Baekhyun’s P.O.V

A tired groan escapes his mouth as he tries to open his heavy eyelids. The gentle sunlight is softly slinks into the room between the small gaps in the curtains. His body feels completely numb and there is a soft silence filling his ears and the room in general. He tries to move slightly, just to shift his weight, but it’s painful and every muscle in his body ache the moment he tries to move. He manages to move his head slightly: just enough to see the big windows near his bed and stare at the gentle light that is streaming into the room softly.

His body reminds him of the pain he felt for not many hours ago and aches slightly when he tries to move once more. He manages to shift his weight a little more and can now view the room slowly – but something doesn’t feel quite alright. He stares around himself which is supposed to look like his room back at home, but there is one thing that is missing – Chanyeol’s sweet scent. It’s nowhere around him despite him seeing signs of the giant living here. The more he looks around, the more things he begins to notice are either wrong or strange. For an example, he always places his wedding ring on the nightstand whenever he goes to bed, but it’s not there and it isn’t on his finger either. The curtains are in a slighter darker color and there is a scent of fir tree coming from the floor and the walls, but he knows all too well that it’s supposed to smell like oak and birch in here.

Something is wrong and he has begun to sense it. He doesn’t think he’s home or maybe he is home, but something else is affecting him? He stares at the curtains and the big window, now slowly seeing a bit more of the nature and the weather outside. He stares at it for a long time, noticing that the sky is in a constant twilight that never seems to shift. He waits for minutes even up to an hour and just watches the sky and the little of the treetops that he can see. Nothing changes – it never changes. Like he thought, he isn’t home…

“No, you are home little one.”

The sudden voice startles him as he whips his head around quickly, feeling the pain stream through his body because of the reckless movement he just did. He groans quietly to himself and mentally curses his stupidity for moving so recklessly. But his attention is shortly taken again when his eyes focus in front of him once more and spots a woman sit beside him on the bed. She has long silver hair that is braided with several marine blue flowers of all kinds, her eyes are deep silver with a gaze as firm as a wolf’s. Her slender figure radiates beauty and elegance while she smiles softly at him.

“I know your home might be looking different, but your body is still home.”

He stares startled at the woman for a while, realizing that she’s a stranger and he’s alone with her. Yet, when she speaks with a soft and gentle voice, it’s hard to feel threatened by her. He stares at her for a long time, not sure what to think or say to her. She’s beautiful and almost seems to radiate with beauty, almost in an unnatural way. She speaks to him like he’s familiar with her and she sits so casually beside him on the bed, yet she look so elegant while doing so.

“Don’t you recognize me? Come on now, you have been trying to reach me so many times before. Whenever you were afraid, in doubt or in sorrow – you always called for me. You always looked for my guidance which warms my heart.”

She smiles at him once more, this time reaching out a hand and softly pats him on the head. He can only stare at her in both confusion and a bit dumbly – this can’t be possible. He must be dreaming because the way she speaks to him and what she is referring to must be…

