12 | Jealous

"You can't even look me dead in the eyes. Her love is strong, she got you hypnotized."

~ YEBBA, My Mind

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"Two things we need to focus on today."

Amused, Cillian watched Sophie from where he was sitting on the couch. She slowly marched around the living room, hands behind her back, as if she were giving him important instructions before a dangerous mission.

"One, getting a Christmas tree. Two, we need rings." She listed off. She stopped in her tracks and faced him. "These are two simple things, but I think it will be important for us to practice certain things while we're out, like hand holding, being closer to strangers, how to act around strangers, and things like that."

He seemed hesitant, but ready. He hadn't been out in public since he was a child. He really knew nothing about what it meant to be a part of society. With the walks they went on, no one came close to them.

"Your claws... can you retract those or-" she couldn't even finish her sentence before his claws disappeared into his skin. "Okay, and what about your fangs?"

He shook his head.

"Mm..." she thought. "Well, we'll just say it's some weird genetic thing that's been passed down in your family."

She grabbed a rather big coat she bought him online the other day and handed it to him, as well as a pair of gloves. He already had a pair of boots. He shrugged everything on, sort of looking like a giant black marshmallow from the puffiness of his coat.

"Are you ready? We don't have to do this today if you're not."

"I'm ready." He mumbled in reply.

She went to open the door, but he beat her to it. It was one of the few things he remembered from his childhood. His dad told him to never let a lady even touch a door handle, especially if it's your mate.

Judging by Sophie's reaction, she was not used to this, but seemed rather pleased by it. "Oh, thank you." She chuckled and walked out the door.

Even when she was about to open her little red truck's door, he beat her to it again. This time with flushed cheeks, she mumbled a cute and quiet, "thank you," and hopped in.

He made his way around the little truck and got in on the passenger's side. The top of his head was just shy of hitting the ceiling, making her laugh. "Don't forget your seatbelt."

She turned on the engine, the radio turning on with it. Jingle Bell Rock came on, a song he hadn't heard since he was a kid. She noticed his eyes flash at the recognition and asked, "you like this song?"

He nodded.

"Me too." She chirped and turned it up. She hummed the whole way to the Christmas tree farm, which was only a few minutes away.

He just sat back and listened, amused by her little hums and the bobbing of her head along to the music. She pulled up to the parking lot and parked in a space towards the back where it was less crowded.

"Have you ever chopped down your own Christmas tree?"

"A long time ago." His griff voice confirmed. Growing up with the pack, his home was in the middle of the woods. They chopped down their own trees every year.

She grinned. He noticed she did every time he gave a verbal response. Maybe he'd have to do that more.

"Really? That's cool." She replied and turned off the engine. "I've used artificial trees the past few years, so I haven't done this in a while either."

She clasped her gloved hands together and said, "well, are you ready?"

He actually seemed pretty eager because he quickly hopped out of the truck. She placed her hand on the handle only to realize he wasn't eager to chop down a tree, but to open her door before she could.

She shook her head in amusement and started their journey across the parking lot. After she slipped and slided multiple times, Cillian offered her his strong arm for her to hold.

"Heh," she breathed and carefully took his arm. "Thanks." She said and rambled on about her boots had no grips on them.

Once they made it to the snow where all the Christmas trees were, she let him go, making him frown. Still, he followed her through all the trees like a lost puppy.

A family was close behind them, noticeably making him a little tense and on edge. She surprised him this time by taking his arm again and giving it a light squeeze in reassurance. "They're here for the same reason as us." She reminded him. "Let's go to the back. That's where the best ones are because no one like going out that far."

Once they made it to the back, she intently studied each tree. Humming as she inspected each one, she eventually whirled around and asked him, "which one do you think we should take home?"

We. Home. Two simple words, but impactful. He loved hearing those words coming from her lips, knowing she was talking about them going home together.

Struggling to think, he avoided talking and just pointed to the one closest to him.

She blinked. "Okay..." The pine needles on this specific tree were mainly all on the ground. The ones that weren't were brown. "So you're the Charlie Brown type of Christmas tree guy."

He shook his head and pretended like he was pointing to the tree behind it. While he had no idea what it looked like, it must have been a good one considered by her excited squeal.

Her boots made a mushing sound as she scurried through the snow to the tree. It was quite the tree, full, green, and around nine foot tall. To Sophie, it was perfect. "Good eye, Cillian!" She praised him as she inspected it.

"All we have to do now is cut it... down..." her words faded, realizing what she had done. She pursed her lips, her hands on her hips. "I left the axe in the truck... And people are coming this way. If we leave it, someone is definitely going to take it."

