Chapter Text
They had set the appointment to "meet" and get the hybrids for next week. Since Hoseok's eomma was paying for more of the hybrids, the whole purchase was under her name with her info. Unfortunately, she had work on the day of the pickup, so he would have to be the one to get them. He grabbed his ID and forms to prove she was his mother and he wasn't some creep that was gonna kidnap the hybrids, just in case his boss needed official documents.
Probably not though.
From arrival to departure, the whole event was chaotic to say the least. First, Hoseok had gotten lost while trying to find his way to the front desk, not used to entering through the front doors of the place. He had always entered around the back in the Section D enterance, even all the way back when he had his first interview. So yeah.. He got lost. He ended up having to ask staff for help, silently cursing the layout of the building while he chatted with a staff member he recognized. Then he saw that none of the hybrids were in their kennels and instead outside playing, which would be fine except that meant Jungkook was outside with everyone else (Namjoon specifically) and he couldn't go get them yet because he was being lead to his old boss to be personally thanked for buying so many hybrids.
Hoseok rolled his eyes at this.
His former boss had a habit of personally thanking anyone who bought more than 2 hybrids over the price of 2.75 million won and giving them a gift card with 2 months worth of hybrid groceries free. Of course people were always so grateful, but Hoseok knew that that was nothing compared to the prices the buyers were paying for the hybrids.
When he was led into his former bosses office, he squared his shoulders, plastering on a nervous smile as he stepped into the small room. His bosses blinding grin dropped once he spun around in his chair to see who had entered.
"Oh, Hoseok. What are you doing here?" He asked this with no emotion, his expression stone cold and hard to read.
"Uhm.. I'm here to pick up the hybrids?" Once Hoseok said this, Seunghyun frowned, the corners of his lips pulling down slightly.
"Is that so? It says Jung Jisun on the adoption forms. You are not Jung Jisun."
"Yes, but I'm her son. That's why I'm here." Hoseok shifted nervously on his feet, analyzing every bit of the room so that he didn't have to look at his former boss.
"Sorry, but I'm gonna need some proof." Hoseok's jaw dropped. He didn't actually think his boss was going to be this difficult.
"S-Sir you know that my mother is named Jisun, I told you th-"
"I know I know, but you need official proof since you aren't the one on the papers. It's the rules." Hoseok could see the little smirk dancing at the corner of the older male's mouth, a quick little thing that disappeared the moment Hoseok began to focus on it. The younger male was glad he was fired, because he had no idea Seunghyun could be this malevolent. It would be one thing if it was a higher ups rules, but he WAS the higher up. The shelter was HIS business and those were HIS rules and the man refused to let it slide.
It made it all the more satisfying when Hoseok reached into his bag he had brought with him and pulled out the correct documents, biting back a smile of his own once he saw the look on Seunghyun's face, watching the poorly concealed smug expression melt away to expose the fire beneath. He looked positively livid, probably due to the fact that the employee he found incompetent was now taking out a whole section of his shelter. Hoseok remembers the rest of the time in that room being a blur, his former boss quickly wrapping up the meeting and explaining that the pups will have to have a checkup and be delivered later on. Seunghyun then led him out to the waiting area at the front of the building.
"Would you like the hybrids sent to you in our employee vans or would you like to leave with them?" His boss had on that unbreakable mask again, leaving no room for emotion.
"I'll take them with me." Hoseok swore he could've heard his boss scoff as he turned away, but he'd never know for sure. As he walked away he waved a hand over his shoulder, aimed at Hoseok.
"They'll be ready in an hour. Do what you must while you wait. Nice seeing you again, Hoseok."
And with that, he was gone.
---------
The hour felt like FOREVER. Hoseok had spent the first 15 minutes in the waiting room, then decided to wait the rest of the time out in his car. He had rang the front desk to let them know where he was, just so they didn't think he got cold feet and ran off. Hoseok had his head down on the steering wheel, scrolling through his phone when there was a knock on his window. He glanced up, only to see Jimin knocking. Hoseok gasped, quickly putting his phone away and looking past Jimin to see two employees idly chatting while all the hybrids were on leads, standing there and staring back at Hoseok. They all held very different expressions. Jimin, Jin, and Namjoon had varying degrees of annoyance on their faces, while Jungkook and Taehyung looked pretty awestruck to be free, gazes flitting from Hoseok to the world around them. Yoongi didn't care at all, just staring blankly at Hoseok. He looked bored.
