“I said I could handle myself,” I admitted in a low apologetic tone, feeling all kinds of stupid for having thought I could easily make it through the week without mishaps.
“Unintentionally blowing up trees should not be on your agenda,” he drawled, his anger scratching the surface, “your mate having to call for an eraser should not be an everyday occurrence just because he made you flustered,” he spat out the last word with venom –justified anger really.
“I’m sorry,” it was all I could think of saying.
“You’re a witch, Jasmine,” he admonished, his anger still intact, “and not a normal one, you know that,” he sighed, not knowing what to say.
Yes, our lineage was special. Our late grandmother had been a noble vampire’s mate, thus we, her descendants, although all witches and wizards, held special abilities. Blowing up a tree without having to cast a spell was not something common among our kind.
Unintentionally doing it was something frowned up and rightfully so. Losing control was not a good thing, should you be a witch, a vampire or a werewolf.
“Don’t let it happen again,” my father warned before strolling out of the kitchen, his steps heavy.
“You should really sort things out with Jonathan,” since the lecture began, my mother had not uttered a single word, letting my father deal with me, and when she finally decided to speak, it was about the mighty alpha-ultra.
Why am I not surprised?
I nodded reluctantly, acknowledging the fact that the more I went against him, the more I was frustrated.
And the more I am frustrated, the more I am likely to snap again, I inwardly sighed, not liking the way his mere presence affected me, hating myself for my inability to remain in control of my emotions.
“I’m serious, Jasmine,” apparently, she had not appreciated the silent nod. It did little to convince her I was willing to make an effort. “You have to either accept or reject him as your mate so as to move on to the next stage of your life.”
For her to speak of possibly rejecting him must mean that she, too, was having doubts about whether I’d better off with him or without him.
“I know, mom,” I agreed, uncertainty filling my whole being, “I decided to get to know him before making my decision.”
“And whatever you decide, know that we’ll always be here for you.”
Her support meant a lot. It comforted me into thinking I wouldn’t be rejected by my family should I decide to reject him. I had had my doubts when she had insisted I get with him before, but now, I was much more confident in my family’s support.
“I promised I’d go on a date with him this evening, wanna help me choose an outfit?” this was the better thank you she could get. She loved dressing me up and I loved the smile she always got when doing that.
****************
“Looking good, Jas,” was Jonathan’s greeting as I opened the door to him.
I had chosen to wear a white sleeveless shirt with some navy-blue jeans and my usual black sneakers, my only accessory – which my mom had insisted I wore – being the red necklace she had offered me on my birthday.
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” I gave him a tight smile, fighting the desire within me to close the gap between us and just kiss him. The chemistry between us was simply insane. Since our first kiss in the restaurant’s bathroom, it had spiked to what I could only describe as impossible levels. Understandable since we had, through kissing, taken one more step into the mating process.
Mates don’t fall head over heels for one another at first but they sure are attracted to one another like there is no tomorrow... and it’s what makes rejection so damn hard to choose.
Despite knowing that my desire for him was genuine, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would have been as overwhelming had I not been his mate... but then again, had that been the case, we wouldn’t be having any problem to begin with.
“Shall we?” seeing him smiling as he did, one would be allowed to think he was a regular teenager coming to fetch his date. He was, however, no regular teenager – he wasn’t a teenager at all as a matter of fact although he definitely looked the part – and I was no regular date. I still hoped we’d get to spend a nice date as any regular couple would.
Couple, huh? My thoughts came to a halt upon realizing what word I had used to describe us. We weren’t a real couple as of yet and I wasn’t sure we were ever going to be.
“Yes, let’s,” I grabbed my jacket in case it got cold and shouted a goodbye.
My father grunted from the living-room, still a bit annoyed, while my mother waved at us from the kitchen.
I took a step outside and was pleased to breathe in his lingering cologne. It wasn’t too strong, but it wasn’t weak either, it called to a deep place within me and I exhaled rather loudly.
“Something wrong?” his concerned blue gaze rested on my face for a brief moment before quickly scanning our surroundings.
“Never mind,” I gave him a small smile, feeling shy now that we were on a date –which wasn’t like me at all.
“Let’s get this evening started then,” he winked as he opened the passenger door for me before settling into the driver’s seat.
Chapter 26
Opening Up
“Where are we going?” I wasn’t very fond of silence and, admittedly, I was curious to know too.
“To a small Italian restaurant,” I could see a smile tugging at his lips. For an alpha-ultra that had to call for an eraser because his mate had messed up, he looked in an awfully good mood. It kind of pleased me to know I had this effect on him.
“Oh.” So, he hadn’t lied when he had told me to dress casually.
