Chapter 24 #2
As I stirred sugar into my coffee, mind wandering, I caught Aiden staring at me over the rim of his cup.
My eyes slipped—completely on their own—down to his lips as he sipped.
They pouted slightly, pressing against the edge of the cup.
The closer I got to my turn, the more attractive his lips seemed to become.
When I finally looked up, his blue eyes were locked on mine, full of smug awareness. He knew what I’d been thinking.
My face burned, and I quickly turned away, tossing in a dash of cinnamon before picking up my coffee. As we stepped outside, he finally spoke.
“I have to go to my meeting. You have class in a bit?”
I nodded, my stomach dipping. I had lab with Jake.
What on earth was I going to say to him?
He’d called me a few times last night, trying to check in, but I’d only sent back a short text saying I was fine and that we’d see each other in class.
Josie suspected Jake’s father might be behind the attacks on Aiden.
How could I even think of telling Jake that?
I used to be able to talk to him so easily—before the kiss.
There was always a comfort in our conversations, a shared rhythm that made it effortless to confide in him. But now… now everything felt strained.
“You don’t seem all that happy to be going to class,” Aiden observed, sipping his coffee again.
My gaze dropped again to his lips for a split second before I met his eyes. Damn those lips.
“It’s nothing. I just… haven’t finished my lab assignment,” I said, the excuse sounding pitiful even to my own ears.
Aiden chuckled. “Liar. It’s because you have a lab with Jake.”
I blinked at him. Could he actually read minds?
“You’re an overachiever when it comes to academics.
There’s no way you left a lab assignment until the last minute.
I can tell something’s bothering you. I know you have lab with Jake.
I put two and two together,” he said with a casual shrug, giving me a sidelong glance.
“I can come get you after class? I think I know where the lab is. We had a few electives in the science block.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I murmured. “It’s just going to be weird seeing him after… everything.”
“So you’re still upset Jake doesn’t want to date you?” Aiden asked, his voice carefully neutral as he observed me.
“What… when…” I stammered, caught completely off guard. So much had happened since then…but Aiden didn't know.
“When you were drunk that night, you said he didn’t want to be with you,” he told me, offering it as an explanation.
“Don’t let it get you down, Rose. He doesn’t deserve you.
” Aiden hesitated for a second, then added, “He was really worried when you were kidnapped.” The words came out like they were laced with acid.
I watched his jaw clench briefly.
“Um… you know he's going to be curious about this…” I said, motioning between us, clearly unsure how to define whatever this was. “…new arrangement,” I finished.
“We have to make it look legit,” he said, glancing around. “Anyone could be watching us.”
Suddenly, he reached out, fingers brushing the fabric of my sundress as he grasped my waist and tugged me gently towards him.
I found myself stepping into his personal space without hesitation, my breath catching.
His hand slowly slid up my back flattening there in a way that felt too real, too natural.
I breathed shakily clutching my coffee cup between us like it was a shield.
Aiden grinned, leaning down to place a quick kiss on my nose.
“What are you going to tell Lexia?” I breathed, flustered yet burning with curiosity to know the answer to my question.
The moment was broken. His grin fell, his hand fell away from my body, and he stepped back as if he’d been doused with cold water.
“Lexia’s been studying for her LSAT. It’s in June, so she doesn’t have much time left,” he said flatly, not really answering my question.
I didn’t push it though as we walked out of the coffee shop.
“I’ll come to the science building where your lab is,” he said once we reached the path that split off toward my building. “I have to meet with security right now.”
“You don’t have to escort me everywhere,” I said meekly.
“I want to,” he replied softly before walking away. He sounded like he meant it.
Aiden's POV
As I stood outside the security office of our university, I wondered if Rose had noticed how tightly wound up I was. I was barely holding myself together. A million thoughts were running through my head.
How was I going to tell Lexia that I had to break my promise to her?
But for some reason, the one thought at the forefront of my brain was “Is Rose going to tell Jake we’re in a relationship with each other?”
Because I suddenly found that pretending to be in a relationship with Rose was actually a fantastic idea if it made Jake back off.
