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The customary cramps kicked in with a vengeance around lunch time. In a world of rage and pain I slipped on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, put my hair up in a messy ponytail, and took my bra off from under my shirt, flinging it across my bedroom hatefully.

Now that I had some level of comfort, I curl back into bed and sigh while pulling the covers over my head.

Naturally, this is when Namjoon decides to come over to visit unannounced. And of course dad tells him to head on up to my room because quote, "cute boys are welcome to do anything they want in my home."

Normally I'd at least try to straighten my hair before he saw me but today he can just fight me in the pit if he doesn't like it.

Why do I want to cry?

"Kitty?" A few short knocks accompany Namjoon's soft calling of my name. The door opens slowly and he peeks his head in, peering in cautiously before his eyes land on me and widen. The tip of his nose twitches and the next second the door is thrown open and he's rushing towards where I lay.

As he drives up short at the side of my bed, his arms motion wildly and hands grasp in the air in my direction, but never touch me. "What's wrong?!" his voice is panicked. "Are you hurt? I smell blood! What happened? Are you ok?! Did you-" his voice stutters to a halt when he notices my giggling.

He's so cute it makes me want to bust into tears and eat a pound of chocolate.

What a strange thing to say.

Unfortunately my amusement is cut short by the clenching pain in my lower abdomen. I hold in a groan for Namjoon's sake. Judging by that display of protectiveness, I don't think I should let him worry any more than he already is.

I'm guessing he's figured out what exactly is going on by now, if the sheepish look of embarrassment is anything to go by. One of his hands rubs at the back of his neck, a habit of his when he's feeling shy.

I slip a hand out from my blanket to take hold of his free one, squeezing it gently.

"I promise I'm not dying." I just feel like it and my period may or may not make me go a little psycho.

The hand behind his head drops to cup my own being held in his grasp. He uses a thumb to brush over the back of tenderly and then squats by the bed, eyes raking over me in worry.

"Does it hurt?"

Like a bitch.

"Just a little." I decide on instead. "How come you're here?"

A stupid question I guess. Why wouldn't he come to visit his girlfriend on a Saturday? Then again, we see each other everyday. If it were anyone else I'd want some space right about now. But Namjoon is different. No matter how much time I spend with him I always want to see him more. The minutes and hours seem to get shorter when I'm with him, and longer when we're apart.

I know today will be just the same. Eventually he will have to leave and I'll miss him like crazy...he's such a good boyfriend. And person...I like him so much, I think I might be-

"Are you crying?!" If Namjoon was panicked before, he's over the top now. "What happened Who did it? I'll kill them!" he declares with fire in his eyes.

This proclamation brings back a memory that leaves me giggling once more, still with tears rolling down my cheeks and probably making me look completely deranged. Fuck it. I am deranged.

"If any other wolf touches you, I would annihilate them."

There's a good few minutes where I'm laughing like a maniac and Namjoon is staring at me worriedly as Steve aggressively headbutts him for attention. Eventually I calm down and pat the bed for him to sit next to me. After sending me another concerned look he sits down, sighing when Steve follows and squeezes his ass in-between us.

Feeling the need for the comfort that only a Namjoon hug can bring me, I waste no time in wrapping my arms around him and laying my head on his shoulder. Annoyed with being squished, the cat in-between us produces a sound of irritation and changes positions to sit on Namjoon's chest instead.

"You're awfully affectionate today." he comments, using one hand to stroke my hair and the other to scratch Steve's ears. "Both of you."

I should probably warn him that this won't last long. One second I'll want hugs and the next I won't want anything to touch me. Though I'm not sure if that's possible with a Namjoon hug. Namjoon hugs are my drug. Except for when he's gone all python with them.

Rather than warning him I hum a response and cuddle in closer, my eyes drooping from a sudden bout of drowsiness.

There's a good bit of time where I doze, drifting in and out of consciousness until his voice grabs my attention.

"Does he usually stare like this?"

I crack my eyes open to see Steve, four centimeters from my face. He, however, does not notice me, as his eyes are only for Namjoon. Both paws kneading onto the fabric of his shirt, the feline's eyes stare intensely into my boyfriend's face. The look vaguely reminds me of the one Namjoon sent me last night, the final time when we almost kissed. What was that look again?

Lust.

Wait. What?

"Yeah..." I answer. Steve is the creepiest of all my cats, for sure. He enjoys staring, to the point where it can become downright uncomfortable. I've lost count of how many times I've woken up to find him laying on my chest just...watching me sleep.

But now his creepiness is being reserved for Namjoon instead. Jealousy hits me hard for the second time today. Does my cat like him better than me?

Not only that, but this strange event reminds me of last nights even stranger happenings. We almost kissed, then: "Hyung!" Namjoon was growling like a rabid animal, Hoseok's yellow eyes and his voodoo shit.

I'd completely forgotten about the incident in Namjoon's bedroom. What does it say about my life that all this supernatural craziness is going on around me and yet my mind is mainly occupied with my gay dad's relationship and my cat's weird ass habits?

