LUPINE

Chapter 19

Maya stirs awake with a low groan, feeling the warm rays of the morning sun beaming through the windows, hitting straight to her face. Her body aches still from the random cramps she had through the night, her legs feeling as if she had sprinted all night barefoot and somehow, it feels like she was thrown from a very tall cliff. She feels drained and tired. It reminds of those days whenever she came home from her military assignment, days of no sleep and being completely on guard.

Slowly she blinks her sleepiness away, pushing herself up to stretch her hands and only then realizes she is still in the living room. Her book is on the coffee table, face down, perhaps to mark the last page she has read before she dozed off. The opposite sofa at the other side of the table, where Taehyung was sitting the night before is vacant. She scans the room, searching for him, wondering if he had gone to his room.

Then she hears something moving beside her.

Her head snaps to the side, gasping silently when she finds Taehyung sitting on the floor, his head resting at the base of the sofa she is sleeping on. She frowns to herself, noting how uncomfortable it has been for him to be sleeping in that particular position. The side of his body is pressed to the wooden panel of the sofa, his legs folded and he is hugging a small round pillow in his hands. And he has been sleeping facing her all night.

A surge of warmness seams into her blood at the sight of him looking so calm as he sleeps. His hair falls to the front of his face and to the sides, making him look more like a young boy rather than the fierce hot-tempered - as said by Youngjun- Alpha.

She stays there unmoving, stealing some time to take in his features. Then her heart made a weird flip, realizing a strange feeling building within her making her look away from his face, wondering to herself. She is nervous, and right now her heart seems to beat so slowly but so deeply it feels she's losing her ability to breathe evenly.

"Hey"

Taehyung's voice startled her. She looks up from her lap, and realizes he has woken up. He does not move, hands still hugging the pillow, legs still folded and perhaps cramped on the carpeted floor but his eyes wide open, and they are looking straight at her.

"Good Morning", he smiles. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did", she returned his smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"The best sleep I ever had", he finally sits up right, gently stretching his shoulders, his knuckles and then his neck. "Never knew sleeping on the carpet could be comfortable"

"Really?"

"You should try one day", his eyes beam so brightly at her. "Are you still in pain, Maya?"

"I am not. Now that you asked, I am not in pain. But my body felt like I was thrown from the cliff. I feel like my bones are cracked"

He laughs, the warm sound filling the room. Then he slowly gets up with a not so loud growl, stretching his waist and then he turns to her again. "Are you sure you are not in pain?"

"I am not", she sighs. "I should get ready to go to the clinic. Hani needs help--"

Taehyung raises a hand, halting her movement and gestures to her to sit down. "Sit down"

"Sit down?"

"You are not going anywhere today. Stay at home. Rest. Sleep. Do not get out of bed. I will wash up and make you some coffee and breakfast"