Chapter Text
No one knew who had killed first—who had started the bloodshed. The hatred, festering for generations, always found its way into the next. Despite being neighbors and sharing the same land, the Park and Jeon clans had never managed to build peace.
They had been different from the very beginning. The Jeon clan stayed connected to their roots—listening to their wolves, trusting their instincts, living as one with nature. Leadership within the Jeon family was shared; whether omega or alpha, the family ruled as a whole, always guided by their council and their wolves.
In contrast, the Park clan leaned more into their human side. They lived by strict rules, striving for order and modernization, following only the commands of their head alphas.
And so, Jeon Jungkook and Park Jimin were born into this life—two entirely different worlds on the same land, bound by the same inherited pain.
***
Jimin lets out a long breath as he gazes at his reflection in the mirror of his cabin. His eyes, still damp, shimmer with glitter, and his blond wolf-cut hair falls elegantly over his sulking face. He chose a black robe for today—unsuitable for the occasion, perhaps, but he looks stunning, just as he was always taught he should. So that, at least, won’t be a problem.
Just a week ago, his uncle had dropped the bomb.
Their pack was growing weaker. They were isolated, cut off from the outside world. The Jeon clan stood between them and any chance of trade, and because of the long-standing feud, they couldn’t pass through their lands. Every day, another fight broke out between the clans—someone always getting hurt.
Worst of all, the blood debt now belonged to the Jeon clan. Jimin’s uncle, Hoon, had lived for years with the fear that Jeon Jungkook—the son of the man he had killed—would appear one day to claim his life.
Fortunately, despite hating the Parks to their very core, even the Jeon clan no longer wanted more bloodshed. Both sides had met again and again for peace talks, and in the end, they had agreed on one final solution:
To stop the bloodshed, they would unite their blood.
His uncle had asked Jimin to mate with Jeon Jungkook—the current head alpha of the Jeon clan.
The son of the man who killed his father.
Jimin had resisted for days. He cried, shouted, fought, threatened—anything to avoid it. But in the end, guilt had claimed him too. Even if, by law, his uncle had taken over as alpha after his father’s death, Jimin still bore responsibility for the pack.
He couldn’t allow more blood to be spilled.
And so, today, he agreed—at the very least—to meet with the Jeon clan.
Jimin knew Jeon Jungkook.
He had seen him three times—at five, ten, and fifteen.
The first time, Jungkook had come to the Park clan with his father for peace talks. It hadn’t been the first attempt at peace, and it wouldn’t be the last. Jimin had been playing with his best friend, Taehyung, laughing and running, when he accidentally crashed into a shy, doe-eyed boy waiting outside the meeting cabin for his father. They both fell—Jimin scraping his knee, Jungkook splitting his eyebrow open.
At ten, he saw him again. Jimin had snuck out to a fair with Taehyung—reckless and dangerous, especially with the Jeon clan nearby. He had gone back to buy candied apples when he spotted Taehyung being caught by his father. Not wanting to be caught himself, Jimin ducked into the nearest tavern.
That’s where he saw Jungkook again.
They recognized each other instantly. Somehow, that single meeting at five had been enough—they both knew exactly who the other was. Then someone called Jungkook’s name from upstairs, and Jimin’s heart began to race. The Jeons would find him.
But Jungkook suddenly stood, calling back that he was coming. He shot Jimin a quick, uneasy glance before rushing upstairs.
Jimin understood.
He slipped out immediately.
That night, he was scolded harshly.
The third time was the one that stayed with him.
It had been two years since Jimin lost his father. His uncle, Hoon, had finally taken revenge—killing Jungkook’s father. He had taken Jimin and his mother to the funeral, forcing them to watch from behind the trees, wanting them to feel some twisted sense of satisfaction.
But as fifteen-year-old Jimin watched the mourners wail, he felt nothing close to relief.
He told his family he would wait for them at the border and walked slowly into the forest instead. Something sharp and burning stopped him. When he turned back one last time, his eyes met those same innocent, doe-like ones again.
Jungkook was staring at him, eyes red and swollen with grief.
Jimin’s own eyes filled with tears. For a brief moment, he felt Jungkook’s pain deep within himself—because if anyone could understand it, it was him.
He knew he wasn’t supposed to feel sorry for Jungkook.
But as he looked into those wide, grief-stricken eyes, his heart refused to stay cold.
As he walked toward his uncle’s cabin, Jimin was going to face Jungkook again—for the first time in ten years.
By the time he reached the door, his stomach churned with stress, and his heart felt as if it might break free from his ribcage. He knew his mother, his uncle, and the pack elders were inside. He wouldn’t be alone.
Still, it didn’t make him feel any safer. He stepped inside. As he moved toward the crowded room, a wave of mixed scents hit him all at once. Beneath them all, there was one he didn’t recognize—sharp, restless, laced with anger, grief, and something dangerously restrained. Jimin’s omega tensed instantly—so sharply that he felt it deep in his core.