“Yes my dear little cub, this is a dream, but you’re not fully in control of it. I am here, yet I’m not. Your mind is here with me, but your body is still at home.”
“H-How is that… even possible…?”
“Your friends are very worried about you, especially a certain werewolf who helped put up support for you and me to connect easier. With his help and with you in this state, we can communicate in a certain way. I can only stay in this form for a little while, but it’s often enough to allow me to visit my creations and ensure your safety.”
“W-What do you mean…? W-What happened to me? I-I can’t remember…”
“You were attacked if I understood it right and were badly hurt. This is probably just another feverish dream for you, but like I mentioned before, I can reach you in your weakened state.”
“Weakened…? Am I… that bad…?”
“I am afraid so my dear little cub. I… I even feared for your life at one point, just like your friends did. You lost so much energy and whatever those men did to you, it affected your body greatly – your body’s state even followed you into the dream. Here you are much better than in the reality.”
“I-If it is this bad here… H-How bad is it in the real world…?”
“You are very weak and sick I’m afraid. But do not worry, it is not permanent. You might be weak for a longer period of time – for how long even I don’t know, but I have seen the symptoms before. It may look like a disease to others, but it will get better – slowly, but surely.”
“I see… I just hope the others aren’t too worried about me… For a moment, when I say you, I must admit: I thought that I was dead.”
“I understand where you get the fear from. I do usually appear in front of the weak and sick most of the time and even guide them beyond the horizon. I did fear that I had to do the same with you and it always weights my heart down whenever I have to bring your souls to the endless twilight. But it does bring me comfort – comfort to know that I can give you the afterlife that you deserve and keep watching over you until you’re ready to get back to the Earth’s surface again. Do not worry; I am not here to bring you with me just yet. I get a sense that you wouldn’t be able to rest well if I offered to take you with me – but I do not guarantee you will be free of pain when you wake up.”
“To be honest, I rather endure the pain if it means I can remain with my husband and my friends. I still can’t believe this is you, my goddess that is sitting in front of me. I don’t want to sound rude, but it feels a bit too unreal and ridiculous to be true. How do I know this isn’t just another feverish dream like you said?”
“Well, I can’t prove you right or wrong. I do not feel the need to do so either – the important thing for me is that you feel safe and remain strong. If you want to believe this is a dream, I do not mind. If you want to believe this is real, please go ahead and do so. But just know that either if I’m right here with you or if this is a dream you created, I am still always with you like I always have been: in your dreams, in your thoughts or in your heart. I will always watch over you despite your imagination.”

The woman smiles gently and allows her hand his head and he can feel how her touch is brings out his wolf features. His ears pop up, he can feel his eyes change slightly and he thinks his tail is growing out as well. She smiles amused at him and plays a bit with one of his ears which now amuses him. She seems to be so carefree and playful, yet comforting and calm. He feels how he smiles at her and watches her for a while before her hand gives him final pat on his head.

“Whatever is going to happen from now and on, I just want to remind you of one more thing: I am not a goddess of hatred or revenge. What the men did to you was horrible, but I fear that it wasn’t their own plan. I sense one of my children’s hatred that has grown so strong and misled them from their path. Whatever might happen, don’t let anyone innocent go punished and at the same time, do not let the guilty one get away. I do not wish for you to find revenge, but a proper punishment shall be placed in one way or another. You will know what I mean if you ever find the one I’m talking about. You should rest now: I think your love is very worried about you. I will watch over you like always – I promise.”

He feels how sleepiness takes over him and it feels strange to fall asleep even though he knows that he’s dreaming. His body leans back against the soft mattress as he listens to the gentle humming of the woman who claims to be his goddess. He feels her gently his cheek and forehead one last time before he finally falls into deep slumber once more.

***

The soft touch of a slightly cool hand wakes him from his deep slumber. He wants to fall asleep all over again from the gentle touch, but he gets a feeling that he woke up for a reason. An utterly pathetic and weak groan escapes his lips as he tries to open his eyes, but his eyelids feel heavy and his body in general feels exhausted despite his long rest. It takes a while for his eyes to adjust to the weak and gentle light in the confusingly dark room. Is it… night time?

“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

A deep and gentle voice echoes in his ear as the cold hand gently his forehead. He tries to open his mouth to speak back, to just say anything, but it’s hopeless at the moment. He tries to move, but an enormous wave of pain takes over and he can only cry out in agony. Chanyeol quickly moves closer to him and gently grabs his hand closest to him.

“Does it still hurt that badly? Listen to me Baekhyun-ah, you can’t move just yet. Kyungsoo and Lay are busy with making some medicine that should ease the pain.”

He tries to nod, but only ends up with staring at Chanyeol’s worried face. He wants to calm him down by smiling and pretend he’s fine, but all energy in his body is gone. Why is he still so weak…? In his dream, he could at least move and talk. What is wrong with him? What…? What happened to him…?

“I know you’re worried, but you need to keep resting a little longer. I will be watching you all the time, I promise. Chen and Xiumin promised to bring whatever work I need to do here and Kyungsoo and Lay both showed up when we called them. Kyungsoo was especially fast to come here.”

Chanyeol tries to strike up a more calming conversation with him, almost like he wants to distract him from the pain that is still lingering in his body. That’s right; he did try to get in contact with Kyungsoo that day. Maybe he got worried when he heard him getting hurt? Or maybe he felt guilty for not answering right away?

