Chapter 9

Jonathan's pov:

I can’t believe this… No freaking way!

After spending the day at school, worried sick about my mate and her whereabouts, after asking that blonde guy about her and he just flatly told me, “If she makes it your business, she’ll tell you.” After threatening the principal’s secretary so I could get her address, after getting stuck in traffic for over an hour; after enduring my wolf’s inner turmoil for the whole day with him wanting to find her, to make sure she was fine… well, the list is long so let’s just stop it at that.

Here I was, entering her house, keeping a smile for her parents’ benefit — who, by the way, let me enter when I told them I had brought her assignments with me — yet internally wincing at the exchange between her, her brother, and a girl I could only assume was her friend or her sister. However, I knew for a fact — with me being kind of really interested in my mate — that she didn’t have a sister, that only meant she was her friend or something like that.

It’s not stalking, I convinced myself as I was looking at my surroundings, I just did some digging… nothing much really but definitely something she doesn’t need to know. She does have one devious little mouth after all, and I don’t want her throwing a fit again.

As I listened to them, two major pieces of information caught my interest: Her parents would apparently be furious if she rejected me. Well, that was most definitely good for me. And, if my conclusions were accurate, she recently had had a not so agreeable encounter with werewolves.

Hence the animosity towards me, I mused, starting to get annoyed. Whoever did whatever they did – or tried to do – to her are so dead.

It will be a piece of work to get her to accept me as her mate – it won’t be easy, that’s for sure. I internally sighed at the thought, dreading the long, torturing wait.

She definitely needed to see the werewolves’ good side. She needed to get to know me — the problem was, she was not that willing to do so. A quick glance at her mother – who was telling her to come downstairs – and my decision was made.

My little mate needed to be challenged. Otherwise, I would only ever have her insufferable contempt and hatred… or even worse, her indifference.

I greeted her, watched her recover from shock, and I could determine the exact moment anger started to take over. I also noticed her friend’s appreciation of my naturally good looks, but she was not the girl I wanted –and never will I ever take interest in any girl but her.

I also took note of her stiffened posture, and the tautness in her voice when she said that I was new.

It was now or never that I had to act.

And just like that, I dropped the bombshell in the flattest tone I could muster. I could be talking about the weather, one wouldn’t see the difference, “And I’m her mate.”

Her parents let out a horrified "What?" while jumping out of their seats. Her friend’s eyes widened to the point it might actually hurt. All the while, my little innocent mate – who looked nothing like it at the moment, mind you – was glaring draggers at me. If looks could kill, hers definitely would.

Hell, even when madly furious at me, she’s one hot little thing. I internally groaned before mentally shaking my head at my silliness, seeing how easy it was for her to have me wrapped around her little finger.

I looked at her kissable, plump, pursed lips and felt my blood rush south. I had a hard time trying to focus a little and not get side-tracked which would be of no help to me. For one, I was treading on dangerous territory – I wouldn’t want her to do something really stupid like reject me or anything – and also because the growing hard-on was only going to get her even madder at me, if that was even possible.

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Jasmine's pov:

Through the daze I was feeling due to the anger fogging my mind, I vaguely heard my mom ask Jonathan who he was. He seemed proud, smug even, to tell her he was the alpha-ultra of the US.

You’d never guess what my dad did next; he asked him to stay.

Now, I’ll have to face him all through dinner? No way in hell am I going to let him get his way, I thought, my rebellious side taking over me. I certainly didn’t like being pressured into doing something.

“I’m sure he has other things to do.” I answered my dad sweetly, cutting right through his reply while sending him a pointed look.

“Nothing that can’t wait,” was his sugar-coated reply. He even had the nerve to grin at me, his eyes twinkling in amusement in an almost unnerving manner.

My glare intensified, but not wanting to make a scene in front of my parents, I forced a smile on my face. My parents exited the living-room by mutual agreement – no matter how silent it was, they probably just had to look into each other’s’ eyes, and probably sensed the palpable tension in the room.

“Why did they ever let you enter?” I bit out, the accusation clear in my voice as soon as I considered it safe to turn off the fake sweet mode.

“I told them I brought your assignments.” He shrugged nonchalantly while keeping a steady stare on me. His self-confidence would never cease to unnerve me – especially at moments like this when all I wanted to do was strangle him to death.

“You’re such a liar,” I had actually managed to keep myself from yelling at him. Not that I feared Mister I’m-a-powerful-alpha-ultra, but I did fear my parents’ reaction to the oh-so-special bond I shared with my supposed-to-be mate.

“But I did bring them.” He countered, giving me a sweet lopsided smile that was supposed to make girls weak in the knees.

Well, it doesn’t work on me, I internally snapped, my inner voice dripping with sarcasm, even though I did feel some unfamiliar emotion in the pit of my stomach. It’s just my frayed nerves’ doing, I tried to convince myself, thinking that one hell of a night awaited us.