TAEHYUNG

Someone's touched her.

My silver eyes alight with fire, and I flash through the woods to where I feel her. I'd marked her last night— marked her as mine.

And still there was a bastard that dared to get even a few feet of her.

It takes me seconds to get to where she is. The forest was my ground— and I'd thought I'd made sure to let every single demon know.

Except for this damn lowlife.

My eyes tinge blue the moment I see her curled up in the leaves, face pale and bloodless. Several marks glow on her skin that isn't mine.

Who would—

Then the fury turns into horror when I see her entire body soaked wet.

No.

I stumble over to her, struggling to unclasp my cloak. I'm just a few feet away when a smug voice echoes through the air.

"One more step and I'm turning the water into fire, Kim Taehyung."

I stop.

My entire body's burning with the desire to snap his neck in half, but she'd pay the price first.

He'd burn her right in front of me.

"And I marked her too." He smirks, but I just watch her face turn paler and paler in the cold. She'd stopped shivering a long time ago.

"I'm not losing her."

"Yes, you will." He laughs coldly, watching me with an insane glee. "She'll die, either from the cold or from me."

"Do it."

He looks taken aback.

"....what?"

"I said do it, you fucking bastard." I say, tearing the rest of my dark cloak from my shoulders as I close the distance between her fragile body and mine.

"I said stop! Do you want me to light her up—"

The things I'd do for this one girl.

My silver eyes slash to him the moment he snaps his fingers, turning all the water soaking her into flames. And he's dead the next second, as I let the forest consume his powerless figure into ashes.

No time.

I pull her into my chest, willing the flames to move into me as I leave my final mark on her lips.

__________________________

AREUL

Cold.

I open my eyes, trembling furiously. Dull colors fill my vision, twisting into hazed shapes before focusing into figures.

Trees.

Grass.

My eyes widen when the surroundings come into sight. And it's like doing everything for the first time as I look down at my hands.

I can see.

Then I focus on a dark figure collapsed next to where I am.

Taehyung.

I know it's him the moment I lay eyes on his parted lips, pale face. He's what I had visualized— except for the dark patches of black streaking his entire face and body.

My voice shakes.

"H-Hey...wake up."

Burns.

When I touch them, I know. The darkness on his body are burns— and he isn't moving.

No.

"Taehyung." I call again, shifting the cloak I find around my body onto him. "W-What's wrong with you? Why won't you talk to me?"

Tears blur my vision.

He's more beautiful— more perfect than I could've ever imagined. But he's not moving, not talking in his sweet, deep voice.

Dead?

"No, no, no." Each word chokes up with tears, and I go back to a crying mess all over again when I realize how close he fits that definition.

He looks more dead than alive.

Sniffling, I lie down next to him and tuck myself into his side. His body feels cold, but I hug his waist tight to my chest.

Everything is cold.

And then all of a sudden, I feel his body shift just the slightest. My eyes instantly flash open, and I stare at him with hope full in them.

Then I notice something else.

The trees. It's withered than before, more barer. The grass around us is no longer green, but a faded color.

What?

And his closed eyes open.

It's silver. The color of his eyes are a glowing, beautiful silver— and I lose my words at the shade of blue tinged around the edges.

Then I remember, and hurriedly squeeze my eyes shut.

He laughs weakly.

"It's fine."

"I'm not capable of hurting you, love."

So I peek them open again. Taehyung looks exhausted— and the black burns are still there. But he's alive, and talking.

I kiss him.

At first he doesn't kiss back, and I start panicking in my mind if I pull away or not when all of a sudden he does.

He pulls me into his chest, cold lips finding mine.

"You look much more beautiful when you have those eyes focused on me."

And I flush.

__________________________

"H-He's the one who helped my eyes get better."

Taehyung gives my mother and brother  a charming smile. And he really has a smile that could kill.

My mother tilts her head.

"What do you do?"

He's the forest demon in the stories you always told us.

But of course I stay quiet, and Taehyung's still smiling pleasantly as he answers my mother.

"A medic. I usually work with the things in the forest."

A tiny smirk lifts the corner of his lips, something that I only notice. Meanwhile Jungkook's just looking at me incredulously, eyes flickering back between me and him.

"Well, you healed my daughter so I'm eternally thankful." My mother says, and I blink.

"And it was about time for her to get a man, anyways. You two can use the room tonight. Jungkook, you can sleep on the—"

"No!"

Taehyung gives me an amused look as I turn red all over again.

"M-Mom, it's not like that."

I want to die. Jungkook is still scanning Taehyung, while my mom raises her eyebrow at me. And the forest "medic" is staring at me with brown eyes.

It only turned silver when he was in the forest or wanted to kill someone.

"Well, Jungkook and I are going to go to town so you two can talk it out."

I don't miss the wink she throws in my direction before pulling my whiny brother out of the house. It makes the red climb up to the tips of my ears— it really wasn't anything like she thought.

"I like your mother."

"A-And I'm tired." I quickly say, pulling at my ears to cool them down. "I want to sleep."

His voice is light.

"That's not a problem."

_________________________

I'd been sleepy.

But now sleep is the last thought on my mind with my back pressing tightly in Taehyung's chest— his arm so firmly wrapped around my waist and hips.

But it's warm— and cozy. And soon my eyes are half-closed, mind drifting between wakefulness and sleep.

I feel him take his arm off of me.

First I don't think of it that much, being so close to falling asleep entirely. But then something soft presses against my neck, and then my right cheek.

Taehyung's trailing kisses down my skin.

And first, I keep my eyes closed. I pretend I'm asleep, but he'd already noticed.

The kissing stops.

"Wake up. I know you are."

I peek open an eye. He's right above me, brown eyes showing the beginning of silver as he stares down at my face.

He's so beautiful it's making me feel conscious.

I push at his chest. "T-Too close. The minimum is, uh, at least five inches."

Taehyung scoffs.

"Ridiculous."

"Tae, I'm tired." I yawn, leaning into his body. "Aren't you? I've never seen you sleep before."

He tugs at the curve of my ear.

"It's because I don't need to, love. I could go all night without it."

I blink.

Taehyung laughs when I push him off, turning to face the other side of the room instead of him.

My cheeks are on fire.

It honestly was a bit scary. But he was talking about it so freely— and it was making me warm up too much.

"All right," He coaxes, pressing himself against me. "You know I'll wait. Hell would freeze over before I forced myself on you, and you know this."

I relax.

"T-Thanks."

But was I acting too selfish?

I can see the lust, mixed with love in his eyes whenever he looks at me. And I was sure that was starting to show a little in my gaze too.

So Taehyung looks immeasurably pleased when I carefully slip my hand under his shirt.

His back is firm— and broad.

And all I've done is just run my hands a couple of times over his skin when he suddenly moans deeply. The red in my cheeks gets a hundred times darker, and I quickly pull myself back.

His voice is amused.

"How'd you know where my Mark was?"

"M-Mark?"

He sits up, brushing his dark hair back. A slight smile pulls at the corners of his lips as he tugs up his shirt.

"Look."

My eyes go a bit wider when I see the top right corner of his back. There's really something— an emerald-colored spiral.

I instinctively touch it, and he shudders.

His eyes are silver when he turns back to look at me.

"I'm very sensitive there, love."

"S-Sorry." I swallow, blinking at his fixed stare on my face. Everything about him was so dangerously seductive. His eyes— to his lips.

I don't know where to put my eyes.

"Look all you want."

I swallow. "What?"

"I've decided to keep you as mine."

*END