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written-in-flowers · 3 months ago

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The Places Between Us: The Devoted Lover: (OT8 X Fem!Reader)

Pairing: Kim Hongjong x Fem!Reader | Sidepairings: Ateez x Fem!Reader

Genre: Smut, angst, fluff | AU: Fantasy!au

Word Count: 9k

Summary: After a week of waiting, Hongjoong finally makes his appearance in Breakbone Pass. Finally in each other's arms, YN and Hongjoong can take on the entire world together.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Overall tags: dub-con, mind control, enslavement, kidnapping, forced breeding, monster fucking, sex work, mentions/implications of abuse, mentions/implications of SA, stockholm syndrome, public sex, exhibitionism, humiliation, degradation, breeding kink, bigdick!Seonghwa, bigdick!Yunho, DoubleDick!Yunh, monster fucking, face fucking, throat fucking, undead sex, sex w/ undead, belly bulge, anal sex, anal fingering, vaginal sex, multiple positions, multiple orgasms, squirting/vaginal ejaculation, slight size kink (height wise), overstimulation, facials, cum swallowing, choking, dom!ateez, sub!reader, tit fucking, sex toys, bondage, multiple partners, threesome (m/m/f), orc!jongho, naga!seonghwa, demon!hongjoong, dragon!yunho, undead!mingi, goblin!yeosang, lycan!san, lycan!wooyoung.

Taglist: @binniesbabe @stay-tiny-things @oiminho @babymbbatinygirl @sopematesxx @pirana10 @juicyjaxxy @corgilover20 @kinkymaminicole @londonbridges10 @readerofallthingss @dvbkie099 @cpg2020 @raralxyne

Part 6: The Orc Warchief < |

****

Breakfast consisted of a warm bowl of rabbit stew. You sat in Talia’s cabin, scarfing down the proper meal with a hunk of bread and milk, as Willow and Sunghoon played nearby. You have been staying with the Orcs for a week now, and your curse has not progressed at all. Talia explained your moonstone necklace, embedded with magic now, was warding off its worst effects. The only times it burned now were when Jongho snuck into your cabin late at night.

“My brother is quite fond of you,” Talia said beside you, eating her own stew over a bed of steaming rice. “I have never seen him take to someone so easily.”

“It’s not me he’s fond of,” you sneered, spooning stew and rice into your mouth.

The both of you laughed, and she nudged you gently. “I meant it in a platonic way,” she elaborated. “Jongho never takes to outsiders without them having to prove themselves somehow. Him and Kim are only friends because Kim defeated him in a sparring match; that had been after Kim went into a spider’s nest and defeated the broodmother, bringing my brother its legs as proof.”

You shuddered thinking about that. “Like I said, I think I proved myself to your brother in other ways.” Hongjoong came to mind again, and the burning question came out. “I don’t know why he didn’t tell me who he really was. You’d think being a big bad war hero demon person might be something to impress a girl with.”

“Kim isn’t the boasting type,” she replied. “Personally, I think he doesn’t like being praised as a war hero.”

“Why not?”

“Unlike most of our kind, Kim did not defeat the old king for glory or power. He did it out of love for his people. He did it to protect them. When he saw that Argos became possessed by a power hungry warlock, he realized he was the only one who could defeat him. None of us were there, but the stories have been passed down through generations. My uncle, father and grandfather all told my brother and I about Kim’s infamous battle. My grandfather liked to be mystical and say ‘fire and ice met on the battlefield, and ice won’.”

The image of Hongjoong, muddy and dirty in battle armor, facing off against another king came to mind. He’d told you stories of his other adventures. Most of them involved him fighting some monstrous creature or outwitting his enemies, but nothing like this. He never even mentioned a war.

“I always thought he was a regular guy,” you shrugged, pushing a carrot around in the bowl. “He knew a lot about magic, but I thought he was just interested in the subject. I didn’t know he was magicfolk.”

“Demons can disguise themselves as normal humans,” Talia told you, washing her food down with fresh milk. “My uncle saw his demon form once, and he said it would make the strongest of Orcs run in terror.” She then said, “Perhaps he kept this from you to protect you. All these years later, Kim has made lots of enemies. They might be inclined to attack you if they knew you meant something to him. Considering the war is brewing, those enemies might decide to hit him in his softest spot.”

Your heart warmed at being considered Hongjoong’s ‘soft spot’.

“But, now that this is out in the open, he may decide now is the time for honesty,” she said. “His last letter mentioned he was half a day’s ride from here. He’s on Aerion, so he will be here even sooner.”

Hongjoong’s latest letter was lying on your table back in your cabin.

‘Dearest love,

Fate has been a bitch to us, but now I think it’s starting to ease up. I left Tin City after freezing that goblin’s crops, and am on my way to you. I promise to explain everything when I see you. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, love. I only wanted to keep you safe. You are the only good, pure thing in my life, and I wanted to keep it that way. But, I suppose the cat would make it out of the bag eventually. I’ll see you soon.

Love forever,

HJ.’

You read his letter so many times you memorized it. Even if Jongho worked you into full exhaustion, you still couldn’t sleep without reading it once. He was coming back to you. The days of suffering will finally be over and you’d have him back in your arms.

Then you’d get the answers to your questions.

“Auntie YN, come watch me train! I’ve gotten way better since last time!”

Sunghoon charged out of the cabin with his wooden sparring sword. You, Talia and Willow cleaned up the dishes, then went after him to the training yard. Led by an older Orc, the children listened intently to his instructions and demonstrations. As they began practicing on their own, you wondered where Hongjoong came from. He only said “the north” whenever you asked him. Were there other demons? If not, what happened to them? Did he have parents or was he an orphan like you? Why did he keep all these secrets from you? These questions burrowed themselves deep into your mind. You felt as if you didn't know him at all when you thought you did. You used to think you knew him more than anyone, but everyone you meet proved the opposite. Thinking about everything you heard about him, how could you be sure his name was Hongjoong? How could you be sure about anything?

