"Jin!"  I scream, "You scared me."  I started to laugh as I caught myself.  He laughs with me.

"Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here, either."   Smiling, he walks into the cave and turns on a generator connected to some lamps that light up the whole cave.  I think more light makes this room look even worse.  The harnesses look more ominous in full light. Jin notices my expression.

"So you now understand what we mean by how vile the witch is."  He says quietly, his expression falling as he looks around at the horror around us.

"Yeah, I get it. The curse itself was vile enough, but this?  No wonder Yoongi freaked out."  I shake my head.  My heart breaks for all they've been going through.

"Exactly.  She bound us 500 years ago in restraints much like this.  We were tied to trees with rope then. Our changed natures call for stronger materials." 

"I don't understand what she is thinking. Why go through all this for 500 years?"  I look at him with a helpless expression.

"She stopped being sane many years ago."  He replies.  "What have you got there?"  He points to the jacket in my hands.

"Oh, this is a child's jacket I found in the wardrobe."  I hold it up but don't elaborate on what I'm thinking it means.  I can't shake the hunch that this coat was mine and that terrifies me.

"We saw that last time, but I didn't make much of it at the time.  What do you think it means?" The look in his eyes becomes intense as he looks at me.  I hesitate, intimidated by my worries.

"I'm not sure.  It doesn't look like a child lived here at all, so I don't think it's a child connected to the witch.  It wouldn't make sense for a mom to forget her child's coat."  Should I mention my fear about what my dreams could mean?  Is this my coat?  I wish I could remember what I was wearing that day.

"I doubt this woman would be a loving parent."  Jin comments.  I look up at him, trying to decipher what he knows.  He knows more than what he's revealing.

"What makes you say that?"  I ask him.

"She doesn't care for life.  She cared not for the families she destroyed. The lives she shattered.  Her obsession with obtaining what she saw as hers allowed her to destroy all our lives. I don't see that personality as the type to care about a child. A child would be just an object to be used."  He points to the jacket in my hands, "See? The jacket is torn. Not kept in good repair."

The jacket being torn doesn't mean anything, if I was playing hard enough in the forest that day to get my clothes so dirty and torn, my jacket could easily have been damaged.  What was I doing? Why can't I remember it? I look at the tears in the jacket and I can't help but think of my mother's words: 'You came home dirty as a pig, clothes all torn and muddy. 

"The magic of the forest,"  I whisper to myself.  Jin hears me.

"Magic of the forest?"  Jin asks me.  I look up at him, his eyes are even more intense than before. Damn wolf hearing.

"It's something my mother said.  She and I were talking about when I fell in love with the forest and she said that I came home from that school trip all muddy and my clothing was torn."

"Why were you talking to your mom about the forest?"  he takes a step closer. 

"I believe I told you once that I was having dreams about a cave?"  I keep my eye on him, watching his reaction.  He nods.  "Well, I've had more of them.  They feel so real, and so I've been wondering if they are more memories than dreams. The only problem is that I don't remember anything like what I see in them."

"What do you see in your dreams?"   His voice is quiet and seductive.  He's so close I could lean against him and feel the comfort of his arms around me, but I don't know if I want that at this moment.  I feel disconnected from what is real and what isn't.  Looking from him to the coat, I try to put the pieces together.

"I see a little girl playing with animals in the forest. She keeps asking someone to play with her.  I see dark caves and a rabbit. There's a man with dark hair who can change into a big black dog."  I look up at Jin, daring him to answer my unspoken question. Jin takes another step closer until my shoulder is brushing up against his chest.

"It was  hide and seek. You... You were so beautiful, even then."  He whispers as he pushes a loose strand of hair from my face.

My eyes widen, I didn't mention what game!

He cups my chin and looks at me with his ruby-red eyes, shining with emotion.  His other arm encircles my back, his hand resting on my hip.

