SERAPHINA'S POV
"Sera? What are you doing here?"
I freeze on the spot, words not coming out of my lips.
Reality hits me hard, fast, as the answer to that question comes into my mind automatically. It's like a wakeup call, reminding me where I am and who I'm with.
I look away from him, not offering an answer because, ultimately, I don't owe him one. Still, there's a bit of embarrassment inside me while being here right now with Artemis.
He looks at me, then to Artemis. His eyes shifting between the both of us with more confusion.
Artemis's hand reaches to me and grabs my hips out of nowhere, taking me off-guard. He pulls me to his side with ease while glaring at the guy.
"I should be asking you that, don't you think?" He throws the question back stubbornly.
The look of confusion washes off him instantly, replaced with annoyance.
"Your friend, Jasper, ran into me in the hall way, screaming about there being a ghost in his room. I came to check it out."
"How benevolent of you." He quips sarcastically, wielding more bitterness than he should. "The kind and caring Beta even looks out for others. They should write a eulogy to praise your generosity, hmm?"
"I'm not here to have an issue with you, Artemis."
"You just breathing the same air as I do is an issue for me. Can you do something about that?"
Lucian sighs with exhaustion now, briefly rubbing his temple and choosing not to engage in whatever Artemis is trying to spring up from nowhere.
"Look, I'm not here for you, and I was talking to Sera - not you."
"As you can see, we're a little busy right now." He presses me against himself tighter, like he's claiming a trophy.
Strangely, it annoys me - the way he pulls me close and decides if Lucian gets to speaks to me or not, showing me off as though I'm some sort of object he gets to flash and boast about.
I wiggle out of his hand, pulling myself away from him, which draws his attention - but I ignore the look he gives me.
"I'm here for a business that doesn't concern you, Lucian, and there's no ghost here. We just played a little game with Jasper." I explain coldly.
His smile is soft, and he nods slowly.
"Okay... I guess I'll leave you guys to it." He remains for a second more before walking out the door and shutting it. The moment he does, I let out a sigh.
I've let this night derail way too far from what I'd planned - I need to put an end to this tomfoolery.
"I think we should call it quits for the night." I say, walking toward the door.
"Wait." He calls out to stop me, and I do, pausing in place but I don't turn to look at him. I don't think I want to anymore.
"What is it?"
"We still have other stuff to do. The night is still young." He argues.
I chuckle bitterly at just how badly he's trying to keep this charade up even after everything that's happened.
"Why? Do you seriously plan on wooing me with one night of fun together?"
"Is it working?"
And just like that, every bit of faith I've built in him over the past hours shatters into a million pieces. Of course, this was always what it was about.
All this is just a silly game to him just to see how fast he can win the human girl's heart, and maybe add her to his list of conquests. I can't believe for the briefest moment, I considered being casual with someone like him. I considered his actions genuine with no hidden motive.
I feel sick to my gut, and I want nothing but to go back to my room and end this whole thing.
"You know what? I suddenly don't feel so good. I think I'm going to bed." I say coldly now.
I don't wait for him to say anything else to me, or call me back, or try to convince me why I should stay up with him before I leave.
***
By the time he finally came back to the room, I found some way to cover up all he space on the bed while pretending to be asleep, forcing him to sleep on the floor, and by morning, before he could wake up, I was out.
Anything to avoid any sort of face-to-face confrontation with him.
The time we spent together had done a lot of things to me. Messed with my thoughts and confused me, but the truth is I need some time away from him to rearrange it all - to remind myself that whatever I saw was all a lie, perfectly fabricated to deceive me.
That's how he does it to win the countless hearts of all the girls he's fucked, after all. Show them a side they wanted to see, and act a bit interested in them.
I wish I could have a week to myself away Artemis, but the contract over my head prevents me from that, and that's why hours later, here I am, sitting in the cafeteria with Artemis and his gang yet again.
I really thought the last time would be the last, but by the looks of it, it seems like it's not stopping any time soon.