Archery took your mind off things. Focusing on your target, you let loose arrow after arrow. You managed to hit inside the circles now, though not always. The motion and focus kept you from thinking about what else he hid. He said in his letter he didn't mean for this to happen. You vaguely recalled Seonghwa mentioning a gift before. What did that mean? Was Haeyoung meant to curse someone else, yet used it on you instead? If that was true, why did he let you stay with Seonghwa, whom he knew would take you again? You shot an arrow straight into the center of the target, thinking of the lies.

“You're improving day by day,” Jongho patted your shoulder. “With a bit more practice, we might recruit you into the army.”

“With a lot of practice,” you said, starting to take the arrows from the target. “I don't think I’m army material.”

“I think you’ll end up surprising yourself.”

“Trust me, it’ll definitely be a surprise if-”

Darkness cut off your words. The sun had been blotted out, and everything turned into night for the briefest moment. You looked up to see a wide, dark body gliding across the sky low to the village. It covered everything in total darkness. Attached to the underbelly were three small figures you couldn’t fully make out.

“Uncle Kim!” Sunghoon and Willow cheered.

“Hongjoong.”

A smile broke across your face, and happiness washed out the pain you’d been holding inside. Dropping the arrows, you ran out of the archery range with the two children behind you. The urge to be in the safety of his arms propelled you forward. Fate had kept you apart, and you’d make sure you came back together. You kept glancing up at the sky, trying to stay in Aerion’s shadow, as she flew to the mountains beyond. Several more Orc children cheered and rushed behind you, all pointing and jumping towards the wyvern. Your legs aching from sparring and your chest starting to burn from your panting, you still persisted. You and the children ran up a path leading up to a tall mountain peak. Even as the wind grew colder, you kept going. Hongjoong became your only goal. If you’d known about his true identity, you would not have kept running. You would have turned back. You would’ve stayed in place. You might not have a sword, but you would've fought tooth and nail to get back to him just like he’d done for you.

“Uncle Kim!”

“It’s Uncle Kim!”

“Aerion!”

“She has babies with her!”

The Orcs rushed ahead of you to the large beast settling in the clearing. Aerion was enormous, spanning several hundred feet with teeth as long as swords. Her dark blue scales reflected off the sun breaking through the grey skies, white spikes going from the top of her triangular head to her pointed tail. You froze in place, taking in the intimidating size of her from afar. Hongjoong managed to tame this creature? How? It was a story he never shared before.

Aerion lowered her head to the children, amber eyes blinking slowly when they approached. Clearly, she recognized them as children and not snacks. It was then you noticed the three figures from before clinging to her. Half-dragon, half-human, the Dragonite babies were as large as cats: one stood out in a shining silver, another a matte bronze and the last and smallest being a glittery emerald. They stayed close to Aerion’s body, snapping their jaws at those who tried getting close to them. From a leather saddle, someone climbed down to meet the crowd of small Orcs.

“Hongjoong.”

You might be in a dream again. Right now, you’re sleeping in a cage where some overlord is waiting to take advantage of your curse. There is no way you’re standing on the same ground as Hongjoong. Your mind took in every feature of him before he could fade away from reality: messy black hair brushed back to his shoulders; the weariness in his eyes from travel being concealed with cheerfulness; the long black coat he wore over a black shirt and pants; the leather gloves he always took off right when before he touched you, wanting your skin on his at all times. He looked thinner than the last time you saw him. His upturned nose, his wide gummy smile, his pointed chin and jawline all came into view when he finally looked up. After days of mourning the loss of that face, you choked back a sob seeing it in the flesh.

“Is it really you?” The words came out in a small whisper, faint stinging coming to your nose.

“YN…”

His clear, high voice punctured your heart. Shaky legs took tentative steps towards him, the fear of him being an allusion keeping them behind. If you touched him, he’d break away with the wind. The closer you came to him, the easier the glaze in his eyes became. Lip trembling, you gripped the cuffs of your coat.

“Hongjoong…”

“YN…”

The both of you broke into a run. Your bodies collided, arms enveloping one another and he didn’t vanish. The crisp winter air clung to his skin, a slight frost on his coat, but he couldn’t have felt any warmer. He yanked off your hat to bury his face in your hair, and you heard him inhale the flowery oil Willow used to braid it.

“I’m so sorry,” he buried his head in your hair, arms tight around you. “I’m so sorry, love.”

‘Love’. Nobody called you that but him. To hear it from another man repulsed you, but not Hongjoong.

“Call me that again,” you breathed through your tears, chest tightening from the lump it created.

“Love,” he obliged, kissing your crown. He lifted your head, and you sobbed. It really was him. “My sweetest love,” he said, forehead pressing to yours, “My only love.”

“You’re here,” you wept, tears falling to your cold cheeks. “I thought I’d never see you again,” you touched his jawline, feeling up to his cheek to memorize his face. “I thought I’d be lost forever, and I’d lose every single memory of you that I have.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” he said, tears sticking to his lashes. “I wouldn’t have let that happen,” he shook his head, kissing your forehead and holding you there.

“I was so-”

“-I know. I know, love.”

The word ‘love’ broke you in two. You let out the first hard sob, you buried your face in his shoulder.

“It’s my fault,” he wept, stroking your hair. “I should have gone right to you. I shouldn’t have let you stay there. Seonghwa’s palace is one of the safest places for you to be. He might be a bit of a dick, but…It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Not at all. Please, believe me.” He held you tightly, both of you shaking with tears.

