"Jordan, are you okay?"

Dad's voice snapped me back to reality. Mom was mixing her muffin batter, Dad was cutting tomatoes and I was sitting at the kitchen table holding an unfinished sandwich.

His cutting slowed down as he looked at me. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

I wish I can tell you, Dad. I caught Jace kissing someone else. I found out about Adam being Sunny's mate. I think Parker Sebastian is trying to kill my mate.

Parker Sebastian.

 So much had happened to me in one day.

I knew I couldn't tell Dad about my suspicion of Parker and Theo, because I had no proof. I don't think he would have believed me. Heck, I didn't know if I would believe it had I not seen it with my own eyes.But what if Parker really did try to kill Jace? What if one day he would swing out his wand and Jace would puke out his lungs and heart and die? Parker Sebastian was infamous for his parentage; half-wizard and half-vampire. The two had never coincided until Parker came into the world.

Parker's wizardry abilities and vampirism made him lethal. His abilities put him above other immortals. Even a strong werewolf would find it difficult when faced with such an adversary. It would be especially daunting considering it had been decades since any immortal had been faced with a real war.

The possibility of Parker launching an attack on us reminded me of the significance of the full moon hunting and the Combat as our shape-shifting rituals—we needed to remember that it was important to preserve our strength, that there was a potential for danger despite the time or place. We tended to be desensitized to the jeopardy that our ancestors faced; these days not all werewolf kids knew that werewolves were extremely vulnerable to silver metals.

 "Jordan?" Dad said, his voice was pressed this time.

"Sorry. What?" I said. "Oh, I'm alright. I'm just—I'm just—"

"Is there anything I can do for you? Is it mate issues again?" he asked.  

I chuckled and found myself flustering. Things were awkward between my father and me since I found my mate. He had been trying his best to help me in solving my issues, though—he thought I refused to be with Jace because he was a guy.

 "No," I replied, "it's not about Jace."

"How is he now?" he asked.

"He's great, Dad." I looked down, feeling myself flush.  

"Well, you look . . . unsettled," my father said. "You should spend more time with him."

I chuckled. "Why? What makes you say that?"

"Well, when your mother and I found each other, we went on dates. It was beautiful, wasn't it, sweetheart?"

"Yeah . . ." Mom responded lazily, continuing on her mixing bowl.

"Well, trust me, it'll make you feel better," my father told me.

I pushed the last bits of a sandwich into my mouth. "You know what, Dad? That's a great idea. I'm going to go find him now."

"That's my boy."

Jace was nowhere in sight when I returned from Sunny's place. I wasn't sure I was up to facing him at the moment. I needed space without him crowding me. The thought of Theo being Jace's ex-boyfriend still had me in shock.

Dad smiled, and for a second I could feel the weigh in my chest loosen up. He really wanted me to be happy and I couldn't have been more thankful to have a father like him.

I got up from my chair and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He patted my head.  

"Just need to remind you," Dad said. "There's stamina practice today."

"Oh." I said, calculating the moon cycle in my head. "I almost forgot."

"Yes," Dad replied. "The full moon's tomorrow night. Make sure you play hard. Get yourself strong for tomorrow night—I don't want anything bad to happen to you again."

Stamina practice was a communal physical activity Dan made compulsory before we started hunting during full moon. We would be divided into groups and start a physical activity, like a game or group workout.

"Your dad's right," my mother interrupted. "I don't want you to black out again."

"Okay, Mom." During the last practice our pack had, I had snuck out of Jace's clique and watched my parents in their volleyball game. It had been fun until I fainted during the hunt. My dad had to carry me home and put me to bed.

The full moon hunting was one of the most importanttraditions for shape-shifters because it helped shifters to retain the knowledge of how to hunt for food in the wild. Even though it was easier to just go to the grocery store, the hunting reminded shifters of how our ancestors survived in the wild decades ago. Werewolves were the strongest when the moon was full, so the hunt also aided in strengthening our human body since the two were interconnected.

 "Bye," I said to my parents as I left the house.

My thoughts were still wandering as I roamed around the neighborhood streets. I didn't know where I was heading to.

Wait. Where am I going?

The Alpha's house loomed in front of me.

I wished I could turn my heels around, but Dan had already seen me, and it would be rude if I did so.

 "Jordan."

I couldn't hide the fact that it was very uncomfortable to be around Dan after everything that happened between Jace and me. He had forced me to come out from hiding in public, as well as interrogated me about my mating; it wasn't easy to push the awkwardness away. Guilt crept up inside of me as I thought of disliking him—he had been a good leader to me and the pack.

