Chapter 23

Chapter 23

*****

*Corey's POV*

"The car will be fixed by tomorrow," Sean announced as he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Finally," Trent spoke as he ate a chip. "This trip has been awful. Why do we always get stuck in places that have nothing to do? I wanna go home."

"We're not going home," I said.

"The car's obviously not going to make it! It's just going to break down again!" Trent exclaimed, glaring at me.

"And then we'll have it fixed again." I gave him a deadpan smile.

He glared back at me.

"Corey..." he muttered and then sighed, defeated. "Get out of my sight."

He tried to continue to glare at me, but I laughed when his face twitched.

"Only because you look so threatening," I chuckled.

"Shut up and get out!" he snapped, throwing a pillow at me.

I laughed throwing it back before leaving our room and beginning to head to the kitchen. My pace slowed as I heard a guitar's soft, melodic strumming. I smirked, slowly walking up to Kaden and Jayden's room with the intention of slamming the door open and scaring the shit out of Jayden, but I stopped when the strumming got louder, quicker and so did his voice.

The tone shocked me. When the others said he could sing, I never imagined they meant that well. The idea of scaring him faded and instead, I tried to take a silent step closer to hear the smooth, velvety voice more clearly, but the playing and singing suddenly stopped.

"Corey?" Jayden spoke up.

He must have noticed the proximity because of the nuisance that was our mate pull. It was so disappointing; I wanted to keep hearing him sing. I opened the door and walked in.

"You give yourself too little credit, Jayden. Your voice is seriously incredible," I said.

He gave a bashful smile as he looked down and I bit the inside of my cheek feeling pride rise into my chest. I felt bad that hearing me compliment him made him feel so good despite how I had been treating him... Why did he care what I thought so much?

Well, he didn't really have a choice, the mate bond just did that to people; it tried to trick or force us into feeling things towards our mates. The thought made me hold my breath as the kiss we shared a couple of nights ago replayed in my mind. I quickly pushed the memory away as my body filled with a quick rush to get closer to him again.

It was just an involuntary reaction to being near my mate for so many days now.

"I-It's not," Jayden's mumble drew me out of my head.

His modest, shyness at the compliment was both cute and annoying. It was annoying because I could not imagine being as quiet as he was if I had his voice.

I scoffed before shutting the door and leaning up against it. I was trying not to think of the events of a couple of nights prior, but I missed the casual conversation we had... I wasn't sure what was going on in my brain.

I didn't want to acknowledge or accept that he was my mate, but maybe... we could just be friends, even after we saw the witch. Even though he was gay, and I still wanted nothing to do with that, he was a nice person. He was funny. I liked talking to him.

"So... Uh... I was about to head out..." That was a lie, "...to the mall. Wanna go shopping or... Uh... Get our hair done or something?" I asked.

What did people like him like to do?

He looked at me, shocked before his face changed into a confused stare.

"Get our hair done?" he asked, confused.

"Isn't that what you... do? I mean... you're..."

Jayden seemed dumbfounded before he began laughing. He laughed so much, I felt utterly stupid.

"What?" I muttered.

Jayden shook his head. I got the feeling he was afraid of saying why he was laughing because he thought it would piss me off. I found the laughter without an explanation more annoying. It made me feel somewhat dim-witted.

"No, tell me. What's so funny?"

"It's just –" Jayden sat up, still laughing as he spoke. "Did-did you think being a good stylist comes naturally when someone's gay? It's like – like you've just watched old movies and ran with that –" he was still giggling as he held his guitar tightly.

I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek. He was tearing up. He wiped his eyes as he looked at me and his laughter hitched, it was like he had forgotten who he was talking to for a second and when he realised who it was, he no longer felt comfortable.

"Uh – I – S-sorry," his eyes quickly averted back to the guitar.

Why did I feel like shit about the way his behaviour changed when he remembered that he was talking to me? I was the reason. I had made him so afraid of me. Could we even be friends?

"I shouldn't have asked." It was ridiculous to think he would willingly go anywhere with me.

"N-no, wait –" Jayden said, quickly. "Um... if you're paying, I need a new notebook and some jeans."

I felt my heart pick up and tried to force myself to calm down. I was still convinced I was not at all interested in being close to him in that way, that it was just the portion of me the mate pull had managed to control and delude.

"Fine, I'll pay."

Jayden gave a smile that made me stop breathing for a second.

After everything I had said and done to him... how could he be so happy at the prospect of being around me? Why was he so forgiving? It made him even more alluring.

"Okay... Let's go," he said.

-----

"Woah, what is this?" I lifted the glass ball.

