Their Human Mate

17. Ice Protector

ALEXA

Rejection. That’s the answer I give Nicholas Alexander.

"So if you are still single, want to date me—" "Sorry, Nicholas. I can’t. I don’t want to date you."

My reply flows out of my mouth just like that. I almost said yes, but when I saw the smirking faces of the students behind him, my bad memories from OZ came flooding back.

Nicholas could just be pranking me, right?

‘What’s his reason for suddenly asking me on a date… It’s too sudden,’ I think firmly. I try to think logically, although my head screams yes, but remembering my unpleasant memory of how a boy’s confession was just a bet before, I have to refuse him.

I can’t make myself look stupid at a new school, right? If he wants to date me, there has to be a reason.

However, instead of saying he lost a ‘bet’ or anything else, I didn’t expect to see his smile fall, and he went silent with an unreadable expression.

What’s with this sudden reaction?

"Hey, are you…" However, before I can say anything to get an answer, the sound of heavy footsteps comes from behind me, followed by a bark.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT CORPSE?"

Jacob…?

And before I can pull myself out of my shock, Jacob’s strong hand yanks my arm. f**k! It hurts so much!

"What are you doing with that corpse??? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him? Why do you keep going to him???"

"Jacob! It hurts—I—Ackh!!"

I don’t know why Jacob looks so angry, and his eyes are blazing at me, but what’s clear is that this is the first time I’ve felt so scared of him. This is not Jacob but a beast in Jacob’s skin.

I try to pry my hand off his grip, but he digs his nails into me. It’s f*****g hurts, and my head spins when I see blood start to flow from it, and I’m even more shocked when he slams me against the lockers and kisses my lips.

What the f**k…

‘Mate… Only mine…’ he groans against my neck, and I squeeze my eyes shut when I see people start taking pictures. However, just as I feel him lick my neck and is about to leave a love bite…

"GET AWAY FROM HER…" A low, cold voice is heard, and before I know it, a pale hand yanks Jacob by his chain necklace and slams him onto the hard floor.

"Nicholas…" I whisper, staring at the pale boy in disbelief.

There on the school floor, right in the middle of the hallway flanked by lockers and surrounded by students, I see Nicholas, the geek and physics olympiad kid, fight with Jacob.

And the unbelievable thing is… Jacob is twice his size!!!

‘Is he trying to die…’ I think reflexively wanting to stop him, but I pause when I see how brutally he’s attacking Jacob.

Jacob… looks helpless, no matter how hard he fights. Nicholas’s cranky body somehow manages to match his strength, and I’m shocked to see Nicholas’s usually empty eyes look angry and very focused as he beats him.

He doesn’t even stop attacking, even though Jacob punches his chest, and his asthma is acting up!

Thankfully, before things get worse, a student calls for backup, and a teacher arrives.

"There! The one on the ground attacked first! He attacked that girl!" exclaims the nerdy guy that I noticed as the loser who got bullied on my first day and made the soup spill.

As Jacob is escorted away by a group of staff, my attention returns to Nicholas. The boy lies still on the floor, and his eyes…

Look softly at me.

‘What’s with that look…’ I think, and just as I’m about to do something to ask if he’s okay, or at least find help for his injuries, those sharp eyes close, and his pale body collapses onto the floor.

My eyes widen when I see his body jolt once, before his thin lips part and he gasps.

"NICHOLAS!!!"

I shout, grabbing the attention of the entire school, and for once…

I don’t care if I have to be embarrassed by yelling at school.

***

Minutes pass, seconds tick, school’s over, and until now I still haven’t left the school.

I can’t leave without knowing if Nicholas is okay or not, and this time I don’t want to leave him like last time.

"His asthma is alright, he had a pretty bad one there. He’s overworking himself and…" Overworking. That’s a very foreign word to me.

No one has ever worked too hard for me, including my mom.

‘Except when she’s mad and begs me to let her remarry in front of my grandparents.’ ‘Everyone will overwork if they want something from me, or just want to lash out, just like Jacob did.’

I think, smiling wryly before thanking the nurse, because I already know how bad Nicholas’ condition is.

As I enter the infirmary, I wrinkle my nose as the antiseptic smell wafts out. A fleeting memory of my mom saying how she loved the smell of hospitals and hoped I’d become a doctor flashes like a broken record in my head, but I shake my head.

The times when we were close are over, and I’m just a chewed-up and discarded sweet treat for her.

As I arrive at Nicholas’s bedside, I see how bad the boy looks. Nicholas’s body truly looks terrible.

Bruises cover his pale body, his long and brittle nails have bloodstains that seem to be Jacob’s, considering he hit him quite brutally.

His breathing… He still looks like he’s struggling despite having an oxygen mask plastered on his pale face. And I wince when noticing how there’s a tube piercing the lower part of his bruised ribs. Is it to suck out fluid?

‘Why do you even defend me…’ I think, suddenly feeling even more guilty. I thought about leaving him, thinking that it might be the best. I mean, why in the hell would he want to see my face when he wakes up, and just as I’m about to walk away… A hand grips my wrist.

"Don’t go…" My heart stops when I hear that plea. Did Nicholas just ask me not to go?

‘But why?’

"Why…" my mouth utters on its own without me expecting it. Either I feel confused or something more that I want to say, I don’t know.

Nicholas’s eyes flutter closed as his grip on me weakens. Guess it’s just his delirium.

‘He probably dreamt and thought I was someone else he might have hoped for. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want me to go… Yes, that must be his reason!’ I think firmly, yanking my hand away from him before storming towards the exit.

However….

Crash!!!

"You!!! What did you do to him?!"