Bound by Blood

Chapter 100- HOME

TAE POV:

When (Y/N) asked us to go with her, it had been an automatic nod, agreement- because of course we'd go where she wanted to with us, of course I wouldn't hesitate to say yes especially when her words were so softly spoken, from the depths of her grieving aching heart, shadowed with vulnerability. 

But I didn't think it would be this.

I didn't think she'd quietly confess she wanted to go meet her parents, but first that she needed to call Ryan. Didn't think that in front of our eyes for years we'd been seeing the people who were the ones to raise our baby mate, to save her from drowning in despair and helped her become the beautiful soul she was today.

It made me wonder just how we'd never realised, how in all the times they'd even the slightest slipped out of their professional demeanour, it had always been around each other or to the phone to someone they fussed over. Hadn't realised on the other end of the phone was our mate.

Makes me wonder if we could've had the chance of seeing her in her childhood, of witnessing those moments precious and cherished to the three of them. Makes me yearn to see old photos, hear stories, lie on her lap for hours and just bask in the comfort of her voice as she told me about her past.

When Ryan does arrive, it's for a brief visit- eyes barely even glancing at us as he talks to her, as the two of them sit in the front garden, figures shadowed by the floral arch that overshadows a bench.

And now that we know, it's like its crystal clear, blindingly apparent to the eye- it had been there all along.

See the way his hand gently cradles her cheek, or the way she leans in for a hug and he automatically wraps her into his arms. There's definitely a close bond between them but it isn't one that's strictly parental- it's a mixture of friends, family and a teasing, playful nature intertwined through their gestures and acts.

But when he does leave she turns back towards the house, spots me perched on the windowsill and waves, gesturing for me to come over.

All of us pile out of the house and as we get into Jin hyung's car, the most warded and protected because none of us are taking chances, I recognise the Ims scent intertwined with (Y/N)'s. A proof of the claim they have on her too, maybe it had been a subtly left reminder that though we were her mates, they were her family.

(Y/N)'s silent on the hour drive, listlessly looking out of the window, hand loosely laced with mine. She's silent but not one that comes out of stiffness or grief or lost in your thoughts, its one that comes with a contemplative look, brows slightly furrowed as she peers out of the window- eyes never straying from the scenery that changes into a slightly busy city. But she does perk up when Jin hyung pulls up into a nice, friendly looking street. Houses all made in welcoming colours, multiple shades running down the street.

And as she steps out, her hand leading me behind her. She stops to peer up at a welcoming looking house, the latticework and arch of flowers and vines around the door giving it a personal touch, a lived-in feel.

"Welcome to my home. To the place I grew up until the age of six." She says softly, but her words carry over loud and clear to each and every one of us.

Suddenly the house means so much more.

Because where we're about to go into is the same place our mate lived when she entered the world, where she grew from a baby to a toddler to a little girl. But it's also the place where her parents lost their lives, inhumanely slaughtered in front of her eyes.

And also where her mother sacrificed herself.

The house holds a lot of memories, preserved within the welcoming walls.