"Corey!" Jayden hissed. "Look at the sign! You'll get us thrown out of here, too. Put it down," he pleaded.

There was a 'Please, don't touch,' sign right below the ball's stand. But it was for sale. How could anyone buy it without having a thorough look at it first?

Was Jayden's pleading justified? Perhaps. I mean, yes. I had gotten us escorted out of the last clothing store, but it wasn't my fault they didn't have a 'no eating' sign on the door. So naturally, I took my food in, and I might have spilt my soda on a very expensive suit. It was their fault for assuming that I would assume that no food was allowed inside. Plus, it was not my fault the store was so crowded either, causing someone to bump my arm.

Due to there not being a sign and the other person admitting they bumped into me, we did not have to pay for the suit, but they wanted us out of the store anyway.

"I can't break this, I have amazing reflexes," I said.

"You just spilled..." Jayden drifted and sighed, as if giving up. "I like this store, and I don't want to get kicked out, so put the damn ball down," he hissed.

"You think just because I brought you here you can speak to me like that," I scoffed. "Anyway, do you want to..." I began but noticed that he was too busy staring at little spiders in a glass tank to pay attention.

I rolled my eyes, putting the ball down.

Proceeding to follow him around the themed pet store, I continued to sip on my drink. Had I spilt the entire previous soda? Yes. Had I learnt my lesson? No. This store didn't have a sign about food either, so I wasn't breaking any rules.

As Jayden gushed at little mice in their enclosure, I noticed movement and looked up at one of the shop assistants. He was watching Jayden with a smile and it looked like he was about to come over, but he paused when our eyes met. I raised my brows, his smile wavered and instead of continuing his approach towards us, he just nodded, appearing awkward before heading to other customers.

I was glad he walked away.

Jayden glanced up at me for just a moment and I smiled. He frowned at the drink in my hand. It made me smirk and take a sip just to annoy him. It worked, and he gave a deep sigh while turning back to the animals.

"Jayden?!"

Jayden turned wide-eyed, an instant, wide grin on his face as he looked around.

He didn't have to find the person as the Finn guy practically ran up to us.

"I'll be at the food court."

An uncontrollable, possessive impulse took over me for a moment and I took hold of Jayden's jaw. He seemed stunned by the movement and didn't react as I guided his face to mine and kissed him. The simple touch caused a light, electric tingle in my lips that seemed to quickly spread through my spine.

I paused for a second, taking in the feeling of his soft lips and the heat it instantly created in my body before breaking the kiss. Jayden's face was a shock, even though his eyes had closed. The stunned expression matched the look on Finn's face.

Maybe I was still confused about everything, but there was one thing clear to me: he was my mate at the moment, and I did not like Finn. It was clear the human was attracted to him, and that didn't sit well.

"Here," I pulled my wallet out and handed Jayden my card before I left.

I got to the court and bought myself more food, but I couldn't stand the uncomfortable feeling the pull gave me and began to head back to Jayden and Finn. Hopefully, I could convince Jayden it was time to leave.

I had not made it out of the food court before a call came from somewhere in the sea of people around me.

"Corey!"

I followed the sound and saw a familiar-looking girl weaving her way through the crowd.

Her name... I began wracking my brain. What the hell was her name?!

"Uh... A... ri... ana, right?" I said the name slowly, hoping that it was right.

"Yes! You just disappeared the other night –"

My eyes widened as she stood on her toes and kissed me. Who greets people like that?

Well, we had gotten quite physically close that night. Would have probably hooked up if it wasn't for the fact that I would have marked her if we had. We had done everything but have sex at that club. Still, that was one night. Even if we had slept together, what normal person would walk up to someone they hooked up with and kiss them out of nowhere?

"I couldn't even get your number," she said.

I chuckled. Her eagerness was unsurprising. She was quite good-looking; I figured I wouldn't mind finishing what we started once marking her was not a problem anymore.

There was a sudden anger that filled one side of my mind – so much that it was causing a headache, but I was determined to fight it. So, what if I was hanging out with Jayden? I was just trying to be friendly. I still had no intention of being with him.

"Well, if you still want it..." I smiled, sliding my hand into her pocket and grabbing her phone.

I hesitated as the screen lit up in my hand, the moment I had had with Jayden nights ago wigging its way into my head.

The time I had spent with this girl, I barely remembered what it felt like. But when it came to him, just thinking about it made my stomach flutter like I was having my first crush again.

It was all the pull though... Something I was being forced to feel. It wasn't actually how I felt. It was why I felt so uncomfortable thinking about hooking up with her.

I wasn't really attracted to him. I wasn't gay.

