CHAPTER 182: MY EX WASN’T MY MATE

Andria’s POV

...Jackson’s.

We traced her energy to an underground club, or rather, Sir Kaelric knew precisely where to find rogues. The club was filled with demons, faes, and black witches. Jackson was there."

Becca’s eyes widened. "Jackson?"

"Yeah. And he wasn’t just there. He was in charge." I paused, recalling the memory of Liara’s blank eyes, her voice stripped of emotion. "Liara was with him. But something was wrong; she wasn’t herself. It looked like... like she was under a spell. A charm, maybe.

Like they were taking something from her before we came, we had to fight the demons, black witches and faes in the inner chamber before Jackson could let us see Liara."

Mel’s mouth fell open slightly. "You are joking."

"I wish I were," I said quietly. "Sir Kaelric thinks it’s an illusion spell. The mate bond is fake, created to manipulate her. I suspected it too, so I tested it."

"How could you fight them all, and how did you test it?" Becca asked.

I hesitated, then sighed. "I threw a silver enchanted knife at Jackson."

Their jaws dropped in perfect unison.

"You did what?!" Mel shrieked.

"I stabbed his arm by throwing an enchanted knife at him," I replied, making sure they understood every word syllable.

"It was laced with a spell that slows healing unless your true mate is near. I needed to confirm the bond. I would be checking today how far he has healed, if Liara was his true mate."

Becca leaned back, stunned. "Goddess."

"You must be good at getting your target. I can imagine you throwing a knife and it gets to the target exactly," Mel added with a shocked expression on her face.

"Exactly. Sir Kaelric and I brought them both back here to Ashwood. They are in the detention room under the west tower."

Mel frowned. "The one Tracy and Larissa were kept in?"

"The same," I said. "Kaelric insisted. They will be presented before the school council today, charges include harassment, that of both you," I said, looking at Becca and Allison. Sneaking off school grounds, and partying with outcasts ."

Becca’s expression flickered, a mix of pity and satisfaction. "Liara really outdid herself this time."

Mel nodded. "Still... she’s your friend. Doesn’t it feel weird?"

"It does," I admitted. "But I can’t keep covering for her, I’m getting fed up, especially when she fights me."

Becca’s lips curved into a small, knowing smile. "Well, I bet Allison will be over the moon when she finds out."

I laughed softly. "Of course she would be. Jackson was her ex, after all. And he and Liara had been pestering her since the rejection. Maybe this will finally shut him up."

Becca giggled. "Serves him right."

I checked the time on my watch and stood. "They will be arraigned in an hour. I should go stretch before the council meets."

"Wait, you just dropped a whole storm on us, and you are leaving?" Mel said incredulously.

"I’ll tell you how it goes later," I called back, already at the door.

Becca rolled her eyes. "She always runs when things get heavy."

I smiled faintly and stepped out.

The morning was cool and calm; only a few students were already outside their apartments. As I jogged through the courtyard, the rhythmic thud of my feet was the only sound I could hear.

It felt good and freeing, in a way. Like I was trying to outrun everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I was halfway across the eastern pathway, which led to the junction that divided the male dormitory from the female dormitory.

I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Could it be one of the alpha successors, because it was a mate pull? My steps faltered before I could stop myself.

I turned back a little while, still jogging to satisfy my curiosity. And as they say, ’Curiosity killed the cat,’ the mate following me was Zade.

He was behind me, dressed in black joggers and a sleeveless hoodie, sweat glistening on his arms. His hair was slightly damp, as though he had been running for a long while now.

My breath hitched, not because of the sight of him, but because of what he still made me feel.

He smiled faintly. "Hey."

My chest tightened. "Zade."

Before I could react, my foot caught on a loose stone, and I stumbled, but his hand shot out, grabbing me by the waist before I could hit the ground.

My body stiffened instantly, every nerve on alert.

"You tripped over," he said softly, as if he were explaining the reason for touching me.

"No, it’s fine," I murmured, regaining balance. I’ve never felt this terrible before, being saved by this horrible alpha.

It should bring butterflies, but it brought back bad memories that I wished to forget..

He caught up to me, staring at me. "You’ve been avoiding me."

"It goes both ways, because I haven’t seen you in a while now, too." I corrected, resuming my jog.

He fell into step beside me, silent for a few beats. His presence was infuriatingly calm, his strides easy, matched with mine like an old habit.

After a moment, he said, "I’ve been doing some research on you."

That made my stomach drop. "Research?"

He nodded, eyes on the path ahead. "You are strange, Aria. Everything about you, your aura, your scent, your control. It’s all... familiar."

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. He has come again with his talk about me sharing some resemblance with Andria. Andria is already far gone. "You are overthinking."

"Maybe." He looked at me. "But maybe I’m not."

I kept jogging, eyes forward, trying to keep my heartbeat even. "Whatever you think you are finding, you are wrong."

"Am I?" His tone was calm, too calm. "You remind me of someone."

"Your ex?" I snapped, more harshly than intended. "Maybe you should go reconcile with her instead of following me around because I happen to share some similarities."

He chuckled. "My ex wasn’t my mate."

That made me freeze.

He stopped, too, turning to face me fully. His eyes locked onto mine.

"She wasn’t my mate," he said softly. "But I loved her anyway. She was a vampire, a complicated, wild, stubborn one."

I swallowed hard. Was that how he saw me?. "A vampire?" I feigned ignorance.

He smiled faintly, but his gaze lingered longer than it should have, searching, probing, like he was trying to read the truth from my eyes. Like he knew

"Zade..." I began.

He just shook his head, his smile fading into something unreadable. "Forget it."

And then he started jogging again, slow, easy, as though nothing had been said.