Your tight throat kept you from responding. Everything about him drowned it all out. You escaped deep into him as he held you.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he promised, gently pulling you from his shoulder to meet your eyes. “Not for a single second. Ever. It’s me and you forever. No matter where we go or what we do, it’s us. I swear, it’ll be us together.”

“I don’t want to be away from you ever again.”

“You won’t be.” Two thumbs wiping your tears, Hongjoong scanned over your face. “My love,” he said, voice cracking. “My YN…My beautiful YN…”

You stood there in his arms, not noticing the group of people coming up the path. Jongho and Talia had the good sense not to approach either of you, but instead started herding the children away from Aerion and her babies. Your fingers dug into his coat, balling up the fabric as you wept. Nce the worst of your tears passed, Hongjoong led you away from the point back down the mountain pass.

“What took you so long?” you asked him, wiping your cold, wet cheeks. “I've been here a week already.”

“Byungho suggested that Aerion and I rest in the Choi camp for a while,” he sniffled, doing the same. “He is the healer there. I imagine you didn't meet him, but I wish you had. He would've protected you for me.”

“Protect me from Wooyoung?”

“And others who'd try hurting you. He may be old, but he's tougher than dragon skin,” he said.

“What did you do to him? Wooyoung, I mean.”

The young beta wolf’s face floating to the front of your mind. Yes, you’d goaded him into throwing you out of the tent, but it’d been your idea to escape their camp. If you’d stayed put like the voice-Hongjoong’s voice-told you, he might have gotten to you sooner.

“San handled him in their way. But, I might have frozen his arm,” he said. “I had sent Garnet with a note to San, explaining who you were to me and that I’d forgive whatever he’d done to you, but when I saw…When that mongrel tossed you into the mud like trash, I wanted to flay him alive. I would have taken on that whole pack if they’d tried me. I thought of turning each and every one of them into living ice sculptures whenever I thought about it. Wooyoung is lucky that Byungho likes him so much, and that his brother is a forgiving person.”

“I bet he was embarrassed by that.”

“Very. The worst thing you can do to a lycan is make them look weak in front of their pack.”

“Like how stealing Dragonite babies is getting back at a Dragonite prince with a breeding kink?”

He laughed, a sound you melted at, “Yeah. Aerion hasn’t hatched her own in a long time, so I thought she’d like them.”

“And you said you froze Yeosang’s crops?”

“His flower meadow, technically. He used them to line the whiskey barrels while they aged. Without a good crop, it’ll be hard to do and disrupt his whiskey profits.”

“That would hurt, huh?”

“A lot. A hit to their banks is worse than a hit to their face.” His fingers tightened on your hip, “I don’t care that you were under my curse. They still….They still did that to you. Seonghwa was spared."

"Why?"

"He was going to keep you on his island, as a guest," he added, "Until I had finished with my business around the north.”

"But then Yunho kidnapped me."

"But then Yunho kidnapped you," he nodded. He kissed your cheek and gave you another squeeze. "That's never happening again. I promise."

You pecked his lips, hugging him close to you as you headed down to the village. It wasn’t until you reached the bottom that you noticed the others. Orcs big and small put their right fist to their chest as Hongjoong passed, bowing their heads. Hongjoong only awkwardly nodded back, the ease from before turning stiff in their presence.

“Why are they all doing that?” you asked him, noticing their solemn faces.

“It's a respect thing.”

“Because you're a big badass demon guy?”

“Because I killed Argos.”

“Talia mentioned that to me,” you told him. “Why didn't you tell me about it? Why did you keep all this a secret? I thought you trusted me, Hongjoong.”

“I'll explain it later,” he said right as Jongho came around you both.

“Kim,” he clasped hands with Hongjoong, “I'm glad to see you again, friend.”

“And you, Warchief.” Jongho smiled at the title, nodding. He stared around the camp, seeing the barricades at the entrances. “Already preparing?”

“You never know when your enemy is going to strike. One of our scouts saw an encampment of three-thousand men two days' ride from here. They can be on us any time.”

Hongjoong’s face hardened, “The boy is bold, I'll give him that. Has Her Highness sent word?”

“Her last letter said she had just arrived at our outpost down the mountain,” he said. “I can show you-”

“-Brother,” Talia appeared at his side, “Let Kim rest and settle into his cabin first. He only just arrived.”

And had a lot of explaining to do.

“We'll speak later,” Hongjoong assured him, patting his shoulder as he guided you away.

Hongjoong seemed to already know where your cabin was in the camp. The moment you went through the door, you turned to him. He stood by the fireplace, pouring himself coffee from a kettle near the fire. You took him in once more and everything suddenly made sense. His unnatural beauty, his charm, his strength all made him stand out from ordinary men. Yet, you never considered him being anything other than human.

“You're a demon.”

“I am,” he said, sipping the black, rich drink.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I didn't want to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn't want you to be afraid of me,” he said. “I already stay in this human form to gain people's trust. I didn't want to reveal it to the most beautiful woman I'd ever met and have her run in terror. Demons don't have a good reputation, you know.”

“I wouldn't have been scared,” you assured him, playing with the stone around your neck. “If anything, I would have dug it.”

“My true form would have changed your mind. Trust me, the less you knew of me, the better it would have been for you.”

“Let me guess, your ‘enemies’?”

“Yeah, them. Not everyone sees me as this big war hero,” he took another sip, letting it warm his insides. “There are lords and ladies I defeated who aren't the forgiving type. I worried they might find out about you and use you to hurt me. YN,” he put the drink down, “I wanted you as far away from all this as possible. You are the most important thing in my life and I didn't want anyone destroying it. But,” his eyes saddened, “It seems fate had other plans.”

“It didn't occur to you that maybe the true safest place is with you?”