Kamila talks about some she-wolf gossip with Artemis while I sit on the other side of the bench, and thankfully, not beside either of them.
Yet I can't seem to down more than two spoonsful out of my lunch. Even Ace and Jasper are completely consumed by whatever they're talking about, excluding me.
I sit on my own, silently poking at my food, waiting for the bell to ring so I can focus on other things.
I feel eyes on me suddenly, and when I look up, he stares at me with those ocean blue eyes and a strange look on his face before he pries them away again, looking back to Kamila with a forced smile.
I roll my eyes at the gesture.
Just a few seconds more.
The doors to the cafeteria flies open suddenly. One breaks off its hinges with the amount of force put into it, and none other than Morgan walks in.
My heart drops.
He fumes more than usual, grabbing everyone's attention with the very dramatic entrance he makes.
His venomous eyes rakes over every single table, until they fall on ours and he bares his teeth suddenly like a mad man, before literally leaping across the room with so much speed.
It happens so quickly that my brain lags behind to follow his swift movements.
The next moment, he's at our table, reaching for Artemis and grabbing him by the collar, almost on the verge of shifting.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" He yells out in anger, grabbing the Alpha Prince like he's some random student.
The gathering crowd gasps, and Ace and Japer step forward immediately.
Jasper kicks him off Artemis, causing him to fly a few feet back and onto the floor with so much display of his superior wolf strength. He's a Beta wolf after all, and Morgan is only a gamma.
He growls back at Morgan, baring his own teeth at him. It's the first time seeing him so serious and angry that I'm too intrigued by the altercation to look away from it.
"What the fuck!" Jasper sneers.
"Do you have a death wish?" Ace backs him up as well.
On cue, Morgan's gang of morons rush behind to support him, it seems.
They try to help him up his butt, but he shrugs their hands off him violently, and they step back from him. From the looks on their face, it's clear that they're scared.
They and everyone else now watching the whole scene knows what it means to go against Artemis; an Alpha wolf, stronger than everyone else around him.
It's a foolish thought to even dare it, yet for whatever reason, Morgan stands before Artemis with a scowl on his face without fear.
His friends try to talk him out of it, but he shrugs them off again, only getting angrier before he gets on his feet by himself.
"You fucking pathetic bastard. Hunting down wolves lesser than you because you lack the spine to confront me head-on. Do you really expect me to hold an ounce of regard for such a pathetic worm like you?"
Artemis tilts his head to the side with a bored expression, not even flinching in the slightest. Instead, all he does is brush off his shirt.
"You interrupted me right in the middle of lunch." He regards him with eyes like a cold abyss, a look that pierces to the core and freezes the soul. "It better be worth it."
Morgan doesn't even flinch like the psychopath he is.
"You... Your business was with me, but you went after my mate." There's clear pain written all over his face, and even with every gesture he makes with his hands.
What I've picked up from Olivia's teachings about wolves is that messing with a wolf's mate is like practically asking for death. It's this unspoken rule that echoes throughout the wolf world - mates are off-limits and protected at all costs. So, when you go against that, you're basically inviting a fate that no one in their right mind would want to embrace.
Wolves are known to unleash brutal retribution upon their own kind if even a minor harm befalls their mates. Thus, his anger seems to make a little more sense.
Automatically, all eyes move to Artemis who arches a brow in confusion. Ace and Jasper pass him a judgmental stare, forcing him to raise his hand in surrender.
"What? I swear, I didn't beat up some random girl." He defends himself, though his friends don't buy it. Well, it's Artemis.
"No, you idiot. I'm talking about Trevor."
"Trevor?"
Everyone who knows Morgan knows the quiet guy that's basically attached to him by the hip.
Olivia described him as his best friend, and by the shocked looks slowly emerging on everyone's face, I guess they thought the same thing too.
"That's right." Morgan clarifies the misunderstanding. "Trevor is my mate."