Chapter 20


    AMARA.


    The day went by draggingly slowly. And my disappointment just heightened because Jace was


    nowhere after ss hours.


    I expected him to be there to pick me up, but I guess I had unrealistic expectations.


    Or he was just busy. Austin and Tyler did say this morning at breakfast that he needed to be on the


    other side of his territory, so it might have taken his whole day.


    But I missed him.


    I had to stop myself from going to their packhouse to avoid appearing too aggressive. It was enough


    that he spent the whole afternoon and night with me until my first ss this morning.


    Oh, well. There will be other days.


    I walked toward the dorm from myst ss with some of my ssmates, and my mind was just


    floating in the air until one of them asked me about Jace.


    "I’m sorry I didn’t hear the rest of your question," I asked Ca, the one who asked about Jace.


    "You and Alpha Jace are dating, right?"


    "Hmmm…" I mumbled.


    "Well, Alice was saying in the breakroom this morning that it doesn’t matter if you are dating, as Alpha


    Jace will never cancel on her at her party."


    "I don’t think I understand what you mean," I told her.


    "Alpha Jace agreed to be Alice’s escort for her 18th birthday." She added, and she sounded too proud


    that she knew about it.


    My heart thudded loudly but I didn’t let my emotions show on my face. Was this what they were talking


    about yesterday? And he didn’t tell me?


    ‘But why would he tell you?’ Ice asked sarcastically, but she sounded hurt and annoyed too.


    "She said he agreed months ago, so I asked if it’s still a thing because of you, and she said yes, as he


    didn’t say anything when they talked yesterday." This time, Jocelyn added


    "Oh, so they’re talking..." Ca said.


    I wanted to roll my eyes at the malicious way the words came out of Ca’s mouth. Why did I even


    walk with these two? I should have walked alone and been at peace.


    ‘But then you will have no idea about this.’ Ice said, and again, she was right.


    "Well, I’m sure it’s nothing personal, as Jace and Alicia’s father have an alliance. And it doesn’t mean


    anything except that he’ll be there on her birthday." I answered nonchntly, even if I wanted to punch


    someone already.


    "Unless she turns out to be Alpha Jace’s mate," Ca said.


    "Hey, stop it! Can you be a little more sensitive? Amara is here!" Jocelyn snapped at her.


    "I know, but I’m sure Amara is aware of the reality of life, and it doesn’t mean Alpha Jace will leave her


    for Alice."


    Yeah, right. I was sure he would drop me in an instant if Alice turned out to be his mate.


    "He could be Amara’s mate too," Jocelyn added meekly.


    "Who knows? He could be mated to either of you. That’s the reality of shifters’ lives." I smiled at them.


    "But at the end of the day, what matters is who you choose to be with — your fated or your chosen."


    "It’s not good to reject a fated mate," Jocelyn said.


    "Rejection will not be created if it’s not possible or allowed. Remember in morals ss, at the end of


    the day, Selene would always let us make our choices? There might be consequences for some


    actions, but life is how we make it. Either you let fate control you or you make your own fate."


    I winked at them before waving as I turned around to leave them. Someone from reception motioned


    for me toe over as soon as we entered the dorm lobby.


    Which I was thankful for as I didn’t want to walk the flight of stairs with them pushing the idea that Jace


    could be anyone’s mate because I knew he would never choose me if his mate suddenly appeared.


    "Hello, you asked for me?" I smiled at the pretty woman working behind the counter.


    She nodded her head as she smiled back at me. "How was your day, Amara?"


    "Just lovely!" I answered in a chirpy voice. No one had to know my day sucked.


    "Perfect! And I hope this will make it more perfect!" She beamed at me before her hand reached for


    something underneath the counter, and my eyes widened when a bouquet of flowers came out of it.


    "Wow! Is that for me? Say yes, or I will be disappointed." I giggled softly.


    She chuckled as she nodded her head. "It was delivered here, but I’m not sure where it came from.


    Security checked them, so it’s safe, and there’s a card attached, so I’m sure that will tell you."


    My heart fluttered at the idea that this one mighte from Jace. I’ve never received one from anyone


    before.