"I'll go get it." He offered.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He reassured her and headed back to where they came from.

She said a silent prayer that he'd be okay on his own and guarded that tree with her life.

A minute or so went by and just as she began to wonder if separating was a good idea, she heard this agitating, grating voice. "What's a pretty lady like you doing all alone out here?"

She grimaced before she turned to face the voice. Instead of it being some creepy stranger like she was hoping it would be, she recognized the man. "Aaron!" She practically squealed in surprise.

Aaron, her ex boyfriend, was a good looking guy, but not exactly a Cillian level good looking. He was close six foot, with short brown hair slicked under a beanie. He was the only boyfriend Sophie ever had. Around two years ago, they fell in love. She fully expected and actually planned on marrying him. A year and some change after they got together, he broke her heart by cheating on her.

Guess who he was standing hand in hand with? Yes, the very woman he cheated on her with.

"It's good to see you Sophie." Aaron nodded his head in greeting and gestured to the beautiful woman next to him. "You remember Megan."

"Uh- yeah... yeah, it's nice to see you again." Sophie lied.

"You didn't answer my question." He pointed out.

Right, the one about being alone. He probably wanted to rub it in. "I'm not alone." She politely brushed him off with a painfully fake smile.

Megan looked around. "Really? I don't see anybody."

She uncomfortably fiddled with the buttons on her coat and explained, "oh, my husband is coming right back. He just went to go get an axe."

Aaron rose a brow like he didn't believe her. "Husband?"

"Yep." She confirmed with a tight grin. "Best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm really happy."

"Huh..." he drawled. "You sure?"

"Excuse me?"

"I just noticed you don't have a ring is all." He said with a smug smirk and a shrug, clearly not believing that she was married.

"I'm getting it sized, actually." She replied, shortly.

He snickered. "That's what they all say."

"Oh, you make that many women uncomfortable that they have to lie to you about their material status?" She said in a fake cheery tone of voice. "It's hard to believe you get rejected that often."

His expression darkened. "What did you say, you-"

She felt his presence creep up her back before she even saw him. Just from the sight of Cillian looming behind Sophie was enough to make Aaron suddenly lose his voice and Megan take a step back.

"I was just talking about you, babe!" Sophie said enthusiastically, intertwining fingers with his. Briefly, she peeked up to ensure he was okay with it. The gentle squeeze he gave her hand confirmed that.

"Who are you?" Aaron tested to see if he'd give the same response as Sophie.

He nearly said, "mate," but corrected himself. "Her husband." He stated, gruffly. "Who are you?"

"I'm sure she'll fill you in." He responded, already starting to back away. "Have a good Christmas, Sophia."

She scoffed as he left, muttering a quiet, "jerk," under her breath.

Cillian gently squeezed her hand again, tapping her back into reality. "You okay?"

She smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah. Just an ex boyfriend is all."

He wrinkled his nose at that, but she didn't notice.

She shook her head and pointed to the axe in his opposite hand. "Welp, you're probably better with that than I am."

And that he was. He probably could have taken the tree down with his bare hands if he wanted to. Effortlessly, he lugged it over his shoulder.

"Wait, Cillian, hold on!" Sophie waved her hands to stop him. "You gotta, like, struggle more than that."

"Why?"

"Be human, remember?"

Sounds lame, he thought.

Their tree was tied up and tied down in the bed of her truck. As they were ready to head back home, Cillian told her that he'd, "be right back," and disappeared.

Worried, she watched from a distance as he snuck up to a black SUV, a beautiful tree tied on the top of the car. He causally walked by it, claws out, and cut the ropes off.

Her jaw dropped as he made his way back to her. "Why did you do that?"

He held the door open for her, and she got in, him following behind. She continued to stare at him expectantly and all he did was point out the window.

The SUV belonged to no one other than Aaron. As soon as they pulled out of the parking lot, their beautiful tree fell off the car and into a creek on the side of the street.

Her head whipped around to face him and couldn't help but laugh. Despite her amusement, Cillian still looked bothered.

Her laughter quieted down and she started the truck. "You okay?" She asked, getting on road.

All she got was a grunt from him.

"Okay then..." she drawled, unsure what got him in such a bad mood.

She wanted to think maybe it was too much for him being out today, but something told her it wasn't that. He seemed to rather enjoy their time together outside the house. It all started after... oh.

A smile slowly stretched across her lips. "You're jealous." She more so stared than asked.

Terribly. Horribly. Entirely. Yes, he was jealous.

All he managed again was another grunt, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"He's an ex for a reason." She reminded him with a breathy laugh. "You have nothing to worry about." She reassured him. Wait, why was she reassuring him?

"What's the reason?"