Then why had I kissed him in front of Finn and why the hell did I keep kissing him?! Why did it feel like it was more than the pull?

It wasn't. The kiss earlier had been an impulsive reaction, spurred by the possessiveness that came with the part of me that was trying to force affection towards my mate.

I would realise that once we had gone through with the spell and my brain was clear. It just seemed like it was more than the pull because I had been close to him for too long.

I quickly typed my number into her phone, and I held it out to her.

"Thanks, Babe." She smiled, taking her phone.

I chuckled as she pecked me on my lips. It was nothing like the kiss I had just had with Jayden. It felt so underwhelming.

"You know I have a girlfriend, right?" I asked.

What had kissing Samantha felt like? I couldn't really remember. Maybe it was better than this girl.

"So?" She smiled. "I'll call you."

I chuckled, watching as she walked off. Or rather strutted. It was sexy. She had a nice ass too. She wasn't the best person, based on her answer to my question.

Well, it was hard for anyone to live up to him. When it came to kindness, attitude, voice, or even appearance. Those brown eyes were so charming and pretty.

He was the best person.

I clenched my jaw. That didn't matter.

*Jayden's POV*

After he said it, I realised it was true.

He had a girlfriend.

But he had kissed me... More than once...

"Who was that?" Finn frowned.

"His friend," I said, trying to hide the slight tremble as my throat felt a little choked up.

Of course, Finn hadn't heard their conversation, he was only human.

"Very intimate for a friend. You're okay with that?" He looked at me.

No. I was not, but we were not together. In fact, he had made it blatantly clear so many times that we were never going to be, and yet I kept hoping.

"Yes. It's nothing," I said, faking a smile.

I was stumped. So tired.

What did he want from me? Every time I thought we were making progress, he seemed to upset that. Corey was so confusing.

My mate turned and his smile dropped as he spotted Finn before he grinned when our eyes met, causing me to tilt my head, even more puzzled.

Yes, what did this guy want?

"Jayden," he said with a smile, "... and you," he didn't even look at Finn. "What did you get?" he asked me.

"The notebook and... uh... I got this... for you."

He raised his eyebrows as I pulled something from a bag and handed it to him.

He chuckled. "A phone cover?"

"I thought your phone looked pretty dull and you kind of need a screen guard." I shrugged, that and he had given me his card to get my stuff so the least I could do was buy him something in return.

He smiled tilting the cover in his hands. I wondered if he liked the colour. It was light green.

"You remembered." I bit my lip as he grinned. "It's great. Thank you."

He took out his phone and put the cover on. It looked like he genuinely liked it.

"So, that girl: your friend?" Finn spoke.

I looked at him, as did Corey.

"Yeah, and that is your business why?" Corey asked.

"Corey," I frowned.

He sighed.

"Yes, my friend," Corey said.

"She's a pretty touchy 'friend'," Finn said, frowning at Corey.

"You're a pretty nosy stranger," Corey replied, glaring at Finn.

"That's a pretty cool movie." I pointed at a random board that stood beside the cinema entrance, hoping to break the rapidly building tension. "Let's check it out," I added, and before either of them could object, I was making my way through the crowd and into the cinema.

I didn't have to look up to know who it was when someone grabbed my arm. The tingling sensation on my skin despite the fabric, the quickening of my heart rate and my wolf's instant excitement made it clear.

"Stop wandering off," Corey muttered, his grip on my arm firm so I couldn't pull away from him but not so much that it hurt.

"I wasn't wandering. I was leading," I said.

"You were wandering."

My other arm was taken by Finn but there were no sensations and no reaction from my wolf.

"Oh, you two finally agree on something, only you're both wrong," I said as we made it to the counter.

They both sighed, which made me smile because that was something done in unison too. I asked for three tickets to some movie that looked, judging from the cover, like a horror. As I attempted to take Corey's card from my pocket, I froze when my eyes caught sight of the mirror behind the cashier.

I almost snapped my neck looking behind me, my heart skipping. My shoulders relaxed when I saw only a sea of people unknown to me.

I was being paranoid...

"Jay," Corey tapped my arm and I snapped out of it.

We began to walk away from the counter, Finn having paid. I retrieved the card and handed it to Corey.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"Nothing... I..." I mumbled. "Anyway –"

"Hey... You healed very fast." Finn leaned his face close to mine, making me instinctively lean back, which resulted in bumping my head into Corey's arm.

I gave an awkward chuckle looking up at him, but he didn't seem to notice as he was looking around.

"Some weird 'miracle' cream from the doctor," I said. "Plus, it wasn't that bad."

