Chapter 15 BREAKING POINT.
CLARA'S POV:
I didn’t even wait for everyone to start filing out of the classroom. The moment Professor Asher dismissed us, I stormed out, my heartbeat hammering in my chest.
I couldn’t stand the idea of waiting behind for the usual snickers, whispers, or those irritating sideways glances.
And I definitely couldn’t bear being anywhere near Jake - not after the stunt he just pulled.
What was he even driving at? Why would he say that?
I clenched my jaw, forcing my hands to stay at my sides instead of balling them into fists. Jake had always been reckless with his words, using them like weapons even when their meaning was hazy.
But this time, he knew. He had to. He was well aware of everything - and yet, he’d chosen to say it anyway.
Luck wasn’t on my side today. None of the peace I craved, none of the calm I desperately wanted, would be mine.
I kept my pace brisk, feet slapping against the hallway floor. And then I heard it - my name, sharp and deliberate, slicing through the din of the hallway.
“Clara!”
I didn’t bother answering. Didn’t turn around. My wolf snarled internally at the sound of his voice. I pushed harder on my legs, forcing myself to move faster.
“Clara! Hey, wait up!” he called again, louder this time, and I could hear his footsteps gaining on me.
My pulse spiked, my chest tightening. Panic mixed with that familiar surge of adrenaline.
And then a hand clamped around my wrist.
I spun on my heel, yanking my arm free, my fingers stinging from the sudden force.
“For the love of God! Leave me alone, Jake Williams!” I yelled, my voice sharp, unyielding. My chest heaved, eyes blazing, cheeks flushed with a mix of anger and adrenaline.
He raised his hands slightly, like he was trying to calm me down, but the smirk still lingered on his face - the same smirk that had driven me insane in class.
“You’re really in a mood today, huh?” he said, tone teasing but with a low edge that made my wolf bristle.
I glared at him, teeth clenched. “Mood? You’ve got a lot of nerve, that’s what you have. Why would you even say that back there?”
“Do you get some sick thrill out of making people-” I stopped, because the hall was emptying but not silent, and I didn’t want to draw more attention.
Jake frowned slightly, his lips tugging upward in that annoying, displeasing way.
“Whoa, easy there, Clara! Look… I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry, sort of… but also, it's kind of a joke, that's all. Nothing serious, really.”
I cut him off sharply, my hands tightening on my bag straps, my jaw rigid.
“Yeah, you played that out perfectly!” I snapped, my voice cracking slightly from frustration. “Because now I’m the newest topic of gossip on everyone’s lips! Do you even understand what you just did back there?”
“That’s why I don’t want you playing games with me! I want nothing to do with you! You should leave me the hell alone because you’re bothering me at this point! Do you even get what your words just made me look like in everyone’s eyes?”
Jake went quiet. He just stood there, staring at me without a word, like he was trying to read me, measure me. That silence felt heavier than any retort he could have thrown.
“I’ve made myself clear,” I continued, taking a deep, controlled breath, my chest rising and falling fast. “From the very onset, time and time again - I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“And if you think even for a second that your usual charm, the stuff that works on other girls, would work on me, then you’ve got the wrong idea.”
“The mere sight of you irritates me, Jake. You have no idea, and frankly, I don’t want you to.”
I took a step back, forcing some distance between us. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless and sharp, reacting to the tension radiating off him.
“Do you understand me?” I asked, voice firm, unyielding, my eyes locked on his. “I don’t want games; I don’t want whatever you think there is between us. Leave me alone. Just go.”
He didn’t say a word. He just kept watching me, his expression unreadable, silent, as if weighing his next move.
And I was done letting him push my buttons. Completely.
I didn’t even know what I was more pissed about. The words I’d just thrown at him felt like a dam breaking, a sudden release of months of bottled-up frustration and anger I hadn’t let myself feel.
It started with Dylan. The one who never truly loved me for who I was. The one who had betrayed me when I’d given him everything.
I’d never had the chance to scream, to let my lungs burn and my throat raw, to really get it out.
And now, as the tension coiled in my chest, I realized some of that anger had never left me.
Then there was Professor Asher. The man I shouldn’t be thinking about in the way I did, but how could I forget? How could I ever erase the memory of the man who had treated me with such care in one fleeting night?
How could I forget the way my heart had pulsed when he was near, how safe I had felt in his arms after feeling cursed, unloved, unworthy?
And yet, thinking about him was forbidden. Dangerous. Tainted by the taboo of our connection. It was a secret I had to carry alone, one that could ruin both our reputations if it ever came to light.
And now… Jake. Always Jake. Chasing, teasing, poking at whatever nerve he could find. Right when I decided I’d just go with the motions of life, be alone, let the day pass, he was there again, disrupting my fragile sense of calm.
I turned, determined to put as much distance between us as the hallway would allow. My dorm. That was all I wanted. To shut the door, to sleep, and to let tomorrow deal with itself.
But then… Jake’s next words made me freeze on the spot.
“I love you, Clara.”