I wake up the next morning feeling...trapped. I'm laying on my back in the bed and I feel cocooned, almost. I feel an adorable rabbit snuggled into the side of my head sharing my pillow. My eyes start to check out my surroundings and see who I feel up next to me. I have a wolf and coyote on either side of me. The golden retriever is sleeping across the coyote's back. I have a tiger lying partially across my legs, which explains the trapped feeling. I hear the rustlings of feathers and look up toward the top of the bed and notice the eagle and owl sleeping on the headboard. I smile, they look upside down from this angle.

I relax back into the pillows and smile at the cuteness around me. Nobody had been willing to give up a chance to sleep with me last night, so they voted to sleep with me in their animal forms. It was the only way to make them all fit. We might need a bigger bed if this is going to continue. My poor queen-sized bed just doesn't fit all of us.

I relax into my position and marvel at how things have changed. Its been four days since the full moon and not only have I learned about the real situation here at the Center, but I have found seven boyfriends.

These seven boyfriends are bound by a curse that prevents them from having normal intimate contact with other humans and forces them to live as animals, but hey, all relationships have challenges. This might be a bit much, though. Still, I have given them my word that I will help them and I can't help but feel the pull inside that says they are mine.

My eyes drift to Jin sleeping peacefully in his wolf form. The burden he carries is so great. I can see the heartbreak in his eyes when he looks at his friends who willingly gave up their own lives to help him, who also have been trapped in this same curse with him. I think most people would go mad, yet these amazing, generous men instead turned to protect the forest that they have to live in. In turn, to help the forest, it helped the local town and it thrives on their generosity.

In a way, the curse has benefited so many. That always seems to happen, a bad thing often proves to have a benefit in some way, helping another.

I wonder if the witch knew what she was doing when she started this curse? Did she know she was trapping these men here eternally or did she think they'd finally come to her in desperation after a few years? Did she envision that they would fight her 500 years later to remain free? Is she patiently waiting for them or has she moved on to another plan? I don't think I could be so patient. If I had seven gorgeous men bound to me, I'd want to claim them as soon as I could.

Jungkook was so sexy that night at the club. I'm not one for hookups, but if he'd asked, I bet I'd have said yes. I know I would have said yes. He had me mesmerized and no way I could have said no. I didn't realize at the time I was feeling the pull between us, but even without it, I'd have willingly melted into his arms. The look in his eyes even then was intense and drew me in. I have seen that fire in all of them since then.

I close my eyes and try to feel that pull that is drawn to them. I search for my feelings and hunt for that elusive tell that says they are mine. Where is it coming from? Ah, there is something there, around my heart. I try to feel it, move it, touch it, somehow. Examine it with my mind's eyes and my feelings to understand what it is. My mind gets an impression of seven strands of emotion that connect from my heart and flare out. I can't see where they go, but I concentrate on each strand and feel like each one is different in some way.

Whoa, this is a little freaky.

As I concentrate, I get a feeling of each strand and I start to identify who is who. I isolate the biggest one and pull on it gently to see if I can touch it with my feelings and I hear a grunt beside me. I open my eyes and see the wolf move and nestle into me a little more. Huh...interesting.

I close my eyes and isolate another feeling strand and gently caress it with my feelings and soon I hear an audible noise come from the bunny next to my head. I look around at each of these animals and start investigating the strands that seem to connect to each one. With a little work, I identify which strand belongs to who. I'm so focused on this discovery that I fail to notice the effect that I'm having on my seven companions. As my feelings caress and tug on each strand, it's having an unintended consequence.

"What are you doing?" My eyes startle awake and I look into the heated eyes of Yoongi. My breath catches at the look in his eyes. The red in them is bright and my mind takes a moment to catch up and realize he's shifted into his human form.

"Did I wake you?" my reply is a little breathy. I can't seem to look away from the heat of his ruby gaze.

"What was that?" He asks.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to understand the connection between us and I think I found the strands that connect us," I whisper.

"You can see them?" his brows furrow.

"It's more like I can feel them," I answer and his face gets more upset. He starts to move and then in turn wakes up the dog and the movement wakes the others. I soon have two birds staring down at me, the owl hoots what I take as a good morning. The tiger is looking at me and the wolf is staring at Yoongi in his human form.

"What have you been doing to them? I feel weird inside," he whispers harshly.

"Just trying to identify them. I didn't know you could feel me do that?"

Yoongi sits up, agitated.

"I'm sorry, Yoongi." I sit up as I watch him get off my bed, the other animals watch him. Jungkook blurs behind me and his arms encircle me.

"We've been trapped by the curse for 500 years and now we're connected to you in some physical form that you can manipulate?" He throws out harshly.

I watch him, sad and worried. "'I'm just as confused as you are."

"Are you? Are you confused or are you the witch?" He accuses.

"What?" my mouth drops. Jungkook's arms slide down and no longer hold me. I feel him even lean away from me against the headboard.