“It crossed my mind, but every time it did, I'd remember every single person I lost and push it back down.”

“Lost?”

“Friends, family, allies,” he replied. He hesitated for a moment, then said, “My parents died during a raid on our village by demon hunters. The local priest said we had set a famine on their crops, and the only way to replenish them was with our blood.” His face hardened, and he did not meet your eyes. “My mother went down first. She was an archer. I remember seeing her on top of a nearby roof, shooting them down with perfect accuracy before someone shot her first. I was ten. She was the first person I ever saw die. My father was killed in the middle of battle. He was fighting the commander of the group, who wielded a sword embedded with holy magic. It was a close fight, but the commander killed him. That was the second person I saw die. They would have killed me too if I hadn't gotten away. I…” he gripped the edge of the table, “I watched those monsters burn down my home and anybody who ever loved me. I’m the last of my kind, YN. I was a little kid out on his own, and it stayed that way for years. I didn’t tell anyone what I was for a long time because I was scared they’d kill me. Then, I learned how to disguise myself, practiced my magic, and promised myself I'd find the men who killed my parents.”

“Did you?”

“After a few years of searching,” he nodded. “The first two people I ever killed.”

“And you’ve killed since then?”

“More than I can count on my hands.”

“Were they innocent people?”

“Far from it, in my opinion, but we're all a villain in someone's story.” He went over to you, taking your hand to bring you closer. “YN, you were the first person I met who didn't know who I was; you didn't see me and immediately got on your knees to thank me for saving you and your people. With you, I feel normal,” he put his arms around you, “I'm nobody special when I’m with you. I'm a guy who likes whiskey, gambling and having sex with the most gorgeous woman in the world.” You giggled as he kissed your lips. “When we met, you talked to me like any other patron in that place. I could be myself with you.”

“But you weren't….not completely.”

“I know,” he frowned, cupping your face, “But I promise that's going to change right now. I will answer any question you have-”

“-What did Seonghwa mean when he said I wasn't the gift he was expecting?”

Hongjoong paused, “Haeyoung…She wasn't supposed to use the curse I gave her on anyone else. She had strict orders to use it on Father Moon-”

“-Father Moon? Why?”

“He might paint himself as a holy man, but he was anything but that. He had been robbing his congregation blind with fake charities. He told parents his seed is considered a blessing, so they should let him fuck their kids for one. He hurt people. I planned on using the curse to show him what happens to people who abuse others.”

“Make him so horny he goes insane?”

“Yes. I planned on her putting it on him, capturing him, and then I'd give him to Seonghwa to keep as a pet. It was no different than what he would have done if he had the chance. However, Haeyoung betrayed me and used the magic on someone else. I don’t think she knew your connection to me, but that doesn’t matter anymore.” He wiped your tear stained cheeks, pecking your lips. “We’re together again, and that is what I care about.”

“That and this mark on my back,” you said. “It'll be just the best gift ever if you did something about it.”

“I will,” he then smirked, lightly kissing your lips, “But first…” He slipped his hands through your coat until it started sliding off your shoulders, “I want to give you my gift.”

Your hands stayed on his shoulders as he unbuttoned the first long layer. Like an orange, Hongjoong slowly shed each piece of clothing. Even when you became exposed to the chill, your cheeks still burned. His lips started on yours, slow and deep as he poured every ounce of himself into you. Your hand instinctively tugged at his hair, fingers sliding through the silky locks to scratch his scalp. A deep yearning for closeness brought his body right to yours. Every man before him might have started gently, trying to stir that mark branded on your back, but they did not have Hongjoong's touch. They did not elicit the same passion that he did. With him, you wanted nothing more than his hands on your body. Whether sexual or not, you needed him close to you. He then moved to your neck, laying down soft kisses and tender suckles. Each bit of pressure drew out a moan. He let out a soft groan when you began working on his clothes, expertly unbuttoning them as you went. You returned the neck kisses once his naked torso was exposed. The frost that melted from his hair dripped from the ends, and you licked up the trails that cascaded from his shoulders.

The both of you now nude, he walked you backwards to the bed where you sat on the edge. The Hand kindled like coals on a fire, generating a comforting warmth all over your body. When you reached out for the semi-hardness in front of you, Hongjoong gently swatted your hand away. His eyes stared directly into yours as he cupped your chin.

"Lay back for me."

Once you did, Hongjoong put your feet apart so the rush of cold air brushed your hot center. His eyes turned dreamy and he sighed deeply when your thighs parted. He did not dive into you straight away. Hands caressing your legs, he pressed his lips to the inner side of your knee before making a trail downwards. Every kiss awakened that longing inside your chest. It sailed to where his mouth tenderly kissed, creating sparks to excite you. There was no rush to finish; no desperation for his cum or moans. You relaxed on the bed and enjoyed his hands and mouth. The anticipation throbbed in your clit, your walls clenching whenever he pecked close to your swelling lips. The moment he finally touched on the top of your mound, your hips began writhing on the bed. His lips made a line to the hood of your clit, which pulsed when he tenderly flicked over it. He continued licking the small area from top to bottom, always grazing lightly across the sensitive spot. You reached down to bring him closer, and he did not pull away. A wind of bliss came over you once his mouth latched to your cunt. Holding it in place, his tongue continued swirling it, which was only broken when he sucked up the excess juices leaking from you. He never increased the pace or deepened his tongue. He knew the constant lightness would drive you crazy, and it did. You kept grinding into the tongue that so effortlessly pleasured you, wanton moans sounding his name each time.

By the time he slipped his tongue to your entrance, your muscles stiffened. The orgasm that escaped you left you seeing stars behind your eyes, restricting your chest and focusing on that exact point of contact. You could feel it radiating from there and spilling out into your lover's mouth. His delighted groans added another layer that caused you to grip the furs tightly. When it faded away, Hongjoong kissed up your body, a trail of stickiness being left behind. A small glean of your juices still remained on his chin when he reached you, and you easily licked it before bringing him in for a kiss.

