the Key

The trip to find the Elder's old friend consisted of a 5 hour drive north into the mountains. Winter had started by now and the winding roads leading to a small mountain village was covered in fresh fallen snow. The air was cool and crisp and burned the tip of Taehyung's nose as it turned a bright pink, he was glad he packed his heavy winter coat. They passed a small strip of local shops and restaurants, enough for the tiny community, and continued past stretches of trees leading to a small road. The Elder took a deep breathe and turned onto the small road that look it was leading to the middle of nowhere. Soon the road became more difficult to see, because Taehyung assumed no one had traveled on it since the first snow fall.

Soon the snow became too deep, and they were forced to leave the car behind and walk the rest of the way. The elder pulled out some gear from the trunk and they started walking. It did not take much longer before they saw smoke floating above some treetops ahead of them. Taehyung could see no other homes around, just long stretches of trees and snowy fields all around. They continued toward the direction of the smoke until a small cabin was in their view. It was not extravagant and clearly built to accommodate one person comfortably. Soon they were only a few steps away from the from door when a voice echoes through the trees.

They turn to find a man a little older than The Elder Taehyung had traveled with.

"Get out." Is all the man says before he walks toward the door ignoring his two visitors.

"Please Hae-Seong, we need your help." The Elder said desperately.

"No. Whatever it is Jun-Ha, I don't want to have anything to do with it." The other man answered.

"This is Kim Taehyung next Head of Council." The Elder said calmly.

The other man turned and looked at Taehyung with an intense glare. Taehyung bowed and gave the man a friendly smile.

"He is her son?" The man asks.

"Yes." The Elder replied.

"Come inside." The man said leading the way for them to follow.

The three men went inside and was met with a gush of warm air from the fire that had been filling the room with warmth for some time it seemed. Taehyung felt his whole body warm instantly and he let out a content sigh to be out of the harsh cold he had experienced moments earlier.

"You can sit there." The man said pointing to a small couch and a large lounge chair near the fireplace.

He turned and walked toward the kitchen placing a water kettle on his stove and lighting the burner. He walked toward where Taehyung and The Elder sat watching him and waiting.

"So what brings the next Head of Council to my door?" The man asks in almost a sarcastic tone.

"We have come because we need your help. We think the council is planning something big, something terrible and we are trying to figure out what it is and stop them." The Elder says in one breathe.

The other man glances between the two men before letting out a husky laugh.

"You are trying to stop the council?" The man asked not really expecting an answer but laughs again. "And can I ask what exactly you expect me to do against the most powerful group of our society?"

"Right now, we it's Taehyung who needs your help. The council has decided that he be given suppressants, but we need him to have his full abilities if we are going to be moving forward." The Elder says.

The other man now turns his attention to Taehyung examining him head to toe. Taehyung feels uncomfortable, as if he is an animal in a zoo.

"What is your gift?" The man asks.

"I have the power to persuade people forcefully through mental manipulation." Taehyung says.

The other man seems surprised by the answer, but his surprised expression came and went instantly. He now turns back to the elder and lets out a deep sigh.

"You know what happened when I tried to help his mother Jun-ha. Look what happened, it ruined her. Now you want me to help her son who could easily take the same path, even if his abilities are not of the same caliber as his mother's." The other man said.

"You're right, he is not at the same level as her, he is stronger. Maybe more powerful than any others in his family." The Elder said.

The other man glanced up at Taehyung again. "What do you mean?"

"It is difficult to explain, but he was bonded with an Amarok and for some reason his gift was amplified far more than it had been. He was illuminated during the soul transfer." The Elder replied.

The other man looked stunned and confused. "He was bonded with an Amarok?" He almost stuttered the words out.

The Elder simply nodded.

"How? The council, they allowed this?" he asked.

"Yes. That's when my concerns grew. Things are different and I feel it is heading to a darker end. The council would never allow such a bond to be made, and yet it has. They opened the college to dark and light creatures, and many bonds have been made by creatures from both sides. This is something the council has always been against, and yet it has come to pass." The Elder said, his voice laced with worry.

The other man still seemed confused by what his old friend had been telling him. The Elder goes on to explain all that had happened recently and his suspicions before leaving the room silent.

"Elder, I know you have chosen to live in isolation, and I am not here to ask you to come back and fight this fight with us. I am here because I need help. I need my powers restored so I can stop what's coming." Taehyung says pleading.

"And if you can't control your power? Who will be safe from you?" The man asks. "Your mother was my student as well, and I taught her how to use her power. She came to me one day asking about something she had read. About others like her who were able to erase memories, I told her that it was possible. I told her many had tried and had not been able to perform such a thing successfully. He listened a left, and the next day she came went before the council to tell them what she had done to your father. She began treatments that night and changed completely. She was not the caring and loving young woman I had helped; she became closed off and cold. I knew something had happened to her, but when I asked her, she dismissed me. She blamed me for not training her to control her abilities better, and only the council had offered her a real solution. The Council said I had failed my role as an advisor and told me to leave or face criminal charges. That is why you had to travel this far just to find me." The man said sadly.

Taehyung felt guilty for asking the man to help him after hearing how he felt responsible for what happened to his mother and father.

"I am sorry my mother blamed you. None of what happened was only your fault, the fault lies with my mother and the council as well. I do not want to ask you to do anything against your will, but I am scared. After finding out the lengths the council has gone to keep my mother under their control, I fear what they will do to me when I take her place. For now, they seem occupied and have not even asked to meet with me since the bonding ceremony. Perhaps right now they do not view me as a threat, and that means I am in the right position to act without raising too much suspicion. If I had my powers, I may be able to discreetly get the information we need to figure out what their real plan is. Once we know, we will know how to act." Taehyung says.