Hoseok had missed them so much.
Once he helped load them into the caravan, they were off, driving through the countryside to get to his eomma's house. The hybrids were all silent except for Taehyung, who was rambling to Hoseok about all the things he missed while he was gone.
Hoseok looked to his side once he stopped at a stop light. Jimin was in the passenger's seat, picking his nails with a bored expression on his face. The male then looked in the rearview mirror to see the hybrids looking out the windows, Taehyung noticing his excitement and smiling and waving at him.
Hoseok couldn't believe his dream had come true.
When they arrived, his eomma was waiting on the steps. She gave a smile and a wave, whole face lighting up even further as she spotted Jimin in the passenger's seat. Hoseok got out, letting the hybrids in the back out first and then letting Jimin out. He had put childlock on since some hybrids (Jungkook) were unpredictable. His eomma's squeal broke the silence.
"Oh my goodness, he is way more adorable in person! Is he friendly?" Hoseok could tell his eomma wanted to run up and hug Jimin, but didn't know how he'd react. Hoseok put his hand up and wobbled it in a 'so so' gesture. His eomma slowly approached Jimin, who stared at her nervously, watching her with sharp eyes. Then she stopped, lighting up as an idea popped into her head, and Hoseok and the hybrids watched as she made a mad dash back into the house. They all turned to look at him quizzically, Hoseok just shrugging as a response and leading them inside. After entering the house, his eomma came rushing by with a treat in her hand.
Bacon.
All the hybrids zeroed in on the treat, but she gave it to Jimin, who smiled at her and let her pet him.
'Progress, I guess.' Hoseok thought.
-----
It took them quite awhile to get comfy, some longer than others. Jimin and Taehyung got comfortable pretty quickly, seeing as they were never stray dogs and always had a roof over their heads. Jungkook took a couple hours to get used to it, telling Hoseok later in the day that he had occasionally found an abandoned house to lay low in but had never been in a house with people.
Jin, Namjoon, and Yoongi were not comfortable at all. Even now, as a movie played on the screen and the 3 younger hybrids were snuggled up to Hoseok watching it with him, Hoseok could hear Jin whimpering upstairs. He had holed himself in one of the 4 bedrooms that were in the house, Namjoon and Yoongi with him and trying to protect him from any unknown dangers as well as soothe him.
He knew Jin was older than all the other hybrids and probably fed up with all the changes in his life. Hoseok felt bad that he had, once again, uprooted Jin's life, but knew that it was better that he knew the person that would be adopting him. It would be disasterous if he would've been adopted by someone else, especially since he seems less and less inclined to open up or show any signs of wanting to be friendly. At this stage, Hoseok thought it best to leave him be and hope he adjusts. If he doesn't, who knows what he might have to do. He might have to give Jin to a wildlife rescue if he can't warm up, and he'd hate to have to give him up.
Hoseok took the big blanket that he was using and covered Jungkook and Taehyung with it, noticing that it was getting cold in the room. They were laid out next to him on the giant couch, Taehyung snuggled into Jungkook's chest and fast asleep while Jungkook was still up, doe eyes looking over at Hoseok, curiosity and deep thought written all throughout his expression.
"Yes, Jungkook?"
Jungkook shook his head, then pointed up at the ceiling.
"What, Jin?"
"His cries make my wolf sad. Make me wanna comfort him."
Hoseok reached over and patted his calf, letting out a sad chuckle. "They make me sad too buddy."
The conversation trickled out, both of them neglecting the movie and its dialogue in favor of listening out for Jin. He was making a weird, high pitched noise over and over again.
"Chirping. Calling for his babies," Jungkook said matter of factly, picking at some stuffing that poked out of the heavy blanket. "He misses them."
Hoseok's heart hurt now that he understood why Jin was so melancholy. He kept forgetting that Jin had had a new litter, the shock from watching him give birth leaving his memory foggy when it came to the event in question. Hoseok wanted to go comfort the wolf, but knew it would only make things worse.
After awhile, the chirping stopped, replaced by quiet whimpers, then nothing. Jin must've fallen asleep. Just at that moment the room went dark as a black screen crept onto the TV, credits popping up a couple seconds later. Hoseok stretched and made a loud weird noise, making Jungkook alert for a second before relaxing once again.