"How?"  I look at him, my eyes incredulous at the revelation he whispers.  "How is it real? How do I not remember any of what I see in my dreams?"

"You were a child when we found you wandering the forest.  We felt drawn to you and couldn't stay away. We didn't want you to be scared so Jimin and Jungkook played with you in their animal forms because a child wouldn't be scared of them.  I kept watch over you all. You didn't have a coat on and your clothes were already dirty."  He pulled me into his embrace, laying my head on his chest. His fingers gently ran through my hair, keeping me calm  "You kept playing hide and seek with us and refused to go back to the Center.  Eventually, Namjoon had to take human form and convince you to return.  We were fascinated by the child who wasn't scared of us and I think we all fell a little in love with you.  We have followed your school career and when you wanted to study Forestry we helped with scholarships."

"You've watched over me?"  I am stunned and a little afraid by the revelation.

"I was excited when you applied for work here at the Center.  I wanted to see how you'd grown up. Get to know the girl who so fearlessly loved the forest.  Who captured my heart when she was just 8 years old."  I could feel his kiss on my head. He left a trail of them along the side of my head, down to my cheek. I closed my eyes so I could concentrate on the feeling. When his lips were close to my ear he whispers, "I'm so glad you have returned to me."

For all the fear that holds me, the feeling of love coming from Jin's words and what I feel through the strands fills me and blooms within my chest.  I feel the bond between us snap into place in such a way that it's no longer a flexible strand but a thick cable.  I lift my head and look Jin in the eyes, wanting to kiss him in the worst way.  Instead, I lay my lips close to the side of his mouth, "I'm scared by all this, but I love you."

Jin's arms tighten around me, "I love you too.  Don't be scared, we'll find the answers together."

I lift the coat in my hands, bringing both our eyes back to it. "I don't know if this coat is mine, but I'm worried that it is.  What does that mean?  Did the witch find me as a child when I was roaming the forest?  Did she do something to me, too?"  Jin's arms tighten around me in a comforting hug before he took the coat from my hands.

"I don't have those answers, but as far as we can tell, you are the same person you've always been."  Jin's confidence in that statement gives me a little relief.

"We have followed you your whole life.  When we realized you were our mate, we did a more extensive background check on you to make sure you weren't the witch,"  His eyes take on a look of apology.

"I would have done the same," I reassure him. He sighs in relief.

"As far as we can tell, you are the natural child of your parents.  You don't belong to the witch or have had any contact with anyone that would make us suspicious. When we found you in the forest, you were just a normal little girl.  We felt a pull to you, but again, what we feel for you is nothing like what the witch does to us.  If you are connected to the witch in some way, it's not obvious."   I'm not sure whether to be reassured or not by that last statement.

"I don't know if that is a comforting statement or not,"  I shake my head, but then I think back to the desk. "I found veterinarian books on each of your animals on the desk.  Could she have been one of your vets? Could that be how she is keeping track of you?" 

"That's a good question, and the best way for me to answer that is to say that we don't think so. We get a major shock when we touch the witch.  It sends shocks and vibrations through our bodies as the curse tries to cement the bond.  Each Vet has to handle at least one of us before they are hired.  We would know instantly if we were being held by the witch."  Jin's face is thoughtful but serious.

"I've noticed that Mindy wore gloves when I saw her check on Jimin in dog form,"  I point out.

"Dr. Park has had an unfortunate encounter with our venom already.  She takes no chances." 

"What happened?" 

"It was shortly after she got here, we'd had a wolf pack trying to move in on the deer.  She was out in the field during birthing season and when they attacked.  We showed up to fight the wolves and Taehyung was injured.  She rushed in to help even though she was already injured and his blood got into her wounds quickly. We almost lost her.  She has been very wary of our venom ever since."

"I guess that would make sense, then."  I sigh.  That probably explains her comments when she tried to warn me off. Doesn't explain her jealousy, though.

"Any more exposure would be deadly for her,"  He nods.

