CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71: TALK IS CHEAP

Elliot rubbed his sore neck and met Gareth’s eyes.

"I love your daughter," he said like he was taking an oath. "I would never do anything to hurt her. You can trust me with her heart."

Axel snorted in disbelief, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms.

"Stop lying, Elliot." He turned to his uncle. "Last night, I went on a date with Jasmine, and we saw Elliot and Isabella there. The whole night, I watched him staring at Jasmine with longing, which caused Elliot and Isabella to fight, and then she left in tears. Doesn’t that count as hurting her? Elliot paid more attention to another woman during a date with your daughter. Wouldn’t you say that’s an example of being unfaithful?"

Gareth was surprised that his nephew would make the mistake of mentioning his date with Jasmine after he had threatened him. Axel seemed to be too angry with Elliot to be thinking straight.

"I’ve already heard about your blatant disrespect of my orders," Gareth growled at his nephew. "Did I not explicitly tell you to stay away from my staff? Did you not think I’d find out about your little night out with Jasmine?"

"You’re a powerful man, Uncle Gareth." Axel shrugged. "I knew that you’d probably find out, but that didn’t matter to me. I’d gladly take a beating if it means going on more dates with Jasmine. That girl is one of a kind and special to me. Even after one night together, I can picture spending the rest of my life with her."

Gareth’s jaw clenched as he stared at his nephew. If he were being honest with himself, he knew that he didn’t have the right to control who his staff dated—and no matter how much he wished he could, Gareth couldn’t realistically control his nephew’s dating life either.

But the biggest question was, why did he want to stop them from dating in the first place? Why did the thought of seeing them together make him see red? Nothing was ever easy when it came to dealing with Jasmine. She should just be his daughter’s tutor, but it felt like she was so much more.

"Uncle Gareth, I’m not going to stop going on dates with Jasmine," Axel continued and lifted his chin. "Even if I have to go behind your back. Even if you disapprove of us being together, I’m going to keep romancing her. We’re adults. You can’t forbid it."

This time, Elliot was the one who snorted and glared at Axel.

"You’re very good with your words, I’ll give you that. But talk is cheap. I watched you flirt with that waitress last night when Jasmine was sitting right across from you. I watched you let her touch you. You don’t care about Jasmine."

Axel took a threatening step toward Elliot. "Jasmine and I have already spoken about that and worked through it. We’ve only been on one date, and we have better communication skills than you do with Isabella, since all you’re good at is making her cry. And it’s funny that you should notice such a small detail. That just proves that you were paying more attention to my date than your own."

"Just face the truth, Axel," Elliot hissed. "In less than a month, you and Jasmine will call things off. You guys don’t make a good pair. Everyone can see that."

"How dare you?" Axel snarled.

The two younger men charged at each other and faced off. Elliot lifted his fist to throw a punch.

Before he could, Gareth cleared his throat. "Stop this nonsense," he commanded in his Alpha voice, using his aura to deescalate the situation. "You’re behaving like children."

Once Elliot lowered his fist and Axel took a step back, Gareth turned to Elliot.

"How dare you pay attention to another woman when my daughter was sitting right in front of you? You must be tired of living."

Gareth leaned forward and glared straight into the younger man’s eyes, and curled his lip menacingly. He was pleased to see fear in Elliot’s dark eyes.

"This is your last chance. If you hurt her in any way, I swear on the Moon Goddess that I will torture you by ripping off your limbs one by one. Then, I will watch you bleed out and make your death as slow and painful as possible."

Elliot’s face went as white as a ghost, but he managed to nod. "I love your daughter. I will never hurt her, and I will protect her."

Even though Elliot’s voice sounded sincere, Gareth didn’t believe a word he was saying. Ever since he found out about the true relationship between Jasmine and Elliot, his mind was rife with reasons why Elliot would choose his daughter over his fated mate.

After meeting Jasmine, the only plausible reason Gareth could come up with was that Elliot wanted Gareth’s support to become the next Alpha of Ashborne.

Axel turned to Gareth with a suspicious expression.

"You know what’s funny? Uncle Gareth, you don’t seem to be very surprised at the news of Jasmine and Elliot being fated mates. Why is that?"

"I’ve known since their engagement party," Gareth admitted, glaring at Elliot. "I didn’t want the news getting out because I wanted to protect Isabella. I want to allow my daughter to have the perfect wedding. Nothing is allowed to ruin her marriage."

Elliot’s eyes sparked as he looked at Gareth. "Why would Jasmine tell Axel about her and me being fated mates? What kind of game—"

But Gareth cut him off with a glare. "What Jasmine does or doesn’t do is none of your concern!" he snarled, veins bulging out of his neck. "Have you learned nothing from this conversation? The only woman you should be focusing on is Isabella."

Elliot saw the threat in Gareth’s eyes and immediately bowed his head.

Gareth stared at the younger man for a moment. His submission seemed almost too easy. Was he concocting a scheme? He gritted his teeth, almost hoping Elliot would step out of line so he could punt him into a wall.

After a moment, Elliot nodded submissively one last time to Gareth, ignored Axel, and walked down the stairs without a second glance back.

"Good riddance," Axel sneered as he watched Elliot vanish from view. "He’s a slimeball. Can’t believe he’s Jasmine’s fated mate. She’s too good for him."

With a tired sigh, Gareth looked at his nephew.

"Since you’re going to date her behind my back, I see no reason to stop your... courtship of her. Assuming Jasmine is amenable to your affections."

And if she wasn’t out for Axel’s money. His lips curled derisively at the thought. This woman was slowly winning over each member of his family, and it unsettled him how easily she crept into their hearts.

Axel’s face brightened, ignoring the less than pleased expression on Gareth’s face. He held out his hand for his uncle to shake.

"Thanks, Uncle Gareth." He grinned. "And of course Jasmine will be. I’m winning her over as we speak."

Gareth shook his head but squeezed his nephew’s hand tight enough that Axel winced. "But if you hurt Jasmine, you will pay with your life."