Keonhee stares at Jin. “Well that explains why I never saw any humans in the group, or around our home area.”

“No, like, they were pure purists. Meaning, they didn’t believe in groups intermixing in any way, like no wolf/vampire groups, no fae/vamp/wolf groups, no fae/wolf groups, no intermixing of the species in any way shape or form.” Jin clarifies. “They wanted each species to be completely separate and independent of each other, with little to no interaction.”

“That would explain why you can’t drink human blood, hyung.” Dongju exclaims suddenly, a look of realization crossing his face. “Remember? How you were never allowed as a child to touch human blood?”

Keonhee looks confused for a moment, mind swirling with thoughts of his childhood, how his parents, and then his keepers always said he was never allowed to drink from a human unless he was on the brink of starvation. It always had to be another supernatural being, preferably another vampire, though he’s long since abandoned that part of their training when he’d joined Hwanwoong’s parent group. “They made me only drink vampire blood as a child too, until I was placed with Woong’s parent group.” He finally says, face becoming soft with realization, then sadness and a touch of something only Namjoon could recognize as self-loathing. “Said it was “unnatural” to drink from a human unless I was on the brink of starvation.”

“Well, I think this gives us a good idea on a possible lead.” Namjoon cuts the conversation short. “I suggest you all get home, lock yourselves in and contact one of us with this number when you need something.” He hands Youngjo a card with a handwritten number.

“Program that into a phone, then burn the card.” Yoongi says, holding up his phone. “We don’t want that number getting into the wrong hands.”

**

The ride home was quiet, each member lost in their thoughts, Hwanwoong firmly placed in the middle of the group since he was still weak from the attack and the tranquilizers given earlier that day.

“Hyungs….” Dongju starts.

“I….” Keonhee says at the same time Dongju speaks.

They stare at each other for a moment before Keonhee shakes his head. “Go ahead Dongju, you started first.”

Dongju sighs. “Hyungs, should we postpone our pledges until after this guy is caught? I mean, I don’t want to create any problems by suggesting this, but we’ll be weak and vulnerable when we are turned, right?”

Youngjo nods. “Yeah, usually the first 3 days after Turning, you are at your weakest, needing blood constantly and reassurance that we won’t leave you.”

“There is a reason why people usually take a week to 2 weeks off when they have a Turning in their group.” Seoho tells him. “The bond that will connect us all as group mates fluctuates wildly during the first week, and any amount of distance between any one member and you usually result in a bonding sickness that causes nausea, vomiting and dizziness.”

“I’ve heard people get really bad headaches, and some even faint.” Hwanwoong jumps in.

“Can people die from being separated?” Geonhak asks.

“I’ve not heard of anyone dying.” Seoho shrugs, “I think the system we have is pretty good at making sure fledglings don’t get to that point, that’s why most of the time it’s done during Blood moon week, because we already get the week off, and most people take the next week off too.”

“But should we postpone our own Turning because of this?” Dongju asks.

“I don’t see why we should.” Youngjo shrugs. “The first 24 hours after we turn you is when you are most vulnerable, your bodies are transitioning from being in a near deathlike state as the virus that causes vampirism circulates in your bodies and makes it needed changes, and then when you wake, you will need lots of blood and sleep as your senses will be on overdrive.”

“As long as we stay holed up in the apartment, and we don’t get attacked there, we should be fine.” Geonhak agrees. “I feel ok to go ahead.”

Dongju sighs, then nods his head. “I have a sinking feeling in my gut about things overall, but the Turning I’m most worried about things going wrong.” He admits as the van carrying them turns onto their street.

“I have a bad feeling too, you aren’t the only one.” Hwanwoong reaches out and pulls Dongju to him, letting the youngest snuggle against him. “But more about how we’re going to keep ourselves safe in the apartment, not about your Turning.”

The van drops them off, and as they trudge up the steps, Seoho coughs, and Hwanwoong stops them. “Hyungs, I sense something not right.”

“The building is too quiet for this time of day.” Youngjo agrees.

Dongju grabs a hold of Geonhak as they are pushed into the middle of the group, everyone keeping a hand on each other as they progress slowly up the stairs to their apartment.

The first thing they hear is water dripping somewhere on their floor, and a burnt smell as they turn the corner from the stairs, and Hwanwoong stops. “The door to our apartment is open. The wood is splintered. Someone forced their way in.” He whispers.

“I’m calling them.” Dongju pulls out his phone, having been elected to program the number they’d been given into his phone after the meeting since they all knew he refused to go anywhere without it.

“We shouldn’t go anywhere near the apartment.” Youngjo whispers. “We should leave.”

“But what if whomever did this is outside waiting for us?” Seoho asks, panic already starting to creep into his voice.

Keonhee pulls Seoho tighter to him, to help reduce the panic, turning his face towards him. “Breathe with me Seoho.” He whispers calmly, staring into the elders’ eyes.

