Chapter 10

We sat in silence for many minutes before Celia attempted to break it off. “So… do you guys have classes together?” She asked in a soft voice.

I scoffed and averted my face some more, so that he was nowhere in my sight of vision.

“We have all our classes together.” He answered her, taking a light tone, and I could almost picture the smirk on his face.

“Wow, what a coincidence! That’s so cool,” I swiftly turned around and glared her way, she then hurried to add – sheepishly, I might add, “I guess.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence,” I couldn’t help but sneer “He transferred to all of my classes.”

“Jerk,” I added under my breath.

“I heard that,” he observed in a strangely calm voice.

I cocked my eyebrow and taunted him in a haughty tone that strangely enough – despite it not being a habit of mine – didn’t take all that much effort to come up with, “Does it look like I care?”

His lips quirked ever so slightly, and he soon averted his gaze and started taking deep breaths… surprise, surprise! Please note the sarcasm, will you?

Why, aren’t you a short-tempered little mutt? I wanted to say. I grinned, inwardly envisaging the possibility. Damn, he would be so mad. But even I knew when to stop – we wouldn’t want him to shift right in the middle of the living room. Mom would throw a fit, and dad would probably give me a speech on how to be a good hostess and whatnot.

Do I look like I need that? A bitter voice – that I almost didn’t recognize as my own inner one – all but snapped.

Nope, definitely not!

Celia and I started chatting, and even though she was continuously trying to bring him to partake, I would each time give one of my smartass remarks and he would just refrain from saying anything.

He was oh-so-obviously trying to keep his cool, it was almost funny. I didn’t go as far as to disrespect the almighty big alpha-ultra, but I wouldn’t say my comments were inoffensive either.

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Trying to be useful, I helped mom by setting the table. I was trying to get away from his narrowed stare that wouldn’t leave me for a second. Hell, I even went to the trouble of serving everyone at the table, which was not something one could see every day.

Anything to get away from him, I inwardly sighed.

Just when I sat on my chair which was conveniently just across his, my dad clapped his hands cheerily and said in one of those irritatingly light tones, “Let’s honor this dish, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s start.” Jeremy and Jake, both of my brothers, instantly agreed.

Yeah, let’s start, I thought with a grin, the words taking a different meaning where I was concerned.

His very first mouthful earned him a coughing fit. I kept a very straight face and even mustered the control to say in a seemingly genuine – though actually fake – concerned voice, “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he croaked, throwing me a pointed look.

Ok, I’ll have to admit that the little stunt was pretty childish… but hey, some pepper won’t do him any bad! I inwardly argued with the mature side of me that found it puerile.

He grabbed his glass and it soon fell into pieces, slightly cutting his skin.

“Easy down there, boy,” I joked, and even winked for good measure.

My family gasped in stupefaction, whereas I felt like grinning, but couldn’t otherwise I’d be so busted.

He threw me an annoyed look. I could only guess he didn’t take a liking to that stunt either.

One could say, upon seeing that look he gave me, he had caught me red-handed… and he did, in a way. There was no one – present at the table – who would want to do him harm, besides me.

It was my own way of making my announcement – the tangible way: Game on!

And hey, don’t blame me for that little prank, he started it when he decided to come in here like he owned the god damned place, make himself comfortable in my home, and then tell my parents that he was my mate when he definitely knew I wasn’t exactly thrilled or eager to admit that.

“Come, I’ll show you the bathroom so you can clean it off.” I softly offered.

A fake smile came upon his face and he was soon following me in silence.

You will so regret whatever it is you have planned for me – trust me on this one, I, once again, made him a silent promise.