Far Side

Chapter Fourteen - Where's Alpha?

"Have you eaten dinner?"

The question startled you, his low, husky voice disturbing the air in what felt like hours.

"What?" You glanced over to find him still seated on his plush maroon couch, book in hand where he's been since you first started watching movies on Yoongi's tablet—Namjoon already having all your possessions conveniently moved to his room before retrieving you.

"Have you eaten," the words were repeated somewhat louder, this time hooded eyes glanced up from the literature between his long fingers, watching you over thick-rimmed glasses. 

"No, I haven't yet. Jin usually brings— " Your voice trailed off as you finally realize what he's implying; the expression across his handsome features softening before he sighed and leaned back to close the book with a solid thud. Tongue darted out to moisten his full lips then he nods and set the rather bulky novel aside.

"I'll go get you something from the kitchen. Anything in particular you want?"

Shaking your head since you really weren't feeling anything call out to you, he responded with a 'you sure' brow raise. You gave him a shrug, confirming your choice. To that, Namjoon raised both brows somewhat in a judgemental way before he took a sip of his coffee, which surely had gone cold by now, before he stood and exited with a certain air that caused you to stare in the direction he left long after he was gone. 

You're not sure if it had something to do with his personality, an alpha trait, or just that he couldn't find anything for you, because the passing minutes started to turn into dragging boredom. And you were starting to grow restless. Had he forgotten? You were about to give up and go look for something to eat yourself when the door opened, the werewolf stepping in with tray in hand. He sat on the edge of the bed to position said tray in your lap, before a bottled water is retrieved from his back pocket and reading glasses removed to be replaced on the crown of his head. You offer a weak thanks, blinking down at the sandwich and bag of chips, wondering why this took him so long. 

As though reading your mind, Joon cleared his throat with a sheepish rub at the nape of his neck.

"Sorry, I'm not that great of a cook."

"This is fine, thank you again." You took a bite, then turned your attention on the bag of chips, doing your best attempt to ignore the uneasy feeling of curiosity. "A sandwich.. took you this long to.. make?" 

So much for ignoring that curiosity..

Even with your eyes turned down you could feel his gaze fixed on the side of your face, causing blood to shoot to your cheeks. He waited, like a damn saint, for you to glance at him before he answered, amusement thick with every word spoken. "Told you, I'm bad at cooking. Why.. miss me?"

You sputtered, eyes narrowed while you took a rather aggressive bite out of the sandwich then casted that stare away, earning a chuckle from the male. His laughter dying and easy mood turning serious as he continued.

"I went to check on our moody trouble makers. Had a talk one on one, then made the two sort it out. I should actually thank you. Because of you it seems they've resolved some underlying issues that's been festering for quite some time. I'm.." He stopped to rub his face, thumb and index brushing under his bags that seem to darken by the day. "I'm disgusted with my lack of ability to notice there was something like this going on in our pack, and for this long. I've been so focused on locating ... " Voice trails off to a whisper, head dropped into a dejected pose.

"It's not your fault, Namjoon, anyone could have made that mistake."

"A mistake is what lost me my pack. A mistake is what caused them to lose their families and friends. I should be more aware as a leader.. I should—"