that it would be the last time he’d see the young Omega, going into the house to make cookies for Taegi and Jinkook, who are both eagerly waiting in the living room, their little faces plastered to the front window. Jinkook’s old enough that he’s started imitating the older pup in mannerisms and actions, and sometimes Jin wonders if the idolization that Jinkook is starting to show towards Taegi helps soften the loss of Taejoon.

Yoongi had gone over to the clinic to check in and see how Jimin and Hoseok were doing with the birth of their pup, and to get some sort of fever reducer for Taegi, who seems to have recovered from his morning fever, though Jin knows the Beta wants to be cautious about the health of his son.

“Boys, stop messing up the window with your faces.” Jin tells them as he walks into the living room after making sure the cookies were baking properly. It’s one of the few luxuries that he is thankful they can still make since the Southern Packs have decided that they’re going to war with the rogue pack that has taken over the capital city and the Council’s headquarters.

“But Uncle Jin, my mate….” Taegi whines as Jinkook reluctantly pulls back from the window.

“No buts, Taegi. Please listen to me. It will be a couple of days before Uncle Jimin and Uncle Hoseok will be coming home with their pup, so come lay down on the blanket. Your Daddy will be home soon with news on them anyway.” Jin scolds the toddler, seeing the lanky form of Yoongi walking up as he keeps Taegi’s attention centered on him.

“Awe, Uncle Jin, no fun.” Taegi pouts, crossing his little arms and frowning at Jin, but moves towards the blanket that Yoongi had set up for his son to lay on when the fever made him exhausted.

Jin waits for Yoongi’s usual call into the house, but it never comes. Instead, the timer goes off for the cookies, and he frowns, wondering if he’d seen a different shifter than Yoongi coming up the walk to the house.

Shaking his head and wondering if the pup had caught a cold or something, Jin makes sure the two pups are preoccupied with a video on the TV, though Namjoon and Jungkook with both scold him later for it. The cookies are done perfectly and Jin is just setting the last one out on the rack to cool when he smells an unfamiliar scent through the opened kitchen window.

“Tae.” Jin’s stomach drops at the unfamiliar smell, and he cautiously looks out the window towards the laundry lines, and frowns as he doesn’t see the tiny brown fur laying underneath the laundry. His gut clenching, Jin walks back to the living room to see both pups preoccupied, the TV serving as a good idea as Jin makes sure the windows and doors are all locked in the living room.

Heading upstairs, Jin frowns at the silence. He wishes Jungkook, or Namjoon were home, but the two Alphas were in town with Ravi, discussing possible strategies with some of the other leaders who will be directing the war.

Taehyung’s not in the master room that he shares with his two mates, and isn’t in any of the other bedrooms, nor the upstairs bathroom. After checking the basement, which is empty as well, Jin goes back to the living room and nearly jumps in shock.

“Taejoon?!”

**

Yoongi feels restless as he walks back from the clinic, the bag of fever reducers in his hand. Taehyung had been unnaturally silent the last few weeks, and while Namjoon is busy with war preparations, the Beta decides that its time he pampers his Omega mate, even though Namjoon will be sad Yoongi went ahead with their plans without him. He hates seeing Taehyung sad, and while he’s still upset that Taejoon hasn’t been rescued yet, Yoongi wants to make sure that the Omega isn’t falling into some sort of depressive state because one of his pups isn’t with them.

Yoongi’s so caught up in his thoughts that when Jin’s scared cry from their Pack house reaches his ears, the Beta thinks that Taegi must have thrown up horribly or passed out, making his heart clench in fear. “I knew I should have just taken him over.” Yoongi growls out loud as he breaks into a run, only to bounce off the front door instead of barreling through it. “Jin!” He yells, his heart rate increasing as he realizes the front door is locked, and he doesn’t have his keys.

A click sounds and the Omega is standing in front of him, eyes wild. “Y-Yoongi…” He stutters, leaning against the door as if he’s gone through a shock. “You…..come see this.” He breathes.

Yoongi follows Jin, his instincts telling him that something is horribly wrong, and he should be finding both his mates and his child and protecting them with his life when Jin stops short in front of him. “The hell Jin?” Yoongi sighs, sidestepping the Omega. “What’s going o----…..” Sitting in front of the TV with Taegi and Jinkook is a familiar pup, who is thinner, a little bit darker skinned and looks more like Taehyung than Namjoon. “Taejoon, is that you?”

