The Mate He Couldn’t Control (complete)

Chapter 31

“So what are we making for lunch?” Loren beamed from beside me. I always end her training with a thirty-minute jog and today we got back to the packhouse before the others.

“Whatever you think is best.”

“Are we studying tonight? The Latin test is on Friday.”

“No, the group is meeting tomorrow and Thursday.” Jheremy and I’s tutoring sessions with the twins have spread out. Now, many people are attending, Loren and Bridget included.

“Oh, what are you doing tonight?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Well, Bridget and I are going to the club downtown tonight if you decide to come,” Loren offered, helping me make food as the others made their way into the kitchen. Jaylon stood at the edge of the island a few feet away from me, scrolling through his phone. He and I have been in an odd place. Ever since Friday, he’s been quiet and distant. He still keeps me on schedule, but it’s like he’s not here. He doesn’t touch me anymore. Like in any way. He doesn’t kiss me, hold my hand, hug me, take showers with me, or even cuddle with me. Every night he sleeps as far from me as possible. I’ve tried to cuddle and kiss him, but he never returns any of it, which makes me feel stupid. He still stays by my side though.

Loren on the other hand has been the exact opposite. Apparently, Julia’s birthday was a portal to an episode of The Twilight Zone. Every one has been completely insane since. Loren is now up my ass 24/7, acting like I’m her favorite person in the world. It’s terrifying. It feels like when I first met her before Jaylon came home from London. Bridget thinks it's annoying and Jaylon pretends not to notice. Everyone else is just as creeped out by it as I am, especially Nick.

Once everything was in the oven, I waited on our food very impatiently while everyone talked amongst themselves. I avoided looking toward them though because all I could see was Julia and Seth making out. They mated the second they left the party Friday. They had no reason not to, they were perfect for each other and it wasn't like they haven’t been intimate before.

After we ate, I was going to stay for the chat, but my throat was dry again. I didn’t say anything, just quietly left and went to Jaylon’s room. I searched all over the place and I couldn’t find where he hid them. He hid my blood bags to keep people from messing with them, but for some reason deciding to hide them from me was best too. I froze when I walked past his bathroom. I saw my reflection in the mirror and understood why everyone is so freaked out by my new ability. I don’t even look like me. I shook it off and continued searching before my hunger turned to rage. Where are they? I mean it’s not like a book or something that you can just hide on a shelf somewhere. They were blood bags, they had to be refrigerated somewhere.

Jaylon came in a few minutes later but froze when he saw me storming around his room like an insane person. I stopped at the opposite end of the hall and sent a glare down at him. “Where are the blood bags?” I questioned through my teeth after blinking in front of him.

He sighed with relief and I made a mental note. What else would I be mad about? “I’ll go get them.” I followed until he began lecturing me for not waiting. I stood in the hallway glaring in the direction he walked off in before he came back. I ripped it from his hands while he stood awkwardly watching. I got some of it down but then it tasted horrible. I rushed off to his bathroom and threw it up. Jaylon came in after me to hold my hair and rub my back. I wiped my mouth and sat frustratedly. I have blood all over me now and my throat is still burning. “What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“It tastes terrible.”

“I don’t know why, it should be good for a few more days.”

“So it’s me?”

“It’s probably a weird tribrid thing, just feed off of me again,” he encouraged way too calmly.

“No, you're my mate, not a blood donor,” I argued.

“There’s no other way.” I looked at him stubbornly. “Please.”

I slowly crawled up in his lap and bit down on his neck. My body relaxed instantly. Once I felt perfect again, I gently removed my fangs and kissed his wound before it healed. “Thank you,” I mumbled shyly.

“Since when are you shy around me?” Jaylon asked, placing a hand under my chin and wiping the blood off with his thumb.

“I don’t want to do this to you.”

“Can’t you see? I’m perfectly fine.”

“But you do so much for me already-”

“Why can’t you just accept that I’m fine?” he snapped at me as his gaze turned cold for a second. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to snap. Here, why don’t you take a shower and get all of the blood off of you.”

He helped me off the ground and I looked at him unsure for a minute before working myself up. “Could you take one with me?”

“No, I don’t want to take one right now.”

“Please?” I stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

“No.”

“Please just take one shower with me. I miss being close to you. You haven’t kissed or held me in days. Have I done something?” He ripped his hand from mine and jumped back when I tried reaching for it again.

“I just need some f*****g space, Alison!” Jaylon yelled out after growing frustrated. “I take care of you all day, every day. I babysit you to keep you from losing your s**t on people. You’ve been all up on me every chance you get. Can you not see that I want to be left alone?”

“D-do you want me to leave? I can go to my parents.” I was so in shock that I began to stutter.

