The following morning, Jeongguk was on a mission to have a word with his dear cousin.

He had woken up much too early in the day, but one look at Taehyung's sleeping form was enough to get him on his feet for good.

Not only did he look so peaceful and vulnerable in his sleep, but the sheets on his lower half were tangled between his legs exposing his smooth, tan skin.

The material of the satin shorts had risen up to expose the meaty underside of his ass, causing Jeongguk's stomach to stir with want.

He knew it was just his insatiable alpha talking but the longer he stayed and stared at the omega, the harder it would be to control the urge to feel the flesh for himself.

A low growl stumbled from his lips when the omega mumbled incoherent words under his breath and hugged the pillow tighter.

Within seconds Jeongguk was rising from the bed, knowing his eyes were beginning to shine crimson and shifting inside the palace was the last thing he needed.

After walking off to take a quick cold shower and calming his wolf down, Jeongguk managed to get dressed without the omega moving a single muscle.

He eyed his sleeping form one last time, expression blank before closing the door and walking off in search for Jimin.

The search for his omega cousin did not take long upon starting, quickly spotting the shorter male wandering outside in the garden.

"Jimin." Jeongguk called out once he was close, jaw tightening when his cousin turned around with an innocent smile.

The omega's hands were in the pockets of his coat, stance relaxed despite seeing Jeongguk's predatory approach.

He was clearly not so happy with him as he got a little too close to his face before hissing quietly, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jimin did not lower his gaze once, knowing that Jeongguk would see it as a challenge to his authority but he also knew that his cousin was a huge ass who needed to be put in his place.

"I don't know what you're talking about, now let go of me-"

Jimin's words were rudely cut off by Jeongguk who snarled loudly in his face, hand reaching out to grip Jimin's forearm tightly.

The omega gasped at the harsh grip, pain borderline excruciating when Jeongguk tightened his hold upon seeing Jimin's pained expression.

His eyes were a dark red shade, veins on his forehead prominent, and Jimin could have sworn he could feel his claws piercing his skin.

Why was Jeongguk losing control?

"J-Jeongguk- what the fuck! Let go of me!" Jimin's voice rose higher in panic when Jeongguk's body began to shake and his eyes clouded over.

After somehow managing to remove Jeongguk's hold on him, the alpha was stepping back with a cold look on his face.

His eyes were back to that chocolate brown color but his expression was still angry, he blinked a few times as if to regain composure.

He was breathing heavily as Jimin eyed him with a look of disbelief on his face, not believing that the latter had tried to hurt him.

Shivers crawled up his spine at the thought of Jeongguk actually attacking him and possibly seriously hurting him.

Jeongguk had never put his hands on him like that, not with the intent of actually hurting him and the thought was terrifying to say the least.

Knowing that no one would be able to defend him if it came to that because the alpha king was just simply too strong.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Jimin's voice was angry yet filled with relief as he watched Jeongguk slowly begin to calm down.

"If your scent gets on him again, I'll-" 

Jeongguk's threat was cut off by Jimin's expression of disbelief, "Is that what this is all about?"

Jeongguk's face remained cold as Jimin's lips fell open at the realization that Jeongguk was upset about Taehyung.

The alpha let out a warning growl at Jimin's accusing tone, eyes narrowing when Jimin let out a loud scoff and promptly shook his head.

"Stop getting friendly with him." Jeongguk spoke calmly as he stared straight at Jimin.

"Why? He has no one here, you do realize that? What the fuck is the problem with us being friends? You refuse to accept him anyway so it's not like you'll talk to him-"

Jeongguk's jaw clenched in anger and frustration at Jimin's words, eyes clearly irritated with what Jimin was saying.

"It's an order."

Jimin stopped mid word with a shocked look on his face, brows drawn together as he let out a small breath of air.

An alpha's order was the law.

No one could ever go against it despite wanting to, forced to blindly follow like a good, obedient omega.

Jimin was more hurt than shocked seeing as Jeongguk had never used his alpha tone with him.

It was like his entire body had froze at his words, brain screaming at him to shut up and obey his leader.

Anger began to rise into his chest as he leaned forward towards Jeongguk with his hands balled at his sides, "You know what I think? I think that you're fucking jealous of the fact that your mate finds comfort with me rather than you."