"Really? I could have sworn your lip was cut..." Finn's eyes directly on my lips as he leaned closer to examine them made my face heat slightly.

"You know how things look worse when we're in a panic," I shrugged.

I had made so many excuses about injuries before, it didn't even take me a second to think about the answers. I was a pretty good liar sometimes.

"Yeah, but it still looked so bad. Mmm... I need some of that cream," he said. I chuckled.

"I don't think the cream will work for you, Finn. Just a miracle," Corey said. I shot a glare at him, but he ignored it. "I'll get some popcorn."

"Hopefully you'll get a sense of humour and some decency along with it," Finn frowned.

I grabbed Corey's arm when he turned to push by me to get to Finn, who raised his brows as if he was up for the fight despite Corey being taller and more muscular than him.

'Calm down. You can't fight him; you'll kill him,' I linked to Corey.

"That would be the point," he muttered, letting me push him back so he was on my other side again.

"We're in a mall," I hissed. 'And I don't want him dead. I actually like him –' I linked before adding, '– as a friend,' quickly feeling my wolf growl inside me.

"Right. 'A friend'," Corey muttered, pushing my hand off his arm and walking away.

I frowned. Why did he care what Finn was to me? He had just kissed someone else! What did he want? Why the hell was he so confusing?

Despite the annoyance at his behaviour, I felt a little hurt by how he had pushed my hand away and took in a breath.

"I'll be in the bathroom. Just get me some sweets or something with the popcorn, please," I said, walking away from Finn because I felt like I needed a moment alone.

When I walked into the bathroom, it was empty. I walked over to the sink and began washing my hands, paying no attention to the door when it swung open and shut. I figured it was just another human, but my body went rigid when a familiar scent hit my nose.

"Hello, Son."

His voice was like a shower of ice thrown over me.

I hadn't imagined it. The reflection.

He was there. He was right behind me. Had he been following me all day?

I needed to get out fast.

I turned to leave and began running, but he grabbed my shoulder and slammed me against the wall. His hand swiftly moved to grip my throat as he leaned close to me. My hands grabbed at his wrist as he began tightening his grip.

The familiar scent of cigarettes from his breath filled my nose and, for some reason, it calmed me down slightly.

"Look at you, you've grown."

I began scratching at his wrist as the hand tightened too much for me to breath, causing my eyes to bulge. He grabbed one of my wrists, pinning it to the wall beside me and he leaned in closer.

"Hey, Jay Jay. Doesn't this position remind you of something?" He winked as he leaned back.

My body went cold at the thought, a numbness quickly spreading through my hands. No. He couldn't know. He was long gone by then.

"How's my wife? My mate. That you took from me." He glared at me.

"She – left you –" I choked out, but I should have shut up.

I cried out when his fist met my ribcage forcefully, causing a painful snap that emitted a loud crack and would have had me collapsing to my knees if he had not been holding me up.

"You made her! It's your fault you little fag!" he punched me again. "Which one of those faggots out there is your mate? I'm betting it's the scrawny one with the black hair. He looks just as useless as you are."

I began to see stars as his hand tightened further, my scratching having no effect on him.

"You got away last time. Not this time. I'm going to kill you, Jayden. And then I'm going back to my mate and I'm going to get her away from that pathetic pack," he said.

I lifted my knee and slammed it into his crotch. Low blow, but I didn't care. He was never going to so much as see my mother again. Not while I could prevent it.

We both seemed surprised by my strength as he fell to the floor, withering. I still wasn't used to the power boost caused by Izabella's blood.

"You –" he attempted to get up, but I slammed my fist into his face, crying out as I hurt my own knuckles.

I should have gone to training when Joe told me to, I would have known how to hit someone without hurting myself.

I didn't wait for him to get up this time, and ran from the bathroom, smashing into someone that was coming in. I apologised quickly, stumbling aside before I walked away from him as I straightened my shirt and tried to hide the throbbing ache in my torso.

It crossed my mind to tell Corey what had happened when I walked up to him and Finn, but I didn't. I was already enough of a burden to him. He had made it clear how much he hated how weak I was. I did not want to put him in a position where he would have to help me, or his friends would be angry again. More than that, I did not want to admit that I might have needed his help, or anyone's.

"Why do I smell smoke?" Corey frowned at me.

"People were smoking in there." I motioned to the bathroom.

He began to nod but paused, his eyes running over me.

"What's that... ache I feel?" He glanced towards my rib area.

Fuck.

I lifted my hand to the pain, barely placing it against my chest because I knew it would hurt more.

"I slipped on some soap. It's all over the floor in there," I said, trying to laugh it off.

"Are you okay?!" Finn asked.

