Drowning In What Once Was For Us

[JIMINIE]

"Fortify the borders of Kiyoto… Not a soul is to leave or come in here, regardless of what they say they come for," Jiminie said to Jae Jun who was staring at his alpha in confusion. 

He had never seen Jiminie that unsettled but he knew his place in the alpha's life, so he wasn't about to push for more answers. Even if he got the answers he was tempted to seek, he wouldn't be able to do much other than follow the alpha's orders. 

Life had started to prove once again that it was filled with shit and Jiminie was feeling the brunt of it all, again.

"Yes, alpha," Jae Jun responded with certainty and conviction. 

He knew that the alpha was running from something but he wasn't going to ask; as tempting as it was for him. Perhaps there would come a day when the alpha would willingly ask him for help, right? 

"Why'd you send her away?" Lee Tang asked once they were back in the Alpha's study. The pack members hadn't tried to raise any concerns out there but then as the beta of Kiyoto, Lee Tang at least needed to know what the fuck they were doing right now, no? 

This was a decision that Jiminie made, clearly with all their interests at heart. At the same time, Lee Tang was smart enough to know that there was more to Jiminie kicking So Hee out. There had to be. 

"Lycans belong in Helia. All of them," was all Jiminie said before he plopped on the couch in his study and let sleep take him. He was tired and hurt a lot. He hated the fact that someone was at the Helia palace with his mate. 

He despised the ah he had found out about Chang Zhu and Jung Hyuk. Oh, he hated himself for having all that information only for him to be the one who ended up with a broken heart. 

It felt like he was cursed and as if there wasn't much that he could do to make things better. There were a lot of things he was scared of, but there was only one person with the answers. 

So, as he lay on the couch, Jiminie tapped into the mind links he shared with King Agust. He knew it was a dangerous thing to do, especially now that Jung Hyuk was at the palace but then the urge to get answers was too intense. 

Of course, Jiminie didn't forget the way that King Agust had kicked him out of the Helia palace. But what else was he supposed to do? On one hand, he was the alpha of the strongest werewolf pack, and on the other hand, he was just a beautiful petal for King Agust. 

The darkness that his mate always came with was not as bad for Jiminie because he loved Agust like that. He loved him even though the man was hurting him at the moment. 

Anyone would call it an obsession but to Jiminie… It was love. 

It was a special kind of love and no one would ever be able to tell him otherwise. 

'Xiao Xiao…' Jiminie called out through the link. He knew he was being stubborn and uncontrollable, but was it that hard for Agust to tell him to his face of the threats that they were clearly bound to deal with? 

Was it always going to be this complicated for the both of them or was the universe just another fucked up part of their lives that they had to embrace no matter how cruel the damn thing got? 

'Petal,' Agust breathed in shock, and Jiminie just sighed. 

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but he had to make do with what the man was giving him. 

The fact that Agust was calling him 'Petal' screamed hope for Jiminie. It made him feel like the man he loved was somewhere in the chaos and they would find their way to each other. 

'This is dangerous, kitten. Very dangerous. You need to stay away from me. I can't have you getting hurt,' King Agust said in earnest and Jiminie wished for more. 

Maybe he was being delusional, but then the more he looked at Agust the more he realized that the surroundings were changing. 

Bit by bit, both of their subconsciouss merged to make a beautiful field of lavender flowers, which was Jiminie's scent. 

Oh, but Agust was whipped badly for him. 

'Is that why you fucked Jung Hyuk?' Jiminie asked softly. He could now see Agust and instead of the bloodied depressed doing that he had always seen; he saw someone different. He saw a man who deserved to live and one who longed for happiness.

Jiminie saw his mate, the man he had fallen in love with and boy was he a beautiful man. 

King Agust was in casual white clothes with his hair tied up in a man bun. The scar on his face was still there and his long greyish-white hair was as perfect as usual. He looked like a fairy; what Jiminie could easily describe as perfection. 

'You felt it, huh… I should have blocked the link but then Jung Hyuk could have felt it. And he would have wanted to come after you. He would have hurt you and I would have had to murder everyone in my line of sight, princess,' Agust said softly as he walked over to where Jiminie was standing. 

The lavender that had engulfed them was so beautiful, and intense that it got them reaching out to each other subconsciously. However, that didn't make it any easier to listen to whatever excuse Agust had for what he had done with Jung Hyuk. 

It hurt that this was where they had gotten to, but at the same time, hope was the one thing they were slowly linking to their explosive love. Maybe it was too much of a far fetch but then again, they had a war to deal with. 

They had to embrace whatever hell was coming for them. And they had to do it regardless of what weights they would be forced to carry. 

'I'm sorry, my beautiful Jiminie. I'm really sorry… I wish I could say that that was the last time you got hurt because of me, but it unfortunately isn't. It is something that I have to work through to make sure that you and the Kiyoto wolves are safe;

"... especially now that you sent So Hee back,' Agust said as he pulled Jiminie into a soft hug. He knew that this was him reaching for the impossible; but even just here, with the love of his life, he didn't have to worry about what tomorrow would look like.

He wouldn't have to try and fight it all out on his own, given he had to see Jiminie. This was his safe space and unlike the other times that Agust had always been ready to protect Jiminie, this time he was relaxed.

It was suspicious as fuck, but Jiminie wasn't about to ruin the one moment that he had earned with his mate, so he let Agust do whatever he wanted.

"Is it really going to be worth all the pain in the end, Xiao Xiao?" Jiminie asked softly.

"It has to, kitten, it really has to."