I hated admitting to her how worried Jake had been—hated even more that she probably cared for him which is why it might make her feel better. The words had tasted like acid as I’d spoken them. But if that’s what she needed to hear, I’d swallow the damn acid.
She didn’t even notice the way my jaw clenched in anger earlier. She was too lost in her own thoughts, probably thinking about him.
And when I’d kissed her on the nose? I couldn’t get out of my mind the way her cheeks flamed up. That blush—Goddess, she was so adorable when she blushed.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I entered the security admin office.
There was a reason everyone felt okay letting Rose wander around campus on her own.
Like most universities, this one had CCTVs installed all over—every building, every parking lot.
The cops had already been given copies of the footage from the day she was abducted, but I wasn’t the cops.
I was her alpha—and a pissed off one. One of my pack members had been kidnapped, beaten, nearly assaulted.
I wasn’t walking into any meeting right now.
I was heading into an appointment with campus security to view the CCTV recordings.
They’d approved my request to view the footage from the day it happened.
So now, I was sitting with one of the security guards, eyes glued to the screen, watching the recording from the parking lot where her car had been.
A few students milled around, smoking and joking—some even leaned against her car, but no one touched it. Not yet.
Then she appeared on-screen, walking with Jake. My jaw clenched. They were holding hands.
“Play it normally. Don’t push the fast-forward button,” I said, trying to keep my tone even.
The guard nodded and adjusted the speed. I watched Jake wrap his arm around her, his hands gliding up and down her back, pausing way too long near her ass. My fists balled. I bit back a growl.
This didn’t look like a guy who didn’t want to be with her.
He leaned in, whispering something. She laughed—tilted her head, even let him tuck her curls behind her ear. I watched her shake her head no, probably refusing a date. But why the hell was he touching her like that if she’d turned him down? If he wasn’t interested in her?
Unless he was. Unless he had been the whole time and just didn’t want anyone else to know.
I kept watching as Jake finally walked away and she got into her car. She was on the phone. I checked the timestamp—yeah, she was calling me, telling me everything was okay.
That weird feeling I’d had back then… it made sense now. It was the same type of thing I’d heard about mates feeling when someone touched what was theirs.
“It looks like they came from the humanities building,” I muttered. “Can you show me the CCTV there?”
I didn’t care if I was spying. The need in me to figure out what Jake and Rose truly were was overriding all common sense.
My wolf was howling for blood. The guard nodded again, and we jumped to the next feed.
I watched as Jake caught up to her near the humanities block.
They argued—her hands flying everywhere, the way they always did when she was upset.
She tried to brush past him, and then he grabbed her.
And kissed her.
And she didn’t push him away.
She kissed him back.
His hands were all over her, and she let him. My heart dropped. My blood turned to ice.
She’d lied to me. When I asked her why I’d felt off that day—why I’d felt that instinct flaring—she’d made up some excuse. This… this was why I’d felt off!
No wonder Jake had been just as frantic as I was when she was taken.
That bastard thought he had a claim on her.
I remembered the day we found her, the way Jake grabbed her like she was his—like she belonged to him.
She hadn’t welcomed it. She’d screamed. She was traumatized, and I’d had to yell at him to get off her.
But now, I understood why he thought he had the right.
My whole body trembled with rage. Jake hadn’t been asking her out for a second chance—he already had a chance. They’d been something. Or maybe they still were.
And she’d just lied to my face.
She didn’t want this fake relationship ruining things with Jake. That’s what she was worried about. I looked down, startled by the warmth dripping onto my hand. I’d crushed my coffee cup. The lukewarm liquid soaked into my skin, but I barely noticed.
“Are you OK, buddy?” the security guard asked, handing me a napkin.
“Fine,” I ground out, voice tight. My wolf was snarling, pacing inside me, wanting to kill the man who’d touched our mate! But I couldn’t afford to lose control. Not now.
“I need to see the rest of the footage,” I said, gripping the armrest hard. “Go back to the parking lot. I want to double-check that no one tampered with her car.”
Inside, I was coming apart.