Chapter 19

Breathtaking

*****************Blake POV************

Swaying my gaze off Nero, I met Luna's eyes and said, "Yeah, Jason takes good care of me, so I don't need to indebt myself at a price that I can't pay."

"I'm not asking you to pay me," Loki said, frowning slightly with his eyes on mine.

Why he was trying this hard to suddenly be my dad after learning that my wolf had woken up was just suspicious in all the ways, and that made me want to stay far away from him. But then again mother.

"And I'm not asking for your money!" I mumbled.

After staring at me for a while, Loki walked away, storming out of the classroom.

"See you tonight." Luna's voice dragged my gaze back on Nero and her.

With a smile on his lips, he stroked her cheek and said, "Sure."

After watching Luna walk away, Nero looked my way, but I cast my gaze on the desk and allowed myself to go numb.

After Nero's class was over, Jason and I left the room, and I didn't dare look back at him, knowing that I would only be breaking my heart.

As we walked down the hallway, I kept my head lowered and my eyes glued to the floor, distracted by my thoughts.

"Watch where you are going?" I heard a harsh voice say.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto my wrist, pulling me to the right, and I looked up at Jason.

Then he slightly frowned and said, "If you keep staring at the floor, you are going to bump into someone!"

"Thanks," I whispered, smiling at him.

But he suddenly yanked his hand back and started walking ahead. Just like yesterday, he was being weird again, and I couldn't help wondering why. Yet, I silently followed after him,

After all my class was done, it was already one, and I walked into the hallway to see Jason leaning against the wall.

The first time we met, he was really scary. But now, he isn't as terrible as the first day, and I feel kind of comfortable with him.

"Ready to go?" I asked, smiling at him.

But his expression remained stiff as he withdrew from the wall and mumbled, "Home?"

"No, we are going to get me a new phone and something to wear for tonight," I said, striving not to read too much into his sudden change of mood."

Not saying another word, Jason walked ahead, and I calmly followed him, keeping a foot distance between us.

Even though I was eager to ask what was going on with him, I knew the hallway of my school wasn't the place for such conversation.

So I waited until we were in the backseat of a cab. Then I took my focus off the windshield, looked at Jason, and mumbled, "Does your Alpha and you love to take turns?"

"What?" Jason asked, looking at me with the corners of his eyes furrowed with concern.

"To mess with me,"

"I don't follow,"

"Did I do something wrong to you? You have been acting weird!"

The back seat of the cab grew silent as Jason stared at me, looking hesitant. Then he looked the other way and said, "What do you mean. This is how I have always been."

True. Jason had always been an arrogant, annoying jerk, and just because he showed me a little bit of concern that doesn't mean he cares about me. Just as I did with Nero, I have read Jason and I friendship wrong.

Is this how being emotionally needy feels? I have been hated by everyone for so long, and when the two of them showed me some kind of kindness, I became clinging. How pathetic can I become!

"I am sorry for dragging you into my mess and lying about us. I promise to fix everything soon, so you won't be burdened by such a title." I mumbled, staring down at my hand as my thumb stroked my index finger.

Focusing on my eyes again, Jason let out a breath and mumbled, "I'm not burdened."

For a moment, I simply stared at him, not knowing what to say as the silence dragged on. Finally, Jason turned his gaze the other way, and I did the same.

By four o'clock, we walked into the hallway of the villa, and I picked up Nero's scent. He was home and upstairs in the guest room.

Turning around to face Jason, I clutched onto the handle of the bags in my hand and gave a faint smile before mumbling, "So tonight"

"I will have to go back to my hotel and get changed and pick you up by seven." Jason calmly uttered with a gentle look in his eyes.

It felt awkward now because I wanted to tell him that he didn't need to escort me to the party, and I can handle myself. But how could I say something like that and make things weird between us?

"Sure," I whispered, widening my smile a little.

For a moment, he took a long look at me and then uttered, "Okay then I should get going."

After nodding slightly, I watched as he turned his back to me and walked away, and once the front door shut, I turned around and headed upstairs.

Suddenly, I froze in my steps as I stood in the hallway, gazing at Nero, standing at his room door.

The coldness in his eyes grew intense as he asked, "What took you guys so long?"

Feeling speechless, I studied his face wondering what was going on in his messed up, indecisive mind. But no matter how hard I looked into his eyes, I couldn't figure him out.

"I went to buy a new phone and an outfit for tonight," I mumbled, drawing a breath.

"Hand it over."

"Huh,"

"The phone."

Holding in my breath, I reached into the bag, took the phone out of the box, and walked over to him.

"Here," I mumbled in annoyance.

After Nero had strolled through it for a moment, he frowned and mumbled, "Uh, Jason's name"

In annoyance, all I did was gaze at the anger in his eyes intensified, and I couldn't tell if he was jealous, or was angry over something else.

Suddenly, Nero took my hand in his, resting the phone on my palm, and I looked at the screen, staring at his number.

Keeping silent, I walked past him. But Nero suddenly grabbed my arm and uttered, "You should come clean to your father about Jason and you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I mumbled, turning around to stare at him.

When Nero didn't answer right away, I found myself slightly hoping, even though I tried not to do so because his eyes told me not to hope.

"I don't want my beta getting mixed up with your family," Nero said, letting go of my arm.

Just as I thought, he would say anything, except what I actually wanted to hear from him.

"You are involved with my family, so why not Jason?" I said in an attempt to piss him off just as much as I felt.

"Because we both know Jason is not your mate neither are you his, so before he gets caught up in a web that he can not escape, free him," Nero said with a straight face.

How to make it obvious that Luna is his mate and scratch open my healing wound. But I didn't show that his word got to me and said, "Don't worry. Loki never planned for Luna and me to get marked by a beta wolf."

Reluctant to finish my statement, there was a brief pause before I said, "so the chances of him encouraging Jason and me to mate is not likely possible, and knowing the man that he is, he is already thinking about some Alpha to match me with."

"That's good to know," Nero said, sounding like he didn't care that there is a chance that I can get paired with another mate.

Not looking at him, I walked away, holding my tears in my eyelids, and headed to my room.

When I got inside, I shut the door behind me, walked over to the bed, and crawled under the sheet, shutting my eyes.

The echo of a gentle knock woke me from my nap, and I dizzily stared at the doorway, calling out, "Who is it?"

"Blake, it's seven," Jason said from the other end of the door.

Immediately, sitting up in bed, I rubbed my eyelids and muttered, "What! Where is Nero?"

"He just left," Jason replied, and I screwed my face into a frown.

Jumping out of bed, I rushed to the bags as I angrily whispered, "Why the heck would he allow me to sleep this long!"

Unbuttoning my blouse, I hastily stared back at the door and shouted, "Jason, do we have a ride?!"

"Mmmh, about that, I kind of went a bit extra,"  Jason answered, his voice a bit reluctant.

After struggling to pull my jeans off my legs and success, I frowned as I mumbled beneath my breath, "What does that even mean?"

It took a great amount of work to dress in a rush. But I did it, and once I was satisfied with my reflection in the mirror, I headed for the door, holding my purse tightly in my hand.

The moment I walked out of the room, and Jason's gaze locked with mine, his eyes widened and he kept staring without blinking.

"What!" I mumbled, giving a shaky smile.

When he didn't answer, I pouted and uttered, feeling slightly annoyed, "Do I look bad? Is there something wrong with my outfit?"

Slightly Jason shook his head and then whispered, "No, you look breathtaking."