“Baekhyun… There is also something else I need to ask you. Your… Your mother called while you were feeling the worst last night and… And I called her back… She said that she wanted to speak to you and I said you couldn’t talk to her, but she refused to listen. She demands to come here. D-Do you wish for me to go and get her?”

He stares at Chanyeol for a long time, not really sure what he has been talking about until now. His mind is still a bit hazy and whatever is going on with his body, he feels horrible. He wishes he could just sleep, but he knows he will burden Chanyeol if he doesn’t answer him. Once again he tries to open his mouth to answer him, just a simple yes or no need to leave his mouth, yet it nearly feels impossible.

“N-No…”

The word that left his mouth sounded weak and exhausted which Chanyeol reacted to right away. He also seemed to react to his answer since he gives him a slight concerned look. Right now, he doesn’t need his mother to come here and worry herself to death. No, she might even misunderstand the situation and think Chanyeol have hurt him somehow.

“Are you sure? She will be extremely suspicious towards me. I can ask her to come by in a few days perhaps?”
“O-Okay…”
“Sorry, I’m pushing your limit. You should rest while the other two are still working.”

A grunt is all he could muster before he exhales softly. He needs to sleep… Just sleep… He closes his eyes once more and his body quickly drifts into deep slumber once more…

***

Once again his eyes softly open as he tries to adjust to the light around him. He doesn’t know how long he has been sleeping, but it feels like he has been passed out for hours. His body feels stiff and numb, like he hasn’t been able to move for days. He tries to look around in the room and stares at the darkness surrounding him. It must be in the middle of the night. He wants to try to move, but fear lingers on his mind: it hurt terribly when he tried to move last time he was awake. Can he even move at all?

“I’m telling you, I have never seen such a thing before.”

The sudden voices echoing from outside his room take his attention as he looks towards it. Who was that? He didn’t get the chance to hear the voice very well since he didn’t realize someone was outside his room until now. He knows it might be wrong to eavesdrop, but a part of him can’t help to worry what the others have been up to while he has been passed out. How long has it even been…?

“He can’t just become sick from a stab wound! This is ridiculous! I-I made sure to take him to the hospital right away! The poison should be gone by now!”
“Calm down Chanyeol or you might wake him up. He needs his rest and-“
“Don’t bull with me! There isn’t a chance that he could have become sick from the stab wound! There got to be something else going on!”
“I understand you’re anxious Chanyeol, but screaming won’t help. I’m telling you, I have never seen anything like this before. His body acts like it has become sick or his nerve system isn’t functioning like it should. To a normal doctor like me, it looks like he has gotten a disease. I can’t tell why or how it happened: it might have been there since earlier and the poison could have activated it. There is also a possibility that the hospital missed some poison that lingered in his body and hurt his nerves.”
“You have to do something… You have to help him. T-This is your job-“
“I won’t leave him Chanyeol, not when he’s like that. Don’t worry, I have been giving him everything I can to make him feel at ease. But… I have to analyze the samples I took on him a bit more before I can say anything further. For now, all I know is that his body won’t function normally for a couple of days or maybe even weeks.”

Silence falls once more while he stares towards the door. Is he… hearing correctly? Is that Lay and Chanyeol talking? Talking about him…? Wait… No… No, no, no… He must have heard wrong, because Lay make it sound like… NO… No, no, no, no, no!

“I’m sorry Chanyeol, but this is all I can do. Besides, you should refrain from looking for those two men. Right now, Baekhyun will need you more than ever. You have supported him when he has been sick and weak before, so he will trust you to do so again. On top of that, it has been days since the poison started to kick in. It should be out of his system at this point which means it isn’t the poison that is affecting him anymore. I have already talked to Chen and Xiumin who agree with letting you work from home for a while. Chen promised to come here and assist you and Xiumin will keep the statues at the office. I will work hard to find out what is wrong, but until then you need to remain here and help Baekhyun.”
“I still don’t want to believe you… Those men… They deserve to be punished… I should behead them and-“
“Don’t let rage cover your senses, Chanyeol! Think of Baekhyun for once will you? He needs you! Please, I can’t be here by his side if I’m going to find out what is wrong. I need my proper lab and Kyungsoo is unstable as it is as well. He can’t handle everything on his own and Chen needs you to cooperate with him as well.”
“I… I will talk with Baekhyun about it… When he wakes up…”
”He should wake up sometime soon, when the medicine is starting to wear off. When he wakes up, give him some food and water and then the medicine. Don’t mix the order, alright?”