I lay my head back down onto Jin's chest and let him hold me while my mind whirls with everything I've learned.  I feel Jin's hand cradle my head as he gently rocks me in his hold.  The peace I feel in his arms belies the danger we are all in.

I feel him lay a kiss on the top of my head and I close my eyes, feeling his warmth and his love.  The feeling blooming in my chest is warm and encompassing.

"Wow," he whispers. 

"What?"  I reply.

"I can feel your strand lighting up and it's so warm.  I feel like my chest is going to burst,"  He squeezes me tight in response.

I wrap my arms around him, turning into his hold. "I love you so much, Jin. I don't want to lose you or to stop feeling this way."

"You will never lose me,"  He lifts my face to look at him, "I love you and no matter what happens,  that will never change.  You are mine and I'm yours."  He then lays kisses across my face, avoiding my eyes and lips as the venom could easily enter there.  He then kisses me along my jaw,  I moan when he nibbles on the skin below my ear. I tighten my arms pulling him against me, keeping his lips right where I want them. 

At the juncture of my neck, I feel a growl escape his throat as he locks his lips to my skin and sucks harshly, laying claim to me.  The bond between us is now hard and unbreakable.  I whimper under the onslaught of his lips on my skin.  I know I'll have a mark to show for it.  I feel his fangs gently scrap across my skin as he moans, his body becoming rigid and his arms becoming a steel band around me.  I respond likewise as the pleasure and sensation of his lips on my skin drive me crazy.

I want more, I want so much more but we both know that would be dangerous.  I can feel Jin's arousal and I focus on the only thing that can give us both the release we both need.  It might be reckless but I want him, to pleasure him in my arms as I am in his.

I caress the strand that is JIn's and he goes rigid. He removes his lips from my skin and looks at me with his red eyes, shining like jewels in the cave, and growls.  "What are you doing?"

"Loving you the only way I can,"  I murmur.

"It's too dangerous," He starts to let go and I pull him close to me.

"I'll take that chance." I press my lips to his neck, in an open mouth kiss, sucking on his skin, making him close his eyes as I also caress the strand within, sending all the heat and feeling I possess to him. 

He growls in pleasure as I lay claim to his skin as he did to mine. Our hands move over each other's bodies as we give in to the sensations running over our skin.  The tingles and caresses create a sensory overload that we both surrender to.

At this moment, I don't care that we are in a cold cave.  I don't care that there is dust everywhere.  I don't care that he's poisonous and has fangs. I don't care that our bodies can't physically join together. I don't care that the walls are covered with the chains of their imprisonment.  I don't care what my connection could be to the witch. I only care that I'm in Jin's arms.  I only care that I want him, and if I can't feel his body, then I want to feel his soul.

As the passion grows, as we caress and tease the strands between us, igniting that wild feeling that builds between two people in sync with each other. Nerves singing, arms wrapped  tight around each other, legs locked keeping our bodies close, while deep in our bellies that tight pleasure builds like an ominous wave.  With a growl of pleasure and my cry of pain, Jin captures my lips in a punishing kiss.  Our mouths open and tongues fight a battle neither of us can win.  Overloaded on passion, with pleasure dancing along our nerves, we both give in to the desire we can not fight.

When that wave finally breaks, our lips release and I cry out his name as Jin growls his release. I drown in sensation as every cell in my body lights up and that pleasure transfers along the strands and to each of my mates.  The strands turn brilliant purple as my orgasm takes over and before I can make sense of what is happening when the pleasure and pain become too much, it all goes dark.

A/N: I know I release a chapter once a week but I just couldn't wait. I had to share all this Jin goodness. *sigh*

For those of you who love this story, I have signed up to do NaNoWriMo. I plan on finishing this story and working on The Idol's Rejected Mate, book 2 of my Midnight Idol series. If all goes well, there should be a new chapter every two or three days all November long. Wish me luck.

Happy Halloween, lovers!