The solstice coven

~ 4 ~

Hoseok's POV

When I get back home, I drop my work bag on the floor before removing my shoes, then immediately trudge towards the couch where I let myself fall, and a warm lap welcomes my head once I snuggle in nicely with a tired sigh.

A hand slips through my thick hair to massage my scalp and I close my eyes as I finally get to relax in a mate's embrace after this long day of stress and endless work.

"Are you okay, sunshine? You look more exhausted than usual" Seokjin asks as he begins to caress my hair gently, and I hum before snuggling deeper into him, the day's events coming back to mind with a clarity that is almost scary.

"I had lunch together with Y/N and Yoongi at Namjoon's coffee shop like it was planned, and it began great, everyone got along really well, they were adorably shy when they met him - everything was perfect" I begin with a quiet tone as everything replays in my head.

"It really was perfect, until her magick... damn, hyung, she got ice crystals all over her skin and I felt such a deep but muted... fear fill her entire soul at that moment. She was shivering and could barely talk until Yoongi warmed her up with his fire magick" I utter somberly.

"I saw that ice melt into steam from all over her body, as if it had covered every single cells of her being. Ends up that Yoongi is her caregiver and lives with her because her magick could literally kill her at anytime otherwise".

Heads turn our way as those words slip out of my lips, and Seokjin's hand stops moving for a second before he resumes caressing my hair.

"Is she alright now?".

I nod slowly.

"Yeah, she's fine. She took some time to explain her situation to Namjoon and I after we witnessed the whole thing. Her... magick, her ice crystals, it's pretty deviant. It's like it has no conscience whatsoever of how dangerous it is, so it keeps interacting with her without caring about the repercussions that follow up. That's how she lost her legs, and unless Yoongi keeps an eye on her 24/7, she could lose her life next".

Emotions turn upset and scared around me as my mates who are already home process that new knowledge. I would normally soothe them, but I can barely keep calm myself.

I turn my gaze to one of my younger mates with desperation on my face when he enters the living room to sit on the other couch with a warm cup of tea in his hands.

"Did you find anything about why they can't connect to the bond, Tae? It's two of ours who can't feel the bond now, there must be a reason why" I ask him, and he sighs softly before taking a sip.

From the first moment I met Y/N, I instantly knew that she was one of us. I could sense it in the link that united our two magicks, in the pull that brought me to her, but it felt like I was the only one who could feel it so I decided to take it slow for a while, until I could figure out what was happening.

I made sure to teach her all that she needed to keep that job while I'd read everything I could find about silent bonds on the side, but there wasn't much I could find. I hoped that maybe it would fix itself with time, that eventually, she would start to feel the bond, but that was foolish of me.

I could only watch over her that way at the time, but after meeting Yoongi at her house yesterday, another mate who somehow can't feel the bond as well... I knew that I needed to change my plan since clearly, it didn't work in the slightest, though it did get Y/N and I closer.

As two employees working for the same corporation.

"I had to ask around for a bit, but the theory that came back the most was... emotional trauma, mostly having to do with rejection. If they both experienced a negative event in their life that has to do with being rejected, then it's possible that their side of the bond shut the doors as a way to prevent more pain. Chances are that it wasn't even on purpose and that they truly are without mates at the moment, if only in their reality".