 "Yeah?" I said, slowing down to a stop.

"Come here and help me out," he said as he threw planks of woods into a small fire. The flame burst up and enlarged, dispersing orange sparks into the air.

Dan was crouching down by the fire, throwing the planks into the fire and watched as the flames destroyed the wood. When he stared right at me, I knew I had no choice but to do as he said.

"Bring those to me," he asked, pointing to some wooden planks to his left. Lifting up a plank, I saw that they were completely splintered. The wood snapped in two in my hands and fell out of my grip.

Dan picked up the fallen pieces and tossed them in the fire. "Termites," he muttered. "It's my office table. Pests ruined it."

I crouched down beside him. "You should get a new one."

"Yeah," he said, his eyes stayed still on the fire. "Isabelle's getting me a new one."

I inhaled and smelled a hot fruity scent. It was pretty similar to the scent of my mother's blueberry muffins.

What the hell?

I breathed in again; sensing a new fragrance. The fire started to give off smoke that smelled like roasted chicken. My tummy growled.

"The fire . . . it smells weird. It can't be—"

 "I think you can guess who helped me start it," Dan interrupted me.

There was only one person who could do this, a person who turned ugly insects into butterflies or reshape glass after deconstructing it.

"Colby," I chuckled.

"Yep," Dan said. "He's walking around the pack with Anthony's future stepson. They stopped by to say hi and Colby saw me taking out these broken planks. So, he decided to lend a hand and cast one of his spells."

I laughed—out of all things that he could've possibly done, Colby had chosen to cast a weird fire.

 "Keith's here?" I asked.

"Yes," Dan replied. "I invited him and his mother to the full moon hunt tomorrow night. They were solitaries for a while now—I guess it's time for them to learn new things about being in a pack. For starters, it's the practice."

I nodded, staring blankly into the burning flames—the smoke was giving off a scent of roses now. It was relieving to know that Keith was making progress in getting to know the pack.I liked the idea of Keith hanging out with Colby, because Sunny's cousin had always been out and proud with his sexuality maybe he could inspire Keith.

I knew, deep in the pit of my heart, that boys like Keith and me always wished to have Colby's confidence. I wanted that fearlessness that he had to love anyone freely despite their gender expression or preferences.

I guess if I wasn't Jace's mate, my perspective would be tinged with bias and discrimination. Being mated to a guy broadened my frame of mind and changed the way I perceived things. For a moment, I felt very grateful.

"Jordan," Dan cleared off his throat. "Can I talk to you about something?"

I gulped—get ready, Jordan. "Yeah . . . sure."

"Listen," he said as he turned to me.

His eyes wandered, taking a deep breath as if he was searching for the right words to start with. He looked at me, and then at the ground, sighing.

Finally he spoke. "You and the rest of the kids in this pack are my children. It is my duty to take care each and every one of you."

Dan turned from the fire to me, and I noticed his expression changing. His eyes were suddenly solemn. My stomach clenched with uneasiness.

"I really love you and I don't want you to get hurt," he said. "Even if you have grown up, I'm sure my concern towards you and the others will remain. I care about you just like my own son."

I gulped, trying to decipher what Dan was trying to say.

"What are you trying to tell me, Dan?"

"It's you and Jace," he finally said it. "I might be too harsh towards you. But—I was just—I was just scared and worried."

I started to feel guilt creeping inside of my chest, and I shouldn't be guilty.

"I was worried for Jace," he told me. "And you. I've never witnessed any mate bond as strong as you have with Jace. I was terrified, Jordan—"

"I get it," I interrupted, trying to stay calm. "It was my fault, Dan. I understand."

"I know how you felt, and I didn't think I had the control to be considerate and empathetic during the day I interrogated you. I . . . I had even threatened you. And I'm truly sorry."

He reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I scooted closer to him. We needed a little personal space between us to open up to each other now. Honesty would make things better between us.

 "Jace told me everything, you know?" Dan whispered, his tone of voice changing, sounding lighter this time.

"He told you what?" I couldn't help laughing. I could never imagine Jace opening up to the Alpha and hurting his own ego.

"Everything," he said. "How he teased you and jeered at you when you were younger. I thought he deserved all the things that he'd been through, but . . ."

Dan's breathing got heavier. I tensed up and Dan flinched at my discomfort.