“Papa!” The pup jumps up and races to Yoongi, hugging his legs as Yoongi stares down at his mates child in shock.

“Where’s Taehyung? Why isn’t he here?” Yoongi questions as he lifts Taejoon into his arms and hugs the pup tightly. “He should be here, excited that his other son is back, and wanting to go see Namjoon asap.”

“There’s a problem with that.” Jin sighs. “Taehyung went missing outside right about the same time I found Taejoon in the living room with the others.”

Yoongi growls, his wolf on edge. Taking a breath, his eyes widen as he realizes that Taehyung’s scent is still fresh on Taejoon. “Taejoon, did you see Daddy before you came into the house?” He asks. He doesn’t have to search to confirm Jin’s words, he trusts Jin as much as he trusts his mates.

The pup snuggled up against him makes a sound as he nods his head, and Yoongi’s heart sinks. “Who brought you home?” He asks, the bone weary feeling of dread crawling over his body.

“Uncle Kai brought me back.” Taejoon says, and Yoongi has to suppress a shudder of hate from rolling through his body at the familiarity of Kai’s name rolling off the pup’s tongue.

“Did he tell you why you were taken from us?” Jin asks, his training from the Council kicking in as he makes eye contact with Yoongi.

“He….he said Daddy was sick.” Taejoon replies. “He said I got sick too, but he cured me.”

Yoongi growls. Taejoon may only be a toddler, but the exact phrasing of the words he’d told Taejoon to use implies that Kai thinks Taehyung is still his in some way. “Did he take your Daddy to be cured to?” He asks, forcing himself to keep the anger out of his voice.

Taejoon nods, snuggling into Yoongi’s hold as the Beta’s eyes flash red. “Daddy said don’t worry and he would be back soon.” The toddler adds as he yawns.

Taejoon’s asleep in the next few minutes, and Yoongi quietly lays him down on the blanket where Jinkook and Taegi are sound asleep next to each other. He hands Jin the package of fever reducer and frowns. “I’m going to inform Namjoon. Stay here. Don’t let anyone else in unless its one of us.” He tells the older Omega.

“Got it.” Jin’s eyes look watery, as if he’s about ready to cry, and maybe it’s a good thing Yoongi’s going out. Of all 3 omegas in their small Pack, Jin is the worst when it comes to letting his emotions out and Jungkook is usually the only one who can calm the Omega down.

“It’s not your fault.” Yoongi tells him quietly, his wolf held at bay for the sake of keeping himself together until he tells Namjoon. “I think Kai planned this, the sick bastard.”

Jin swallows hard. “Go tell your mate.” He tells Yoongi, his voice hushed. “I’ll make sure your children are safe.”

Yoongi squeezes the Omega on the shoulder before he turns abruptly, and he’s out the door, a howl ripping out of his throat as he starts sprinting towards the center of town. Jin shuts the door, locking it and then proceeds to lock every single window and door he can find that hasn’t already been locked from his previous search for Taehyung. Once that’s done, he grabs his cell phone, texting Jungkook, Jimin and Hoseok that something has happened and to knock and announce themselves when they come home. He knows already that Jimin and Hoseok will probably stay at the clinic until the Pack doctor releases them and their pup, but he knows the moment Yoongi tells Namjoon about Taehyung’s disappearance, Jungkook will head home immediately to protect him and their pup.

Jin pulls curtains closed and settles down in the living room next to the sleeping pups, and then finally lets himself cry.

A/N: Sorry for the long delay between the previous chapter and this one. I got a job working as an eye tech in an office where they deal mostly with specialized cases and diseases like glaucoma and there are 10 different doctors so the past month has been more mentally draining than anything because of all the different ways the doctors do things even though I am working primarily with 3 out of the 10 doctors right now. I got the job primarily to pay back my student loans as I am working on redoing my nursing school application for a couple of different schools since I'm not in school at the moment. 

Now on to more important matters. This story actually has one more chapter in it before I end it. I don't plan on leaving you all hanging though as I have already started the third story in this AU, focusing more on what happens to Taehyung after he's taken (the epilogue may or may not be set some time in the future when the pups are mostly grown..haven't decided yet). I am going to work hard on having the epilogue out in time for Jungkook's birthday on Sept 1st so look forward to that. 

And OMFG Yoongi dropping his mixtape....*dies*

Thank you all for sticking with me so far and I'm super grateful for all the comments, upvotes and everyone whose subscribed!