    I took the flowers from her and thanked her before heading for the stairs, running and walking at a fast


    pace as I wanted to reach my dorm room right away.


    I shared my bedroom with Collette, but more often than not, she was not around all the time as she


    was eighteen and hooking up with one of the warriors from this pack. So I was sure she was spending


    her nights with him most of the time. And I was left all alone in my room, which I preferred.


    Collette was really nice, but then she talked so much about Marshall, her boyfriend, especially at times


    that I only wanted a moment of peace.


    I unlocked the door to my room and slipped in. I excitedly ced the flowers on my bed and took the


    card from it, opening it slowly while my heart was thudding loudly.


    Please let it be from Jace.


    I squinted my eyes before they rounded when I read the message.


    —--


    Amara,


    Sorry about what happened. I’ll do my best not to do that again.


    - J


    —--


    A smile curled on my lips as I hugged the card to my chest. Was he apologizing for slipping his fingers


    into me? Well, I didn’t mind at all, but it was so sweet that he thought of apologizing for that through


    flowers.


    I kissed the card before dropping it beside the flowers and dropping to my knees on the floor. I pulled


    the duffel bag under my bed and looked for the cell phone that I had. I knew I hadn’t taken it from there


    yet since I came home Monday night. As I never bother with phones, I had myptop, which I use more


    often. And I only had this phone so Mom and Dad could call me directly, but thest two nights with


    Jace made me forget about it.


    I found it, and I immediately took a snap of the flowers before attaching a short message that I could


    send to Jace. I had his number, of course, and I hope he will check his phone soon.


    Amara: Hello, boyfriend! Thanks for the flowers, and I’m not upset about what happened. :)


    Sent.


    I threw the phone on my bed before I locked the door and began stripping off my clothes to put on a


    Material ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I usually just lounge indy joggers and a tank top inside the dorm. This time I chose deep green pants


    and a white top.


    My phone pinged as I was pulling up my hair into a tight ponytail, but dropped it instantly to pick up the


    phone. Only for the smile on my face wiped out the moment his message came in.


    Jace: I didn’t send you flowers.


    Amara: What?


    I hit send right away.


    Jace: It’s not from me. Who sent it?


    Amara: I thought it was you.


    I stared at the flowers as if I wanted to burn them. Why make my heart flutter only to crash it?


    I began typing again.


    Amara: Is this some kind of joke?


    Jace: I was about to ask the same thing. Was this a strategy to make me jealous?


    I threw the phone at Collete’s bed before grabbing the flowers and tossing them in the trash can. If he


    was joking, it was a cruel joke.


    Ping.


    I let out a deep breath before proceeding tob my hair and fix it in a high ponytail.


    Ping.


    Ping.


    Ping.


    "Arrgg…" I grunted and gave up on trying to fix my hair and just grab my phone.


    If this were another day and Jace kept messaging me, I would be ecstatic, but the fact that the flowers


    didn’te from him and the idea of him escorting Alice was enough to make my blood boil.


    Jace: Now, you’re not answering.


    Jace: Didn’t it say anything about where it came from?


    Jace: ?


    Jace: Stop ignoring me.


    Amara: It says J, so I thought it was from you.


    Amara: But of course, you will never send me one. I should have thought of that before getting all


    excited.


    Amara: It’s all good, forget about it.


    I waited for a response, but it didn’te. So that was it. He forced me to answer, and now he was


    ignoring me.


    I began to type, asking questions about Alice and her 18th birthday, but decided against it and deleted


    itpletely before throwing my phone onto my bed.


    I decided to just ignore it as I didn’t want to sound aggressive, but one day I would ask him about it.


    I was already doing some schoolwork when a knock came on my door. And my body went rigid. I could


    smell Jace.


    What was he doing here?


    I scrambled from my bed and straightened up my clothes before heading for the door.


    And I was right — Jace was behind the door, leaning his arm against the door frame as if he owned this


    ce.


    Well, technically, he did own this ce.


    "What are you doing here?" I asked.


    Instead of answering, his eyes went past me and roamed around my room until they focused on one


    corner. I followed his line of sight and saw the trash bin where I dumped the flowers.


    Jace slid in, and I locked the door while I watched him pick up the flowers.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Why did you throw it?" He asked as he bent forward again to pick up the card.