"From what I observed, when you wanted Jace to hurt, he would hurt so badly, you know?" Dan continued. "The mate bond you share with Jace is so strong, Jordan."

Dan went silent again. I stared into the fire, my heart kept on speeding up.

I felt Dan turning to me when he spoke out of the blue.

 "Jace needs you, Jordan. Stay with him, no matter what happens."

I wasn't sure why Dan was saying all of this to me, but I knew he was keeping something from me. Panic was starting to rise in me, my heart accelerated.

"Dan, what's wrong?" I asked.

He breathed in and looked right at me.

"Jace told me that he had always sensed something in you that made him want your attention. Everything made sense to him the day you walked up to him and confessed to us that you were his mate. He thought the mate bond was the reason why he acted that way towards you—it was so strong it confused him." Dan took a deep breath before speaking again. "I know this might sound ridiculous, but it's possible too. He has always wanted you, Jordan."

I didn't see the point in Dan's words—his explanation didn't assuage the anxiety I felt. I was curious about the truth, but I guess I was afraid to find out too.

 "He's just confused . . ." Dan added. "Everything made sense to him when the mate bond developed between the two of you."

I knew Jace had never been an asshole to any other kid like he used to be to me. He was a loving brother to Jeff; he never harassed the freshmen kids like some jocks would do. As far as I knew, Jace was completely against chauvinism. But I would be the one he had wanted to see crying or begging or react something . . . anything to him.

Whatever Dan was telling me now started to make sense. Jace wanted my attention and he'd been confused as to why he wanted it. Whatever he had felt resulted to his actions toward me, a habit that came out of confusion and curiosity.

"It's okay," I told Dan. "We're fine now."

"Maybe I was just too paranoid but . . . I was just afraid the two of you would end up like . . . end up like my predecessor."

My eyes widened to Dan's response. "What do you mean? What happened to Raoul?"

Dan's expression changed again. This time, it was his eyes that opened wide. "You don't know?"

"What's up, Alpha?" I flinched as I heard the voice behind me.

Standing behind us, was Jace. We stood up; Dan hesitantly rubbed off his pants and looked around, avoiding eye contact with Jace.

"Hey, I found you," Jace murmured as he leaned closer to me. "I was trying to find you at your house. Then I smelled roasted beef so I came here and thought you were having barbecue with Dan."

"Ah, that was Colby's doing," Dan said. "He casted a fire spell."

"Wow, okay," Jace said. "Seems like you two were having a great time."

Jace turned to Dan. "Everyone's waiting for you at the park. If you don't mind, I'm taking my mate away now."

Dan laughed and I elbowed Jace on his waist.

"Of course," Dan said. "Let's start the practice now. I'm going to wake Callan up. That friend of yours will sleep like the dead if no one throw him out of bed."

Dan shot a look at me. He smiled as he turned on his heels entered his house. Jace waved at him; the happy look on his face signaling to me that he hadn't overheard Dan and me.

"Let's go," Jace murmured, pulling me to his side.

We walked by the streets, holding hands, swinging them rhythmically in the air.

Awkward silence hung between us.

"Hello," I started.

He turned to me, throwing me a look.

"Is that the best you can do?" he grunted.

"What?"

"Just a greeting? C'mon, Jordan. I'm your boyfriend. Treat me like your boyfriend," he groaned.

"How am I supposed to know? I never had any boyfriend before—maybe you should teach me how to be a good boyfriend."

"I won't teach you that," he said, sliding his arm around me as we were shoulder to shoulder. "I will teach you how to be my permanent lover. How about that?"

"That would be awesome," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Then I can write a guide book about it and sell it to the girls."

He chuckled into my ears. "Step One. Be Jace Andrews's mate."

"Wow, the first step's easy enough."

"Step Two," he went on and ignored me, "Be a grunting, clumsy crybaby . . . like this kid named Jordan Patterson."

He laughed and I took the chance to stomp on his foot

"Ow!" he yowled. "That's it—you're the only one who can fill out the requirements. That's you grunting right there."

"Shut up," I grunted.

Then he came to an abrupt stop to pull me to his chest.

"Step Three: Be Jordan Patterson who will never go easy on Jace Andrews. Voila, those are the three easy steps to being Jace Andrews's permanent boyfriend."

"Was I that hard on you?" I murmured in his chest.

"Everything was worth it. You were worth it and it just made me want you more for it every day," he said.

"Step Four," I added. "Be patient enough to put up with Jace Andrews's clichéd pick-up lines."