Her eyes widened at the rather blunt question, but she had nothing to hide. "He, uh... he cheated on me."

"Cheated?" He questioned, as if he didn't understand.

"Yeah, the girl that was with him was the same girl he cheated on me with." She sighed. She was over Aaron and didn't miss him at all, but it still stung to think back on what he did to her.

It clicked for Cillian what she meant in that moment. He knew what cheating was, but it was almost entirely unheard of with his kind. Who would want to cheat on the person you're destined to be with forever? The commitment mates make to each other is eternal. It's God given. Why would he ever want someone else?

Wordlessly, his hand reached across the counsel and intertwined his fingers with hers- in apology for his attitude and in comfort.

Their next stop was to get rings. With her hefty budget, it didn't take very long for her to find her dream ring. It was an elegant oval diamond that sparkled stunningly in the sunlight on a simple gold band. She decided on a wedding band that went nicely with it, littered with tiny diamonds throughout it.

She debated if she wanted to get her dream ring, considering this was not her dream marriage. On one hand, she dreamed that someday, she'd be able to choose who she wanted to love- and with it, her dream ring. On the other, she feared there was no getting out of this contract ever. Ultimately, she picked the dream ring.

Cillian didn't know what to choose and frankly he didn't love the salesperson's attention on him, asking what he wanted.

As per usual, Sophie calmly swooped in, and gently took his hand in hers. "Are there any you don't like?"

"No silver." He responded.

Oh, right. That makes sense.

Out of the five rings they had laid out, that eliminated two of them. One by one, he slid the rings onto his finger. When he still didn't know what to pick, she asked him if he liked the second one the best. It was a gold band that was the most similar to hers. He seemed to like that and agreed.

Once they got home, she placed the boxes with their rings in them on the counter and told him, "you can wear yours either now or just whenever we go out. I'm going to put on mine now so I don't forget." She chuckled.

Before she could grab the box, he beat her to it. He felt the heaviness in her heart as they shopped for rings. This wasn't an ideal situation, he wasn't blind to that. Ultimately, it was a life or death situation at the end of the day. It was partially his fault and he felt bad he couldn't do much to make it up to her.

He opened the box and carefully pinched her ring between his fingers. Setting the box aside, he got down on one knee and reached for her left hand. Wordlessly, she allowed him to and watched as he slid the ring onto her finger.

He did the same with her wedding band and ran his thumb gently across her knuckles before releasing her. He grabbed his own ring as he headed outside, leaving her speechless.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and stood still. Her daze quickly turned to irritation, the familiar feeling of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Absolutely not." She lectured to herself. She was not going to catch feelings.

She shook the feelings off and headed to the door to help him with the tree, but he was already there, the giant tree effortlessly tossed over his shoulder.

Right. He was a lycanthrope. They were very strong.

She stepped aside, quietly cursing the butterflies some more, and pointed out to him where she'd like the tree. She cleared a space in the corner by the window, and he propped the tree up while she secured it in place.

"Well," she sighed as they took a step back to admire it, her hands on her hips. "Wanna help me decorate it?"

With Christmas music playing in the background, they changed into comfy clothes and decorated the tree. She used his height to her advantage and had him decorate the top while she decorated the bottom.

They collapsed on the couch when they finished, hot cocoa in each of their hands. He wasn't a big sweets guy, but he certainly loved chocolate.

"Do you like it?" She wondered, a hopeful smile on her lips.

He set the mug down, whipped cream left behind on his upper lip making her laugh. "It's good." He responded and sheepishly licked his upper lip.

"You still got some..." she trailed off and found herself reaching out to wipe it off with the pad of her thumb, her other fingers naturally cupping his jaw.

She blinked, snapping her back into reality and retracted her hand. "Got it." She cleared her throat, looking anywhere but him.

Seemingly unphased, he responded. "Thank you."

She nodded, her gaze falling to her hands in her lap. She studied the rings on her finger and the way they sparkled in the Christmas lights. She cleared her throat and asked, "would you mind taking a picture of our rings? My mom was asking about them."

He offered his hand to her, and she moved it so it was in front of the Christmas tree. She held her hand up with his, snapped the picture, and sent it to her mom.

"Thanks," she breathed with a chuckle. "She's gonna love it."

After she hit send, she searched some Christmas movies to show Cillian. She started with an older one, the Rudolph claymation movie. It was simple, which is exactly what she wanted to start with for Cillian.

Her phone dinged, alerting her she had a Facebook notification, "Sandy Johnson tagged you in a post."

"What the..." she drawled and tapped on the notification. Immediately, it brought her to the post, and her heart dropped to her stomach. "Oh no."

•••

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