Chapter 19 Being There For Me

Chapter 19 Being There For Me
~ NYLA’S POV

I wake up stretching my arms above my head, and I turn around to stretch more. I feel a lot better after taking a nap. Axel was right, a nap was all I needed.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Axel lying on the couch. He looked so peaceful sleeping. I wonder why he’s on the couch. He could have just lain with me on the bed with me — or maybe he didn’t because he wanted to make me more comfortable. That would be so thoughtful of him.

I reached over and grabbed the bottle of water by the side of the bed. I took a gulp and kept it back. I was about to lie down again when I noticed the window I'd left open, blowing right against where he was lying, and he had no blanket on.

He didn’t look like he was freezing, but something tells me he would be anytime soon. 

I stood up and opened the wardrobe, took out a blanket, and spread it over his body. He snuggled tightly into the blanket and it looked cute — he looked cute.

I don’t realize how long I stood there watching him until I found myself admiring his beautiful face. I can’t believe I’m saying this. Axel has been the most annoying person in my life, but here I am, admiring him.

I am just going to blame it on the mate bond. Because right now it feels really impossible for me to get over that feeling of him around. I can’t help but smile just looking at him.

Then a strand of his hair falls on his face and I kneel next to him, pulling it away. He twitches as if my hand electrified him. I can’t help but smile at that.

A little twitch of a smile dances on his face. I can’t tell why he is smiling while sleeping, but something tells me it has to do with me— our bond. 

I love that Axel has been with me. He’s been by my side all day, making sure that I am alright and that I don’t need anything. I know it’s not just because of the mate bond. He cares about me. It’s clear.

I stood up to go rest on the bed when suddenly my head started spinning. I touched my temples — they’re hot — and my heart is racing very fast.

My mind started spinning and suddenly I fell right on Axel. He jolted up in panic as he held me close. "What’s wrong? What are you doing here?"

"I just stood up to check on you. Nothing happened," I said, even though my head is still spinning. 

This headache just had to start now. 

"Are you sure?" He asked 

"Yes, totally!" I forced a smile on my face.

He studied my face for a moment. As if he could read through me, he suddenly realized my head was hurting me. He touched my temples and his eyes widened. "It’s hot. You’re sick, aren’t you?"

"Just a little dizzy, it’s really nothing to worry about," I said, not wanting to get him worried.

"Well, I just can’t worry about it," He said. "You should lie down on the bed. I’ll go get you medicine."

He held me and helped me lie back on the bed while he stepped away to get the headache medicine. When he walked back, he sat on the bed beside me and handed the medicine to me.

I stared at him and sighed heavily. "Do I have to?"

"You kinda do," He said.

I hesitated for a second before taking the medicine. I swallowed it with water, but the bitterness stayed. "I hate the taste of medicine."

"It will wear off soon," He said, helping me keep the glass aside. "You should probably go back to sleep. It will ease the headache."

I nodded. He was about to stand up from the bed when I held him back. "Stay with me, please."

He doesn’t hesitate before saying, "Sure, of course."

Axel lay next to me, his hand around my shoulder, cuddling me. As much as I hate to admit it, I felt a lot better. I felt safer, and it just feels good having him around me.

~ AXEL’S POV

She fell asleep almost immediately. I guess my arms really did the work. When she was sleeping, I was supposed to pull away and let her rest, but for some reason, I didn’t want to. I just wanted to stay with her — right there by her side — and keep watching her beautiful face.

I kept looking at her face, smiling, but the second I caught myself doing that, I snapped myself out of it. I wasn’t supposed to do that. She was Nyla. Even though she was my mate, she was still Nyla, and I had no feelings for her. If anything, I found her a bit annoying.

I pulled myself away from her, not wanting to get rooted into her that much. It was bad enough I couldn’t stop thinking about her; I didn’t want to be completely wrapped around her.

I made sure she was good before I exited the room. I had been all over Nyla today, not because of anything else but because I couldn’t afford to let anything happen to her. My wolf reacted in a way he had never done before whenever Nyla was hurt, and today I had seen it happen twice. It was horrible, and I know it can get worse. I just hope it doesn’t.

When I got outside, I found Karim, the head of security, looking around the house. I had made sure to bring extra security because of the accident.

"Noticed anything yet?" I asked as I approached him.

"No, nothing. I don’t think the enemies will come here," He replied.

"Have you gotten any response on who they could be?" I asked.

"No clue at all. Everyone I had as a suspect has a perfect alibi," He said.

"Then something is definitely wrong and we need to find out what it is," I said, stepping away.

I looked around the place suspiciously. There was no one around, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong. "I need more security around here," I said.

He acknowledged, and I went back inside and found Nyla exactly where I had left her — sleeping peacefully, a smile curled on my lips as I lay down next to her. She snuggled closer to me and just like that, my night felt a lot better.