He laughed, and again his smile made my world spin.

Jace took my hand and we went running into the woods. We roamed deeper into the wooded area, laughing as we moved. Jace skidded to a stop and pinned me against one of the trees near us.

Jace pushed his body against mine, pressing me with his weight against the tree trunk. His hands reached out to cup my face before he leaned in and pressed his lips over mine. I felt like I was losing control over my body. I kissed him back, wanting to show him it wasn't enough. Suddenly I was literally out of breath.

Jace's warm breath met my neck. He kissed it and I shivered. That's when he teased the soft spot with his teeth.

"Jordan," he whispered.

I turned and pushed Jace on to the bark, my lips squeezing the soft skin on his neck, devouring like I'd always wanted to.

 "Jordan," he whispered.

I turned and pushed Jace on to the bark, my lips squeezing the soft skin on his neck, devouring like I'd always wanted to.

His hand found mine and I felt him trembling in my grip.

"Jordan," he said, sweat dripping down his temples.

"Whoa," I said, watching as he pulled away.

"What, is this a sign of surrender or something?"

His heavy breathing answered me.

I laughed. "Oh, you're weakening, aren't you?" I kissed the top of his nose. "Where's your cockiness, Andrews? Don't have the balls to go this far?"

Jace laughed in disbelief. I searched for one of his hand and found it clammy. I pressed my hand to his chest and felt his heart beat faster underneath my fingertips.

Knowing I had the ability to drive Jace Andrews this crazy was magical.

"Wow, where's this out-of-the-blue confidence come from?" Jace asked.

"Who cares?" I said, putting my lips back on his once again, giving his lower lip a gentle bite. "You're trembling out of fear. It seems like I can beat the shit out of this triple-time Combat victor, with him shaking and all."

Whoa, you crossed the line, Jordan.

Jace baffled so loud, his body shaking under my hands. Even though he was my mate, he was still Jace Andrews, and nobody dared giving him such challenges.

"Ooh, Jordan," he murmured, his voice sounded devilish, "we may not have the Combat, but we do have the practice for the full moon hunting."

I gulped to the spoken words—I kept on forgetting that the boys would play the game again on every stamina practice. I hated the game so much I would rather do anything else, like watching the grown-ups did their practice, than join them.

He pinned me back against the broad bark, leaning in to touch his forehead to mine. A naughty grin spread across his face, and a mix of terror and excitement bloomed inside of me.

"I'll get a round for the two of us in the game," he threatened. "You better try and tremble me once again if that can trip me down, or—"

"Or what?"

"Or you have to do everything I want," he whispered in my ear. "Huh, what do you say? Got balls for that?"

"Everything you want, huh?" I shot back. "What's so bad about that? I am not afraid of you."

He baffled again. Maybe Jace didn't expect these things would come from me.

"I have many options, kid."

"Really?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Yes," he said. "Anything . . ." he slid his hand under my T-shirt, "your emotions . . . or your virginity . . ."

"You won't get that far," I said, reassuring him just as much I was convincing myself. "It's not that hard to take down a boy who shivers at my touch."

Jace let out a guffaw. I watched as he sped off into the woods, running through a shortcut to the park. I could still hear him laughing in the forest.

My mate loved being dared to do something—I could see him excited with adrenaline, feeling an intense eagerness to prove that he could win over the challenges he was facing. He adored games and strategies and that was a part of his nature that I was ready to accept. He'd lived his life surrounded with games for a long time that he had even seen our relationship as one. I didn't really mind, though.

I knew I would be pushed over to the ground and fail the challenge when the practice came, but I dared Jace anyway, because it made him happy.

After all the stuff that happened, I knew I had the right to give him a hard time. But giving someone hardship for the sake of vengeance would not mend the wound in my heart, instead it would only leave me more pain and rage.I also had the choice to make him feel better, to rid of the guilt that had bloomed in his eyes a few moments ago when he shed tears in front of me.

So I chose his happiness. Because his bliss was mine, and I knew it right when all his pasts with Theo wavered off his face, replaced by smiles that I wanted to see and laughter that I wanted to hear forever.

*  *  *  *

"Before we start, I want to welcome our newcomers, Claire and Keith, to their first stamina practice," announced the Alpha.

The crowd applauded, some of the boys behind me cheered and hollered, pointing to Keith. Keith grunted by my side, refusing to acknowledge the attention he received. Some of the boys slapped his back and he stumbled forward and almost fell; I took his hand before he could kiss the ground.

