Chapter Forty Two.

Chapter Forty Two.
Jhelani's POV:

We arrived at an unfamiliar place. My heart was beating damn fast as I looked around, trying to figure out why he brought me here in the first place.

I knew I could trust Damien and knew that he'd never try anything of that sort, but I couldn't stop myself from wondering why we were here.

He turned to look at me, his rare signature smile formed on his lips and I felt a thrill down my spine, all other thoughts leaving my head.

He stretched forth his hands and made a nudge sign with his head. “Are you coming or what?”

I nodded slowly and made my way down his motorcycle, getting off it. I went to meet him, where he stood on a cliff, staring at the water below.

“Is this the part where you push me and hide my body in a place no one could find?” I teased, a gentle smile on my lips.

He looked at me with a blank expression on his face and started making slow, predatory steps towards me. My heart began picking up again, racing fast in my chest as I took a few conscious steps backward.

“W—What are you trying to do?” I asked, trying to sound confident, but my voice betrayed me instead.

A smirk formed on his lips. “Haven't you figured it out yet?” He looked at me with a sinister smile.

I felt my blood drain out of my face.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Maybe I made a bad decision by coming out here tonight, especially after the series of events that took place earlier. I was low-key yet to accept the fact that my nightmares was exactly what my friends were. Werewolves. I hated them. They always hunted my dreams.

What if he planned to kill me? Maybe out of thirst or something. I've read in books about that. But Damien can't do that to me, right? He possibly can't want to kill me.

I tried running, but he caught up with me. He held me in place, making it hard for me to move. No matter how hard I jabbed, twisted my wrist, and all of that...it was hard for me to get out of his hold.

“Ssh!” He removed loose locks from my face and tucked them behind my ear gently which kind of felt off. “Just close your eyes, honey. That would make it less painful for you.”

In a shaking voice, I asked. "W-what do you want to do to me?" My lips were quivering, goosebumps of fear forming my skin and on my neck.

"Just do it." He said quietly.

"Please don't hurt me," I said, closing my eyes hesitantly and succumbing to my fate. Then suddenly he bursts into a chuckle and I started feeling dazed, wondering what brought about the laughter.

He let go of me and continued laughing. He laughed so hard that his eyes started brought out water. “Damn! You should've seen your face.”

Then it dawned on me that it was all just a joke. A prank. He's been messing with me this entire time and I was such a fool to believe that he actually meant it.

I stood there in complete disbelief, watching him laugh like a lunatic. My chest was still heaving from the fear that had nearly paralyzed me seconds ago. I blinked rapidly, trying to steady my breath, then glared at him so hard I thought I might burn a hole through his jacket.

“That wasn’t funny, Damon!” I snapped, smacking his arm hard enough to make him flinch. “You scared the hell out of me! Who even does that?”

He tried to stop laughing, but a small grin still tugged at the corner of his lips. “Oh, come on. You should’ve seen how serious your face looked. You actually thought I was going to push you off a cliff? You should know that I can't possibly hurt you.”

“I was scared because you looked like you were going to push me!” I argued, taking a step back with folded arms. “What was I supposed to think? You dragged me out here in the middle of the night, acting all mysterious and silent. What did you expect me to imagine, Damon?” I said, leaving out the part where I thought he was gonna sink his fangs into me and suck me dry or worse, bite my head off.

He exhaled, finally sobering up when he saw how upset I really was. The humor faded from his eyes as he stepped closer again, his tone gentler this time. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. I just wanted to lighten things up a bit… I didn’t realize it would freak you out that much.”

I frowned but said nothing, still hugging myself. “Hey,” he said softly, touching my shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? No more stupid jokes.”

I glanced at him, hesitating before sighing. “You really have the worst sense of humor, you know that?”

He smiled faintly. “Yeah, but you still have to tolerate me.”

“That’s questionable at this point,” I muttered under my breath, but there was nothing left in my tone. The frustration was slowly melting away, replaced by curiosity. I finally asked, “So… why did you actually bring me here?”

He took a deep breath and turned toward the water. “This place used to be my mother’s favorite spot,” he began quietly.

I was surprised. He never mentioned anything about his mother to me before.

I dragged my eyes from his face to the water below us.

“She said it reminded her that no matter how chaotic life got, there was always something steady—something constant. The waves never stop moving, but they always find their way back.”

His voice softened, and for the first time that night, I saw a flicker of vulnerability cross his face. “When things start getting messy, I come here to clear my head. Tonight was one of those nights.”

My anger faded completely at that. I found myself looking at him differently—like there was more to him than the indifferent and nonchalant Damon who liked to make me mad without so much as moving a finger. “I am sorry today was kind of tough for you," I said quietly, my gaze softening for a while before it hardened again, a pour forming on my lips. "But you could’ve just said that instead of scaring me half to death." I snapped, rolling my eyes.

He chuckled. “Yeah… guess I went about it the wrong way.”

For a while, neither of us spoke, and I felt an odd kind of peace settle between us. I stole a glance at him; his face looked calm under the moonlight, “Damon,” I murmured, “whatever’s been bothering you lately… you don’t have to deal with it alone, you know?”

He turned his head slightly, eyes meeting mine. “I know,” he said after a pause, “but I don’t want you caught in the middle of it either. Things are… dangerous right now.”

“I don’t care,” I replied before I could stop myself. “You don’t get to protect everyone by keeping them at a distance. That’s not how it works.”

For a moment, he just stared at me—like my words had hit him harder than I realized. Then, slowly, he smiled, his eyes softening. “You really don’t make things easy for me, Jhelani. It's never been easy, and I don't think it will if I start sharing stuff. And by the way, it's on me to deal with all of it as a leader. An Alpha. And...your mate. I have to protect you by all costs even if it means that I get hurt along the way.”

"It shouldn't be that way all the time, Damon. We've been apart for so long...”

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Still,” he murmured, “thank you.”

"For what?" I felt blank and confused. "I haven't done anything."

“Come on,” he said, pulling me along. “Let’s get you home before you catch a cold.”

When we finally stopped in front of my apartment, I climbed off the bike, still thinking about what he’d said on the cliff. Before I could thank him for the ride and the little bonding moment we shared, he gave a small nod, that unreadable look in his eyes again.

“Wanna come in?” I offered.

He stared at me with an amused look and slowly nodded in response. “I'd only stay for a while though and after that—It's straight to bed.”

I sighed, heading inside. The apartment felt unusually quiet. Just as I was about to change get into bed, my phone started ringing from the nightstand.

I frowned, picking it up. “Hello?”

“Jhelani! Oh my God, you’re not going to believe this,” the voice on the other end squealed. It was Sloane, a staff from the hospital. She was very nice to me at the hospital so we had exchanged contacts.

“Remember that nurse position you wanted? The one that was already filled and agreed on but they later dissaproved because you didn't come on time?”

I blinked, trying to keep up. “Yeah… what about it?”

“Well,” Sloane said breathlessly, “the person who took it just backed out tonight. Something about family emergencies and all that. I overheard the Medical Doctor wants to see you first thing tomorrow. If you still want the job, then it’s yours! I think they should probably have sent you an email by now."

For a second, I couldn’t even speak. My mouth fell open as the news sank in. “Wait—are you serious?”

“Dead serious! Congratulations, Jhelani! I can still remember how eager and in need you were for the job that's why I thought of telling you about it. So if you haven't checked your mail, do that now, girllll."

Immediately, I did that. Opening my mail inbox and I was speechless at what I saw. It was it. The job offer. They wanted me back again.

"What are you smiling at, Snowfire?"