“I don’t care what you do.” Immediately he stormed away and I sat listening to him bicker and yell as he stomped around his room doing who knows what before leaving and slamming the door. I stood for a moment as tears formed in my eyes. I’m smothering him.

I turned around, placing my hands on the cold stone counter and staring at the reflection in front of me. Beyond the dark hair and flaming irises, I saw puffy, tired eyes and tear-stained cheeks. It didn’t make sense to me. He seemed so happy with me before. He loved my attention and demanded it every time I didn’t give it to him. I can’t piece together what I did so wrong that made him hate it. I haven’t had an outburst since the issue in the woods. I haven’t even been jealous. It’s been peaceful, but obviously not for him.

“Hello, my dear. We have been wondering when you’d return,” Elgar greeted.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been very distracted lately.”

“Taking on a new appearance I see?” Sebastian commented from beside him.

“Not intentionally.”

“So tell me, what brings you here?” Sebastian stepped up.

“I wanted to take you up on your offer and come see the castle since I had to leave the ball so soon. I do apologize for that, there were some difficulties. . .” I trailed off awkwardly.

“Of course! You are one of us, you may go about as you please. I completely understand, no one was upset that you left,” Elgar replied, sending a guard to go get Cassie. “Well my dear, I would love to show you around myself, but Sebastian and I need to deal with some students in my office. Juniper said you would be a big fan of our library collection. Please make yourself at home.” I waved them off and sighed. That man stays busy.

When Cassie came into the room, she greeted me with a hug. I see her in the forest now and then so we have occasionally spoken. “I’m surprised to see you without Jaylon,” Cassie beamed.

“So am I,” I lied, looking around the front entryway with overwhelmed eyes. This place is huge. I’m sure it’s at least fifteen stories.

“Come on, I’ll give you a tour. We’ll start down the south hall,” Cassie pulled me along.

“So why have I never seen this place until recently? I run in the forest all of the time.”

“Magic of course. You can’t see the castle unless you’ve been invited,” She explained as I smiled awkwardly. I don’t know why I failed to piece that together. “So how have you been?”

“Great actually. Not too many problems. And you?”

“Just as well.”

“What about the hazing incident? Have they bothered you anymore? Is it happening to others?”

“No, of course not. I think it was just a misunderstanding. We’re all getting along just fine now.”

“You’re sure? I don’t mind doing some witchy payback on them,” I giggled, only half joking.

“I promise. Everything is going as it should now.” I raised a suspicious eyebrow at her but left it alone. Cassie showed me to a few classrooms, labs, and the hospital wing. “It takes about 30-45 minutes to walk between each class since we aren’t allowed to run or use magic to get anywhere. Some people don’t follow those rules of course. But it’s nice, we’re never bore-”

I zoned out the second my breath caught in my throat and I felt warmth all over my body. “Excuse me, who-?” Someone behind me asked before I turned around and smiled up at them shyly. “Alison?”

“Hi Noah,” I replied quietly. He looks amazing in uniform. . . JAYLON! JAYLON, ALISON! JAYLON!

“Your hair? Your eyes?” he questioned. “Are you alright?”

“Yes I’m perfectly fine, my emotions are a little fuzzy today.”

“That affects your appearance?”

“Yeah, it makes denial very difficult,” I joked. “I guess I didn’t blend in well,” I added, motioning toward his uniform.

“You couldn’t blend in if you tried.”

“I’m giving her a tour,” Cassie interrupted, turning our attention to her.

“Your father needs your assistance with something. I can take it from here,” Noah smiled down at me and held out a hand.

“Will you be staying for dinner?” she asked.

“If that’s okay, I don’t see the problem with it.”

“Of course it’s okay. I’ll be seeing you then.” Cassie gave Noah a weird look before walking off in the direction of his office.

After what felt like forever, I grabbed Noah’s hand and he led me through the halls. Listening to him talk is so interesting because he’s so invested in everything. With great attention to detail, he told me the history of the school and the paintings that hung on the walls. We walked through the three courtyards, great hall, amazing library, and greenhouses, before stopping in the ballroom. I looked around the dark room, remembering how lit up and full of life it was the last time I was here. I also remembered the way he made me feel that night, which is exactly how I feel right now.

My attention turned back to Noah who was smiling to himself. Maybe we were thinking about the same thing. “Would you like to dance, My Love?”

“In the dark?”

“Why not?” He pulled me to the middle of the room and spun me around once before pulling me close to him. His skin looked blue and his eyes glowed, reflecting the moonlight.

“I’m sorry I had to leave so soon last time.”

“Don’t be, you seemed to be occupied. . . with your mate,” He replied, adding the last part quickly.

“It was a very strange night.”

“Well, you looked beautiful. You always do.”

“May I ask where you're from?” Being with him is odd. I’m unusually nervous but also comfortable at the same time. How could someone be both?

“London.”