"Have you eaten?" I asked, and Keith knew I was being sarcastic. "It looks like I can rip you in two."

I laughed, and he ignored me. "When will we start this thing?"

"Soon," I answered. Dan proceeded on with his speech, giving us warning and concerns to the younger ones, reminding us again to follow the rules.

"We want the full package of fun for tomorrow night," Dan said, followed by the roar and shouts from the guys behind me.

"Things will be smooth if all of us participate in the practice. Do not skip and wander around—get physical." Dan shot me a look on purpose. I looked at my shoes, pretending I didn't notice.

"Without further ado, I commence the practice now."

"C'mon, brothers!" Jace shouted at us, hopping on the ground with excitement before he led our clique to the usual practice site. Nathan, Jeff and my brother escorted Jace—well, he's still the Alpha of this ridiculous group, isn't he?

"Where are we heading to?" Keith asked, running up beside me.

"Somewhere up on the hill," I replied. "Don't worry, Keith. This is nothing—well, this thing is shitty—I tried to skip it during the last practice—but you have to be physical to hunt tomorrow."

He didn't respond, only glancing up again and again from his shoes to the boys in front of us. Keith sighed, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him to me, our pace slowed down to a stop.

"Are you alright?"

"I—don't know," he said. "It's just . . . my mother's wedding is three weeks from now. I have to get used to living here."

"Living in a pack is fun. You can count on me."

"I know." Keith's voice started to waver off, almost inaudible. "It's just . . . there's the stepbrother . . ."

He didn't speak, and that's when he urged us to move again.

"What? What's wrong with Nate?" I pressed on.

He looked down at his shoes. I felt him tensed up when I let go of him and tried to match my pace with his.

"How is the game played?" he asked, obviously switching the subject.

I sighed. "Well, it's like the Combat wrestling, only less violent. If you want to win, just protect yourself from falling to the ground. It only involves attacking the opponent and defending yourself. If you win, you will have to choose another opponent and try to bring him down."

"What if you lose?"

"Well, the boys will make you . . . do things," I said, gulping to the thought of what I had dealt with Jace. "Depends on what the winner wants. They will make you do stupid things, but you can refuse by trying to bring him down again."

We were finally on top of the hill. The place for the game was a clearing in the middle of the forest. There was a circular cemented platform in the middle—none of us knew where it came from until now.

Jace, Nathan and Stanley started to enter the circle, and the rest of us followed.

Two people ran out of the trees, panting hard as they walked into the circle.

"May I join?" Colby asked, a big smile spread out across his face.

"Sure, but no wands allowed," Jace said.

Colby sighed. "No wands, no fun.

I laughed and looked at Sunny. She stood beside Colby but her eyes seemed apprehensive as she gazed around the surrounding.

"Want to join us, Sunny?" Jace asked.

"Um, no, it's fine," Sunny said. "I just . . . um, want to run around the hills."

"Oh, c'mon, Sunny," I pled her. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes didn't meet mine again. She looked over to my back like there was someone behind me. I turned and spotted no one. 

"Maybe next time," she said. "Catch up with you guys later!"

Then she set off running down the hill and disappeared into the meadow.

"It's good to be normal wolves again," Colby said in a cheerful tone, but no one responded back. Everyone dreams of being a wizard like you, Colby, why can't you see that?

We emptied the center of the circle, standing on the circumference. I noticed Keith exchanging glances with Nathan.

Then I caught Jace looking at me, a little grin on his face. I winked at him, pouting my lips and blowing him a kiss.

"Who's going to start?" Callan asked, eager to watch the game begin.

"Me," Jeff said. "You," he pointed to my brother.

Stanley and Jeff walked to the center of the circle. Jeff was calm, looking all poker-faced. Counting seconds in my head, I almost screamed in shock when Jeff jumped forward and put Stan in a headlock.

Stan dodged the attack, stabilizing himself, controlling his feet and punched Jace's little brother in his face. Jeff blocked and attempted to trip Jeff with his foot. Stan was using his arms a lot, jerking and tugging Jeff's body to avoid falling himself.

Both of them had great defense strategies, but Jeff didn't seem smart enough when he had his back turned to Stan. Seizing this golden opportunity, Stan pressed his knee on Jeff's back and pushed him to the ground. Jeff's face found the wet grass, and I heard him let out a groan. Now he had to turn over and avoid lying on his back to beat Stanley out of this round.