A slight yelp was muffled at the fingers replacing his tongue. Hongjoong rolled your clit between two fingers, the pair teasing your fluttering entrance every other stroke. The mark made you even more sensitive than usual, and you were soon moving to meet his hand. He didn't warn you of the slender digits slipping inside you, smirking at your arching back and closed eyes. Short pumps massaged the walls of your sex, a thumb focused on your clit in the meantime. His lips captured every moan in a kiss, your essence filling your own mouth. You held onto his shoulders, needing to hold a part of him as the desire burned. You whined once his fingers plunged deeper, curling upwards and wriggling to the spot he knew so well.

"Hongjoong…" you exhaled between kisses.

"I've waited so long for this," he admitted, keeping the same gradual speed. "Having to watch you be used that way was torture to me. If you should have been submitting to anyone, it should be me."

"Would you have put me in chains too?" You sneered, freely pushing into his hand. "Chained me to a post, naked and ready to be fucked by you whenever you wished?"

"If that's what you would have wanted," he replied, returning your smirk. "I prefer leashes personally. It's much easier to move you around; gives you a bit more mobility," he suddenly started fingering you faster, and you wriggled underneath. The slick sounds of your wetness brought you towards another orgasm. "They're a good way to keep you still when I use your pretty mouth."

"You and anyone else you would want."

He chuckled through gritted teeth, then changed the angle of his fingers. You finally went over the edge a second time, nails digging crescent shapes into his skin as it hit you. They dragged down his back in broken lines, your arms shaking from the strength before you finished.

Hongjoong then pushed you further up the bed and lifted your ankles to his shoulders. His thick length spread across your slit easily, his precum mixing with the dripping juices as he did so. He did this a few times, tapping and rubbing you just to see you react to the slight tingle.

"Joongie...please…" You whimpered, needing more of him.

"Is my love getting impatient?"

"Yes," you quivered when he started tracing your sex with his tip. "I need you right now. I've been wanting this so badly. Please, give it to me."

"Hm, I don't know. After you've been with the others, I don't think I measure up anymore."

"Oh shut up," you giggled, locking your legs to his sides and rolling him onto his back. Straddling him, you rocked your hips back and forth. "How could you even say that? After every night we spent in my bed?" You took hold of his erection, and pressed it to you. "Every night I spent back home wishing each client was you? I don't want any other man but you. I never have wanted someone as much as I want you. Now, " you sunk the first inch inside, earning a low groan from him, "Shut up and fuck me like it's our last night on earth."

"As you wish."

It took a single thrust to bury him inside you. Another shot of desperation came over you and you couldn't stop yourself. Hongjoong pulled you down on top of him, hands roaming your body as he kept you close. You let yourself drown in everything about him. After days of being mistreated and abused, having the one person who made you feel safe was exhilarating. Neither of you could let go of one another. Your lips rarely left his as you bounced on his hips. When he sat up with you both still connected, you naturally wrapped yourself around him as you rocked into one another. You didn't crave his cum. You only craved his touch and closeness again.

Dusk had begun to fall by the time you finished. Every orgasm he gave you surpassed anything another could have done. Laying limp beside him, body gleamed with sweat and lips swollen from kissing, you never felt more relaxed. The sweet afterglow of your love making felt too surreal. On his chest, you worried he might disappear. You pictured yourself waking up in a cage, naked and chained to the corner with someone standing over you, ready to devour you again. You then snuggled to his side, trying to erase the image from your mind. Everyone you’d met took advantage of your situation, and you had nobody to protect you from them. They all used you for one reason or another. You were their toy to play with and then discard. Hongjoong wouldn’t have done that. Never.

"Lay on your front for me,” he said after a while. “Let's get this taken care of, otherwise you won't sleep well."

You lazily rolled onto your back, cuddling a soft pillow to cushion you.

“Are you sure you want to get rid of it?” he asked, laying kisses on your shoulder. “I think it could be quite beneficial for both of us.”

“Yes,” you laughed, “It’s caused enough trouble. From what I’m hearing, we’re going to get into some more soon.”

“Very true.” He moved further down your spine, then said, “This is going to hurt, but you’ll feel loads better afterwards.”

You braced yourself when he laid both his hands on the lower end of your back. He straddled your thighs, and took a deep breath. Then, you heard him speak the same low, rough language as Mingi. Your eyes squeezed tight, and you hissed when the first tingle came. Someone might have started tracing it with a block of ice. The heat coming off your mark joined in with the cold, creating a sharp burning that paralyzed you. A scream went past your clenched jaw, teeth grinding together to endure the pain. The muscles seized up, and you involuntarily kicked as another wave of pain came. You swore his hands sapped all the heat from your body again, and you shivered. Right when you thought the torture wouldn’t end, it stopped all together at once. Your skin cold to the touch, fingers nearly frozen and toes numbing, you shivered harshly.

“No-Nobo-b-y sa-said…” you said through chattering teeth.

“Don’t talk,” Hongjoong hushed, kissing your shoulder.

He got off you and you immediately curled into a ball. Right away, Hongjoong grabbed more blankets from nearby. You stared off into the distance; the freezing cold filled your bones and constricted your muscles. All desire from before disappeared, and only the cold remained. The mountain air from outside barely affected you due to the tundra forming within. You hardly noticed Hongjoong pulling furs and blankets over you before sliding into the bed.

“Here,” he wrapped you in his arms, rubbing your back and arms. “Yeah, this happens afterwards. Arousal creates heat, so naturally my curse raises the body temperature. Once it’s lifted, all that heat it created goes away. It’s like being crazy horny and then taking a cold shower.”