“Two of my friends are from London. They just found out about their history this summer.”

“Jesse and Mason? I spoke with them at the ball. We were in the same orphanage until the adoption.” He didn’t seem upset or bothered by it, but it still broke my heart.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it just means I had a big family. My mother died giving birth to me and my father couldn’t seem to live without her. Once I discovered my history, it took me a while to understand. But then I met Elgar. Now I realize it was all part of a plan to lead me here.” It takes a strong person to find light in that kind of situation, which says a lot about him.

“Do you ever think back to it?”

“Not anymore. They’re at peace now and I should be too.”

“You view things so positively, especially for someone our age.”

“Everyone grows differently. Eventually, we learn that our pain shouldn’t consume us. It’s important to focus on our ambitions and the things that make us happy.” A smile came to his lips as he looked deep into my eyes.

“Were you born a vampire?” I blurted out to keep myself from falling into his trance.

“No, but a girl I knew was. It wasn’t until after that I discovered my magical descent,” Noah explained, motioning for me to look up. My mouth opened in shock at the night sky floating above us. I stepped back, completely mesmerized by the twinkling stars. I knew it was an illusion, but how? I turned back to him and saw a single rose in his hand. “You favor red roses, don’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“Intuition.”

I glanced at the ring on his finger as I grabbed the rose. It was gold with a cloud blue stone. “It was my father’s. He left it for me.”

“You're so open,” I smiled down at the rose before my eyes met his. “Not many people are like you.”

“I want to be open with you. I want you to come to trust me.”

“You do?”

“Of course,” he reassured, placing a gentle hand on my cheek.

“Why me?”

“You’re special to me.”

“But you don’t know me?”

“You could say our hearts are old friends.” Each time our eyes meet, I can see the adoration in his. For a brief moment in time, I forget my situation and my tired mate.

“There you two are!” Sebastian beamed from the doorway. Both of our heads snapped in his direction before we readjusted.

“Finished so soon?”

“Hilarious.” Noah and I made our way over to him as his eyes danced between us suspiciously. “Did Mr. Smith show you to the library?”

“Yes, she loved it just as you said,” Noah replied.

“Did you find anything that sparked an interest?”

“I found many things that sparked interest,” I slightly widened my eyes at the thought. There were thousands of grimoires and diaries to read over. None of them were my grandmothers, of course.

“Good, now come before we’re late to dinner.” I followed the two of them out, taking one last glance before he closed the door. You’d think the beauty of the castle or the enchantment of the library would be my favorite part, but it was the people. I saw quite a few of them throughout the day but once we got to the great hall I realized there were at least a thousand students. What I loved about them was how unique everyone is. They’re all from different places in the world, each with their own background. Every person you passed had a different accent, which was a beautiful break from the pack, except for the twins.

“Alison!” Cassie called out from her table.

“Actually, would you mind sitting with us?” Noah turned to Cassie and offered. Her eyes widened in surprise as she immediately got up from her table and followed us over to I guess his friends. I recognized all of them from the first time I came to the castle. “You all remember Alison.”

“Hello.” The table erupted in hello’s that came from warm smiles. I didn’t realize that I was death-gripping Noah’s hand until I looked down at my lap. I gave him an awkward smile, quickly letting it go.

Noah didn’t say anything about it, but he didn’t seem bothered. He introduced me to each person at the table with the brightest smile I’d ever seen. They were all immediately welcoming and curious about me, but also didn’t linger or jump down my throat. Even if Elgar never introduced them as the top of their class, you’d know they were just from how they spoke.

I glanced over at Elgar and Sebastian who were smiling at me from their table. Maybe it was my never fading smile or bright eyes that gave it away, but they knew. I love it here. The people I’ve met so far are kind. Every other table seemed to be showing off a new magical ability. It’s completely insane to watch others doing something that you’ve been told to keep hidden.

Dinner wasn’t over, but once we finished eating, Noah gently pulled me away. “Do you like it here?”

“I-” I froze for a minute, glancing down at my rose for a second as I found the words. “I absolutely love it. It’s so unique and obviously unlike anything I have ever experienced.”

Noah took a step closer to me, putting us inches apart. His brown eyes were filled with hope as they searched mine. “You could stay here, you know? Elgar would love that. There are classes to help you grow your powers. You’ll be learning to control them every day with no distractions.”

I hate being a Luna. “I’m sorry, as much as it pains me to say this, I can’t. I have to stay around my pack. And to be completely honest with you, I haven’t thought of them once since arriving. I fear I’d detach from them. . .”

“I shouldn’t have asked,” he replied, backing up.

“No, you have no idea how hard it is to turn that down. Truly if the circumstances were different, I would take the time to consider it.”

He gave me a gentle, fake smile that failed to hide his disappointment. “There’s one last thing I want to show you.”