SHE'S THE LUNA I WANT

AMARA.

I had never changed clothes as fast as I did today. I knew how much Jace hated waiting, as Catherine told me about the many times he left her when they needed to be somewhere because she was taking time to fix herself.

And as much as I wanted to look extra beautiful for our “first date’ I was left with no choice but just to apply a sheer lip gloss and put my hair down after slipping into regular jeans and a midriff top. As much as I wanted to show some skin today, I didn't want to push my luck too far. It was enough that he was taking me out to eat somewhere.

And that he picked up from school.

And that he allowed me to call him my boyfriend — even if this was all an act.

I rushed out of my room and bumped into Amber, who was about to head to the room she shared with Cassidy.

"Hey! Why are you in a hurry?" She blocked my way, so I had no choice but to stop.

"Jace is waiting."

"I knew it. I saw his car. So are you heading to the packhouse? Can I come?"

"No. We will eat out!" I placed a soft kiss on her cheek and was about to go when she grabbed my arm and pulled me.

"Can I come? I hate eating dorm food.” A mischievous smile played on her lips.

"No!" I glared at her before she burst into laughter.

"Oh, Goddess! You should see your face. Now tell me this is just a game, Amara Grace. Because I'm one hundred percent sure you're crushing on Alpha Jace.” She spoke in a hushed tone before letting my arm go.

"Whatever you feel, keep it to yourself. Like how you keep your feelings for Zach a secret.” I kissed her cheek one more time before I walked and ran toward the stairs, not waiting for any response from her.

"Curfew is at seven.” She ran after me as if I didn't know this.

"I know. I got ample time to head back." I waved at her one more time before I disappeared at the stairs to rush out, only to see the daughter of the Moon Lake Alpha, Alice, also living in the dorm, talking with Jace.

She was outside the car, and Jace just rolled his window down, but the way she was holding on to the window frame just ignited jealousy in me.

I tilted my head up and smiled at the other females I met along the way until I got to where Jace's car was waiting.

"Hi, Alice!" I greeted her, but I didn't look at her.

I went directly to the passenger's side and opened the door. I heard her say hi back then, but I didn't acknowledge or look at her this time.

"You're back. That was fast." Jace smiled at me as I sat beside him.

"Because I know you don't like waiting,” I answered him, as I buckled up.

"Thanks." He said this before tilting his head to look at Alice again while turning his engine on. "Lady Alice, we have to go now."

"Sure," she responded sweetly and stepped back. "We can catch up some other day, Alpha Jace.” Jace just nodded his head before he rolled up his window and began maneuvering the car out of the dormitory ground.

He didn't say anything, and I wanted to show him that I was irritated with Alice, but I couldn't keep myself from talking.

"Do you like it when females address you as Alpha Jace?"

"What's with the question?”

"Why have you never addressed me as Lady Amara?"

He chuckled before he turned his head to look at me. His forehead creased, but a smile was written on his face. And for some reason, I was under the impression his good mood had something to do with Alice.

"What's with your weird question?”

I didn't answer.

"Would you rather I call you Lady Amara than Kitten? Than brave heart? or simply Amara? I can do that... Although I like kitten better. It suits you better than Lady Amara.”

I rolled my eyes and kept my focus straight ahead with my arms still crossed on my chest. I had no right to be jealous, but I couldn't help it. I was sure if I opened my mouth, I would sound like a brat, so I tried to shut it for now.

"Hey, is my girlfriend jealous?" He asked after a while.

And although a smile was tempting to crack on my face, I did my best to remain with a poker expression and ignore him.

"Lady Amara... Nah, I don't like the sound of it."

Silence.

"Come on, if you don't talk with me. We'll turn around, and I'll drop you back to your dorm." He was still chuckling and having fun with this.

"Kitten. Come here, purr at me.”

That was it, a smile slipped and curled on my lips, and no matter how I kept biting my bottom lip, I couldn't help smiling.

