Pride, Chapter 6
The Northern Pride formed to give some of the female Alpha Hybrids a safe place where they could live, and thrive, away from the aggressive advances of weaker males.
The idea of Mates was like a fairy tale to them, until one of their own finds hers on a business trip.
Agust was happy working as a chef in his mother's restaurant in South Korea, but dropped everything to be with his Mate. After a tense introduction to her Pride, he makes himself at home and finds he fits in with the women his Mate considers her sisters.
Now that he’s met them, he suspects the females of the Northern Pride might actually have Mates; his brother and friends from his Pride back in Korea.
Chapter 6
The sounds of laughter and the smell of taco meat made its way around the house and pulled Rayne out of the daze Jungkook’s stare had her in. She took a deep breath, tried to ignore his delicious scent, and made a huge effort to make it look like she wasn’t running away when she turned her back on him and continued her trek back to the group.
Of course Jungkook wasn’t far behind. He quite enjoyed watching his Mate’s backside while she walked, and he felt a lot more relaxed now that he had his scent on her. He let his mind wander to his need to cover himself in her scent and taste. How it would feel to bite down on that sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder while pounding into her…
Jungkook growled low in his chest and turned to get himself another beer from the outdoor refrigerator that was near the back door. He needed to get it together. It wouldn’t do to jump on her and force anything she may not be ready for.
It didn’t take long for dinner to be served with all of the helpful hands that could actually cook helping out. Rokki, Seokjin, Angel and Jimin took charge and kicked everyone else out of the kitchen. It didn’t take long for Rokki to be sent out by Angel after dropping the knife she was trying to cut lettuce with three times due to her nerves.
“Rokki, go sit outside! I swear, you are going to chop off a finger if you keep this up.”
When Rokki tried to argue, Seokjin placed his hand on the small of her back with the intent to gently lead her to the door. He was wholly unprepared for her to jump and send the knife she was holding into the air, where it lodged its tip into the ceiling.
“That’s it. Out!” Angel was not nearly as gentle as Seokjin when she grabbed Rokki’s arm and escorted her out the back door, “You all better make sure she does not come back in here until we are done cooking,” she commanded the group still sitting at the table.
Scarlett took some pity on her, though. She well understood how jumpy Rokki could be when the woman was nervous,
“Come sit by me, Rokki,” she said, motioning to the empty chair on her right, “Come meet my Mate.”
With as much as she wanted to drag her Mate off to explore their new found connection, Scarlett had become fairly timid. Well. Timid for her, anyway.
“Namjoon, this is my sister Rokki. Rokki, this tall drink of manhood is MY Mate, Namjoon.”
Namjoon’s dimples deepened as he reached across Scarlett to shake Rokki’s hand. The motion brought his face close enough to kiss, and it took everything in her not to nibble his jaw and lick his throat.
Namjoon noticed his Mate’s harsh inhale and turned, his face was only inches from hers and his eyes were on fire as he took in her scent. It was passion and spice. Long nights tangled together, and lazy mornings wrapped up in each other's arms. Arguments and make ups. The only thing that would make it better, in his opinion, is his scent mixed in. Which will happen sooner than he had planned if she kept looking at him like she wanted to eat him alive.
Scarlet had just decided to climb into that man's lap and ride him like she was trying to break him when Jimin opened the back door to the house and announced dinner was served. Angel led the two men to the table with the taco ingredients that hadn’t already been brought out by the others.
Namjoon chuckled and sat back in his seat, unsure whether he was thankful for the interruption or not. The logical voice in his head reminded him that he should get to know this woman before letting it go too far. His Alpha instinct however, wanted him to claim her immediately, before anyone else had the chance. Logically, he knew she was his Mate and that there was no threat. But instincts were not always logical.
“Where’s Rayne?” Rokki asked as she looked around the back yard to distract from the man sitting next to her.
“Jungkookie, too. Where’d he go? I know he’s hungry. He always is,” Seokjin threw in. He was trying to talk more than he normally did to give his Mate a chance to get used to his voice and presence.
“Wait a minute,” his eyes lit up and a laugh formed at his lips, “You don’t think that they are together, do you?”
The men all chuckled. Since they were all fighting their natural mating instincts, the idea that Jungkook would find a quiet corner to claim his Mate like Taehyung did seem like a given.
The women chuckled for an entirely different reason. They knew Rayne’s hesitance, and knew that she was going to make that man prove his worth before submitting in any way.
“Speak of the devil,” Alice murmured as Rayne and Jungkook rounded the side of the house and walked toward the group, “We were just wondering where you two were! Dinner’s served.”
Rayne glanced back and found Jungkook’s eyes firmly fixed to her backside. She made a show of rolling her eyes, but secretly enjoyed the attention. Seating around the table was full, so she reached over and around everyone to make her plate of tacos and grabbed a drink from the outside refrigerator before finding a spot in the grass to sit and relax.
Jungkook ignored Rayne’s growl of displeasure and sat next to her in the shade. He looked at her and smiled before taking a giant bite of his taco, completely unfazed. The twinkle in his eyes as he chewed irritated her to no end, and she spent the better part of his first taco glaring at him.
“You should eat,” he said with a smile once he swallowed the last bite of his first taco. “It’s good.”