Before Jeongguk could demand for him to apologize or just simply rip his throat out, Jimin was turning on his heel and walking away.

-

His paws ran over the gravel forest ground, loud huffing from the intense running he had been doing.

Jeongguk could feel the wind between his thick black fur, cooling down his wolf form in the best possible way.

He had shifted in hopes of calming his wolf down after his spat with Jimin earlier, deciding on going for a run.

As expected, he was significantly more relaxed, head no longer bombarded with the need to dominate every person in sight.

He let out a wolf-ish scoff as he walked over to the marked tree bark with a pair of black sweatpants hanging off of it.

After shifting back to human form, he quickly stretched his limbs before pulling on the pair of sweatpants to cover his nudity.

He sighed deeply as he wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, making his way towards the palace grounds.

The palace was only a short walk away, seeing as the forest surrounded the entire place, making it easier to come and go for the past and future alpha kings.

Jeongguk made his way towards the west wing before opening his bedroom door to the sight of Taehyung sitting on the end of the bed with the book Jeongguk had been reading the night before in his hands.

He was now changed into a flowy yellow thin-strapped top and black high waisted pants that made his body look absolutely amazing and the fucking smell of vanilla wasn't making it any easier.

Upon seeing Jeongguk standing by the door, Taehyung let out a small gasp before abruptly closing the book and placing it back on the nightstand where Jeongguk had left it the night before.

It wasn't the most interesting thing to read, mostly about lycanthropy and the history of shape-shifting.

Taehyung's pretty feline eyes widened at the realization that he had been caught, immediately standing up straight with his hands clasped in front of him.

He could see the way Taehyung's eyes dropped down to his bare chest before beautiful shades of pink blossomed onto his cheeks.

Jeongguk didn't say a word when Taehyung bowed politely, "S-Sorry I didn't mean to touch things that aren't mine. I-I mean I know it's not mine but I just got curious and it was just sitting there so then I opened it-"

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow at his rambling, finding it oddly... endearing.

He cleared his throat lightly which caused Taehyung to cut his nervous rambling short, cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

"It's fine, just don't damage it... It's an old book." Jeongguk muttered the last bit under his breath, watching as a sigh of relief left Taehyung's lips and the omega was smiling sweetly.

"Mhm, no problem." He replied, suddenly confident in his words when Jeongguk wasn't staring him down like he wanted him dead.

This was nice, civil talk.

Having Taehyung smile at him instead of cowering down and stuttering over his words like a weak omega.

Jeongguk excused himself to go shower, feeling the dried sweat clinging to his body.

He quickly scrubbed his body clean and washed his hair thoroughly before stepping out of the shower with a fresh scent to him.

He fixed his wet hair and applied product before throwing on some black pants and a white button up.

He left a few buttons on top undone before applying moisturizer to his face and exiting the bathroom.

He was greeted by the sight of Taehyung sitting by the bed but this time facing the bathroom with no book in hand.

He had been waiting for him the entire time.

Taehyung quickly got up with a smile on his face before he slowly approached Jeongguk, "Alpha?"

His voice was soft and insecure, completely opposite to how he had been conversing with him earlier.

It was clear to Jeongguk that Taehyung was not at all confident on what he was going to ask, body tensing before replying, "What is it?"

"M-May I go to the garden?"

A scowl was immediately placed onto Jeongguk's lips as Taehyung stared up at him expectantly, scent reeking of anxiety.

No doubt that Taehyung wanted to go see Jimin there and there was no way Jeongguk would allow that to happen again.

"No."

Taehyung's expression fell as he slowly began to look down, playing with his fingers.

Jeongguk thought the conversation was over, beginning to walk towards the door when Taehyung's voice could be heard once again.

"M-May I please go with you then?"

Jeongguk's hand paused over the door knob, brain contemplating whether that was a good idea or not.

It wasn't like Taehyung would go against him and sneak out behind his back, knowing that the mate mark on his neck ensured that.

Yet he somehow found himself opening the door and turning back to wait for Taehyung to walk out behind him.

Instantly the latter's kicked puppy face was replaced with a shy smile before following his alpha down the hallway.