Chapter 22 | Rut

There was a bounce in his step. Jungkook was absolutely content with his life. He had a job in the company that he had always wanted to work in. His entire pack was complete, with their newest and most precious mate: you. There was nothing that could ruin this perfectly wonderful day.

"Did you manage to come up with any new ideas for a new movie?" Hoonjoong, a human that Jungkook started working with in Shawol, asked.

"No..." Jungkook sighed, his leg bouncing up and down. "I've had small drafts here and there, but nothing too concrete."

"Maybe we should brainstorm aloud?" Hoongjoong suggested, twirling the pencil in his hand as he turned back and forth in his chair.

"Why not?" Jungkook shrugged as he began to fan himself with a few pieces of paper.

"Was there a certain topic or theme you wanted to make a movie on?" Hoongjoong asked, trying to get the ball rolling.

"A story that brings Humans and Hybrids together. Maybe something that has to do with them needing to come together to solve a problem. Or a love story, but those have been done multiple times," Jungkook started to spitball some ideas out.

"Hmm," Hoongjoong hummed as he began to think of a possible story idea. "Maybe we can do like a superhero movie? Where a Human or a Hybrid goes around saving people?"

"A superhero movie?" Jungkook raised his eyebrow at the suggestion of his partner.

"Yeah, apparently, there's like this vigilante going around sticking up for Hybrids who's been wronged. Even going to jail a couple of times," Hoongjoong said, remembering the story that his mate told him excitedly.

"A vigilante?" Jungkook repeated, deep in thought. There was some familiarity to the story that Hoongjoong was saying.

"Yeah," Hoongjoong said with a chuckle. "Wooyoung, my mate, he was telling me how this really pretty girl was going around sticking up for the little guy. Going to the police station like it was her home and even managing to go to jail in order to protect Hybrids. Apparently, the last time she went to jail was because she was protecting two Hybrids from humans and nearly beating one of them to death. I think she's out now. Wooyoung was talking about how he witnessed her  slapping a really snobby and bratty woman at a mall for looking down at a Hybrid."

Jungkook's eyes widened. The story that Hoongjoong was talking about, was your story. He knew immediately since he would always ask Jimin and Namjoon to tell him about the crazy things you came into the police station for. What he didn't know was that your reputation was being spread among the Hybrid community as a hero of some kind.

"Holy shit," Jungkook breathed. He was flabbergasted to know that Hoongjoong thought that your story was interesting enough to make a movie on, but also a sense of pride filled his body. "You think that'll be a good idea? Like it will sell?"

"Well, I don't know about the Human population, but I'm sure all the Hybrids will go and watch the movie," Hoongjoong said after a moment of contemplation. "But I'm sure, even Humans will be interested in it. You know, the movie will show that not all Humans are terrible and that there are some Humans who will do everything they can to protect Hybrids. And it will also show that Hybrids face some unbelievably terrible prejudice and be attacked and harassed for no reason."

The Bunny Hybrid smiled. A sense of pride filled his body. He was really proud that you were his mate. And since you were his mate, he would practically have the inside scoop of all the times you had been hauled to the station. But there was one slight problem, you seemed to be closed off about your past. Hopefully, with time and effort (on his part), he would be able to gain your trust to learn about everything. Of course, he would never put anything on screen that you weren't comfortable with.

"I think that's a great idea then," he said with a smile. "I'll get started on a rough outline of the movie and you can come up with the title of the movie."

"Got it," the Human said with a smile. "Oh, by the way," he paused and looked at the Hybrid with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going into rut?"

"What?" Jungkook asked, tilting his head to the side, not fully understanding why Hoongjoong was asking that question.

"It's just that you've been fanning yourself for nearly the entire meeting and your leg hasn't stopped bouncing since you came in, and you look a little red," Hoongjoong pointed out.

"I don't think so," Jungkook said, trying to mentally think when his rut would start. "I should be good for a month or two."

Hoongjoong hummed with a shrug. "Maybe I'm wrong, but you're acting a little different today. You look like you have a fever and you're very fidgety," Hoongjoong suggested.

"Yeah, I'll make sure," Jungkook nodded, as Hoongjoong returned the nod and exited from the office.

The young Hybrid was slightly frozen with shock. Was it possible to go into rut? The pre-rut symptoms were there. He did feel a little warmer than his usual temperature and he was restless.

Jungkook immediately went to his computer and pulled up his calendar. Trying to see when his next rut should be. Since he was a Bunny Hybrid and tended to have more ruts than the average Hybrid so he always kept track of his ruts.

Normally, he had four ruts in a year. During the spring, he had two ruts, one at the beginning of spring and one in the middle of spring. Then he had a rut at the end of Summer and another one at the beginning of Winter. All of his ruts lasting anywhere between 3 to 5 days. It was the one downside of being a Bunny Hybrid: the constant need to reproduce.

He quickly picked up the phone and called the one person he could rely on with his ruts.

"Hyung! ... How's Y/N-ie noona? ... Really? ... Yeah, I just had a question ... Is it possible to go into rut before I'm supposed to? ... It's just that Hoongjoong-ie told me that I'm acting a little strange- ... yeah, I'm a little warmer than I usually am ... yeah, that too ... Is it possible though? ... Alright, I'll go and see him ... Thanks, hyung ... yeah, I'll be home after I go and see Jinki hyung ... Thanks hyung."

☆

"So, there is a piece of normal news and slightly more negative news. What do you want to hear first?" Jinki, the Collie Dog Hybrid, said with a knowing smile.

"Uh, the normal one first," Jungkook responded, his back straighter than before.

"Well, you have, in fact, started your rut," Jinki said, looking down at his charts.

"What? Why? It's a little too early for my rut to hit," Jungkook said, unable to understand what was happening with his body.

"Were there any big changes in your life recently?" The Hybrid doctor asked.

"Yeah, I found my final mate," Jungkook said with a bright smile.

"I see, and is your final mate a female or a male?" Jinki asked, leaning back on his chair.

"Female."

"That's probably why," Jinki hummed knowingly. "It looks like your rut was triggered by your newest mate. Since she is a female, she will be able to get impregnated by you and your other mates. So, naturally, your body will...well, to put it mildly, want to reproduce."

"But I haven't even scented her yet. Doesn't scents trigger ruts?" Jungkook asked, slightly shocked and a little frightened by the news. He definitely didn't want to come off like a hormonal teenager to you.

"Well, just the mental confirmation and stability that your pack is complete with a female, is enough to trigger a rut. It might have hit you first because you are a Bunny Hybrid. Since Bunny Hybrids do have a higher need to reproduce than the other Hybrids," Jinki explained.

"Oh no," Jungkook groaned as he placed his head in his hands. "That's great, my first real interaction with my new mate is going to be me trying to get into her pants. That's going to be a terrible impression." Then as if he suddenly remembered something, his head snapped up to meet the eye of his doctor. "But suppressants will help me, right?" He asked hopefully.

"See, I'm afraid that's the bad news," Jinki said with an apologetic look. "The suppressants will suppress your urge to reproduce but, since you haven't been taking it before your rut, it's not going to be as effective. If you end up smelling her scent, the suppressants won't be able to keep your urges down."

"Oh shit," Jungkook groaned.

"And one more thing," Jinki said. "Your rut might also trigger your other mates into their own ruts. So make sure they at least take their suppressants before their ruts hit. And you know, be safe...if anything does...escalate."

☆