"There. That's way better than a scowl.”

"I sound stupid here talking on my own. Don't ignore me."

"Sorry, I just don't know what to say.”

"She came and knocked on my window. It'll be rude if I don't roll my window down."

"Okay. I'm not even asking."

"I'm telling. Otherwise, I might get dumped, and it's not even twenty-four yet."

I tilted my head to look at him, a smile playing on my lips. "You're enjoying teasing me."

"I never had a girlfriend, so I'm not used to handling jealousy."

"Who said I'm jealous?" I glared at him playfully, before chuckling softly.

"Oh, my bad. I assumed.”

"Is there any reason I should be jealous?"

"With her? No."

"Got it. My only competition is your mate.”

"Amara..." He let out a sigh as if saying, “here we go again.’

"Chill! I'm cool with that. Where are we eating?" I diverted the topic.

"Do you like something fancy, or are you up for some grilled meat at a simple food place?"

"Let's go to your favorite place. I'm not a picky eater.”

"I know. That's what I like about you. I don't need to bring a red carpet when I go anywhere with you."

Yeah. And yet not enough to make you like me.

I wanted to say that, but I didn’t. Jace was giving me more than he should have. I should be happy with that.

"We're here." He said after a while, and it snapped me out of my thoughts.

Great. A burger joint. Well, what should I expect? Jace enjoyed dining at simple places such as this. I got out of the car the moment he stopped and watched as he fit his car into the last parking spot before jumping out.

I walked ahead of him and pushed the door open, and the smell of grilled barbecue and hamburgers welcomed me and made me hungry. No wonder he chose this place, the smell alone was appetizing.

Someone whistled, and I knew I shouldn't be looking, but it was too late to realize what my head was doing. My head was already tilted in the direction of a booth where four males and two females were seated, and from the looks of it, it was Joshua that whistled — one of the annoying jocks on the campus, and future Alpha of the Eclipse Pack, the pack next to my territory.

"Amara... Amara. Damn, you keep getting sexier.” He licked his lips, and he raked my body up and down.

I rolled my eyes and prepared to ignore him so that he wouldn't ruin my evening. But before I could walk away, the door behind me chimed, and I felt an arm circling my waist, pulling me closer to his body.

"If you have nothing good to say, I suggest you keep your mouth shut," Jace spoke, and his deep baritone voice was so sexy that it was the only thing I could focus on.

"So it's true, you and Amara are dating?”

"Do you have a problem with that?" Jace snapped back, and I could feel him rolling off his Alpha aura.

"No." He raised his hands, but I could tell that he wasn't at all afraid of Jace. He was cocky and arrogant, just like his father. "I just thought I'd say you're lucky to snatch and fuck a female with a body..."

In a matter of seconds, Jace vanished from beside me, and I just saw him in front of Joshua. His hand coiled against his shirt as he pulled him up from his seat.

"One more fucking time you say something inappropriate to Amara, whether in my presence or not, I'm going to forget that I'm the Alpha of this territory, and 1 will fucking crush your face.”

The crowd inside this place was already looking at them while I remained rooted to my spot. I was thankful Jace said that because Joshua had been annoying me lately, sending me messages asking me to go out with him when he was dating females left and right. But of course, I knew what he wanted from the beginning — it wasn't just me — he wanted my pack.

And I was sure as hell that I didn't want him anywhere near me or my pack.

Joshua didn’t say anything while the males around him were trying to pacify Jace.

Jace gave him a few more warnings before he let him go and left his booth. He then went back to me and held my arm, guiding me to the empty table at the other end.

"Relax. I'm okay. I'm sure I can take care of myself." I told Jace as I slipped inside the booth and watched as he slid and sat next to me.

"Was he always like that?" He asked, his forehead creasing.

"He has always been cocky with me, but he has never said my name and fuck at the same time, so maybe it was triggered by the news that we are a couple.”

"I didn’t know he likes you."