The Hanes Enigma

Chapter One: Renaissance

Jeon Jungkook

"Now, sweetie, you'll be okay from here?" My mother purses her lips slightly, tears in her glowing amber eyes. My jaw is clenched and my own eyes equally as teary. Last time I left the pack the excitement of starting at Phalaway had distracted me, but having spent the holidays with them again I now feel the wrench in my gut more than ever.

"Yeah... Yeah, mum, you go." I smile comfortingly and hug her for a final time before picking up my bag and stepping away from the car. My mother sniffs and clutches at my father's hand.

Before I know it, I can smell dirt and hot tyres. A small amount of dust flies up and billows in the light of the sun, glittering slightly, and two hands wave from the black tinted windows of my father's car.

I sink my teeth hard into my bottom lip. It physically hurts. I know they feel it too: I'm slowly leaving the pack. My older brother is a beta so I'm the first Jeon of this generation to leave and the first is always the hardest, apparently.

"Kook-ah!" An excited yell jolts me out of my thoughts and I turn just in time to open my arms and accept the ball of blonde hair that is Taehyung in a tight squeeze. "How was home??"

"Great! I saw my whole family. One of the teens grew up; he's almost as big as me now!" I laugh and let go of the delicately framed Faerie. "How about you? How are your cousins?"

Taehyung's face falls slightly. "Oh.. I uh, I didn't go home. They wanted me to stay here, in the end.." I frown, ready to ask more, but he shrugs and beams at me again. "You're the first back! Laila should be coming soon, though.. And she says she has something to tell us? No clue."

"Any news from Jimin?" I ask, interest not particularly piqued. Laila always has something to tell us and it's never the kind of thing I care about.

"Nothing at all, but you said that's normal from him when he goes home... Right?" Taehyung frowns slightly, still a little unsure.

"Yeah... Very protective family. When I wrote him letters a few years ago, his father didn't even give them to him because he thought I was a threat or something." I roll my eyes. I love Jimin, but I don't understand his family one bit. "Any news from anyone else?.." I bite my bottom lip, hoping to be remotely subtle.

"That depends... Who do you want to hear from?" Taehyung raises his eyebrows pointedly. So clearly I wasn't subtle at all.

"I dunno.." I shrug, stuffing my hands in my pockets and beginning the long walk up the drive.

Taehyung laughs and flaps his wings, hovering next to me as I walk. "Well... Brynn did mention you if you're interested.."

My gut explodes into a kaleidoscope. "Sure, why not?"

Taehyung rolls his eyes. "She met a welsh werewolf and said he reminded her of you.."

My ears twitch, someone's growling.

"Jesus, Kook!" Taehyung bellows with laughter.

It's me...

"You don't need to get all jealous, I doubt normal werewolves claim pack members on meeting them..." He jests, pushing my shoulder jokingly. "He wasn't even an alpha."

"When's she coming back?. She's been away too long." I'm glaring now. But it hurts. Now away from the pack I'm leaving and the one I'm creating is all over the place. In fucking Wales!

"I don't know.. Soon, I should think..." He shrugs, not looking the slightest bit phased.

"Tae..?" I bite my lip nervously.

"Mm?" He grins happily and faces me as I halt, still hovering slightly off the ground so he's now quite a bit taller than me.

"If I asked you to be in my pack... Like properly asked. Like I told you I was officially leaving my dad's and starting my own... Would you be in it?" I look down at the ground towards the end of my question, not sure I want to know the answer.

It doesn't come straight away, awkward consuming the silence as I begin to bite my lip in frustration of the suspense. I know he understands the seriousness of accepting the offer. It's not a casual question, it's lined with sincerity and significance. To join a pack is a promise and to leave it afterwards is breaking that promise.

"Yeah... I would."

I beam up at Taehyung and fling my arms around him again. "You mean that??"

"Course, Kook. You're family to me. And pack is family, right?"

I nod into his chest as I squeeze tighter and he just chuckles, his boxy grin overcoming the rest of his features.

***

Vinder is back to normal. Yoongi made a full recovery and even managed to journey home for the holidays, and so the house returned to its original state of chatter and bustle. Vinder is known to be the talkative house and joined with Chala, it's sister house, gets the most noise complaints and newly added restrictions throughout the year. But Vinder and Chala also produce the finest magick in all of Pharaway. Many say it's because of the social ability and the fact that each species communicates with each other and helps each other, almost like in the days before the war. I don't know about that, but I do know it makes picking up girls a lot easier.

A naiad bats her eyelashes at me from across the common room, sweeping her copious amounts of hair from one shoulder to another. She's stunning, that must be said, but I don't know if I want to begin my year by ditching Tae just to find an empty corner and get some stress out. I'll wait until I have a need for it. Being an alpha, I get stressed very easily. And sex takes it out of me. It's not ideal but as long every girl knows it doesn't mean anything before it happens, I don't see what the issue is. I don't screw people over. I make sure of that. I smile politely at the naiad but shake my head to decline the offer. Her face falls and I wink with a slight smirk. I want to keep my options open for the future, of course. That seems to please her and she turns away, carrying on with her conversation from before.

I sigh, surveying the room. There are already some new kids, even though term doesn't actually start for another few days. Most that are here have probably come from very far or were way too eager for the annual bonfire party. I wonder if we'll go again this year. It's not uncommon for various year groups to join in on the fresher's festivities. I guess it depends if Jimin is back by then or not.

I blink at mint green hair. Who the fuck would dye their hair mint green? Min Yoongi. It makes sense, actually. After recovering he probably felt like changing something to try to regain some control. It's suddenly understandable and as he turns to glare at the unwelcome observation, I smile slightly. He's taken aback and just blinks back at me, a slight scowl still vaguely apparent over his features. The demon turns back to Namjoon and I listen to Taehyung relate all of the drama of the holidays. Apparently, Jung, the new teacher, is bringing his husband to Phalaway too. That's a big deal. He's the Kalamani Peacekeeper. I wonder how he's dealing with the events of the previous Festival.