The door burst open less than five minutes after Dr. Kim left the room, Taehyung pouting as he stared down at his band-aid.

The spot felt a little sore, arm stiffly extended out in front of him.

Within seconds the alpha's scent filled his nose, narrowed eyes scanning the room until they landed on Taehyung.

The omega's face visibly relaxed at the sight of his mate, meeting him half way to launch himself into his arms.

"I could smell you from down the hall," Jeongguk growled lowly as he buried his face into the omega's neck, not liking how distressed and anxious he smelled.

Taehyung bunched up the material of Jeongguk's shirt between his hands, shaky breath leaving his lips.

"Jeongguk," he sniffled as he pulled the alpha closer, tummy bursting with butterflies at the hand going around his waist.

"What is it? Why was I called?" Jeongguk asked, low rumble leaving his lips at the sight of Taehyung's tear-stained cheeks.

The sudden smell of blood around the room had Jeongguk quite literally freezing, shoulders tense as he sniffed Taehyung.

It was the bloody bandaid that was proven guilty, the alpha's brows furrowed at the sight.

"T-There was a doctor," Taehyung began softly, rubbing his eyes with his fist.

Jeongguk let out a low growl at his words, knowing well who would have sent them, his mother.

He had spoken with her about it, but it was clear that the woman had not taken his word for it.

"Did they hurt you? I will-" Jeongguk's words were cut off by Taehyung vigorously shaking his head.

"N-No, I was just scared." He explained, sniffling as Jeongguk nosed at his scent gland.

The realization that Jeongguk had been releasing calming pheromones for him had Taehyung sighing softly, immediately feeling better.

"I apologize... I spoke with my mother but it seems she did not have any trouble going through with it anyway."

Taehyung pouted before nodding his head lightly, "It's okay."

Jeongguk still seemed troubled despite Taehyung claiming it was alright, heart beating rapidly in his chest as Taehyung placed his hand lightly over it.

A surprised squeal left his lips when Jeongguk was suddenly gripping the back of his thighs and forcing him to wrap his legs around his waist before taking them over to the bed.

He settled with the omega in his lap quietly, thighs straddling his lap as Taehyung blushed furiously at their position and placed his hands on the alpha's shoulders to steady himself.

"Alpha's here," he murmured softly, voice barely above a whisper.

There was a rough hand placed on the small of his back as Taehyung made himself small on the latter's lap by burying his face into Jeongguk's neck.

It only took mere seconds before the omega was out, soft snores leaving his lips as his breath tickled Jeongguk's skin.

-

The days after that were long and boring for Taehyung who remained cooped up in their bedroom.

He had asked Jeongguk two days prior if he could select a new book from the library seeing as he had already finished the one he had been reading.

The alpha had accompanied him down the long hall to the huge collection of books in the library, watching from afar as Taehyung carefully picked up the books with utter love and care.

It was intriguing to see the way the omega became so excited at the prosperous idea of reading something new, making Jeongguk suddenly wish he could see much more of his beautiful smile.

Taehyung's fascination with his new reading material gradually decreased as the days moved forward, no longer as excited to wake up, eat breakfast with Jeongguk before he left, read, take a nap, and eat lunch and dinner alone.

The alpha was not blind to the way Taehyung's mood had drastically changed, feelings of guilt and frustration lodged in his throat at the sight of Taehyung smiling weakly at him.

He was bored, plain and simple.

He had not seen Jimin in what felt like weeks, always asking Seokjin how the prince was.

His handmaiden unfortunately could not stay to chat all day as he had other matters to attend but stayed as long as he could to keep his queen happy.

Taehyung had come to wish Jimin would send him more notes like the time in the garden, re-reading the folded piece of paper with a long sigh.

He missed the other omega.

He had never had any siblings growing up nor any friends whom were of the same rank as him, therefore his relationship with Jimin felt more like home.

He understood him better than any of his alpha hyungs could, knew the oppression and stereotypes that came with being an omega.

Although Jimin was seemingly strong-willed, he still had a soft feminine side that Taehyung would sometimes see in his body gestures or laugh.

He was handsome and sometimes competitive, rare traits for any omega Taehyung had ever known.

Taehyung had never seen him once cower at the sight of Jeongguk or any other male in sight.

And it wasn't until Taehyung finally broke down that he was able to feel better.

Jeongguk had just gotten back to their room after spending the entire day away in some other part of the palace.

Taehyung had tried to wait for the alpha to eat dinner together like they sometimes would, but the food was getting cold and Seokjin practically forced him to eat.

Needless to say, he was slightly upset when Jeongguk began to make his way over to the bed quietly, room dark as he believed Taehyung was already asleep.

But the omega was anything but, eyes focused on the walk in closet as the sounds of rustling was heard before the bed dipped lightly.

It did not take long for Jeongguk to realize the latter was in fact not asleep, a huff leaving his lips before, "You smell sour."

It was not the first time the alpha had been engulfed by the scent, the entire week slowly progressing into something too strong to ignore any longer.

Taehyung slowly turned over onto his back facing the ceiling, soft breathes leaving his lips as his chest rose and fell steadily.

He could feel Jeongguk's dark eyes burning holes on the side of his head despite it being dark around them.

"I...," Taehyung began softly, not knowing how to go about explaining.

"I feel...-lonely." He concluded, voice cracking lightly as he blinked back tears.

He was beginning to feel nauseous from sitting in the room all day, claustrophobic from seeing the same four walls.

He felt slightly embarrassed to be crying in front of his mate but he could no longer find it in himself to keep it together.

Alphas were supposed to provide comfort, right?

Jeongguk would know what to do in order to help him feel better. That's what alphas do.

They help.

They protect their mates fiercely no matter what, Jeongguk would too.

Taehyung didn't realize he had began to sob loudly, hot tears rolling down the sides of his temples before he was pulled into a warm embrace.

His mother had always told him that an omega would always need an alpha by their side, to guide them when they were lost.

He could not help but think of her words then, nose sniffling softly at Jeongguk's scent gland.

Jeongguk was startled at the omega's sudden breakdown, concern rising in his chest at the way his sour scent became stronger.

The alpha was warm and he smelled comforting, Taehyung's body feeling like it was floating at the feeling of strong arms around his waist.

For the first time ever, Jeongguk felt powerless.

He had never witnessed an omega look so out of touch with reality, the sight being nearly impossible to watch.

He felt his wolf's concern for his mate's current status, pacing back and forth anxiously for a solution.

This was all his fault for neglecting the omega, for leaving him on his own for so long.

This had all built up in the past week and Jeongguk had been ignorant and ignored the situation hoping it would get better but he should have known that Taehyung was too sensitive and weak to handle his emotions properly.

Now all he had left was to rely on his alpha to fix the situation, mate mark burning in hopes of his alpha's touch.

"Taehyung," Jeongguk was breathing heavily as the omega's body shivered in his arms, eyes distant as he cried.

The first utter of his name from his alpha had Taehyung freezing before his eyes finally met Jeongguk's.

They were dull, so so dull and sad as he sniffled loudly and hiccuped.

He wanted to hear the alpha say it again, to repeat it softly against his ear so that he knew that he was wanted.

"Shh," Jeongguk shushed him softly when Taehyung choked on a sob, eyes still slightly panicked.

In the back of his mind, Jeongguk knew what he had to do. His wolf was whispering it to him incessantly, knowing the omega needed it.

He needed to feel like he belonged, that he was claimed and that he had a mate. An alpha that he could feel safe and protected with.

"Submit."