“Some-som-something wa-warm?”

“Not yet,” he said, rubbing your back now. “If I give you anything hot now, you’ll go into shock from the hot liquid going into your freezing insides. Just try soaking up my warmth, love.” He pressed his lips to your forehead. “You’ll be okay soon.”

Weariness of a whole new kind started consuming you. Not the kind you got from constant sex and orgasms. The type one felt after days of traveling, and going through various tests of your strength and endurance. When the cold started gradually subsiding, you snuggled into Hongjoong’s embrace. For the first time in a long time, you felt safe. Knowing he was watching over you, caring for you as you came down, made falling asleep much easier. Delicate fingers stroked your braids, twirling them around lazily and running between them to your scalp. The thought of waking up alone came back to you, and you buried yourself into his embrace. You’d die if you woke up to an empty bed, and this moment had been a dream.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised you in a whisper. “Go to sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“Please, don’t…”

“I won’t,” he reassured you.

Your eyes slowly started closing once the cold melted from your fingers and toes. Deep breaths led to his scent filling your lungs, causing you to grow still in his arms. You fell asleep faster than you ever intended to with him.

****

The counter-curse made you cold as ice, and he knew plenty about that. Hongjoong kept the blankets tightly around you, cuddling you to his chest and carefully stroking you in places. He knew the skin-on-skin contact would warm you up at a reasonable pace, therefore neither shocking nor worsening the condition. As you laid in his arms, soundlessly sleeping at last, he recalled everything he told you. Revealing the more important parts alone lifted a significant weight off his shoulders. He had much more to tell you, though he’d keep it to himself for now. You had plenty going on without him pulling out more information.

“I brought tea,” Jongho appeared through the door holding a kettle and a large mug. “It’ll warm her right away, and Talia is making soup for her to drink. She’ll need as much heat as she can get when she wakes up.”

“The tea will be good for her.”

He watched Jongho begin pouring water into the kettle, then set it over a grate in the hearth. “I came to tell you that Princess Ophelia has sent word to us just now,” he continued, rekindling the flames inside the fireplace. “She says she will be here tomorrow morning.”

“The same timeframe we have for Jeffery’s armies.”

Hongjoong scowled whenever he remembered the snide, sneering pointed face of the boy king. A young man of only twenty-two, Prince Jeffery did not have the tact or sensibility of his predecessors. The Northern and Southern kingdoms always maintained a healthy, balanced relationship. It was very much a ‘don’t-mess-with-us-and-we-don’t-mess-with-you’ sort of alliance. Hongjoong and his council of lords had no reason to attack the south, and King Rupert had no reason to invade the north. When Rupert died, everyone assumed Ophelia, his eldest daughter, would be crowned Queen of the South. However, from what Hongjoong heard, with the help of his privy council, Jeffery usurped his sister. Ophelia told him that she’d been put under house arrest, and only narrowly escaped the gallows.

She came to Hongjoong when she had nobody else. With only a few loyalists at her back, Ophelia could not engage in war on her own. Hongjoong planned to keep the north out of the family squabble. It was none of their concern what happened south of the border. However, when Jeffery’s men started raiding magicfolk villages near the border, declaring them in his name, Hongjoong had to do something. He had been on his way to start recruiting the rest of the Northern Council before this whole curse business happened. Now, he’d have to do it with you at his side, which he’d have no other way now.

“My scouts have seen a squad of his bannermen coming in from the west,” Jongho told him, watching the flames. “We think they mean to go through the mountain pass to try setting up a lookout point over the village.”

“Stupid decision,” Hongjoong replied, hand idly playing with your hair. “The passages are too narrow, and they’d be fish in a barrel if they tried crossing through. Will you send men ahead of them?”

“Already have,” he said. “My brother is leading a team in their direction. Whatever information they plan to retrieve about us is going to die with them.” His eyes landed on you nestled under the covers, “She’s got talent, your girl.”

“Does she now?” Hongjoong asked with a smirk. “I’m well aware of her special talents.”

“Not only that kind,” Jongho explained. “She isn’t great with a sword, but she’s gotten pretty good at archery. She’s been practicing while waiting for you.”

“A bow and arrow is better suited for her, I suppose.”

Hongjoong never pictured you with a weapon. This was mostly because he always imagined himself protecting you. He’ll admit it is a bit wrong of him to assume you couldn’t handle it on your own. Perhaps if he’d offered you proper training or taught you magic, you would’ve been able to protect yourself. With everything that is coming his way, it’d be good for you to know basic defensive skills. A bit of survival training would not hurt either, considering you’ll both be on the road for a while. He looked down to see you on his chest, and he imagined you in Jeffery’s clutches. He’d do far worse than what any of the others had done and laugh about it afterwards. He pictured your bloody, broken body swinging from the capital’s gates, and he held you a bit more tightly.

“We’re going to need all hands for this,” Jongho told him, breaking him from the painful images. “Ophelia only has two or three lords on her side. She is going to need your help to convince the others to join in the fight.”

“You’re joining.”

“Yes, because the omens favor war and an Orc never passes up a chance to seize glory,” he replied. “The other lords will not feel the same, particularly after the damage you dealt them. Stealing Yunho’s eggs, Kim? Are you insane?”

“He forced himself on my YN.”

“And freezing Yeosang’s crops? Embarrassing Wooyoung and San? Those are things that will be hard to forgive. Kim-”

“-They will forgive me once they see what we’re up against,” he assured him. “I’ve known all of them since they were infants in their mothers’ arms. Yunho may throw his tantrum, but once a wife gives him a new egg, he’ll forget about the pit eggs I took. Yeosang has multiple strings of profit coming in, so a halt in his whiskey productions won’t slow him down. The lycan pack might be a bit disgruntled after what I did to Wooyoung, but they cannot say it was undeserved.”