"I'ma go to bed. Night Jungkook."
"Goodnight Hobi."
-----
The next morning was much worse.
Hoseok woke up to loud screams and crashing sounds. Springing up from the bed, he ran out of his bedroom and into the hallway, where he saw Namjoon slam Jungkook up against the wall, arm pressed into the wolf's throat. Jungkook was baring his teeth and trying to pry the arm off, but it wouldn't budge. Taehyung was a few feet away cowering, looking terrified, and his eomma was yelling at Namjoon to let him go. Just as Hoseok stepped forward to try and break it up, Namjoon grabbed the lone wolf by the throat and launched him down the flight of stairs, the sickening thuds echoing as Jungkook tumbled down. Taehyung screamed and ran down the stairs in tears, and Hoseok's eomma was crying as well as she covered her eyes. After quickly making sure his eomma was okay, Hoseok followed Taehyung down the steps to see if Jungkook was hurt, jumping back in fear when he saw how the wolf looked.
He was practically foaming at the mouth, laid out on his back still angry and snarling, but his leg was twisted up really badly, and he didn't move from the ground. Taehyung was cradling his head and holding him close, whimpering and looking at Hoseok for help. For once, the male didn't know what to do. The clinicians from the shelter weren't here, so he'd probably have to take Jungkook to a hybrid vet.
"Jungkook, can you stand?" He watched as the hybrid attempted to move, only to yelp in pain.
"Shit.." Hoseok cursed under his breath, looking around. He might need other hybrids to help lift Jungkook up. He spotted Jimin and Yoongi peeking their heads up over the couch and looking at Jungkook, one with wide eyes and the other looking eerily calm.
"Jimin, Yoongi, can you help me get him up and into the car?"
They both got up off the couch and made their way over, apprehension clear as day on Jimin's face as he wrapped his arms around Jungkook to help lift him. Taehyung backed off and the three of them hoisted him up, the wolf letting out the rawest screams imaginable. It continued all the way to the car, even when Hoseok stopped putting pressure on his broken leg and laid him down in the car. Hoseok was quick, hopping in the driver's seat and driving off at lightning speed.
"Jungkook, are you hurt anywhere else besides your leg?" Hoseok asked this as he stopped at a stop light, looking in the rearview mirror.
After a second of Jungkook just laying there, trembling with sweat gathering on his forehead, he mumbled out, "M' back.."
"Your back is hurting?"
"Fingers...back..leg.. foot..." he huffed out, the waves of pain obvious through his expressions.
"Okay we'll get you to the hospital. We'll be there soon."
A moment of silence, followed by a strained, "..Okay.."
-----
The vet trip was not a fun one, Hoseok watching as they had to check Jungkook's purpling leg and body for any signs of something worse. Turns out he fractured his back, broke his leg, and sprained his ankle and wrist. A finger was broken as well. They had to get him into a couple casts, one for his finger and one for his leg, and they gave Hoseok pain medication and told him to administer the correct amounts to Jungkook throughout the day.
Then, things got even more grim when the vet came out and told Hoseok that Jungkook's healing abilities are becoming weaker. She explained that small injuries are nothing to the healing ability, but he seemed to get seriously hurt a lot, and showed Hoseok an x-ray of Jungkook. He could see that there were a lot of highlighted areas that showed different old breaks and fractures, a lot of them unexplainable.
"I don't recall him getting hurt this much..."
"Well a lot of them are extremely old. How long have you known the hybrid?"
"About 6 months."
"Yeah no," she said with a sad chuckle. "Most of these are from before he knew you. Do you know who he was with before you?"
"He was a lone wolf, scavenging in the streets and the woods."
"Yeah, that explains it. Something bigger must've got him before, or he just got into a lot of scuffles. He's a brave hybrid for going through all of that, but he can't keep getting hurt like this. The nurses wrote down what happened and why he's in here, and I think you need to keep your wolves on separate floors. Wolf hybrids are very territorial creatures, and they run on instinct more than human emotions."
"Okay, I will. Thank you for the help."
"No problem. He's gonna be transported and dropped off in one of our handicap vans so he can heal at home. And again, he won't bounce back as fast. Give it a few weeks to a month."