Rayne’s nostrils flared in annoyance. She didn’t want to do anything this man said. But, she was hungry, and she knew herself better than to allow a case of the ‘hangry’s’ to happen, especially with all of these new men in her space. So, begrudgingly, she ate.
Luna sauntered her way over and rubbed her body along Rayne’s side before moving to rub her face on Jungkook’s foot. He reached out and gave her head some scratches and laughed at her enthusiastic response. It seemed Luna had decided Jungkook was her Alpha now, and made a show of flopping down in front of him and rolling over to get belly rubs. Luna hated everyone but Rayne, and usually bit the shit out of anyone that dared try such a thing... and yet there she was. Purring and mewling, rolling about with her eyes fixed on him.
Rayne shook her head at the cat’s antics.
“You look like you're in heat, Luna.” she scolded.
Jungkook chuckled as he straightened up and looked at her,
“I am anxious to see if you roll around like that when you go into heat.”
Rayne choked on the beer she’d been drinking and from the burning sensation, she was pretty sure some of it came out of her nose.
After that, she rushed to finish her tacos, intent on hiding in her studio for the evening.
At the table, the couples were enjoying their first meal together, chatting about this and that.
Seokjin was trying hard to get his Mate to relax around him, and pulled out his best dad jokes to see if he could make her smile. Rokki still wouldn’t look directly at him, but did giggle a little bit. He took that as a win and was happy he was making some progress with her.
Jimin and Angel were in their own little world as they ate. Even while he was helping her prep the food, he stayed close and only took his eyes off of her when he was using a knife. Sitting next to her at the table was not different.
“This lawn would make a beautiful space for our wedding,” Jimin said between bites, watching her reaction closely.
Angel blushed and giggled quietly. Once she collected herself a little, she looked shyly over at him and said, “I agree. It’s a beautiful setting.”
Feeling emboldened, he continued “What do you think our colors should be?”
While they discussed the Cream and Gold color theme and cake choices, Jungkook smiled at Rayne and piggy backed on Jimin by saying “This really is a nice spot for a wedding,” to his Mate. The only response he got from her was a quick, annoyed, side eye, which was exactly what he expected. Her resistance was providing him a lot of entertainment. He truly enjoyed the chase.
Fae and Yoongi got lost in discussing their favorite anime choices, and the collection of whiskey from around the world she had been building. They made plans to binge watch some of their favorites together during the stormy weather that was forecasted within the next few days.
Hoseok finally allowed Alice to sit in her own chair, but only to eat. He was so happy, he felt as if he might burst! He’d been dreaming about finding his Mate most of his life, and now that he was with her, he felt a sense of peace and tranquility he never knew he was missing. And the joy! The joy felt like it was bleeding out of every pore on his body! He couldn’t stop smiling as he watched his Mate eat her dinner.
Alice felt happy and complete. It had become apparent a long time ago that she didn’t have a mate in her pride-of-origin, and had kind of given up on the idea. In fact, she had actually started to assume she’d just have to settle for one of the local males. Maybe even a full human. Bam had some cute friends she thought she could get along with…
Now that she was actually looking into the eyes of her Mate, though, all of those thoughts and feelings melted away, and all she could see was a future with this man.
“Do you want to go for a walk after dinner?” Hoseok asked her, “I’d love to see the area more, and spend time with you.”
Alice actually blushed a delicate shade of pink at the thought of being alone with him like that, even if it was just a walk around the property.
“I want to play lawn jenga!” Natalie exclaimed, drawing eyes from all around the table.
“No you don’t,” Rayne answered dryly from where she sat trying to inconspicuously lean away from her Mate on the ground, “You want to watch Agust play lawn Jenga while you drink and look at his butt.”
Natalie giggled and tipped her bottle with a “Cheers!” toward her friend.
Agust leaned in and whispered “If you need more of my ass, we can skip the games and go straight to our cabin.”
“No!” Rokki shocked everyone with the outburst. She blushed and looked around at everyone but the man next to her before she said with a little less panic in her voice, “No. Jenga would be fun, right?” She made quick eye contact with each woman around the table, and was able to successfully get her point across.
Rokki was scared that if everyone went their separate ways she would be left alone with Seokjin. She knew he was her Mate, and that it would happen eventually. Hell, she knew they were going to be forever, and part of her was excited for it. But she needed a moment to breathe and take it all in. Process her new reality.
Also the idea of watching his ass as they played Jenga wasn’t a bad one.
Hoseok and Alice did end up taking a little walk around the property while the others got the game ready. He had no hesitation taking her hand for their first stroll around the compound they had built over the last few years. Alice pointed out all of the little cabins that were set around and who lives where. And they both had a good giggle when they passed Ana’s cabin.
The sun was getting low in the sky by that time, and Hoseok was in awe watching deer come out of the wooded areas and wander into the fields that encased their large property.
“We try to buy surrounding properties if they come up for sale. It gives us more space to work with, and keeps others further away,” Alice explained.
“So, if you and I decide not to go back to Korea and one of the neighbors decide to sell, you and I could buy our own place away from everyone?” he asked.
Alice was caught off guard. She hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of leaving the women she thought of as sisters, and wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
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