The eight of us were at the house, sitting on the ground in the living room. Everyone was quiet and I could feel the cold chill entering the house from the window. I looked at the fireplace and sighed. I sent a small fireball which caused the wood to light up with a small fire.
I sighed as I looked at everyone. We were in a circle with Jimin cuddled up to me and Yoongi on my other side. Taehyung stood right in front of me, even if he did not look at me. I hated how he refused to look at me when I knew it wasn’t his fault.
My heart was beating fast and I knew they could hear it. Just like I knew they could feel how tense and scared I was. Just thinking about needing to talk about it made me want to vomit all the content of my stomach. Still, I had to say it. It’s been too long and they deserved to know the truth. Taehyung deserves to know that I reacted that way not because he hurt me or because of what he did but because of my own past.
‘What I am about to tell you,’ I began, ‘it’s something I’ve kept hidden for a long time. Not a lot of people know – just the sister from the orphanage and Solania,’ I said.
‘We’re going to be right here, with you,’ Namjoon said while I nodded. I took a deep, shaky breath before I turned to them once more.
‘When I was fourteen, I used to go and do a lot of errands for the orphanage,’ I said as they nodded. ‘I helped with the chores and used to go to the store for the sisters. One day, I came across a hunter,’ I said.
*Flashback*
I was walking down the street, humming to a song I had heard on the radio. It was dark since it was a winter night and I had run out quickly to go to the pharmacy to buy emergency medicine for one of the kids. Poor kid ended up having a sore throat. If only I could heal him but the sister advised me not to. Apparently these things happen naturally and would attract attention if they never do.
Suddenly, I felt something over my mouth and another hand that held me by the waist. Someone was dragging me towards a car. ‘No!!! NO!!’ I tried to yell but he just pressed at my face. I raised my hand, ready to use my power but his knee connected to my back. I cried out in pain as I fell to my knee.
‘Shut up *!’ he yelled as he opened the car and pushed me inside as he crawled on top of me.
‘No!! Leave me please!!’ I begged as he fought with me as he came towards my neck. Before I could stop him, I felt something attach to my neck as it closed off. I gasped at the sudden burning on my neck and throat as I cried out even more. My hand went to it but the more I struggled against it, the more it seemed to tighten.
‘You’re mine now!’ he growled as he tied my hands together. I felt as if I was immobile – like I was paralyzed and unable to move while he tied my ankles. He closed the car door and locked it before he went to the front.
‘Why? Why are you doing this to me? I didn’t do anything!’ I said among sobs and sniffs just as he began to drive away.
‘You’re a *ing witch. People like you have no place here,’ he said.
I gasped once more as I realized he was a hunter. The sister had told me how dangerous they were and my own parents had had to deal with them in the past. They showed no mercy to any supernatural creature like myself. They did not care whether we were children or not and did not care whether we were good or not.
‘I’m going to take you to the Tribunal, but before that,’ he stopped as he chuckled to himself. He looked at me briefly before he turned back to the road. ‘Before that, I’ll have some fun with you,’ he said.
‘No, no please!’ I begged but he continued to drive, leaving me to cry on my own.
We arrived at what looked like a dingy looking house. It was old, empty and dirty. I trembled as he stopped the car and walked out of it. He opened the door and picked me up as if I weighed absolutely nothing to him. He carried me even though I tried to struggle against him but with this damned collar, all my powers were gone.
‘Please… please, don’t do this,’ I begged as he took me to the bedroom. He laughed as he slammed me against the bed.
‘It’s useless to beg. You’re my little * now and no one is going to come and save you, witch,’ he said. My hands and feet were still tied together as he stood in front of the bed.
I looked at him, taking him in. He was tall, with broad shoulders and back. His arm was tattooed with Hunter symbols that I had learned about when I was a child. He was bald and his eyes were almost black. He smirked sinisterly as he removed his belt and unzipped his pants.
*End of Flashback*
I wiped my tears away as I felt all the boys’ gazes on me. ‘After he got undressed,’ I said as I took a shaky breath, ‘he undressed me and then he raped me,’ I said.
‘Oh baby,’ Jimin said as he squeezed my hand. I looked at him and realized he was crying as well. I tried to smile as I reached over and wiped his tear.
‘Don’t cry,’ I said. He scoffed as he forced himself to smile, almost as if he was telling me he could not do otherwise.
‘I’m sorry you had to go through that Alina. You didn’t deserve it, nobody does,’ Jin said with a sniff of his own.