That I'm easily distracted, probably.

"Namjoon," I murmur into his shoulder, "what happened last night?"

"Hm? Which part?"

As if he doesn't know. "Hoseok had yellow eyes and...controlled you?"

He moves around, settling into the bed to achieve a more comfortable position. "Have you looked at the book I gave you?"

There's something else I had forgotten about. I might feel guilty about it if I hadn't been so preoccupied with stupid Ronald stealing my dad away from me. "No, I forgot about it," my lower lip begins to tremble as my voice cracks, "stupid Ronald-"

"Don't cry!" Namjoon says quickly, the hand in my hair vigorously rubbing into my scalp, as if that would hold back any tears from falling. "I'll tell you anything you want."

"Ok." My voice comes out sounding small and vulnerable and the his hand slows down again, gently stroking my head.

"Alright, so I'll start with the basics. There are different ranks and categories of werewolves. But remember how I told you that hundreds of years ago we used to hunt for our own food and there were things like pack wars?"

The phrase 'pack wars' sparks an interest in me so I dog-ear it for later and hum in affirmation.

Fingers glide through my ponytail as he speaks, threatening to distract me from his words. "Right, so, we don't really use the ranks anymore since there aren't any pack wars to speak of. They used to have to go through tests and trials to establish a rank if yours wasn't already recognizable."

"What do you mean?" Steve seems just as interested in this as I am, attentively watching Namjoon's every move. BooBoo has also decided to join us, opting for curling up in the crook of my legs.

"The different types in order are alpha, the elders, beta, delta, and omega."

That's a lot I'm not going to remember.

"It's easy to recognize an alpha because he gives off a sense of strength and authority."

"Like Jungkook?" Maybe what I saw in his eyes wasn't something sinister, but something dangerous? With Namjoon's explanation it makes sense in my head, since I did get a different sort of vibe from him.

"Jungkook?" he questions, his voice doubtful. "What makes you say that?"

I position my head slightly from looking at the cats so I can see his face. "Yeah. Don't you get a sense from him? He felt...different from the rest of you."

Eyelashes flutter as he blinks a few times, distracting me. I've never noticed how pretty they are before.

"I...don't know. It could be because he's not originally from our pack."

"He's not?"

"No, when he was a child someone dropped him off on one our doorsteps with a letter saying he was an orphan. The police weren't able to procure any leads so he ended up staying with the pack and making up the seventh family."

"By himself?" he nods and explains that if he is an alpha rank, that we wouldn't be able to know for certain until he turned of age or began to show signs of aggression. With that he went on to explain who is an alpha, and the answer doesn't surprise me. Hoseok.

"So he can control you?"

His mouth turns in a frown. "Yes, but he only does that when he feels he has to, of course. Like last night."

"Right. What happened there?" I try to catch his eye but he blatantly avoids it, his cheeks taking on a ruddy shade.

"We were about to kiss and you looked a certain way. I didn't want them to see."

Wait. Is he saying I looked horny or something? Oh god, that's exactly what he's saying. As embarrassing as that is, I can't help myself from wanting to tease him. "A certain way, oppa? Like this?" His face grows a shade darker before he glances over to find me with my eyes crossed and my top lip curled up to show my front teeth, so that I resemble a brain dead chipmunk.

To my delight, he laughs my favorite laugh. Not his soft, chortling one or his nervous chuckle, but the one where giggles cutely and throws a hand over his mouth.

"Yes," he continues through laughter, "you looked exactly like that."

Eventually he stops giggling and I curl closer into him, feeling more comfortable as more of my cats march into my room and climb in bed next to us, or in Lucifer's case, directly onto my dresser where she oh-so-casually starts swatting all of my things onto the floor.

"Someone is texting you." Namjoon informs me. He must have glanced over to where my phone sat on the bedside table because of his next question. "Who is cat hating fuck face?"

"Ugh." I groan and make no move to check the phone. "It's stupid Ronald. He-" in an instant my eyes are cloudy with tears again. "He's taking my dad from me!" I break into tears and Namjoon's panic starts all over.

"No, don't cry! Tell me about it instead." he begs while trying to soothe me. "Please don't cry, I really hate it."

Unable to get the words out I sob, hating myself for opening this temporary window of feelings. I knew I'd end up crying more over this eventually. In my heart I understand that dad is still my dad and he's always going to be. However, that doesn't mean I'm not scared of the change.

Eventually I'm able to explain myself to Namjoon, who listens and strokes my hair and tells me it's going to be ok.

Seriously, why is he so damn perfect.

It infuriates me.

My mood wants to swing into a wrathful one but I bite my tongue to control myself. Namjoon is too good and doesn't deserve my psycho ass.

"Are there other ranks that are easy to tell?" I ask to distract myself.

My head still resting on his shoulder, I stare over at him as he carefully dries my tears with the hem of his sleeve.