I stepped back when he tried to reach for me, partially because I did not want him touching me where it hurt, and partially because the way he came at me had made Corey's face harden.

Corey raised his brows at me, and I realised he was waiting for an answer to Finn's question.

He wanted to know if I was okay, too?

"Y-yeah. It's just a bruise. I'll heal quickly," I said.

"Seriously, it's the second time. Watch where you step," Corey muttered.

Second? Oh. I had forgotten about slipping on juice the other day.

Finn glared at him before reaching out to place a bag of chocolates in my hand. I smiled.

"I love Whispers, thank you."

"Okay. Let's go," Corey sighed.

-----

"What a fucking idiot."

I chuckled at Corey's commentary and Finn shook his head as the guy on the screen followed the strange noises down into the dark basement.

"It would be really cool if he isn't even in the room," I said softly.

"Yeah, and he could just come in behind this guy and take him out," Corey agreed.

"He would deserve it for being so dumb," my reply was followed by a quiet chuckle from Finn.

The movie was quite predictable. There had been a party, almost everyone was dead. I watched as the shivering man walked into the middle of the room and suddenly a rope was thrown around his neck.

"Didn't see that coming," Corey muttered sarcastically before he began laughing and I joined in when the guy was pulled off his feet, giving a very funny scream while being hung by the murderer, who was kind of cute looking like Dave Franco.

The movie was supposed to be a horror, but it was quite funny because of how ridiculous the characters were. It wasn't something I would have gone out of my way to see, but I was glad. Corey and I seemed to share a similar reaction to movies, which was unexpected. It was great though; we had been making fun of it the entire time while Finn laughed at the comments.

"Ah, here we go... I bet it's a stabbing this time," Corey said as the camera began to follow one of the other characters.

"No, I think she'll be thrown into the hole they dug earlier," I said.

"We'll see,"

I looked at Corey when he put the bucket of popcorn on my lap. He was still looking at the screen, the little bit of light from the dark movie highlighting his bright eyes. He had a small anticipatory smile on his face as he watched to see which of us had the right prediction. I smiled turning back to the movie as I began to eat.

-----

"You are so weird!" Finn laughed as we walked him home.

"What? He should have left the house when he had the chance, instead goes to the one place he can expect to get killed. Who follows the sounds? Stupid," I frowned.

Finn chuckled and I glanced at Corey who was currently typing away on his phone. Where was my phone? I pulled it out of my pocket and turned it on, realising I had switched it off in the morning. There were messages and a couple of calls on the screen.

Joe, my Mom, Kaden, Sean. The usual.

I looked at Corey as he chuckled at his phone and felt my heart drop.

Samantha? The girl from the mall? Or one of the others? He seemed to have many.

"Thanks, Jay. I had so much fun," Finn's speaking drew me back to him. We had reached his house. "I'll miss you. We'll talk. Promise you'll visit?" He smiled.

"Yeah. I promise," I hugged him.

'Don't make promises you can't keep,' Corey's voice sounded in my mind.

I glared at him while pulling away from Finn.

"It was... interesting meeting you, Corey," Finn said.

"Likewise." Corey nodded. He inhaled through his nose, looking awkward for a moment as his eyes shifted to the house before moving back to Finn. "And... for what it's worth," he sighed. "I'm sorry about what I said to you... It was beyond rude. I'm glad we ran into you today. You're pretty cool,"

My eyes widened.

Finn stared at Corey without responding before he grinned. He obviously forgave people very easily. "Apology accepted. You're not so bad yourself. You're both just... very weird," he said.

Corey and I chuckled.

"See you around," Corey said and we left Finn to continue walking home.

We were quiet, but it did not feel awkward as we just walked while looking around or checking our phones until he spoke up.

"I don't feel like going to the house yet. It's not even dark," he said. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

My answer was an immediate yes. Of course, I wanted to go anywhere with my mate. I tried to hide the reaction and slowly turned my head to look at him, hoping it appeared nonchalant.

"Where?" I asked, before adding, "I'm underage and I don't have a fake ID." Just in case he was thinking about going to a club or a bar or someplace similar. He seemed to love those types of places.

Corey laughed.

"Nowhere bad," he said.

"Then where?" I questioned.

"How is it?"

I looked down, confused when he stared at my torso. Oh!

The pain actually had subsided; it was so strange. I finally knew how normal wolves felt. They could fracture a rib and have it healed within a few hours. I used to have to move carefully for days or even weeks at a time while the throbbing pain also persisted. It was worse because I couldn't visit the pack doctor at the time.

"Better, I think it's all healed. It's crazy."

He smiled.

"Great. I have an idea."

*****