“An insult is an insult.”

“I will not apologize for dealing justice,” he said firmly. “They all knew what was happening to her, and they took advantage of it. Do you defend them? I didn’t think Orcs approved of that kind of thing.”

“I speak as an advisor, not a defender,” he replied more firmly. “If it were my sister they shamed, I would have taken their heads and put them on stakes outside my gate.”

“I would have done the same if it weren’t for who they were.”

They all tried defending it by saying they didn’t know how important you were to him. Their excuses had fallen on deaf ears. Hongjoong already disapproved of their practice of taking slaves, but every protest went unheard. The northern kingdoms all have their own laws and traditions; Hongjoong had no place to change them. He wasn’t a king, and he didn’t wish to be one. Having people praise him wherever he went already bothered him. If he’d been crowned King of the North, it’d be worse. Yet, when he saw those monsters do those things to you, he considered turning the entire north into a big block of ice, with all of them frozen with it.

“Still, war is coming, and insulting potential allies is not the way to win support,” Jongho’s voice broke into his thoughts. “My grandfather always said you could be impulsive."

"Where is he, anyways? I thought he would be where the action is."

"There's plenty of action in the Jade Valley nearby," he said, "But do not change the subject. Alliance agreements will be much harder this go around. You're going to need some muscle and better gifts to pacify them."

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

Only you mattered now. Looking back down at you on his chest, Hongjoong didn’t feel an ounce of regret. Your presence alone pushed away all the pain. Your smile became a light in his shadowy darkness. The ice in his soul melted whenever he saw you. That little brothel in the middle of nowhere became his refuge from the world he knew. A good pint of beer, music playing from the stage and you in his lap was better than any throne or castle.

"She means the world to me, Jongho,” he said softly, admiring the shape of your nose before kissing it. “I travelled across the whole northern kingdom to have her back. I’m not losing her again.”

A world without you isn't one he'd stay in.

****

The touch of his hands on you coaxed you into reality. Your lips immediately found him in the haze of sleep, and you kissed them right away. Senses alone told you it was Hongjoong who laid beside you. His lips immediately opened for your tongue, which snaked through and over to swat his own.

“Hello, sleepyhead,” he muttered in a kiss, rolling onto his side to cup your cheek, “Feel better, love?”

“Yes.”

Your body didn't yearn like it'd done the past week. It ached for him in a different way. The craving, akin to near starvation, took over every part of you. You didn't want to be anywhere else but in his arms. Even if it felt as if someone disassembled you and then put you back together the wrong way, you needed his comforting touch. Hongjoong said nothing as he brought your leg over his, bringing the two of you closer together. You then hissed from the light brush to your sex.

“Shit,” you winced, a sharp pain stirring there right away. “It hurts.”

“Yeah, that’s going to be there for a while,” he nodded, guilt in his eyes. “I don’t think I need to tell you that it’s from all the fucking you’ve been doing. You’ve been asleep for a whole day, since your body needed recuperation. Mingi’s spell broke when I lifted the curse, so now…yeah…I think it’s best if we don’t touch this for a while. Any sort of stimulation will make it worse and you won’t heal as quickly.”

“You’re a demon,” you said, eyes tight as you kept your legs open to relieve the stinging. “Can’t you magic it away?”

“All I can do is soothe it with some creams,” he said, “And a pain reliever. It won’t take long. Maybe a day or two more.” He slid out of the bed, pulled on a pair of underwear and walked over to a bag in the corner. You guessed he made himself at home while you slept. “I’m so sorry about all this, love. It’s my fault you’re in all this pain right now.”

“No, it’s Haeyoung’s fault,” you pointed out, watching him gather bottles and jars from his bag to put on a table. “Then every guy I met after that.”

“I’m the person who taught her the curse.”

“And you had no idea what her real intentions with it were,” you added. “I’m alive. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s more than anything I could ask for.” He began pouring various ingredients into a small bowl, occasionally stirring as he did so. “I kept picturing you completely taken over by The Hand. I started worrying more when I couldn’t get into your head. It meant I was losing you.” He stopped pouring a thin powder into the mixture, losing focus for a moment, “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t get to you in time. There’d be a point where you’d be beyond saving, and I’d lose you forever. I knew I’d die if that happened. I tried getting a hold of Sels in Tin City, but knowing Yeosang, he wouldn’t have listened to her anyways. I knew the only other people who’d treat you well were Jongho and Talia. They were my only hope of saving what was left of you.”

Standing up, you ignored the radiating pain and walked over to him. The immediate chill made you shudder, so you grabbed a cloak hanging over the back of the chair.

“Well, I’m okay now,” you told him, wrapping yourself in the fleece. “My head isn’t fuzzy anymore. I’m not insanely horny. I’m YN again.”

His lips curled into a grin, and he put the back of your hand to his lips. “Yeah, yeah you are.” Arms wrapping around your middle, Hongjoong pulled you in for a deep kiss. “Let me get this finished, then we can get it on you. You really should be resting, love.”

“As long as you rest with me?”

“Of course.” He nodded over to a small food spread near the fireplace, “You go ahead and eat while I fix this up. You must be starving.”

“You have no idea.”

You didn’t mind your manners as you started tearing at the cold chicken leg. The tender meat immediately filled that gaping hole in your stomach. You watched him begin creating a cream in the small bowl. He added water droplets to the grinded herbs and powders in the bowl, then slowly mixed them. After everything you went through, you thought you’d never see Hongjoong again. You couldn’t believe he was there, tending to you like he always did. As you bit down on a chicken wing, ripping the skin and meat from the bone, you kept your eyes on him.