    "I don’t even know where it came from?"


    "J."


    "Exactly, so I thought it came from you and that you wanted to be mysterious. I forgot you’re not the


    flower type of guy."


    "Joshua."


    "What?"


    "He’s probably apologizing for disrespecting youst night."


    I approached him and snatched the flowers from his hand before discarding them once more. "More


    that I don’t want it."


    I turned to face him and saw his gaze lingering on the top part of my breasts, which were protruding


    from my tank top.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "I was nearby, so I thought I checked on you."


    "Me or Alice?"


    "What? What has Alice got to do with this?"


    "I don’t know. Maybe you need to make ns on what color you need to wear to match her ballgown


    for her birthday." I told him sarcastically as I walked toward my bed.


    "Amara. You’re not expecting me to cancel that just…"


    "No. Of course not. I’m not asking you to change anything about your life to amodate me. We are


    just ying along, but I was hoping I knew beforehand before someone told me about it."


    "It’s not a big deal."


    "Okay, if you say so…" I rolled my eyes, arms crossed against my chest.


    He was about to say something when the doorknob rattled and Collete came in, wrapped up in her


    boyfriend’s arms. They were kissing, and I was sure she was unbuttoning his jeans.


    My eyes widened before they shifted to Jace, who still had a face void of any emotions.


    He cleared his throat, and it was only then that the two untangled from each other, shock and


    embarrassment registering on their faces.


    "Alpha," Marshall nodded his head to him. He was one of Jace’s warriors.


    "What are you doing here?" Colette asked me, her eyes avoiding looking at Jace beside me.


    "This is my room too," I chuckled softly.


    "I know but... You were not herest night, so I thought maybe you’ll spend time with the Alpha


    again…"


    My mouth opened, but Jace’s hand grabbed mine before I could speak.


    "We’ll leave you alone for now. But Amara will be sleeping here, so you can’t stay here." He was talking


    directly to Marshall.


    "Yes, Alpha. I won’t stay overnight."


    Jace was already dragging me out, and I just let him.


    "Not in my bed, Colette!" I reminded my roommate, my eyes yfully ring at her, and she chuckled


    softly in response.


    "I promise…" She finally responded before Jace closed the door behind us.


    "I have homework to do," I told him as we walked toward the stairs, his hand was still holding mine, and


    I totally forgot I was pissed off with him.


    "We’ll just eat somewhere, and it should be enough time so you can get back to your homework."


    "But Collette and Marshall are still there."


    "They won’t stay long. Marshall will send me a mindlink once they’re both out of there."


    "Oh Goddess, did you tell them not to fuck in our room?"


    "Maybe I did."


    "How could you?"


    He snickered, but he didn’t reply, and I saw some girls in the lobby looking at us as we walked down


    the stairs. Alicia was there too.


    So I tilted my head up and clutched his hand tighter. But we had to stop by the front door.


    "It’s raining…" I grimaced. It was just drizzling, but I was sure my clothes would show splotches of


    water if we ran under it.


    "Will you multiply if you get wet with rain?" He asked, his head tilting down as he looked at me with a


    coy smile on his face.


    "Maybe," I rolled my eyes yfully. "And that will be too handful for you."


    He let go of my hand much to my disappointment, only to make my heart soar higher when he


    unzipped his bomber jacket and tucked me inside, his arms wrapped around me with his jacket


    covering my back and front while my head was on his chest.


    "Ready?" He asked, but he was already walking, taking me with him.


    I couldn’t help but giggle as my arms wrapped around his body and my little feet tried to catch up with


    his strides as we walked down the steps of the dormitory.


    He opened his car door, and let me inside before handing me the tissue holder to wipe away the little


    rain that got to me while he stayed outside my door.


    "This is kidnapping," I told him.


    "Really now," he said as he ced his hands on his hips and shed me a smug smirk. The rain on his


    hair and the drops falling down his face and shirt were making him look sexier. "I’m sure within 30


    minutes, you’ll be begging this kidnapper not to return you to your dorm."


    "You wish!" I chuckled, rolling my eyes at him.


    But he was right — not even a minute yet — and I didn’t want him to return me to my dorm.


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