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T W E N T Y - T H R E E

T E N S E: to draw tight or taut to the utmost tension (see: Mark and Nicole)

The smile drips off Nicole's face as her eyes fix on the necklace then to Jungkook whose smile is almost a grimace.

Siblings. They're freaking siblings. He has an older sister.

“Where did you get that?” Nicole whispers, even though we all know what his answer would be

“My mother gave it to me,” he drops it and the jade twinkles brilliantly in the dying light of the setting sun. Every cell in my body is trying to process just exactly what was going on and where this put Nicole, Jungkook and me.

Nicole shuts her eyes, leaning her head back against the chair, see. “That's- highly impossible.”

The words hovered in the air neither Jungkook nor Nicole spoke. I had no idea what to do, what to say. I could throw a punch like it was nobody's business, but I lacked the words to somehow transition this conversation from tense to- well- less tense.

I turned to look up at Jungkook and found him already looking at me. His dark eyes were stormy with confusion as millions of emotions lit his eyes. He looked at me as if he was searching for an answer.

“Nicole,” I say finally, “I'll call Jaron and give you one of our rooms. You can stay here until-” until what? “-until we figure this out.” I finish lamely.

When she opens her eyes, she seems to have aged by ten years. Avoiding Jungkook's gaze, she stands up and bows stiffly before sweeping out of the room where I know Jaron has been listening.

The door shuts silently behind Nicole and Jungkook immediately moves off the arm of my chair and sits in Nicole's empty seat. The comforting warmth that had been emanating from his side and blanketing my arm is gone, “This is- insane.” Jungkook mutters, running his hand through his hair, “I have a sister? Half-sister at least.”

“Yeah,” I say, tipping my head back to stare up at the ceiling, “Crazy.”

A sister who was Mark's mate. Or something, I wasn't really sure at this moment. Nor was I sure how exactly to comfort Jungkook. Did he want space or did he want proximity?

“We need to make sure,” he says, “Blood tests-”

“Wait-” A thought hits me, “Nicole's a raven shifter, and your father is wolf shifter which means that if Nicole is really your sister-”

“Mom could be a raven shifter,” Jungkook finishes for me. “Not that it really matters.”

When shifters of different animals procreate, it was pure luck which animal attributes the child would take.

“I know, I was just thinking about Mark and Nicole.” I say, biting my lip, “Mate bonds between shifters with differences like them it's-rare.”

Jungkook nods, distracted.

Unable to help myself anymore, I push myself to my feet move to stand right in front of him. “You know, I'm kind of disappointed.” I run my hand up from his arm to collar the side of his neck. He tilts his head back to look at me, confusion colors his eyes, “Too bad you're not raven shifters, wings would have been a good look on you.”

Jungkook smirks for the first time since Nicole's appearance, “Yeah?” One of his hands lands on the back of thigh as he pulls me forward and between his legs.

“Yeah,” I swallow a little before moving to sit on the arm of his chair, keeping my legs in between his. Jungkook eye's follow me. “Are you okay?”

He smiles and pulls me into his lap. Sighing, he snuggle his nose into my neck and inhales deeply, “Yeah. I'm fine.” Every bit of my newly-found girlfriend sense are tingling, but instead of pushing I shifted so we were more comfortably situated and feel asleep to the lull of his heartbeat.

★ ★ ★

The next morning I woke up still lying in the chair in front of the fireplace, wrapped up in Jungkook navy blue hoodie. I blinked, confused for a moment what I was doing, waking up in my office, but one look at the chair Nicole had previously been sitting in shocked me back into reality.

Nicole Storm was here.

Nicole Storm was Jungkook's older sister

Nicole Storm was Mark's mate.

“Oh god,” I muttered, stretching my legs out and flaying my arms above my head. Jungkook's hoodie slid off my body and puddled on the ground as I practically flung myself out of the chair. Brushing hair out of my face, I bent down to pick it up while listening for Jungkook's voice around the house.

Not hearing anybody period, I frowned and hung his jacket on my arm before grabbing my phone and slipping out of the room. In a hurry to figure out why I can't hear anybody in the house, I drop by my room for a fraction of a second to brush my teeth before careening down the stairs praying I wouldn't find the Blake brothers dead bodies arranged in a dodecagon or something along those lines.

It was rarely quiet in this house, and if it was, something was off.

I flew into the kitchen half expecting everyone to be dead and instead find Nicole sitting at the counter alone, staring down at her phone and sipping a mug of a coffee. Her eyes flicked up to mine and a charming smile appears on her face.

“Alpha Aaemi, good morning,” She greets me, “I hope you don't mind that I made coffee.” Her voice is polite and easy-going and surprises me. The atmosphere in her words that usually gave me the idea she was carefully choosing them was gone.

“No, wield the coffee maker at your will,” I say, shrugging as I move to pour myself of a cup, “Where is everyone?”

“I believe they went grocery shopping, your boyfriend left you a note,” Nicole says, offering me a folded napkin with my name on it. I join her at the counter top and take the note from her.

Took your idiot cousins to Wal-Mart. Will return with food.

Text me if you want anything.

-J

I grin at his messy handwriting and toss the note back on the counter, “Yeah, they're bringing food. The state of our fridge is a constant 'barren',” I scoff.

Nicole laughs, setting her phone down next to her coffee. By chance, I take a look inside her mug. She must notice my surprised look because she laughs again, “I can't drink black coffee. I always add cream and sugar. Kind of childish, but it just tastes gross to me.”