CHAPTER 3: JADE
1999 Words
The cafeteria was loud in the way only a college cafeteria could be—plastic trays clattering, chairs screeching, laughter bursting and fading like fireworks.
Yet somehow, beneath all that chaos, the whispers found a single direction.
“Is that her?”
“Obviously. Who else looks like that without even trying?”
“She stands there like she owns the place.”
Jade stood in line, slender fingers curled lightly around the strap of her bag, emerald eyes lifted toward the menu board she already knew by heart.
She felt them before she heard them.
The stares.
The weight of curiosity.
The quiet resentment.
They pricked against her skin like invisible needles.
Jade had mastered the art of pretending not to notice.
It was easier that way.
She couldn’t entirely blame them. To most people, she was boring. When others approached her, she grew shy, unsure, afraid she would say the wrong thing. She feared they would grow tired of her silence… and leave.
“Honestly, she’s so boring.”
“Pretty, but empty.”
“She never joins anything. No clubs. No parties.”
“Like she’s locked in a cage.”
“She’s treated like some priceless gem. For what?”
If only they knew.
Jade’s beauty was not ordinary—it was ethereal. Her skin was pale and flawless, almost luminous beneath the cafeteria lights, like moonlight resting on marble. It didn’t merely reflect light; it seemed to glow with it.
Her long, black hair fell down her back in glossy waves, fluid as silk, moving with every breath she took. And her eyes—
Her emerald-green eyes were hypnotic. Deep, endless, alive with something ancient and unknowable. To look into them for too long felt dangerous, as though one might fall in and never return.
People called her beautiful, but the word never sounded kind on their tongues.
She took her tray, murmured a soft thank you, and walked toward her usual corner.
Head down.
Shoulders straight.
Measured steps.
Across the room, girls watched her like critics studying a masterpiece they didn’t want to admire.
“She doesn’t even look lonely.”
“Her aura makes me uneasy.”
“Who does she think she is?”
Jade lifted her spoon. Ate quietly. Food had never meant much to her.
Then a shadow fell over her table.
“Mind if I sit?”
The voice was deep. Calm. Unbothered.
Jade looked up.
The girl standing there was… enormous. Not in a cruel way, not exaggerated—just extraordinarily tall, her hair was low cut, she had broad shoulders, with big boobs. Her uniform strained slightly at the seams, due to her huge frame. Her presence alone seemed to bend the air.
Jade knew her. Kim.
The new girl.
The cafeteria went quiet in that subtle way—heads turning, whispers pausing mid-syllable.
“Oh… um. Sure,” Jade said softly.
Kim dropped into the seat opposite her as though she belonged there. She didn’t glance around. Didn’t care who was staring.
“So,” Kim said, biting into her sandwich, unfazed, “do they always stare like that, or is today special?”
Jade blinked.
“They always do.”
Kim shrugged. “Weird hobby.”
Something inside Jade warmed.
“I’m Kim,” she added. “Transferred this term. You’re Jade, right?”
Jade nodded.
Kim leaned back, chair creaking. “Cool. You look like someone who values peaceful lunches. I respect that.”
Across the cafeteria, one of the gossip girls muttered loudly,
“Nobody sits with Jade. She’s boring. A boring beauty. Run while you can.”
Jade’s stomach tightened.
Kim slowly turned her head.
“Coming from someone who looks like jealousy dressed itself this morning?” Kim shot back smoothly. “Just admit her beauty intimidates you. A goddess doesn’t need to talk much. You wouldn’t understand.”
The cafeteria froze.
All eyes turned to them.
Jade looked up and saw Kim flex her muscles subtly—not for show, but as a quiet warning.
“Thank you,” Jade whispered.
Kim looked at her seriously. “Never let cowards insult you. Or I’ll beat you up alongside with them. Understood?”
Jade burst into laughter before she could stop herself.
Kim blinked—then laughed too.
And just like that, something shifted.
Years later, the flashback unfolded like an old photograph warming in the sun.
Kim became constant. Loud where Jade was quiet. Fearless where Jade was cautious.
When people whispered, Kim growled at them.
When people laughed, Kim laughed louder.
When someone asked a stupid question, Kim answered with a glare sharp enough to kill.
Soon, they stopped whispering, laughing. Jade became more sociable and popular at the Pinnacle. Kim met Jade’s family. Ate dinner at their house. Sat too comfortably on their furniture. Dressed like a tomboy.Jade’s mother adored her immediately. Her father and Kim became buddies.
Her father.
That was where the walls really were.
From the time Jade could remember, her life had been defined by rules.
School. Home. Repeat.
No sleepovers. No hangouts. No parties. No clubs. No staying late.
“Why?” she had asked as a child.
“Because I said so,” her father always replied.
He watched her like the world was hunting her.
And she never knew why.
People always made fun of her, telling her she had a control-freak dad.
So when the school announced the upcoming cultural event—music, performances, and the election of a ceremonial queen—something inside Jade cracked open. She loved the role.
Kim signed her up immediately.
“You should run,” Kim said.
Jade laughed. “My dad would never allow it.”
“Have you asked?”
Jade did. Her family was having dinner, chatting happily as usual, then Jade dropped the question to her Dad.