"Going against the council is the worst choice you could ever make, but maybe we have all been sitting back for too long and doing nothing. Maybe now is the time to end things for good." The man said proudly.

"So you will help us?" Taehyung asks.

"I will help you, but we need one more thing." The man says.

"What is it?" Taehyung asks softly.

"We need your mate. We need the Amarok." The man said looking at Taehyung. "He is what we need to restore your power."

"Why? What can Jungkook do?" Taehyung asks confused.

"He has your energy flowing through him as well, he can give you enough of a spark to ignite your powers forcing the suppressant out of your system." The man said explaining the process carefully. "We would perform a ritual similar to how you were bonded, and he will be the key to fixing what the council has tried to keep buried."

Taehyung was surprised by this, and yet it made perfect sense. He and Jungkook seemed to be the solution to every problem Taehyung has faced. Jungkook and he were connected by fate long before they even met. It only made sense that Jungkook would be the piece of the puzzle that solved everything. Taehyung had never been more grateful to have met Jungkook then when he finally realized that he is the only thing in his life that makes sense, all of the time.

"I will bring him." The elder said turing to Taehyung.

Taehyung nodded and thanked him.

"Taehyung, while we wait for Jungkook's arrival I will train you to keep your powers in control. Then hopefully your fate will not be the same as your mother's." The man said.

No long later, Taehyung and the Elder left and headed to the house they had rented for the trip.

"I will leave now to bring Jungkook here. I should be back before afternoon tomorrow." The Elder said, leaving Taehyung and heading back to the city.

As soon as he was alone he took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts and selecting Jungkook's number.

"Hello?" Came Jungkook's sluggish voice.

"Jungkookie?" Taehyung said softly.

"Hi! You ok?" Jungkook asks worried.

"Yes, I am fine. We just got back to the rental house." Taehyung said siting down on the bed in his room.

"Did it go ok? Will The Elder's friend be able to help you?" Jungkook asked.

"Actually, yes and he said that the person we need to help restore my powers is you." Taehyung replied with a proud smile forming on his face.

"Me? How can I help you get you powers back?" Jungkook asked confused.

"He says its because my energy flows through you, and you can use that energy to break through the suppression drugs and my powers would be restored." Taehyung said with a soft happy laugh.

"oh. Wow! Ok, well now what? Will he return with you?" Jungkook asks.

"No, The Elder is on his way to bring you here. It is safer to perform the ritual away from the city and the council." Taehyung explains.

"I guess I should pack then." Jungkook says a little surprised.

"Later, it will take the elder about 5 hours to get back. Let's just talk a little longer, ok?" Taehyung asks feeling the fatigue of the day slowly hitting him.

"Ok." Jungkook said with a smile. "I missed you."

"I haven't even been gone a day silly." Taehyung said with a cute laugh.

"I know. I miss you when you go to the grocery store, so imagine how bad one day is." Jungkook admits.

Taehyung can't help but smile when Jungkook says such sweet things like that. He can't believe the quiet easily annoyed Jungkook he met less than a year ago had turned into this clingy ball of fluff. When they had spent their first days together after being bonded and Taehyung started noticing how much Jungkook had changed, he thought he was imagining it. They had gotten close as roommates, but Jungkook hardly talked to him, and never really seem interested in Taehyung in a romantic way. Even after they had been bonded Taehyung wondered if Jungkook really had those kinds of feelings for him. He had many times when he felt uncertain because it had all changed so fast. Jungkook would keep reminding him how much he meant to him, and he had been too proud and embarrassed to admit how he felt even to himself. He didn't want to hurt Taehyung and tried to push his feelings away and ignore them. Taehyung was so surprised when Jungkook started saying these sweet comments every day, showering Taehyung with the kindest words and compliments. It was a surprise how easily they fit together, as if they had known each other for a lifetime.

Even before they were bonded, they acted like an old married couple with each other and found that they feel into life as partners with ease. Taehyung would pinch himself every morning that he woke up and saw Jungkook sleeping beside him, to make sure that it hadn't all been the best dream he had ever had.

"Tae you still there?" Jungkook says on the other end of the call.

"Yeah I'm still here. Just thinking." Taehyung replied.

"Everything will be fine Tae; we will find the answers. We were meant to do this; we were meant to find each other." Jungkook said.

"Yes, we were." Taehyung said smiling.

"And I would do anything for you, you know that right?" Jungkook asked with a little hint of concern.

"I know."

"You are the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, and I have never been happier then when we are together." Jungkook continued.

"Jungkookie, you are making me blush!" Taehyung said feeling shy.

"Sorry, I just want to make sure you know you never have to worry or be afraid to ask me for help. I will always say yes, no matter how dangerous it is I will always say yes." Jungkook said confidently.

"You are seriously too good to be true! I don't know how I got so lucky meeting you!" Taehyung said feeling like his heart is swelling.

"Now who is the cheesy one?" Jungkook teased.

"Still you!" Taehyung replies laughing. "Jungkookie?"

"Hmm?"

"I am scared." Taehyung says his voice shaking a little. "I am scared that we won't succeed and I will lose you somehow."

"Tae, we talked about this. Nothing like that will happen because I won't ever stop fighting to be with you. Even if the whole world is against us, I will always fight! We will always be together!���