Necessary (BTS X JJK)

Chapter 14

By dinner that night there was an undercurrent of stress around the table. The alphas were trying to hide it but Jungkook could easily sense it. It felt unnaturally quiet, a few alphas seemed deep in thought and clearly everyone was distracted. Nobody had served Jungkook any food, seeming to forget that the omega was trained to wait for their mate to dish them up a serving. He sat with an empty plate in front of him staring at his hands folded on his lap, not wanting to interrupt the alphas' thoughts or meals.

Namjoon broke the silence. "There is a lot going on, I think we should talk about the next few weeks." The alphas around nodded while Jungkook remained quiet.

"We need to bring Jungkook back to the elder council which I know we'd rather not do but I think is probably necessary. Before we go back he needs to learn to shift so we probably should get started working on it." He turned to address Jungkook directly, "Pup, I don't ever want to keep information from you. At the same time I want to protect you from any possible stress. I have confidence that you can learn to shift in the next few days if we work hard but if you aren't successful the council has made it clear that I'll need to use my alpha voice to force you."

This got Jungkook's attention, he stared at the alpha with wide eyes. This was many omegas' worst fear, losing control of themselves to their alpha. Sure they may not have many rights but at least they should control their own body and will. To take even that away, what was the point of being anything more than a doll?

Seeing Jungkook's discomfort Namjoon assured him that it wouldn't come to that but he wanted to make sure he at least knew in the worst case scenario. Namjoon was equally horrified by the idea so he encouraged them to make quick work of assisting the omega with learning how to shift.

"We also need to prepare for the ceremonial transition of the supreme pack title. Yoongi has been coordinating with the council. It will be the first time we will be in public as a pack which obviously comes with some of its own challenges."

Jungkook sank further in his seat. Omegas naturally avoided crowds but immediately after bonding with their mate was an especially sensitive time. They sought out dens and the safety of their alpha or beta, often not leaving the house for several months. The idea of being in a crowd was unsettling to say the least.

"Omega, I want you to know that we will look after and protect you through it all. It may feel vulnerable but we will be right next to you to make sure you are safe and protected."

Jungkook nodded.

Namjoon was about to return to his third point when Taehyung finally noticed Jungkook's plate was empty. "Pup, did anyone serve you?" He asked louder than Jungkook was really comfortable with.

Tears began to spring to the omegas eyes as he shook his head no. If they couldn't even remember to serve him dinner, how could he be sure that he'd be safe in a crowd or potentially under the influence of alpha voice? The confidence he felt in his alphas seemed like it was rapidly slipping away as he realized that they were just as much at the mercy of others as he was. They may be the supreme pack but that didn't just come with benefits, there were some serious burdens that would be laid on them. As the omega those burdens would likely fall heaviest on his shoulders since by nature he would squirm at pressures and obligations outside of his pack. He hadn't quite understood this until now.

Seeing the tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks, Jimin scooped up the omega and held him close. "I'm sorry sweet prince, we aren't accustomed to having an omega with us. I promise we will do better, we're still just learning. Look, Taehyung is fixing it now."

Jungkook could see his plate being filled and while he was still emotional he moved back to his own chair, his appetite relative gone for the day.

"What was the last thing you wanted to talk about?" Hobi returned the conversation back to Namjoon.

"Well it seems we know Taehyung and Jimin's abilities, those were expected. We really haven't talked about the rest of us yet. We had inclinations of what we thought Hobi's and Yoongi's gifts might be but haven't discussed it since the mating with everything that's been going on. I expect the council will want to see clear evidence of our powers when we meet them so we should probably talk about that.

"Mine is the ability to know if someone is telling the truth, much like we expected," Yoongi chimed in. "I've only been able to experience it a few times when the staff dropped in. Either you all are very honest or it doesn't work inside our pack."

"I'm sure the same is true for me," Jimin chimed in. "I can already tell I can't compel someone within the pack."

"Maybe let's assume most of our gifts may not work within the pack," Namjoon chuckled. "But I'm sure both of those skills will be very useful. Jin? Hobi?"

"I honestly don't really know. I can feel a power source in me but I haven't tapped into it, afraid something might happen I'm not ready for." Jin seemed a bit reluctant.

"Why don't you test it now? We're all here so we can help if anything goes wrong."

Agreeing it was sensible Jin went into the living room, a small distance from the dining room table. Closing his eyes he centered himself, they could see the look of concentration on his face as he focused until suddenly he disappeared.

"Whoa" everyone chimed at once, looking around the table to ensure everyone else had just seen what they had seen. "Is he invisible?" Taehyung asked.

Beyond a few people calling Jin's name it was silent. Faces became anxious as more time passed without Jin reappearing. Just as Jimin was about to turn frantic, the front door banged open and Jin stumbled inside.

"Where were you? Were you invisible? Why didn't you answer us so we didn't have to worry?"

"It's not invisibility, I can teleport. I ended up a few blocks over. I think this is going to need some practice to figure out how to control where I'm going."

"No way, that is so cool!" Jimin squealed in excitement at the news while Jungkook remained glued to his seat, mouth open and dumbstruck.

"Ok, Hobi, I think you are next."

Similar to Jin, Hobi took a position in the center of the room and began to seek the power bubbling beneath the surface. He eventually paused in his efforts. "Did you feel or see anything?"

Everyone shook their heads no.

"I'm sure it was happening, I'm just not sure what "it" is," Hobi wondered aloud.

"Maybe keep working on it. I'm sure you'll figure it out," Namjoon encouraged his mate. Normally they would have months to figure this out. While some gifts were obvious others were less so. It may just take patience and trying different things to figure it out.

"What about you Joon? What is your gift?"

Namjoon blushed and looked at the floor. "I feel a little embarrassed saying this, but I think I'm just really really smart."

"Called it!" Taehyung shouted out. "You owe me 20." He held his hand out to Jimin ready to collect his payment.