"I wake up feeling this unwavering love and desire skimming along my skin. My heart wanted you so badly. My body wanted to keep feeling the caress of whatever was on my skin. I wanted more and it scared the shit out of me. And then you tell me that you are caressing emotional strands that you can feel? What the hell are you?" He yells. His once heated eyes are now deep red and furious.

"I don't know!" I cry. I'm just as upset as he is. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. "I just wanted to know why I feel so drawn to you. What is it inside me that says you are mine?" I scramble out of bed so I'm no longer at a disadvantage and can look Yoongi in the eye.

"We don't belong to anyone!" He growls harshly. His entire body is vibrating in anger and maybe a large dose of fear.

"I know that, Yoongi. I don't understand any of this either."

"How do we know you aren't really the witch? How do we know you aren't manipulating how we feel so that we have to come to you? That's what the witch wanted. She wanted to enslave us and now you can do JUST THAT!" He cries, emotion vibrating his body.

As tears run down my face, I close my eyes and sink to the floor. I feel that place deep inside where I found the strands and I can feel how angry and afraid Yoongi's strand is. I don't dare touch it because I don't want him thinking that I"m manipulating his feelings so I do the only thing I can think of. I pull it, I detach it from the connection in my heart and I hear a deep gasp across from me. My heart stutters at the break and I see the broken strand start to turn black.

"What did you do?" He gasps and my eyes open. He holds his hand to his chest and his breath turns ragged.

I watch him through my tears, "I've set you free. I broke it. I won't trap you, I won't force you to be connected to me. I think I can break everyone's connection to me."

"NO!" I hear shouts from Jungkook, Jimin, and V. Their vehement response to that idea startles me. Don't they want to be free, too?

Inside, I feel a numbness start to take over. As if without that connection, a piece of my heart and my feelings are starting to die. I fall back onto the floor and stare at the ceiling. I feel coldness coming over me. What is going on? Why can't I move?

Namjoon and Jungkook run over to me and cradle me between them. "Y/N, what's wrong?" I can't tell who is speaking. I hear a strangled cry come from the other side of the room, "YOONGI!" Oh, that's Jin's voice. I can't move even if I wanted to. I just wanted to help them, is that so wrong? Is understanding our connection wrong? Now Yoongi won't have to worry about me trapping him with my feelings.

Only, I can't feel my feelings at the moment. I can't feel anything. What's wrong with me? My eyes flash to the two men trying to hold me and I realize I can't hear them even though it looks like Namjoon is talking. Huh, that's odd, I can't hear what he's saying.

I should be worried about that right? But, I can't seem to feel anything. I guess I don't need to worry about it if I can't feel it. Yoongi doesn't want me anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter anyway. At least he'll be free of me now. I can help them all be free of me. I won't trap them the way that witch has.

I watch as Namjoon and Jungkook shake me and look worried. I should probably reassure them that I'm fine. I'm fine, right? They shouldn't be worried, I don't hurt or anything. I see V and Jimin crowd in the space and they also look worried and then V disappears. Where'd he go?

Jin then takes Namjoon's place next to me and he lifts me in his arms. I can't hear what he's saying to me. Nothing makes sense anymore. What is going on? My body can't seem to move as I lay limply in Jin's arms. My heart pounds but also feels empty, silent. Like a piece of me has died. I guess a piece of me did die. I don't feel Yoongi anymore... I don't feel anyone anymore. Wait.....shouldn't I still feel the others?

I close my eyes and I focus again on the strands of emotion connecting me to Bangtan. The other strands are dark as if the other strands are hurt, too. Yoongi's strand is turning black and it feels so wrong to see that. I can't stand that his strand is hurting so much. I want to make it better but if I grab it again, won't I just be trapping him to me? Pain pierces me in a sudden rush and I gasp only to feel Yoongi's strand come to life. It connects to me and my heart pulses in a rush of emotion that feels like the sun exploded inside my chest.

I open my eyes in shock to see Yoongi's face close to mine. Feel his lips touching mine in a kiss, hard and strong. I become aware of yelling and voices rushed and worried. I can't focus on what the jumble of voices is saying as all my attention is focused on the man kissing me right now.

His lips are warm but he's kissing me so hard that they feel smashed against my teeth. His arms hold me in a tight embrace as if letting me go is torture.

His lips break their pressure and whisper, "Don't you dare leave me." Heat blooms where my heart is and I feel the strands light up and shine bright. Warmth caresses each strand and I feel love and care coat them and Yoongi's strand is once again connected to me. Ahhh, I can finally feel it again. There's my heart and my body.  How did I forget what they felt like?

"You aren't getting away from us that easily," Yoongi whispers fervently against my lips.

No, Yoongi, I'm not going anywhere. My eyes are heavy and slowly blink and I feel Yoongi lay his head on my shoulder and sag against me. The others crowd in around us, cradling us in their combined embrace. Jin lays his head against mine and then lifts his lips to give Yoongi a soft kiss on the top of his head.

"Rest, my loves. Just rest." He says softly.

Rest sounds like a great idea, Jin.

I let sleep claim me.