"I want to know why you do it."
"Why I do what." he asked, stripping off his overcoat.
He flung it over the back of the couch without much thought as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
"Why you always save me. Every time I'm in trouble you always come...
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A tickling sensation woke me up. I swat it away snuggling back into the blankets. I felt it again on my cheek making me groan in annoyance as I opened my eyes. The brilliantly orange wings of a butterfly sitting next to me made me smile. It's been a while since I had seen one. They didn't wander into town too often. I stretched letting the blanket slide down and shivered simultaneously as the heat trapped in it with me dissipated. My hand made contact with warm skin eliciting a groan that rumbled under me.
I sat up quickly turning around to see Hongjoong still leaning against the tree. His eyes were closed, and his arms were still loosely wrapped around me. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep on him during our conversation last night. His willingness to keep me company when I couldn't sleep and then covered me up and let me sleep on him made my heart pound. While sleeping he didn't seem as scary. His skin was beautifully pale in the early morning sun. His lips didn't have his signature smirk and were slightly parted. They were pink and full, something I didn't notice or maybe hadn't let myself notice. But I was definitely noticing now.
"Did you sleep good?" I shrieked turning around, pulling Hongjoong's coat to cover myself as I fell back into his chest.
He groaned finally waking up at the impact of the back of my head, looking around blearily before his eyes settled on me, then Wooyoung. The smirk was back on Hongjoong's face as he pulled me closer.
"Jealous?" he asked. Sleep still lingering in his voice making it sound huskier and wreaking havoc on my already fast beating heart.
"If I say yes can we swap tonight?" Wooyoung grinned.
My cheeks burst into flames. I scrambled out of Hongjoong's lap handing him back his coat.
"Thank you for letting me use it."
He took it from me watching me with an amused grin as I booked it across the camp site back to the rest of the group. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone else had seen me with Hongjoong as everyone was just getting up. I just hoped Wooyoung had enough sense to keep his mouth shut about it. My hopes may have been in vain though as both he and Hongjoong made their way back to the rest of the group. Hongjoong now sporting the coat he had let me borrow and Wooyoung beside him with a spring in his step. He shot me a wink, a huge grin splitting his handsome face.
"We should leave as soon as possible. The earlier we get started the more ground we can cover." Yeosang's voice carried across the makeshift camp tearing my attention from the two just now joining us.
"No breakfast?" Mingi frowned slipping the boot he had kicked off sometime last night back on his foot.
"Snack on something light for now. We're still too close to the city and it's putting me on edge." Yunho grumbled tossing his packs over his horse and strapping them in already.
I watched him carefully thinking about all the information Hongjoong had divulged to me last night. It was hard to believe that I was bonded to any of them, but more so Yunho. His demeanor was icy before the knowledge that we had been bonded was known, but now it seems as if he tried as hard as he could to avoid me. He wouldn't even look in my direction instead keeping his eyes trained on his task. Hongjoong had said that the human part of them could choose to reject the bond.
I couldn't imagine Yunho being okay with being mated to anyone let alone me. Wooyoung and Mingi on the other hand....I let my eyes drift over to the two of them who were currently bickering over the snacks they had packed in their bags. Mingi stating that he was bigger than Wooyoung, therefore he should have more than him followed by Wooyoung's wailing about how that wasn't fair and as a growing boy he should get more. Watching the two of them with an amused grin I realized I didn't really know how they felt about the situation. Neither of them had mentioned anything about it. Suddenly an arm was thrust in front of me holding a couple of pieces of dried meat.
Following the arm up, I was met with Seonghwa's blank stare as he motioned for me to take them. I opened my palm letting him drop them into it as he turned to finish his packing. I blinked at the pieces of jerky in my hand. My eyes flicking between them and the man who hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since we had met. Rather than looking a gift horse in the mouth, I began nibbling on the meat not realizing just how hungry I was until the taste hit my tongue.
"Thank you."
If he heard me, he didn't react to it. Instead, he continued to pack until he stood up abruptly, eyes locked onto the tree line across the meadow. I paused in my snacking to follow his gaze. The woods were still dark despite the sun rising behind them steadily. The orange yellow overcast wasn't bright enough to light up the thick foliage in its entirety. It seemed like Seonghwa wasn't the only one to pick up whatever had caught his attention. A hush fell over the meadow as everyone turned to scan the dark forest. A low rumbling emitted from somewhere to my right taking me a second to determine it was coming from Yunho as he cursed under his breath.
