Chapter Forty Four

Chapter Forty Four
Jace's POV:

We pulled over in front of an ice cream shop and I could see her eyes widening, almost like they were going to pop out of their sockets.

“My favourite ice cream shop?” She turned to look at me, grinning from ear to ear. “How did you even know? I don't think we've ever been here together before.”

I shrugged. “I have my ways.”

She was about to get off the bike but I stopped her before she was able to. “Why would you bother yourself when I'm here?”

She smiled and sat back, but I could see the confusion in her eyes. She must be wondering what I was up to. I strode to her side, held her by the waist and got her down. “My lady.”

She laughed, and the smile didn't leave her lips for a second. “Wow! Who would've thought that there'd be a day I'd see you act like a gentle man.” she said shaking her head.

I clutched tightly to my heart, acting like I had some kind of heart attack. “You've underestimated me, darling. But I'm going to prove you wrong today.” I knew what I did was unnecessary, but it gladens me to see her smile this much around me.

She giggled lightly. We entered the shop together and we were immediately greeted by the jovial cashier. “It's really nice to see you again, Jhelani. I can see that you came with a friend this time," he winked.

Jhelani's cheeks turned bright red almost immediately. She tried shielding it with her hair, but I had already seen it. I knew from what she said that she comes here quite a lot, but I still couldn't stop myself from wondering why he made her blush so hard. Yeah, I was jealous.

“Yes, Mr Rhodes,” She replied, clutching tightly to my arm. “He's the one who's treating me today.”

Mr Rhodes smiled. “What can I get you two?”

Okay, maybe I was overthinking then.

She didn't look at the menu. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to say it. “I'd have my usual—Chocolate chip cookie. I want it in a cup, not a cone.”

He chuckled softly. “And what would you like?” He turned to look at me.

“Vanilla ice cream.”

She scrunched her nose, looking at me with a displeased face. “What the hell? Vanilla is so plain and boring. You're not having that.”

Before I could protest. She ordered another flavour for me. “Don't worry. You're going to love this and forget that plain old vanilla flavour. Trust me on this one.”

I didn't bother arguing. We stood there, watching the man arrange our orders. He finished it in a few seconds and handed it to us. “Enjoy!”

“Will do,” she giggled.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city like two hopeless romantics who had forgotten what responsibility even meant. We talked, laughed, argued over the dumbest things, and somehow, every time she smiled, I felt something in me loosen like a weight I didn’t realize I’d been carrying was starting to fade.

She made me try every flavor she liked, even when I told her I hated mixing flavors. "Live a little, Jace,” she teased, poking a spoonful of strawberry mint into my mouth before I could move away. I rolled my eyes but didn’t stop her.

“You’re impossible,” I said, shaking my head.

“And you secretly love it,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at me before skipping ahead toward the next shop window.

We ended up watching the sunset together near the old bridge, the one that overlooked the entire town. She leaned on the railing. “You know,” she said softly, “days like this make me forget that the world is such a mess.”

I turned to look at her. The way her lashes fluttered when she looked out at the sky made something stir inside me. "Then I guess we’ll just have to make more days like this,” I said quietly.

She smiled. “You mean that?”

“Yeah,” I replied, almost in a whisper. “I do.”

We stayed there longer than we should have, talking about things that didn’t matter — childhood memories, embarrassing moments, random dreams. I didn’t want it to end. When she finally said she had to go, a strange ache formed in my chest.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked, her voice soft, almost uncertain.

I nodded. “Of course.” I said. "But I need to head somewhere now Foxie." I planned on going to the pack house.

She laughed lightly before getting into a cab, waving at me as it drove off. I stood there for a while, watching the car disappear into the traffic until I couldn’t see it anymore. Then I sighed and headed home.

By the time I got back to the pack house, it was quiet. The kind of silence that made you feel like something was lurking underneath it. I was halfway to my room when I heard voices coming from Damon’s study.

At first, I wanted to ignore it. Damon didn’t like people hovering around his business, and I wasn’t exactly in the mood for another lecture about boundaries. But something about the tone of his voice made me pause.

“—we can’t afford any mistakes this time,” I heard Damon say. His voice was low, serious. “If she slips through our fingers again, the council will question our loyalty.”

I frowned, leaning closer to the door, careful not to make any noise.

Another voice responded, one I didn’t recognize. “The cursed girl won’t get far. We’ve already narrowed down the region. She’s hiding under our noses.”

My heart started to race. Cursed girl?

Damon’s voice came again, colder this time. “I want her found. I don’t care what it takes. She’s the key to everything.”

For a moment, I thought I misheard him. Damon? The same Damon who claimed he that he loves and wanted to protect her?

I pressed my hand against the wall, trying to steady my breathing. The voices inside grew quieter, almost like they sensed someone nearby.

“She’s too powerful and dangerous to our kind,” the other man said. “Even the Alpha Council fears what she can do. Are you sure you want to keep this up?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Damon replied. “If I don’t deliver her, someone else will. And if they find out what I’ve been hiding—”

He stopped suddenly. What he’s been hiding?

I didn’t wait to hear more. Damon, working with them? It didn’t make sense. He’d always acted like he wanted to protect Jhelani — like he cared about her. But now…

Was it all an act?

I barged in and didn't miss the horrified look on his face and an irritated one on…Alpha Marcus?

As expected.