Seoho gulps in a breath of air, trying to match Keonhee’s breathing, focusing on his eyes and blocking out the sounds around him.

While Keonhee tries to keep Seoho from going into a full-blown panic attack, Dongju whispers into the phone relaying information to the BTS group, as the rest of them stand, frozen on the edge of the steps, the air around them crackling with suspense.

“We’re not going to move.” Dongju reassures them. “We’re in the hallway.” He pauses, listening to whomever is on the other end. “No. Seoho’s having a panic attack, but we’re all fine otherwise…hmm…yeah. Ok. I’ll let them know. Sure. See you in a few.” He hangs up and turns to them. “They are on their way. We are not to move unless we are attacked, or something happens to the building.”

**

Namjoon and Yoongi gather up supplies, tossing them in bags, as Jin and Taehyung pack a couple of med bags in case anyone gets hurt. “There’s no telling if the perp is still at the apartment or if this was someone else breaking in at random, but my gut says this was a part of the whole case.” Hoseok says as he packs his forensic case.

“I’m with you there.’ Jimin has the keys to the van ready to go for them.

Jungkook had just gotten off the phone with them, telling them to stay put as the others had sprung into action. Now he’s logging the incident into the computer about the case, noting the time the call came in and the time they are leaving.

“Ready!” Both Yoongi and Jin call at the same time, and Namjoon smiles fondly at the two. Hoseok nods as well to show he’s ready.

“BTS!” Namjoon orders. “Roll out!”

Arriving at the apartment, they span out, Jimin and Jin immediately going inside up the stairs with Hoseok, and Jungkook and Namjoon taking a perimeter check in case the perp is a vampire and hiding outside of where their werewolf mates can potentially sniff him out. Yoongi stays with Taehyung at the van in case of injuries and the need to call for back up or get away from the building quickly. The van looks smaller than it is, able to fit the 7 of them comfortably, with room for a few more, though they’ve never really tried, and while they know it’s a possibility, they don’t really want to find out.

Jimin and Jin take a moment to gather their senses about them, Jin taking a subtle sniff of the area, nose crinkling in his telltale way of signaling that the building is mostly vampires to Jimin. He looks at Jin, eyes shifting to the upstairs, nodding towards them and Jin nods once in agreement as they move together as a unit towards them, following them up. Hoseok stays at the entrance in case someone else comes from the basement or other levels below them. The warmth of other bodies assaults Jimin’s senses, alerting him to ONEUS as they round the corner and he hears soft murmuring of voices before he sees Keonhee staring at him, fists up to fight, before he blinks, recognizing them. Jimin brings a finger to his lips to show to keep quiet, though he motions to Keonhee to poke at Seoho, who’s mostly calmed down.

Jin on the other hand, is letting his wolf scent the air, coming up with nothing but vampire and human, though he can tell something is different with Geonhak, his wolf seems intrigued, but he’ll put that off till the danger has passed. He slides past the group, coming up to Hwanwoong, who’s at the front of the group, staring down at the ruined front door of their apartment. He touches the younger lightly on the elbow, nodding at the door, blinking once to ask if they’ve seen any movement silently. Hwanwoong shakes his head, blinking twice.

‘No movement up here, and no scent other than vampire and human.’ Jin relays back through his group bond, eyes going silver as he does so, and Hwanwoong focuses back on the apartment door, hands held steady by Youngjo as the elder watches over the others.

‘Nothing down here on the ground to suggest they went out the windows.’ Namjoon reports. ‘Hoseok, go up and do a forensic report on the door. I think our perp may have left the perimeter.’

‘Will do.’ Hoseok replies easily, though they all know he’s just as much on alert as the others. Hoseok ascends the stairs, and reaches the group easily, frowning as he notices that the building is silent, and he wonders if some sort of spell has been placed on the building to keep it silent. ‘Do we have any tools that checks for fae spells?’ He asks.

‘No, why?’ Jungkook asks.

‘It’s way too quiet here, and the only spell I know of to cloak sounds is a fae spell.’ Hoseok replies as he goes to the door, taking out his tool kit and powder to check for fingerprints around the door.

‘Good point.’ Namjoon admits. ‘We didn’t think of that.’

Hoseok works quickly, finding no prints, announcing it into the bond and then stepping back as Jin comes to him. Nodding, they take a step into the apartment, and feel a tingle all over as some sort of barrier breaks, and they are thrown back towards the group.

“.” Jimin gasps, breaking protocol as Hoseok flies into Hwanwoong, the younger grunting at the impact, barely managing to stay on his feet as he cradles the elder wolf. Jin isn’t as lucky, landing against the wall, blood leaking from a half dozen cuts on his body from the impact and barrier explosion.

“Guess that explains the quiet.” Dongju mutters as Taehyung races up past him, a kit already at hand. The rest of the group comes flying up, and attends to Hoseok and Jin, while Hwanwoong rubs at his stomach where Hoseok hit.

“I’m fine.” He mouths to Yoongi, who’s seen him rubbing at his stomach.