“Here,” he turned to you as he folded a thick white paste around, “Use this.”

You recognized it as the same salve Yunho and Seonghwa used on you. Hongjoong placed the bowl down beside you, and gave you a lopsided smile. You saw his cheeks tinge a soft pink.

“Maybe you should apply it when you’re done eating,” he said, turning from you shyly.

“Why won’t you put it on for me?”

“If I do, I’m afraid your pain will only get worse,” he scratched the back of his head and started putting things back in his bag. “I have a hard time controlling myself around you, you know that.”

“One more time won’t kill anyone,” you smirked, only to then wince when a quick move agitated your center.

“You’re in no condition to be having sex,” he left the bag on the table and came to your side, “Your body and mind need to recover.” He grinned, pecking your cheek and putting his hand on your thigh, “Otherwise, I’d be having my own dinner while you had yours.”

The both of you laughed, and shared a kiss. The words might have stirred something in you another time, but now you ached too much for that. “We have all the time in the world,” you said, kissing him again, “Now that we’re together.”

“Exactly,” he confirmed, biting into the other drumstick, “And I’m not letting you go again.”

“Even with everything that’s going to happen? You can keep it from me all you like. I know something big is coming,” you said when he looked away from you uncomfortably. “Jongho keeps talking about it. The other lords mentioned it in front of me. It sounds like we’re about to get some unwanted company.”

“A lot of unwanted company.”

“Who is it? Another king?”

“King Jeffery. He’s a vicious little bastard,” he said, swallowing his piece. “He thinks everything north and south belongs to him, just like his great-grandfather did. I hate to toot my own horn, but the kid should back down if he knows what’s good for him.”

“Go ahead and toot,” you insisted. “I’d be doing it too if I was flying around on a big scary wyvern dragon thing. Jeffery has no chance.”

You knew very little about the monarch who ruled your side of the land. It never mattered that much to you being a little brothel worker. Yet, men from the capital said he was a spoiled brat, prone to tantrums that often ended in violence.

“Trust me,” he said, “Men like Jeffery are too proud to admit defeat when they see it. His council are a bunch of cowardly lords looking for a bit more power, so they likely will push him to it more. They’ll ride out this war until one of us dies.”

“One of us?” you gulped more wine.

“Me or Jeffery.”

“Why does it have to be you?”

“I’m the one most likely to put an end to him for good.”

“There’s a bunch of other people who can do it too, I’m sure. I mean, Seonghwa is seven feet tall and Yunho is half-dragon. You’re telling me this kid can defeat them so easily that it has to be you who fights him?”

Hongjoong didn’t miss the concern in your voice. “Jeffery will like gun for me anyway. He has it in his head that killing me will prove how worthy he is of being king of both the north and south. He says it’s to avenge his great-grandfather, but that’s bullshit. He just wants more to brag about.” He forked a piece of roasted potato and chewed it. “I told him to stand down before it was too late, but men like him don’t listen to reason. He thinks everything is his by right, and we’re thieves for keeping it from him.”

You didn’t like the sound of this at all. You didn’t care how battle-hardened your lover might be; he’d be going into war and might not come back.

“What will I do while you’re off fighting?” you asked him.

“What do you want to do? I won’t force you to fight with me. You’re not nearly skilled enough for tha-”

“-I can get better,” you insisted. “Jongho says I’m getting pretty good with my bow, and my knife skills are okay.”

“Knife skills?”

“Talia said smaller weapons seem to do better for me than the big ones,” you said, “And I’ve shredded a dummy or two.”

“You don’t know anything about being in a battle.”

“So? You can teach me.” You put down a chicken thigh to hold his hand in yours. “Hongjoong, I can’t sit here while you’re off fighting and not knowing what’s happening to you. I don’t want to sit around waiting to hear that you died or got injured or something. You said we wouldn’t be apart from now on, and we won’t be, no matter where we end up.”

“I couldn’t fight properly knowing you’re in danger-”

“-I’ll be in danger anywhere I go in this damn kingdom,” you cut him off. “I’d have my necklace, and if I train hard enough, I’ll be able to protect myself. Joongie, you can’t keep me in a bubble forever. I think what’s happened since my curse kind of proves that. Jongho said the gods put me on this path-”

“-He says things like that all the time. It’s an Orc thing, love. You’ll see it the longer we’re here.”

“He said the gods put me on this path for a reason. I went through all that bullshit for a reason, and I think it was to prepare me for this-”

“-Oh, YN! Come on now-”

“-I mean it. I would never have learned the things I did or gotten here on my own. I know you like being my knight in shining armor," you said when he let out a huff, “But you can’t be my savior every time.”

“YN, this isn’t a game. It would be war. People will die. People will get hurt; you could get hurt. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because of me.”

“And I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to help you. Do you really think I can’t do it?”

“I know you can. I am confident that you can, but this is serious.”

“And so am I. Let me join you out there, and I’ll prove it to you.”

He cupped your cheek, gazing over your face. You already saw the battle going on inside his head. He seemed to come to a conclusion while looking at you.

“Well, if you have a Warchief giving you personal training lessons, you might be able to protect yourself. You might not even need me.”

“I’ll always need you,” you assured him, turning back to the feast in front of you, “And you’ll need me.”

“Always, love.”

The two of you shared another kiss before digging into your meals. With Hongjoong beside you, you felt you could take on the entire world. You didn’t know what lay ahead, and you wouldn’t say the worst was behind you just yet. But, whatever was coming would have to go through you and Hongjoong.

Together. Like always.

****

A/N: Yaaay the happy ending!! I want to thank everyone for reading this chaotic tale of a girl getting put THROUGH IT haha I hope you guys enjoyed this ending <3 I really appreciate all the love you guys have been sending my way for this, thank you so much <3

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