A strange, unwelcome thrill coiled inside him, unfamiliar and unsettling. His gaze drifted over the room in a daze. His mother. His uncle. The elders. Then the Jeons, their elders...
And finally, the source of the scent. Jimin froze. Those doe eyes. The ones he had never forgotten.
The moment he met Jungkook’s gaze, the alpha’s scent flooded his lungs. The last time they had seen each other, neither of them had presented yet—this was the first time Jimin truly smelled him.
Jungkook’s scent smell like the rain before a storm—heavy, suffocating, thick with restraint. It carried anger, grief… something deeply buried. And yet, Jimin breathed it in like he had never breathed before. Like he had never truly breathed until then.
It was magical—the moment their eyes met again after years. It felt as though the entire world had ended and been reborn all at once. As his jasmine scent blended with rain, it was as if the ground beneath their feet shifted.
He knew what it meant.
He knew it all too well.
And he knew Jungkook knew it too.
For a brief, terrifying moment, he could feel the doe-eyed boy’s soul echoing in his very bones.
And yet—
they kept their expressions carefully stoic.
There was no way they would ever admit that they shared a soul with their worst enemy.
“Ah, Jimin, I can’t believe how beautiful you’ve become.”
Omega Jeon—Jungkook’s mother—cut through his trance, her voice soft and warm, finally pulling his gaze away from Jungkook.
Jimin bowed respectfully to the older woman, just as his uncle let out a pleased laugh.
“Right? Now, let’s all sit. We’re complete.”
***
Jimin sat across from Jungkook at the dinner table, unable to eat, absently pushing the meat on his plate. His uncle’s voice droned on about the mating ceremony, each word grating on his nerves.
He could feel it, that scent. Calling to something deep inside him.
Suddenly, Jungkook’s firm voice cut through the air.
“Have we agreed on all the terms that we’re already discussing the ceremony?”
Hoon let out a nervous chuckle. “Both packs will have free passage across the borders, and trade with the outside world will reopen. The blood feud will end. I believe we’ve covered everything.”
Jungkook grimaced. “Yeah—but what’s in it for me? All of this benefits you. What do I gain from this deal?”
Omega Jeon smiled tensely. “Peace, Jungkook. Peace will finally enter our lives.”
Jungkook turned to her, his voice hardening. “I accepted this arrangement for you. But this man killed my father. Does he get away without paying any price?”
The air shifted.
Jimin felt it—his omega reacting again, restless, alert, drawn toward the storm sitting right across from him.
He hated it.
Jimin could see it clearly—the innocence in Jungkook’s doe eyes was gone. In its place was something darker. His gaze was sharp now, black with anger and something far more ruthless.
Hoon cleared his throat. “What do you want?”
Jungkook’s eyes snapped back to him, filled with quiet hatred. “I want the upper hand. Any decision made within the Park clan must also pass through our council.”
For the first time that night, Jimin spoke.
“We’re here for peace. What you’re asking for will only fuel the rivalry.”
Jungkook turned those piercing eyes on him, his stare intense enough to pin him in place. “Your uncle killed my father. The blood debt belongs to me. For the sake of peace, I’m choosing not to act on the hatred burning inside me. But I don’t trust the Park clan. Until I’m certain this peace will last, your decisions will go through us as well.”
Jimin knew he was right.
By tradition, Jungkook had every right to demand something in return. Sparing his uncle was already an act of restraint—of mercy, even. But no matter what, this was still the son of the man who killed his father.
And the Jeon clan was far from innocent, too.
“How can we be sure you won’t use that power against us in the future?” Jimin asked, unable to keep the edge out of his voice.
Omega Jeon stepped in quickly. “Children, please. We’re here to discuss your mating ceremony. You’re going to be family—ruling both packs together. Every decision will belong to the two of you.”
Jungkook scoffed. “You’re wrong, Mother. That only applies to the Jeon clan. In the Park clan, omegas aren’t allowed to lead—so he will be the one making decisions here.” His gaze flicked toward Hoon knowingly. “But they’ll have influence in the Jeon clan as well, won’t they?”
The older man looked tense.
Jimin straightened slowly, drawing Jungkook’s attention back to himself. He swallowed, searching for the right words.
“You will be…” he hesitated, then forced himself to continue, “my partner. The son-in-law of this pack’s rightful alpha. Maybe I don’t have a voice in the council…”
His gaze held Jungkook’s.
“But you do.”
***
Then he excused himself from the room, feeling suffocated. He ran into the woods, desperate for air, trying to let it all sink in. He had to mate with his worst enemy—the alpha who despised him down to his bones.
But his omega, restless and raw inside him, stirred with a strange, unfamiliar ache. Jimin knew what it was.
Even though their packs were forcing them into this bond, he would never admit it—never admit what they truly had.
Mating with the enemy for peace was one thing.
Sharing a soul with the enemy was another.
And Jimin… Jimin could never forgive himself for that.