And the answer shattered her.
“No.”
Just one word.
She stood up, fists clenched, tears blurring her vision. “It’s not fair! Everyone else gets to live. I just exist! You treat me like a slave, it's not fair.........pls Dad!”
Her father’s voice was firm. “I’m protecting you.”
“From what?” she screamed.
Silence.
That silence broke her.
She ran.
Out the door. Down the street. Heart pounding like it wanted to come out of her chest. She could hear her parents voices behind her telling her to come back. She ignored them and kept running.
She kept running for a long while until she was out of breath. She stopped running and tried to catch her breath.
That was when she saw them.
Three boys surrounding an elderly man.
Reaching for his pockets.
Jade didn’t think.
She grabbed stones and hurled them.
“Hey!”
The man ran.
The boys turned on her.
She ran.
Shoes slipping. Heart racing.
She turned sharply—
—and collided with something solid.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders.
Zane. Her looked different.
His glasses were gone.
His golden eyes burned—brighter, sharper, almost inhuman beneath the dim streetlights. He wore a sleeveless shirt, revealing defined muscles and sun-kissed skin. He smelled faintly of rain and forest—wild, untamed.
“Please,” she gasped, clutching his shirt. “Help me.”
The boys’ footsteps grew closer.
Zane stepped forward—
She grabbed him.
“They’ll hurt you,” she whispered.
He almost smiled.
Let them try.
The boys got there and scanned for her. Zane huge frame hid her perfectly, if not her skin would give her away.
“So what are you two doing?” one sneered suspiciously.
“Hiding someone?”
Jade’s heart pounded.
Then she did the unthinkable.
She grabbed Zane’s shirt and pulled him down to her.
Her lips crashed against his.
It was desperate. Clumsy. Awkward.
For half a second, Zane froze.
Then instinct took over.
His hand slid firmly to her waist. He deepened the kiss, tilting his head slightly, claiming control—not rough, but intense. Overwhelming. His warmth enveloped her. His lips moved with slow, deliberate hunger, like he had discovered something rare. He kept kissing her so intensely that she let out a moan.
"Get a room! Gross" One of the boys said.
They turned and left.
Zane still didn't let go, Instead he pulled her closer to his hard body. His hand running through her hair, his mouth devouring hers.
Jade pulled back abruptly, breathless.
“I—I’m sorry...... I didn't mean to do that. I just didn't want them to know I was the one"
Zane blinked.
He turned slightly away, jaw tight, as though restraining something inside him.
His wolf growled.
His demon stirred.
After he had regained his composure, he turned back to face Jade.
“First kiss?” he asked
She nodded reluctantly. He stared intensely into her emerald green eyes as if searching for something, she looks away. Jade heart kept beating so loud, she was scared he might hear it.
"It's cool, let's go before they get back here" Zane said and led her away.
They walked together in silence, until Zane asked why she was outside this late. Without withholding any information, She told him everything. Zane remained quiet.
When she spotted a drenched kitten trembling by the road, she stopped instantly.
Zane watched her kneel, hands gentle, voice soft, she used her hands to cover the kitten.
“She can’t stay here,” Jade said. “She’s scared.”
Zane sighed and looked at Jade in perplexity.
"Do you have a home for it?" Zane asked
"We've already adopted many strays, we don't have enough to feed more." Jade replied her eyes brimming with tears. Zane felt his heart ached, he held his chest in bewilderment. He had never felt empathy or sympathy towards anybody. Yet somehow the sight of this girl crying tore his heart. His wolf clawed at him. Zane had no choice but to help Jade adopt the kitten. She was overjoyed and thanked Zane profusely. Out of joy she hugged him. Zane was taken aback for a while. Jade recovered herself and quickly pulled away.
"I'm so so sorry...... I don't know what came over me...... I'm so weird" She kept rambling. Zane stopped her by placing his index finger on her lips. She looks up at him, her green eyes clouded with emotions. Suddenly the rain started drizzling.
"You don't always have to apologise........ I'm good. And it's best you go home Jade, I'm sure your Dad is worried to death about you, the same way you couldn't leave the kitten out here, he also can't rest if you're not safe, his ways might be extreme but you know deep down, he cherishes you and loves you with all his heart............" Zane said looking at her, She lowered her gaze.
“And take it from someone who doesn’t have a Dad” Zane added and Jade looked up.
"I'm so..sorry.. I....." Jade was saying but got cut short by Zane.
"Don't apologize! I don't need your apologies" Zane said harshy. He bent and took the kitten, he turns to walk away.
"Go home Jade, it's not safe out here" Jade reached out her hand to stop him, when she hears her father's voice.
"Jade......"
Her father was running towards her, panic written across his face. He was drenched.
Jade stopped in her steps, she wanted to follow. Zane and hug him till he felt better, but she remembers his words and ran to her Dad.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
He hugged her tightly, covering her with his jacket, holding an umbrella over her head like it was the only thing that mattered.
“I just don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.
Jade didn’t understand yet.
But someday, she would.
And that day would change everything.
From the shadows, Zane watched.
His golden eyes darkened.
Far beyond them, deeper in the night, something else watched too.
Waiting.
And Zane knew—
- Writer
