LUPINE

Chapter 17

"Whose are these for, Alpha?"

Jiu, the florist, looks over her shoulder as she wraps the fresh bouquet of lavenders with a brown paper. She ties the bouquet with a brown string, clipping it nicely to ensure the lavenders will stay put.

"For...a..."

"The Luna?", Jiu turns around, cocking her eyebrows, teasing him as he hands the small bouquet to him. "Our Luna likes lavender?"

Taehyung blushes as he tucks the bouquet in his arm gently, lips pressed into a thin line as he searches for an answer. It was not in his plan to drop by the florist and get Maya flowers but then when he arrived at the archery field a moment ago and saw her in that soft purple dress, he was reminded of the lavender flowers and how he loves the scent so much. He almost tripped on the stairs, missing the steps when he saw her standing in the middle of the field.

He had to blink so many times, thinking if it was just a dream because under the late evening sun, and amidst the green grass of the field, she looks extraordinarily beautiful in that dress. All the dresses she have worn these past few days had been in shades of brown and green, sometimes blue or white. He had never seen her in this pastel coloured dress.

The light purple dress makes her look as if she is glowing as the orange sun hits her from above and the soft shade of the dress seems to compliment her dark brown hair that is tied in a low chignon braid. The loose strands at the sides of her face makes her look so lovely. Too lovely Taehyung wished he could have captured the smile on her face when the kids managed to shoot their arrows perfectly.

Thus he decided to make a run to the clinic to ask Hani about Maya's favourite flowers - lavenders.

"Alpha", Jiu giggles as she looks at Taehyung. "Go now, the archery practice is almost done. You do not want to miss her"

Taehyung stammers with his words, suddenly unable to think about his reply because in his head it is all Maya in that dress. But Jiu seems to get the message and gently nudges him to the door, bobbing her head in understanding.

"Go! I will make sure we have a lot of lavenders while she is here", she offered him another smile before taking the chance to actually push him out of the door. "Say hi to the Luna for me!"

Taehyung looks at the bouquet in his hand, chills running through his warm blood as he rethinks his decision to give it to Maya. He gathers his courage and heads straight back to the field. He stops along the way to check himself through the glass window of a closed bookshop, fixing his hair and straightening his clothes.

When he arrives, the field is empty and the kids are already back in the building. But then Maya is still there, talking to YoungJun. He waits at the top of the stairs at the side, holding the bouquet tightly to his side. YoungJun spots him and he gently gestures to Maya to look up.

"Maya, my dear, I believe your chaperone is here", he teases. "I will see you tomorrow?"

"I will see you tomorrow, YoungJun. Please get home safely"

Maya watches as Youngjun heads back into the building and when she turns around, Taehyung is already standing right in front of her. Sometimes it baffles her still to think of how stealthy his moves are and how he managed to move so fast.

"You are so fast"

"Are you forgetting that I am--"

"A werewolf. No, I do not. But I still need to get used to it", Maya runs her palms over the front of her dress, dusting away all the dust. "You are here to meet someone?"