‘Yeah, I know,’ I said as I nodded. I looked at Yoongi and Jungkook who both had a murderous look on their faces.
‘Where is the * now?’ Yoongi asked through gritted teeth. ‘Tell me, goddess, tell me he paid for what he did!’ he said, with a growl and I nodded.
‘Yeah. The sister, she realized something was wrong. She knew a pack of wolves and asked them to help locate me. They found me when I was….’ I paused as I swallowed my own saliva.
‘Did he…did he rape you again?’ Hoseok asked. I sighed, looked down and nodded. ‘Damn it!’ Hoseok yelled as he banged against the table.
‘They… the pack, they ripped him apart for what he did to me,’ I explained. I shuddered as I recalled the bloody image
‘Good, because I swear if they hadn’t, I would have gone searching for him and goddess knows what I would have done to him,’ Jungkook said as he trembled with anger.
‘What happened after that princess?’ Namjoon asked. I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair.
‘The pack, they cleaned everything up. I was taken to a “retreat” place and the sister joined me. We couldn’t tell anyone just in case there were more hunters. I had to escape that’s why I always remained careful about my identity and ensure I’m in a secure place,’ I said with a sniff.
Silence filled the room until I heard some sniffs. I turned to look and saw Taehyung crying. ‘I’m so sorry,’ Taehyung said as he looked up at me. ‘I’m sorry that what I did reminded you of that and that—’ he said but I did not let him continue.
I crawled forward and cupped his face in my hands. I crashed my lips against his, tasting the salt from his tears. I felt his surprise but he kissed back as he held me gently. I smiled into the kiss, making sure to savour it until I had to pull away for air.
‘Stop blaming yourself,’ I said as I gave him another peck. ‘I told you because it was time you knew and because I wanted you to know the difference between what you did and rape,’ I said.
‘I… I lost control Alina. I could have done the same thing like that monster,’ he said but I shook my head.
‘No, no you could never do something like that Tae. I know because I know you and I know monsters and you’re not one,’ I said. ‘You love me, you protect me, you keep warm and safe and make me feel loved. I wanted to be with you and Jimin today Tae, I wanted you to mark me so badly but I… I just freaked out because of my memories. What happened between us, it wasn’t your fault,’ I said.
‘I love you so much Alina,’ Taehyung said. I smiled as I grabbed his hand and placed it on my chest, right where my heart was.
‘And I love you. I love all seven of you and I hope… I hope that this secret I shared with you, won’t make you look at me in a different way,’ I said.
‘Of course not baby!!’ Jimin yelled as he scooped closer to us. ‘If anything, it makes us love you more,’ he added.
‘Chim is right. It makes us want to protect you better, make sure no harm ever comes to you,’ Yoongi said.
‘It also makes us see you as someone even stronger than we already knew you were,’ Jungkook said.
‘And don’t worry about the mating aspect. We can and will wait until you are truly ready,’ Namjoon said.
‘We always will because we love you and adore you princess,’ Jin said.
‘This won’t change anything our love. We will continue to love you, a little more every day because you’re so special to us,’ Hoseok said.
‘You’re our life Alina,’ Taehyung said, forcing me to look at his tear stained face. ‘Maybe if you can forgive me, I can work on forgiving myself too,’ he said.
‘Well you better know that I forgave you already. I am not scared of you and never will I be. I love you,’ I said.
‘I love you too,’ he replied before he kissed me once more. I could feel him smile in it now as the others cheered in the background until I pulled away, completely out of air.
‘Can we do a cuddle puddle tonight? It’s cold and I want to cuddle against all of you,’ I said with a pout, knowing that is one of my secret weapons. They always give in to that.
‘Of course princess,’ Jimin said as he stood up. He helped me get up as well while Namjoon took the blanket from the couch and put it on the ground.
I watched as they all removed their clothes while I tried to look away. I could hear them chuckling before I heard them placing the pile of clothes in one corner. I felt the air shift as they changed. I turned around to find the seven wolves practically occupying the whole space. I laughed as they all sat down, almost on top of each other, leaving a space for me. I sneaked in and laid down, my head on Taehyung’s body.
‘Let’s cuddle,’ I said just as Tae’s paw gently set on my stomach. I smiled as I placed my hand on top of his paw while Jimin snuggled closer. I smiled, feeling content… and somehow, having said my story and secret, it made me feel relieved.