He hears the two men mumble a little further, but he’s lot in his thoughts. His nerve system is… broken? Is that why he can barely move? Is that why everything hurt so badly when he woke up? He stares down at his hands and hesitates slightly: will it hurt if he moves now? His eyes remain on his hand for a while before he finally dares to try to move his fingers just lightly. It’s hard and his whole hand feels nearly numb. He struggles to move his fingers slightly, mostly because it feels like his muscles are sore and exhausted. It doesn’t hurt too much to move his fingers and he even manages to lift his hand slightly, but it’s extremely tiresome.

He’s lost in his thoughts while testing to move his fingers and even lift his hands slightly. For a moment, he didn’t notice the door getting opened until he heard footsteps echo in the room. He quickly look up towards the door where Chanyeol is staring right back at him with a shocked expression on his face. The giant quickly puts on a gentle smile, but his eyes have already betrayed him: he’s upset. Well, he’s not surprised to find him upset at the moment. He should be rather anxious himself.

“You’re awake already Baekhyun-ah? I’m sorry, did we wake you?”
“N-No… I… I’m a bit thirsty…”
“I see, then I will fetch you some water and perhaps something to eat as well?”
“Sure… Why not…”

His words feel heavy on his lips and it’s strange how tired his body has already become from just speaking and moving his hands a bit. He leans back against his pillows while Chanyeol heads out from the room again, probably to fetch the food and water he promised to get for him. But h can sense Chanyeol’s anxiousness despite him not being in the room. He closes his eyes for a couple of seconds, feeling how he nearly drifts into slumber again before a hand gently touches his forehead. He snaps his eyes open again, this time he’s being met by a soft light from the nightstand as Chanyeol smiles down at him.

“Hey, you shouldn’t fall asleep just yet. You need to drink some water, right?”
“Y-Yes… Sorry…”

With some help from Chanyeol, he gets to eat and drink a little, but the activity makes him tired once more. He wants to curse his body for being weak, but at the same time he’s a bit confused about what is going on. How long has he been unconscious? It sounded like he has been sleeping for days when Lay and Chanyeol talked to each other. Or maybe he has been awake while having a fever dream?

“How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”
“No… I’m… I’m just exhausted… All the time…”
“I can see that in your eyes… But… It… It will get better.”

Chanyeol smiles at him, but there is a hint of anger in his eyes – but it’s not directed at him. He can sense his feelings so clearly: he’s upset and furious. This isn’t good…

“Chanyeol…”

He tries to speak softly while he forces his left hand to move despite it starting to ache lightly. He gently puts it on Chanyeol’s hand nearest him and watches how the giant quickly grabs onto it to hold it softly. He smiles pleased at Chanyeol who isn’t angry enough to not notice his affection towards him.

“Thank you… For saving me… I… I didn’t know what to do… I was in panic and I lost control of all senses… If you hadn’t showed up when you did… I wouldn’t be here right now…”
“I… I wasn’t fast enough… Those men, they should pay for hurting you-“
”Please don’t leave me… Please… I… I know it sounds stupid, but… I… I can really need your support right now… Please… I don’t want you to get hurt when I’m like this… I… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself…”

Once again, he stares into Chanyeol’s eyes in hope to sense his feelings. His husband is still in fury and he’s anxious – but he’s not showing any signs of wanting to against his request. Chanyeol gently lifts his hand and kisses the top of it softly.