"Shit," Jeff swore into the mud, but the weight of Stan's knee pushed him down. Slowly, Stanley crouched down and grabbed Jeff's shoulder, lifting him and turned him. As he pushed him to the ground, the round ended. Jeff lost.

"Dammit," Jeff grunted, walking toward me as he rubbed the mud stains off his face.

"Now where's my future brother in law?" Stanley said, staring right at Jace.

The boys let out an energized laughter. What the fuck are you thinking, I thought. You won't beat Jace's ass. I knew Stanley was good at this, but he wasn't good enough to beat Jace—nobody was good enough to pin Jace to the ground.  

"Oh, my brother and his stupidity again," I whispered to Keith. "Good luck with the triple-time Combat victor."

Keith sniggered. "If that's the case, then Jace will never get chosen in any round."

"Yep, it had been like that," I responded. "During the previous practice, no one chose him so he had to plead them to do so."

I turned my attention back to the round. Jace was laughing as he approached the center of the circle. My brother grinned, trying to put up a confident façade. Not for long, I thought again.  

"Wise choice, brother-in-law," Jace said. "What makes you think you can do this?"

"Your boyfriend and your brother are going to kick each other's asses," Keith interrupted. "How cute."

I turned to look at him. "Shut up."

"Beating you won't be so bad," Stan said to Jace. "You couldn't even beat Theo's ass."

Ooh. We were all muttering our astonishment to Stanley's confidence. My brother didn't even see that he was putting his foot in his mouth. The best part of the day was coming.

Jace jumped forward, eagerness filled his eyes as he attacked my brother. But Stan didn't fall—he was a hundred percent focused on retaining his guard.He lowered his knee to avoid tripping and tried to slide out of Jace's hold. Still, Jace, who'd won the Combat thrice in a row, was quick, so he didn't need to exert much force or inflict pain on his opponent. I remembered how he attacked me in the woods when I discovered he was my mate; he was definitely lethal.

 Stanley panted as he tried to push Jace away, trying to draw distance between their chests.

In the blink of an eye, Jace's arm wrapped around Stanley's waist and pushed him to the ground. Stanley's back was set neatly on the grass. Jace remained on his feet, and I knew that look of satisfaction that he had.  

"Damn it," my brother grumbled. We laughed but applauded him anyway for being so brave of trying to beat Jace's ass down.

 "Now . . . my baby."

"Ooh," the boys muttered in amazement.

Aside from the shiver running down my spine and the rising excitement, I was suddenly furious that Stanley chose Jace as his opponent in the first place. He could've stalled this round, but instead he accelerated it. The chance of me winning against Jace was obviously thin, but it wouldn't hurt to try. I could make him lose—Jace would be childishly careless. He would underestimate me in this round, and maybe I could do a simple trick to defeat him.

I hesitated, but Keith pushed me from the back.

"Good luck," he said, shooting me a sarcastic smirk.

When I was at the center, in front of my mate, everything settled in—why are you so stupid, Jordan? Why did you accept this fucking deal? Don't you know he's still going to win, no matter what?

"Whoa, this is fun," Jace said.

I ignored him, trying to find the right angle to start attack. I could try to push him down fast.

I attempted, but Jace was so cautious, his back crouched low, his arms opened like he wanted to pick up a toddler have it burrow into his shoulder.

I breathed in and jumped forward.

Holy fuck.

I regretted it when he caught me in his arms so fleetingly. His arms were tight around my waist. I tried to force my feet to remain on the ground while trying to ignore the laughter from the boys behind us. I flustered—please, not here, not in front of them, I thought, when I could feel Jace's breath on my neck, and it was getting closer. This was a trick, I knew he was about to kiss me.

I wouldn't let him do that.

First of all, I needed to breathe. Next, I needed to figure out a way on how to let myself out of his arms.

 "You know what?" he whispered, his mouth was so close to my ear that I thought he was going to bite me. "You have to be careful, because I'll strip you down slowly—"

His hand reached down my sweatpants, and yanked it down, gently, for distraction.

I felt as Jace's grip loosened and I turned around, but not long before he captured me again from behind. That was the exact moment where I knew everything was over. 

I yelled as I tried to push him off backwards, but the opposite happened.

He pulled himself away and pushed my chest with his deliberate strength, sending me flying to my back.

My back lay flatly on the grass with Jace on top of me.

The boys around me screamed and laughed.

But the laughter was cut off with a shrilling, high-pitch scream that came from inside the woods.

It sounded like Sunny.