Chapter 19

Jasmine My heart raced as I watched them push Noah to each other, punching him like he was a punching bag being used for practice.

For a minute there, I didn’t know what to do; I didn’t know if I should interfere or just stand still and watch.

My feet felt glued to the floor and I couldn’t bear the sight of Noah’s bloody and swollen face.

I couldn’t help but imagine what had gotten into them and why they were behaving so wildly.

“You scoundrel!” Ethan shouted and pushed Noah towards Zane, who grabbed him by his throat.

He pinned Noah to the wall and threw punches into his stomach, making him gush out b***d.

The sight sent chills down my body, and I could no longer watch them treat him this way. He did nothing wrong to deserve this beating.

“Stop!” I screamed, “Stop!”

But they didn’t stop. They kept taking turns to punch him, not minding the state he was already in.

I rushed to them and stood between them and Noah, who had already lost all strength and could no longer fight back.

“What do you guys think you are doing!” I shouted, holding onto Noah, who fell on me. “What has he done wrong? What gave you the right to beat him this way!” I demanded in rage.

“He deserves every bit of what he is going through tonight!” stated Calix unapologetically.

I shook my head. It wasn’t a surprise that they saw nothing wrong in what they did, but what surprised me was the fact that they were never going to change.

I hadn’t seen them change this behavior in years, and that was another reason which would never make me consider being with them.

I turned slowly to Noah and held him by his shoulder, “Please leave now Noah,” I said, and he nodded.

I watched him as he leaped away before I turned back to the three brothers, and I could also see that people were already gathered around, taking pictures and videos.

I glared at Calix, Zane, and Ethan, who had no inch of remorse in their eyes.

They still felt like they had done the right thing, and it only annoyed me.

I wanted them to realize their mistake, how they had ruined the romantic moment between Noah and me, and still didn’t see anything wrong in their actions.

“You could have told him to wait to see what we’ve got!” Zane growled.

“You can keep those noises and growls to yourself. Don’t snarl at me like a lost wolf!” I yelled, fury pulsing through my veins. “You three will never change!” I screamed at them.

“It’s okay, Jasmine,” I turned to see Mia.

She placed a hand on my shoulder, and she also had a dissatisfying look on her face, just like I did.

I could tell that she was called by her brothers for reasons best known to them.

“What is okay, Mia? Noah did nothing wrong to deserve how he was treated by them. I do not understand what they have against him.” I said to her.

Mia shook her head, a gesture telling me to be calm, and I complied.

“I expected so much more from all of you. Instead of stopping them, you are taking pictures and videos. If they have proven to be immature, then why can’t you all do better? Must you act like them?” She said to the crowd of students who were still busy taking pictures and videos with their phones, “You all should leave now; the party is over!” she added and the little crowd began to disperse.

They all hung their heads and walked away from the garden, leaving Mia, her three brothers, and me alone.

I was burning with rage; I still couldn’t understand why they had to attack Noah, even when he did nothing to them.

They could have just left us alone when they found us in that position. Why did they have to interrupt us, and worse, beat Noah up like they did? That was a very rude thing to do.

Mia turned to me slowly; her brothers had no trace of the remorseful look that was on her face.

She held my hand, “I am so sorry for whatever they have done to you today. Please, I hope you can forgive them.” she said calmly.

As much as I wanted to let it go after Mia’s apology, I still couldn’t get the scenes out of my head. But knowing fully well that Mia meant well, I tried controlling my rage.

“You have done nothing wrong, Mia. You shouldn’t be the one apologizing,” I glared at them, “They should and to Noah. They should apologize for treating him that way. He did nothing wrong to deserve to be beaten up like that. They should pay for what they did!” I said.

Mia nodded, “I understand you, I do,” she murmured and turned to her brothers, “They will definitely apologize, but just loosen up and let go of your anger first.” she said.

I sighed and nodded at her. There was absolutely nothing to gain from being angry, especially when it was directed at the three brothers, as they would only succeed in making me angrier.

“Come with me, let’s go back to our room,” Mia stated and held my hand as we headed towards the apartment.

Each step we took brought me back to minutes ago, and my resentment only grew as I thought about it.

How Noah was being punched, his split l*p and bloody nose, his weak and pale face, and how they didn’t care but kept on punching him. I just couldn’t get those images out of my head.