“I wouldn’t leave you when you’re like this, especially not now when you even asked me to stay. But… I’m worried that those men will come back somehow.”
“Who were they? The ones who attacked me: who were they?”
“I… I don’t know… They… They were not the people I expected to attack. I honestly thought that my grandfather or some of the rebels would be attacking us since they have showed signs to still be looking for trouble: but some of my sources claim it’s none of them who did this.”
“That’s… That’s a bit worrisome… The once in Busan…”
“They are some of the rebels that have been terrorizing other vampire-werewolf couples. Do you remember I told you there are some people perhaps looking to hurt us? They were supposed to be one of the threats.”
“Are you still suspecting your grandfather to hurt us…?”
“Well… To be honest, he’s a cold old man. I wish I could trust him, but since I haven’t heard a single word from him for a while now…”

Chanyeol looks to fall into his own thoughts for a while. He wonders what he’s thinking about: could it be about the men who hurt him? For now, shouldn’t they concentrate on each other? The men might not know where they live, that’s probably why they attacked him at his school which is riskier than coming here. They should be safe for now.

“Don’t worry too much… Can’t you… cuddle with me instead?”

His words grab Chanyeol’s attention rather quickly as the giant looks up at him. For the first time today, Chanyeol gives him a genuine bright smile as he nods happily. It takes a while for Chanyeol to put everything away and he looks to change clothes as well before he gets up on the bed besides him. He doesn’t even need to move because Chanyeol has already embraced him and pulled him into a warm hug. He smiles happily as he snuggles up towards Chanyeol.

“Thank you… For listening to me…”
“I will always listen to you. By the way… Uhm… We might need to talk about your… condition.”
“I heard your conversation with Lay… I don’t think it’s necessary…”
“I see… I’m… I’m sorry Baekhyun, we don’t know what is wrong just yet. Lay promised to look into it and I will try to find other people who might know what is going on. I do believe if we can just get the men-“
“Don’t go after them… It’s going to be fine Chanyeol… I… I know it looks dark and really bad right now, but I think it’s going to be fine.”
“If you say so, then I believe you… But… Just know that we are trying to help you.”
“I know. I am very lucky to have you and the others… Thank you…”

He smiles happily at Chanyeol despite the bad news. His body might be a bit broken right now, but the dream he had with the goddess makes him feel strangely… confident. He might be sick and weak, but that doesn’t mean everything is over. Besides, she did mention something about him getting better – just very slowly.

“Hey… Do you remember waking up any time before this…?”
“I… I remember once… We talked about… my mother?”
”Yes, we did. About her… She demands to see you. She’s worried since you haven’t answered her calls yourself and it sounds like she believes I have done something to you. Even your father threatened to send out some of his people to find you.”
“Well… I think it’s because it’s almost my birthday again… It was around this time of the year I was attacked when I was little… They are always a bit anxious around this time of the year…”
“I see… I didn’t know that to be honest, that they would be more anxious right now.”
“We shouldn’t hide the fact that I’m sick from them… Just… Just tell them where we live and let them come.”
“Are you sure you have the power to see them? I can try to explain over the phone-“
“No, I know my mother well enough. If she has gotten suspicious as it is… Then let her come here and see you in person… That way, she will trust you more…”

Chanyeol nods slightly before he kisses him on the forehead. He smiles and tries to turn to look at his husband a little better. He’s still pale and handsome like always… Damn vampires and their good looks… Unconsciously, he lifts a tired hand up to Chanyeol’s face and it lightly. He’s glad to still have him by his side, even though they nearly ended up hating each other.

“Chanyeol… I love you.”

He lets the words slip out of his mouth as he watches Chanyeol’s eyes dazzle slightly before the taller man leans down to his face. They exchange a soft kiss, mostly because he can sense the hesitation within the taller man. He must be worried to hurt him, but it’s alright. Even if it is just a simple kiss, his stomach is still tingling slightly as he lets his hand remain on Chanyeol’s cheek. They pull out slowly, smiling at each other for a while before he leans against Chanyeol’s chest to rest.

“I will see you tomorrow… Goodnight…”
“Goodnight my little puppy…”

One last soft kiss is placed on his head before he closes his eyes and slowly drifts into his slumber again. But there are some things still lingering on his mind: how will his mother react when she finds out about him being hurt? And is Kyungsoo still here? He never got to talk to him and he did hear something about him not being stable. Poor Kyungie… He needs to talk to him… He needs to talk to them all… Tomorrow… He will do that tomorrow…