SHE'S THE LUNA I WANT

AMARA.

"I didn’t know he likes you," he said, and it made me raise an eyebrow.

Did Jace think he knew every guy who was crushing on me?

"Maybe not me, but my territory. His father has been proposing to Dad for an arranged Claiming and merging of packs once we were mated.”

"What?" A scowl formed on his face. "I'm sure Uncle won't agree.”

"Of course, he didn't. Besides, I want to become my pack’s Alpha. I'm not handing my title to my mate."

He nodded his head before he shot them a hateful glance.

My arm went around his shoulders while the other cupped his face to tilt his head to look back at me. "Don’t let him ruin our time together.”

"You need to tell me if he ever approaches you this way again, or anything else he will tell you." The scowl was still on his face.

"I can handle it for sure.”

"I'm sure you can, but I still want to know. I just need one fucking wrong move from him and I will kick him out of the academy.” He turned his head to look at them, so I just released my hand from his face, but I didn’t remove my arm from around his shoulders.

"Aren’t you showing favoritism now?"

"You might think it that way, but if he can do it to you, an Alpha Female, what more for other females with lower ranks?"

Yeah, right. So much for thinking it was just me he was concerned about.

"Okay... I will let you know. Can we enjoy this night and not let him bother us? I might never get this chance to dine out with you again, so please... smile?"

He turned his head so abruptly that I was not able to move my head back, and the next thing I knew, his lips were closing in on mine.

My eyes widened before I caught sight of Joshua and the females with them looking into our booth. Well, who was I to complain? I silently thanked them for looking as I closed my eyes.

The heat rose from my stomach to my chest the moment Jace’s lips brushed over mine and all of my beings reacted to him instinctively.

My toes curled as a low whimper left my throat, while my free hand gripped his shirt tightly. I was kissing the Alpha in front of me with all the passion I had for him, not minding at all that we were in a public place.

Jace bit my bottom lip before withdrawing from our kiss. "Was that better than a smile?" He asked, a wicked grin tugging on his mouth.

I nodded my head, and my thumb ran against his lips, wiping away the sheer lipgloss that had transferred there. But Jace surprised me one more time when he took my thumb inside his mouth and began sucking it.

My pussy throbbed, and I swore to the Goddess that if he didn’t stop, I might have an orgasm from all the tingles I felt at the moment. His action and his eyes were hypnotizing me. It made me want more.

He bit my thumb before parting his lips, and I took it as a signal to remove my finger.

"I think we should order..." I mumbled as I smiled, but I was sure it was an awkward one.

"That sounds like a good idea.” He smiled sheepishly, making those dimples visible before he turned his body around and waved for the server while I withdrew my arm from his shoulders.

I was trying to control the beating of my heart, but I was not going to deny that I was enjoying this. "I'll have a double grilled cheeseburger with bacon and chicken wings with different kinds of dipping sauce. And a big glass of local beer."

"Got it." The male server said before turning his attention to me. "And for the lady?"

"I'll order the same thing. And some French fries into it."

"Except for the glass of beer. Give her a large glass of apple juice.” Jace butted in

It made my eyes squint, but I didn't say anything until the server left after he repeated our orders.

It was only then that I protested.

"Not fair. I can drink beer. I won't get drunk. I have a wolf already.”

He pinched my nose with two crooked fingers before he replied. "I'm still the Alpha here. Let me be a responsible one. The last thing I want to hear is people accusing me of allowing a minor to drink beer when the state does not allow 17-year-olds from consuming one.”

I rolled my eyes but nodded my head in agreement.

Two months, and I would be able to drink beer legally in his eyes.

JACE.

The simple dining out extended into a night movie.

Amara obviously used her charm on me, and being the good boyfriend that I was, I caved in and drove us to the movie house after we spent more than two hours at the diner.

I would think of the consequences tomorrow because, as much as I hate to admit it, I was having fun.

I had never been on a date. I had never taken anyone on a dinner date except for Mom, a day after I turned eighteen, and up until now, she was the only female I dated.

But then I was not sure if this counted as a date.

I paid for the meal and the movie tickets, and I didn’t argue when she clasped our hands together or when she leaned her head on my shoulder the whole time we were watching a movie. And I might have wrapped an arm around her, holding her closer. That looked like a fucking date. Right? I removed my arm from around her as the closing credits for the movie rolled up and the main lights were switched on. I leaned forward and brushed my palms against my face before checking the time on my mobile phone.

I missed two calls, one from my Beta and one from my Gamma. But there were no messages. They were probably checking where I was. All they knew was that I was with Amara to eat somewhere, but I forgot to let them know we went for a movie.

I opened my inbox and sent Tyler a message to let him know I was still alive and would be home soon. The fucker just replied with a thumbs-up sign and an emoticon with heart eyes.

I chuckled and shook my head before slipping the mobile back into my pocket and tilting my head to look at Amara, who was still leaning back on her seat just looking at me.

"I should get you back to your dormitory. It's almost nine-thirty in the evening.”

"It's way past my curfew.” She said, but she doesn't look bothered at all.

"I know. I can talk to the security, and I'm sure, like last night, they won't have any issues with it." "Except the females would see me coming home late again... with you. At least if I don't come back there tonight, they won't know I was not even inside my room."

"And what are you suggesting?” I asked but I already knew where this was heading.

She smiled widely. "I'm sure some packhouse will welcome me wholeheartedly for the night, as I heard their Alpha is too nice and will never abandon a female in the middle of the night with nowhere to go.”

I chuckled as I stood up. "You are so good at manipulating this Alpha.”

"I know. So is that a yes?"

"Yes. What choice do I have?"

She stood up and began walking ahead down the aisle of seats while I followed her.

"Will I be sleeping in your room?" she asked after a while.

"Nice try, kitten. But no. I have a lot of guest rooms. And don't push it."

She raised her hands, her shoulders shaking a bit as she stifled her laughter. "Fine. My class is at nine o'clock tomorrow."

"You can go with Catherine.”

"Her class is at eight in the morning. But yeah, I can try waking up too early.” She replied, letting out a sigh.

"I can drive you too, or if not, if something comes up, you can use one of my cars.”

"Thanks, Jace." She beamed at me and slowed down from walking.

"No worries. It's all good.” I told her as I moved beside her, and we walked down the stairs of the cinema building together.

And just like earlier when we left the grill joint, she slipped her hand into mine, and I clasped our hands together, holding her as we walked toward the area where I parked my pickup.

I knew she was manipulating me to do what she wanted, but as long as we were not crossing the line, I had no issue with it.

After the incident with Joshua earlier, it made me realize that agreeing to be her boyfriend until she turned eighteen was the right choice to make.

It was the only thing I could do to ensure that she would end up with her mate, and not with someone who just wanted to play her.

I knew Amara could handle and protect herself, but I wasn't sure if she was still able to think rationally if I kept pushing her away. And the last thing I wanted was for her to take the bait and jump to the first man that would show interest in her.

if there was anyone that deserved Amara, it would be his mate. And I would make sure she would end up with him.

Two months.

Or until she found her mate.

But before that, I had to make sure to guard my heart and hers, while we ventured into this so- called pretend relationship.