"The elders, for obvious reasons. And omega, because they're only half wolf." He gingerly dabs over my eye as he finishes up.

"How can you be half wolf?"

"The prominent werewolf gene runs through males, so if a human male procreates with a female wolf, their offspring is either fully human or half wolf."

"What the hell? That's sexist."

He purses his lips together in a clear look of amusement. "It's not sexist, it's nature."

"Then nature is sexist. But whatever. Are any of you guys omega?"

He nods and carefully dabs at the remnants of tears left over. "Jin-hyung is. Which seems sort of backwards since he's the one that runs the house and tends to scold and boss us around. The connection to his wolf isn't as strong, so finding his mate will be really hard for him."

"Oh. That's so sad." Jin has only ever been nice to me, even packing in extra food in Namjoon's lunches when he has no obligation to do so. He doesn't deserve that type of fate. It makes me wonder what our lives would have been like if Namjoon was an omega. Would he have been able to find me? The thought that he wouldn't have fills me with sadness, now that I know what I could have missed out on.

Annoyingly my bottom lip quivers and I quickly bite down on it to keep from crying again. Seeing this, Namjoon leans forward and bumps his nose against mine. Strangely enough this is very comforting.

"It's alright. He can still find his mate, it's not impossible."

This tender moment is cut short when Steve decides that he's been neglected long enough and squeezes in to sit right between our faces.

"So tell me more." I say eagerly, totally unbothered.

"Uh-" his voice is slightly muffled. "Can you tell him to move?"

Steve's tail flicks back and forth, his eyes sharp on Namjoon's face as though he understands what he's saying.

"I mean I can, but he's a cat so he's gonna do whatever he wants."

The sound of his sigh brings a light giggle out of me. I carefully push on the cat so that he's sitting lower between us and we can see one another. Oddly he doesn't seem to notice or care, his eyes only for Namjoon.

What the hell, Steve? Show your mother some creepy affection, too.

I swallow dryly when Namjoon's eyes meet mine and he gives me a gentle smile. This should be impossible, but is he getting cuter everyday?

"Did you ask a question? I forgot." He murmurs after a full minute of us staring at each other like love-sick puppies. "You're so pretty it made me forget."

You'd think I'd be used to comments like this by now. Yet I still feel my face growing hot and I struggle with a comeback before ending up with a lame, "shut-up."

"MmMm." he shakes his head. "I won't. You're pretty here," his free hand lifts and bops me on the tip of my nose with his index finger. "And here," the back of his finger grazes over my right eyebrow. "And here," he lightly pinches my cheek. "And here." His voice is a whisper by the time the pad of his thumb strokes my bottom lip.

I swallow once more, fighting the urge to bite down on the lip he's still lingering on. My breath quickens when I realize he's leaning in.

"Can I?" The question is asked without his eyes leaving my mouth.

I nod weakly before halting and I glance around my room with narrowed eyes. Somehow I'm expecting to find Taehyung climbing in the window ("Hyung! What are you doing here?") or hanging from the ceiling like Spider-Man ("Hyung! Look what I can do!") or crawling out of the air ducts ("Hyung! What's happening?") to interrupt us once again.

Fortunately I find none of those scenarios. Namjoon seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was because we both turn to look at each other at the same time after a brief glance around the room.

He gave no more warning before his lips were on mine.

It was nice, warm, eager...clumsy.

So he hasn't kissed before?

My mouth morphs into a smile against his, now that I know that this moment was reserved for me.

Gently I rest both palms on either side of his face, pulling back just enough to disconnect.

"Slow," I whisper. "I'll start and you follow, kay?"

His head nods almost frantically, causing a few purple locks of hair to fall into his eyes.

With slow movements I start with a tender bush to the corner of his mouth, easing in until the minimal contact becomes the real thing and I'm closing my lips over his bottom one, our top lips bumping against the other and the tip of his nose tickling my own. With practiced ease, I glide my mouth against his, setting a slow, steady rhythm that I know he can keep up with.

There's a lot of good things I can say about Namjoon, but the one thing that stands out vividly right at this moment, is that he's a fast learner. He catches on quickly and soon is able to match my pace. The thumb of his left hand connects with my chin and tugs down just the slightest bit, so that my lips are pulled apart, giving him more leverage.

Holy shit.

The tingles are back but this time it's like something inside of me busts open and sets off fireworks that race through my veins and raises goosebumps across my skin. Adrenaline shoots down my arms, legs, and spine, and this is where I think I could do this forever. Fuck it. I don't need oxygen.

I tilt my head to get a better angle, wanting to deepen the kiss and he obliges, allowing me to suck his bottom lip between my own.

A sound comes from the back of his throat that causes my pride to skyrocket and I move my hands up to run them through his hair, pulling him in, needing him closer.

It all comes to a crashing halt when Steve decides to fart loudly, hiss, and then leave us there in a nasty cloud of stank.

And on that note, if anyone wants Steve, I'm putting him up for adoption.

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Edited 9/20/21