Once Hoseok and Jin are tended to, Namjoon sighs. “Should have brought some fae magick tools.” He groans.

“Well, at least we know we’ve got a lead into some fae magick users.” Yoongi grunts.

“Let’s at least go see if anything was taken.” Youngjo says, stepping towards the apartment.

“No way.” Jimin grabs a hold of him. “Not until we have some magick tools to make sure there are no more barriers like that hidden in the apartment.”

“I have some equipment on the way.” Yoongi says. “Should be here shortly.”

True to his word, a few minutes later, the equipment shows up, and Namjoon and Jungkook start scanning the area for any barriers, and Jimin takes another scanner to look for traces of fae magick that is left behind to see if he can pick up exactly what spells were used.

“One more barrier near the blood fridge.” Namjoon announces.

“Could mean they took the blood or left a nasty present in there.” Hoseok says.

“Nothing over by the bedrooms, or in them.” Jin says, sounding tired.

“All clear in the bathrooms, nest and living room.” Taehyung calls from the nest.

“Rest of the kitchen is clear.” Jimin says, standing by island where Geonhak had just been making stew that morning.

“Gather up your most needed items, leave anything that could trace you back to where we’re taking you.” Namjoon orders as Yoongi calls down for one of the other pieces of equipment that can disarm a fae barrier without setting it off or requiring a Fae to disable it. Most Fae are fickle and many refuse to cooperate with Special Forces unless it means life or death, so special weapons had been developed to deal with their magick.

“Jimin and I will take care of this barrier here, you want to get them to the safe house?” Yoongi looks at Namjoon.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Namjoon nods, then glances over at the rest of the group. “We’ll take you to a safe house until we figure out better accommodations for you for the rest of the week.”

“Sounds good.” Youngjo nods, turning to the others. “Let’s gather basics, clothes and toiletries. Leave electronics here like laptops and stuff, I’m sure we can figure out other means of that later.”

Dongju and Seoho nod, both understanding that someone could have left tracking devices on their laptops or in their computer bags that no one would think to scan as the equipment to scan for that type of spell would wipe their electronics clean and would make them useless to use. “Let’s be quick about this so we can get out of here.” Hwanwoong suggests. “We’re sitting targets the longer we are here, and if they come back…”

“I’d rather not be here.” Geonhak visibly shudders as he steps towards the bedrooms.

Jimin and Yoongi stand near the blood fridge while the others go to the entrance of the apartment to stand watch while ONEUS goes to gather basics. “I’m assuming the barrier here is a decoy to stall for time while the perp runs away.” Jimin sighs, picking at a chip in the marble on the counter.

“I’m betting they ed with the blood in the fridge.” Yoongi shakes his head. “It smells wrong in here. Tainted.”

“Why would they with blood? Everyone knows how sacred blood is to vampires?” Jimin asks. “In all our cases with fae at the center of the crimes, they’ve never ed with blood before, why would they start now?”

Yoongi shrugs. “Not sure, but it’s a gut feeling. You remember a couple years ago, that one guy who was screaming that vampires were unnatural?”

“Oh that religious guy? Yeah, he got arrested for trying to poison a blood bank with a smoke bomb not that long ago.” Jimin nods.

“Before that, he was a scientist who was experimenting on vampires, trying to cure them of vampirism.” Yoongi tells him. “I dug into his case because I wondered if he might be attached to any of the other weird cases we’ve had in the last few weeks.” They hear some of the group calling out they’re done and heading to the entrance to wait for the others. “Something about him going to bomb that blood bank doesn’t add up. He’s dumb, but not that dumb.”

Jimin hums in response, eyes focused in thought. “You think he’s got a connection with the Fae?”

“I wouldn’t put it past the Fae.” Yoongi shrugs. “They hate vampires as much as they hate wolves.”

“And they do have a motive to get rid of everyone that’s not them.” Jungkook slides into the kitchen, holding a small device in his hands. “Here’s the machine you requested hyung. Soobin says it should disarm the barrier in 5 minutes without much fall out, but you should take cover in case it doesn’t work like it should.”

Choi Soobin was one of their juniors who was part Fae and Vampire, having been shunned by the Fae community when he’d been kidnapped as a teenager as he was on his pilgrimage to become an adult in the Fae community. The vampire group who’d kidnapped him, used him for his Fae blood until one day a member had taken too much and triggered his Turning. They’d abandoned him in the middle of his transformation, nearly causing the teen to go feral until Special Forces had found him. He’d ended up staying a ward of Special Forces until he came of adult age as a vampire, as the Fae community wanted nothing to do with someone who had mixed blood.

“We’re all ready here to clear out. You good?” Namjoon pokes his head into the kitchen.

Yoongi looks at Jimin, who nods at him, and he nods back at Namjoon. “Yeah, we’re good. We’ll meet up with you at the safe house when we’re done and decontaminated.”

“Don’t get yourselves blown up.” Namjoon says in lieu of a goodbye.