Hoseok nodded, looking over at Jungkook who was sleeping peacefully, knocked out by all the pain medication.
Poor Jungkook.
---
Since it was a couple hours before Jungkook would be dropped off, Hoseok went home and tidied up the place, clearing a section off in the corner of the living room and getting help from the hybrids. They carried a mattress down from one of the vacant rooms, placing it in that section, as well as propping up pillows so that he could recline at an angle and see the TV. After that was done, Hoseok started making lunch for all the hybrids. Usually his eomma would do it, but she was at work.
When he called out for them to eat, all of them except for Jin and Taehyung came into the room. Namjoon grabbed his and Jin's plates and wandered off back upstairs, Yoongi watching him leave but not following. He was too busy eating with Jimin, who was stealing bits of food off of his plate and smiling innocently as he did so. Yoongi was smiling back, letting him pick from his plate, which was surprising considering that most wolves, especially feral ones, were food aggressive.
Hoseok smiled as he watched them act all cutesy, then stood up and grabbed Tae's plate, looking for him around the house. He eventually found him sitting in the backyard on the swinging bench, looking wistfully past the large clearing of grass off into the trees.
"..Tae?"
Nothing.
"Do you want your food?"
Taehyung slowly shook his head, still staring at nothing.
Hoseok released a sigh, setting the plate down on the outdoor table and taking a seat next to him. After awhile of silence, he spoke up.
"Are you okay..?"
Taehyung turned to face him, his curls falling into his face to partially cover one of his bright blue eyes as the moonlight bathed one side of his face in a pale glow. A tear tracked down his cheek.
"No.. I'm scared of Namjoon. He's really mean. What if they hurt Kookie again? What if they hurt me next? Just because I'm associated with Jungkook?" Taehyung spoke in a small wavering voice, looking down a his lap and twiddling his fingers midway through his words.
Hoseok was shocked that Taehyung could even speak in first person, so used to him speaking in third person. He was clearly terrified, so Hoseok quickly quelled his astonishment to try and comfort the dog. "That won't happen. I promise."
Taehyung just looked at him, disbelief written all over his face.
"Look. I may not have been up in time to stop whatever happened from escalating, but I am here now, and I will never leave you guys alone. I'm gonna make sure I'm the first one to wake up every morning, so that I can deescalate things before they can even begin to get out of hand. Also you, Jimin, and Jungkook will be staying on the ground floor, and Jin, Namjoon and Yoongi can stay up there."
"But Jimin will miss Yoongi. Plus he doesn't cause any problems."
"I know, but Jungkook might do/say something to set him off. It's better that way."
"I guess.." Taehyung mumbled, picking his nails.
---
The handicapped van dropped Jungkook off at the house at around 7:30PM, the hospital workers making quick work of getting him inside and onto the mattress they had laid down. Taehyung was overjoyed that he was back, immediately cuddling up to the drugged up Jungkook, who just sniffed at Taehyung's neck, snuggled his face into it, and fell back asleep. Jimin was pouting, arms crossed as he watched the lovey display. Hoseok didn't know if he was mad at Jungkook or at them being coupley when Yoongi was forced upstairs.
Probably both.
When Jimin stomped away to sulk in the corner, Hoseok turned his attention back to Taehyung and Jungkook, only to find Jungkook sleepily mouthing at the husky's neck. Taehyung had his head tilted to the side, shudders running through him as his mating gland was stimulated, tail thumping against the mattress. Taehyung then gripped the waistband of his pants, preparing to take them down. Hoseok's eyes widened and he quickly walked over to them to interfere.
"No. Bad. We don't do things like that when Jungkook is hurt. You could hurt him more by doing stuff with him." Taehyung looked at Hoseok, eyes widening as he heard the male's words. He then whimpered, distancing himself from the horny sleepy wolf. Jungkook went back to just laying there, looking pretty content no matter what happened. Taehyung then slowly got up and left, leaving a worried Hoseok (and an unbothered Jungkook) to wonder where he had gone. Just as Hoseok went to get up though, Taehyung returned, sitting next to Jungkook on the mattress with his legs crossed. He revealed that he was holding a brush, and began brushing through the tired wolf's hair, humming a gentle tune. Jungkook was out like a light in seconds, falling into a deep slumber, and Taehyung looked up at Hoseok with a big grin plastered on his face.
"Taetae loves him so much."