(Fenrir’s POV) Stjärna

[Fenrir]

Fenrir placed Hyeon on the couch in front of the tall window. He was going to walk away to complete any unfinished work, but the curled-up person looked so…pitiful. More blood dribbled from his eyes and ears. Then, he made the same whimpering cry from earlier. The sound gave Fenrir goosebumps. Out of instinct, his wolf ears flicked forward with interest. If he was nothing more than a normal canine, the cry would be a beacon for an effortless meal.

He exhaled in defeat and sat on the couch. He pulled Hyeon onto his lap to wipe the blood off with clean gauze. When the material touched his skin, Hyeon pushed the helping hand away.

"Don't fight me," Fenrir growled, forgetting that the other had hearing loss. He kept trying to remove the bloody mess until Hyeon began to rub his face on Fenrir's chest. Red smears stained his perfectly white shirt.

"TSK! Standa." (Stop.)

Hyeon rubbed his face more. Too much squirming!

Fenrir tightly gripped Hyeon's jaw and bent him forward, like a mother holding a baby to burp it. The position made the boy stop moving, although breathing heavily from the struggle. Finally, he could clean up the blood.

After tossing the dirty gauze on the floor, he let Hyeon rest his head against Fenrir's heart. The god wondered if Hyeon could feel the strong beating through his chest.

He turned his attention to the big window. It was almost dark outside. The dark red clouds were low, threatening to spit out snow. Speaking of, shouldn't it be getting warmer by now? Perhaps it was a longer winter this year in New Zealand.

There were moments when the galaxy was visible between the thick clouds. The stars that could be seen this early in the evening were twinkling. It was serene.

When he checked on his little half-human, Hyeon was looking at him. The glazed pupils suggested he was still blind, but he could somehow stare directly at the man above.

Fenrir observed Hyeon's eyes. "They're blue now? Why are they blue?"

A while ago, Fenrir noticed how the irises turn green when Hyeon was aroused, brown when he was angry or sad, and hazel when neutral. Don't forget the glowing silver when his phoenix blood was activated. But ocean blue...that was the rarest. He wanted to see more of it. That color meant happiness. Content. Honesty.

Does that mean Hyeon felt at peace in his arms?

"How can I make them blue more often?" he asked, knowing the question fell on deaf ears. Literally.

The blinding stars from the sky reflected on Hyeon's black pupils.

"Stjärna." It meant stars in Old Norse. Since Hyeon couldn't hear, Fenrir wasn't embarrassed to say the new pet name. Little Stjärna closed his eyes and finally slept.

His chest throbbed from a strange emotion. There was a tickle on his face. When he touched his cheek, his finger caught a clear teardrop. He held it up to inspect it until it plopped on Hyeon's temple.

*Why?*

He's never cried. Crying only happens when you're injured or upset, right? But Fenrir wasn't hurt.

His shackled wolf watched without a word. It was unusual. Because of Hyeon's weakened state, the wolf would normally demand something like, 'Suck his soul now. Eat it.'

Yet, it laid there without a peep.

*What, nothing to say?* Fenrir asked it. To his surprise, the wolf stood up and turned away before laying down again. For the first time ever, the monstrous canine ignored him.

Fenrir felt the same as the wolf did at that moment. He didn't want to absorb Hyeon's soul energy.

And that was going to be a problem.