Chapter Fifty.

Chapter Fifty.
Jhelani's POV:

I woke up to the sound of someone in my room—the room that Damon made me stay in after the break in. He stated that I needed to be under their supervision so my safety was guaranteed. And I've had enough of his arguments, so I just gave in.

The sounds got louder, disrupting my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes and was met with the sight of someone working on my locks. At first, I didn't think much of it until I really processed it and got scared that it might be an intruder.

I gasped and jolted up almost immediately. The intruder turned back, his hands raised up. “Relax! Relax! It's just me.”

I took a sigh of relief upon realizing that it was just Damon when he took out a torch light and shone it at his face and then back at me.

Shaking my head, I threw the blanket off over me, and got off the bed. “What the hell are you doing here? It's—”

I checked the alarm clock that stood on my drawer table beside my bed. “....Fucking 5 in the morning and you're in here working on my locks like you're some kind of intruder.”

He chuckled softly, tucking his hands into his pants. He was dressed in a grey sweatpants and black tank top. All his muscles from his chest to his biceps were bulging, veins drawn all over his arms like tattoos, slim waist, then his little monster between his legs didn't even bother to hide himself from my preying eyes.

I gulped, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. The air felt so thick and my chest tightened with naughty thoughts and imaginations whirling in my head. I averted my gaze from him, my eyes fixed to the ground.

“Are you blushing now, Snowfire?” He asked, and my cheeks got more heated. I immediately put my hair around my cheeks, trying to cover it up.

“I—I’m not,” I denied, “why would you think I was? You are just so full of yourself, Damon, to think that every girl would fall at your feet.”

He threw his head backwards, laughing his heart out that I wanted to punch his well structured face and sharp edged jawline. “You don't have to lie, Snowfire. I got you.”

I scoffed, not looking away to anywhere else this time, but him. My arms crossed defiantly over my chest. “Don't try to turn this around. Why are you here so early?” I inquired, returning back to the topic we were discussing earlier since my heating cheeks seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“I was changing your locks...again,” he glanced at the door for a bit, letting out a sharp sigh while playing with a screwdriver in his hand. “I want to upgrade the security so I need to change the locks on your door.”

Looking at that screwdriver he was casually flipping in his hand, it reminded me of that terrifying scene that happened some weeks ago when Damon saved me from Kayden.

I was sure that Kayden was most probably dead by now but I couldn't stop myself from wondering what he did with his corpse. Did he burry it? Drink his blood and feast on his flesh as the–you know, the wolf that he was or did he give his corpse out to the wild for dinner?

Stop it Jhelani. Your thoughts are getting too dark. I scolded myself. He buried it. He did nothing else with it. I said to myself then shook my head, batting my lashes up to his face as I took my mind off that bloody scene.

I nodded. “Well, since you're done with it. Can you get along? I need to get ready for work.”

He rubbed his neck, scrunching his face. “About that—I'm letting you go to work, but I need to know your schedule and I'd be the one ride you to work and back from today on.”

I blinked at him, trying to make sense of what he just said. “Excuse me? You’ll be taking me to work now? Since when did that become your job?”

Damon leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, looking completely serious. “Since someone broke into this place and you’re acting like it’s not a big deal. Humor me, Jhelani. Let me make sure you’re safe.”

I frowned. “I can handle myself, Damon. You can’t keep controlling every part of my life because you think danger is behind every wall.”

He sighed quietly. “This isn’t about control. It’s about not wanting to lose you.” he said as his blue eyes softened on me.

Something in his voice made my chest tighten, but I looked away before he could see it. “Whatever,” I muttered, brushing past him. I went back into my room, prepared myself for work and then made my way to the kitchen afterwards.

By the time I walked in, Jace was already setting the table, humming softly. He glanced up with his usual playful grin. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Thought you’d never wake up.”

“Not my fault someone decided to fix locks before the sun even came up,” I grumbled, glaring at Damon over my shoulder as he walked in.