It hurt me so much that I was unable to do anything to help him even though I wanted to. I was hurt that I was unable to stop them at the right time.

I wanted to intervene when the fight began, but I just couldn’t. I was beyond stunned at their show of foolishness.

I shook my head, trying to shake the thoughts away, but they lingered.

My thoughts swayed to Noah and how he might be doing. I wondered if he was okay and not too hurt.

I knew there was no way he was going to be okay after being beaten to a stupor by the three brothers. They beat him up as if he had wronged them before.

Finally, Mia and I got back into the apartment, and the three brothers walked in too, taking their seats on the sofa.

I felt the urge to tell them to stand and leave, but I maintained my composure. Mia had already told me to let go of my anger so we could sort everything out.

Mia suddenly turned to me, “I’ll be right back, Jasmine. I have to get something.” she said.

She left before I could say anything. I knew she wasn’t going to get anything; she only wanted to leave us all alone so we could talk.

I wished she hadn’t done that, because what was to come was not something I had planned for.

Ethan was the first to stand. He walked over to me, grabbed me by my waist, and pulled me closer to himself.

His hand trailed through my eyebrows and down to my cheeks.

“What do you think you are doing?” I said as I pulled away from him.

“Are you still wondering why we attacked your Mr. Romeo?” Calix asked as he walked to me. “Are you trying to tell us that you do not know the reason we did that?” he questioned, as anger flashed in his eyes.

I furrowed my brows, unable to understand what they were talking about.

“I do not seem to understand you. How could I possibly know the reason you attacked Noah when he had done absolutely nothing wrong to you?” I asked.

“He tried to keep what belongs to us, are you pretending not to know?” Ethan asked and grabbed me by my hand, pulling me close to him. “How long has it been, Jasmine? How long?”

I was confused once again, okay, maybe not so confused. But I just didn’t want to imagine what my mind was telling me.

“How long what? I do not know what you are saying!” I said, my heart beating faster than anything.

Zane jumped up from where he was sitting and rushed to us. “How long have you known that you are our mate, Jasmine? And why did you choose to hide this fact from us?”

Okay, they knew. This is not good.

“What are you three talking about? I still don’t understand you.” I said while trying to feign ignorance, trying to buy time to think of an excuse to give them.

“Do not pretend like you do not know what we’re talking about, Jasmine. Why did you lie to us?” demanded Zane.

“ I do not what you are talking about…”

“Shh…” Zane stopped me by placing a finger on my lips.

“Are you trying to make us believe that you did not know that you are our mate? How could you Jasmine? You knew you were our mate and you allow that jerk to be close to you,” demanded Calix who was still acting pissed.

I knew there was no way out for me anymore, and trying to feign ignorance wouldn’t help me out of this. It would only put Noah in more danger, and I didn’t want that for him.

I pushed Ethan’s hand away and stepped back from them.

“Yes! Yes, you are right. I knew you were my mates,” I shook my head. “But I will never accept all of you as my mates because I deserve better.” I moved closer to them. “So, I plead with you three to reject me, and let’s consider whatever bond we have between us done!” I said angrily to them.

They laughed. Was what I said funny? I wondered.

“You are our mate, you belong to us, why would we reject you?” demanded Zane.

“Because I do not want you three. I do not want to belong to you! We can’t stand each other, So free me and yourselves from this ill-fated bond by rejecting me.” I said to them.

They seem to be affected by what I had said for a moment, but not for long.

Calix closed the gap between us and grabbed me. “Why should we?” He smiled, his hand firmly holding me by my waist.

“You belong to us, Jasmine, and you will forever be.” He added, staring deep into my eyes as he could see through me.

I felt vulnerable in his hands, my mind raced with thoughts, and I could feel goosebumps already forming on my skin.

The others began to move towards us, each step they took made my heart thump harder.

“You belong to us, and you are ours to touch, ours to explore, ours to…” he leaned in, his cheeks brushing against mine as he whispered in my ear, “ours to f**k as we please,” he whispered to my ears.

Sparks from their touch slowly start melting away my anger and even though I didn’t want to feel bonded to them in any way.

I couldn’t resist their charms, I felt helpless in their midst and I could hardly stay in control of thoughts.