Moonlit Shadows

Missing Luna

Hoseok and Jimin were running through the forest, their noses twitching trying to pick up Ga-Eun's scent.

Hoseok was nearly frantic. He had left his children with Jimin's mate, hoping to bring home good news. But his silent bond told him good news would not be coming.

He felt this was becoming more of a recovery mission than a missing person. The thought physically pained him. His precious Luna was life to him. She was essential to their pack.

After Yoongi had decimated the original Blood Mountain pack, Hoseok never thought he would find a mate again. But the Moon smiled on him and sent Ga-Eun to him. They bonded quickly, each recognizing their mate right away. Both were desperate to have a significant other in their life. Ga-Eun had come from a broken relationship, and Hoseok had been left behind. Both found solace in each other and bonded more tightly than they ever thought possible.

But now her soft murmurs that invaded his thoughts, pulling him out of dark shadows and into joy again were strangely silent. He couldn't feel her presence, couldn't sense her mind or feelings.

He darted between trees, eyes scanning the undergrowth and his nose trying to pick up her scent.

As he and Jimin crossed the Blood River into the snow-covered terrain of the vampires, his nose finally picked up a scent.

But it wasn't a scent that had an essence of life to it. Instead, it had the stench of death.

Jimin had smelled it also, stopping to turn in circles trying to gauge the direction he needed to go in.

Hoseok felt his chest tighten and as he and Jimin followed the scent, it led them to a patch of snow, tainted with red blood

And around the red patch, were boot prints.

Hoseok's muzzle snarled and his hackles raised over his shoulder blades.

Jimin said nothing, silently studying the myriad of clues in front of him.

"Two men. Not the vampires." Jimin buried his nose in one of the boot prints and then growled fiercely.

"Hunters."

Hoseok almost came unglued at the word. Spinning on his paws, he ran to the vampires' home. Jimin followed, hoping their neighbors could shed some light on the problem.

***

When Taehyung and Sunny came back to the cabin, neither Jungkook nor Jaci were awake. Both vampires agreed not to wake them up. Neither Taehyung nor Sunny felt like talking anyway.

Oh Do Hee had been reverently delivered to her home. Her family could commence with their funeral plans now. Taehyung had remained quiet on the trek home. Sunny knew not to push conversation onto him. He took these types of deaths much harder than the deaths of strangers.

But Do Hee's family had a long-standing arrangement with Kim Taehyung. The deal was simple but unfair. The deceased was sent into everlasting life without a care of what happened afterward in this world. Meanwhile, Taehyung had to endure the grief of the family as they would bury their dead, and then visit the Memorial Tree yearly.

However strong the pain, Taehyung always faithfully held up his end of the agreement. Any member of the family that came to him and asked for death was never turned away. As long as it was the only way to avoid a drawn-out, painful demise. No voluntary suicides were permitted. And no one ever came to ask.

The ancestral family of Do Hee had served the royal family for many generations. After kings and royal positions were abolished during the Japanese occupation, Do Hee's family continued to care for the last of the royals. Their service continued until not one royal blood relative was left. Except for Taehyung. In addition to maintaining the royal gravesites, Do Hee's family, and eventually Do Hee herself made sure the vampire prince was properly taken care of. In return, Taehyung would give them an honorable death.