Jace chuckled and slid a plate toward me. “You really should thank him. He’s just trying to keep our pretty Fox Eyes safe.” he smirked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his knuckles resting under his chin as he stared at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Pretty Fox Eyes? You sound like a grandpa trying to flirt.”

He placed a hand dramatically over his heart. “Ouch. I'm a grandpa now? You wound me. But that hurts so good.” he wiggled his brows funnily.

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound escaping before I could stop it. Jace always had that effect — easy, effortless, like he could melt any tension just by being himself. But the warmth faded when I caught Damon’s expression from my peripheral. He was watching us from across the table, jaw clenched, eyes unreadable.

The atmosphere shifted. He didn’t say a word, but the silence spoke loud enough. Even Jace noticed because his smile faltered slightly.

I finished breakfast quickly and grabbed my bag. “I’m heading out.”

“I’ll take you,” Damon said flatly, grabbing his keys before I could even argue.

“I can take my bike instead—”

He shot me a look that ended the discussion right there. I exhaled sharply. “Fine. Whatever.”

The ride to the hospital was painfully quiet. Damon’s hands were tight on the handlebars, his body stiff and tense in a way that I could feel his every emotions because I had my hands wrapped around his waist tightly. Not like I mean to be this close to him, but with the kind of speed he was riding at, I would most likely fall off if I don't hold on to him.

After a many long minutes of silence, I finally asked, “Are you always this quiet, or are you just practicing for a staring contest with the road?”

He didn’t even smile. Instead, he said, “I don’t like how close you and Jace are.”

That caught me off guard. I swallowed down a bile. Hard. “What?”

His knuckles turned white around the handlebars. “You heard me.”

I laughed, but it came out nervous. “You’re kidding, right? You’re jealous? Damon, he’s your brother.”

“Not literally. It's just an oath bond that bounded us together. Either way, this isn’t about trust,” he said, voice low. “It’s about what’s mine.”

That one sentence made my heart stop for a second. I stared at him, trying to decide if I was supposed to be flattered or furious. “What’s yours? I’m not something you own, Damon. I'm not an object.”

He glanced at me, eyes dark and stormy. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” I asked. “Because it sure as hell sounded like you’re trying to claim me like some prize or trophy of some sort. Maybe a doll.”

He didn’t respond. When the hospital finally came into view, I prepared to hop off the bike before it could pull to a halt there, taking off the helmet he had put over my head for protection.

“I can’t do this right now,” I muttered, getting off. I started walking off, my grip on the straps of my tote bag tighter than I intended.

He didn’t call after me. Didn’t move. Just sat there on his bike, watching me walk away while his hands gripped the handlebars like he was trying to keep himself from losing control.

By the time my shift ended, I’d almost convinced myself I was over it — over the shit that happened that morning. But when I got outside and saw him leaning against his car, waiting, all that resolve faded.

“Seriously?” I said, crossing my arms. “Are you stalking me now?”

He straightened up slowly. “I wanted to make sure you get home safe.”

“Damon, this has to stop,” I said tiredly. “You can’t keep following me around like I’m going to break or continue to keep tabs on when my shift would be over. I am not a kid.”

He didn’t reply right away. He just looked at me, his expression unreadable. Then he said softly, “You don’t get it. I can’t turn it off. This feeling... it’s like something inside me goes insane when you’re not near me.”

I swallowed hard, caught off guard by the honesty in his voice. “You’re crossing a line, Damon.”

“Maybe,” he said quietly, taking a step closer. The space between us grew smaller, the air thicker. “But I don’t know how else to keep you safe.”

I opened my mouth to say something — anything — but nothing came out. The tension was suffocating, and I hated how my heart wouldn’t slow down.

“Get on,” he finally said, turning away and then slung his leg over his bike, bring it to live.

But before I could take another step away, his hand wrapped gently around my wrist.

His voice was low, rough, almost broken. “You have no idea what you do to me, Jhelani. It's crazy how much I care about you in every sense and how hard it's becoming not to show it, but I can't hide anymore. You mean a lot to me and I don't want a bastard from nowhere to hurt you.”