8. Supernatural

"Hey! Marley... uh... Can I ask you something?" Sanjay said, his voice wavering.

Marley turned around to face a fidgeting Sanjay. She was taken aback by his nervous state. He wasn't the shy one and hardly ever refrained from speaking out his mind. She was supposed to be like this.

They were sitting at their desk next to each other, waiting for teacher's arrival for the calculus class. Few other seats were occupied by other students. Two weeks had passed since their first encounter and their friendship only grew.

"Sure." Marley had studied him for the last few days. He had been acting strange. She had tried to get him spill out whatever that was bothering him but he never uttered a word about it and always changed the subject. She could only go so far without pushing him too much.

"Do you ...uh.. believe in supernatural stuff?" He asked looking down at his palms that laid on his lap. He mumbled the last part very quickly.

The images of flickering golden eyes of certain someone flashed through her mind but she quickly wiped them away.

"Uhm... I don't know. I never saw stuff like that." She replied casually, trying to convince herself to believe the words that spurted out of her mouth. "Why do you ask?"

"Never mind." He quickly turned away, and glared at the textbook on his desk..

"Is everything alright? You've been zoning out lately?" Marley made another attempt.

"Yeah... Everything's fine." He mumbled, his eyes still fixed to the textbook.

It was the circumstances like this that made Marley wish she had some social skills. They might come in handy. She could feel Sanjay was anxious about something but never pushed it as she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. They had only known each other for two weeks.

Suddenly, a thought made its way into her mind. "Is it Oliver? Is he bothering you?" Words spurted out of her mouth without her permission.

Sanjay's head whipped to look at her, eyes wide and mouth half open. Marley realized she hit a nerve.

"You can talk to me about it," She continued, "obviously if you want."

"No, he-he's...just." Sanjay let out a heavy sigh. His eyes once again found the calculus book. "It's nothing," he said exasperated.

"If you say so." Marley relented with a frown.

*******

The noise of chatting and laughing of teenagers was pricking the inside of Eden's ears. They were too loud. The cafeteria was loaded with students but his gaze only fell on one, who was adamant on ignoring it, Marley. A low growl escaped from his mouth only to be heard by his friends sitting beside him.

"How long are you gonna wait?" Matthew asked after hearing the alpha's frustrated growl.

"Not long. I am going to do it today. She just has to deal with it," he replied, and turned to Oliver. "How's Sanjay taking it?"

"Well, he passed out. Then tried his best to stamp it as a nightmare but eventually he gave into the bond. He still avoids me." Oliver slipped out a small chuckle and continued. "He's adorable when he tries that but he's good and accepting it."

"How did you manage to keep it from him for almost three months? I cannot even manage for two weeks?" Eden furrowed his eyebrows and again shifted his vision on her. He was getting impatient.

"My Nana told me that it is harder for Alphas to stay away from their mates... they are more eager because of their dominating nature," Matthew added.

For past few days, Marley had done her best to dodge Eden and in her mind she succeeded. Little did she know that Eden was the one keeping his distance from her. He knew he scared her when he lashed out on her last week. His control slipped and the beast surfaced smelling his mate nearby. Eden was angry at himself for committing such a rash act.

Eden stared at his mate in awe, still not believing that this girl was his. Her eyes were pitch-black that reeled him in everytime she stole glances at him. Eden so badly wanted to touch her cheeks which turn red whenever he was around. Her pink lips were always the one who turned his eyes darker shade with lust, and he couldn't wait to land his lips on hers. Everytime he looked at her his heart skipped a beat and he knew he could never get enough of her. Marley had became the centre of his life the moment he laid his eyes on her. Now only if she let him in, he'd show her that for the rest of his life.

"Well, how are you planning on telling her?" Finally Mark spoke. Entire time he and Emilia were busy making out. Their intimacy often brought frown on Eden and Oliver's faces, but they were happy for him yet a little envious too.

"Just tell her gently. Try not to frighten her. You have to be careful with humans but I know she'll take it well. She'll accept you," Emilia smiled.

"She has to. She doesn't have any other choice." Eden chirped with a little playful smirk. He couldn't wait to have her by his side.

"And drop the cocky attitude." Mark quipped, earning a glare from his alpha.

*******

The lane was bordered with tall lush trees on either sides. Their branches swayed gently as a soft gush of winds went by, dropping leaves to the ground. Marley walked on the sidewalk with a bicycle beside her. She held its handles and dragged it along.

The tyres of her bicycle were punctured. Marley knew someone pulled a prank on her when she found that the valves of her tyres were loosened. She didn't think too much of it. The weather was nice and she didn't mind a walk to her home.

Suddenly, a black car stopped beside her, making her head turn towards it. Its side window rolled down revealing a familiar face. Marley quickly whipped her head ahead and her feet picked up their pace. This made Eden let out a small chuckle.

"Need a ride home?" He asked, and Marley could already make out that stupid smirk on his face. At that instant she knew it was he responsible for her punctured cycle.

His car moved along with her.

"No." She didn't spare him a glance.

"C'mon, I'm not that bad. Scared I'm going to do something to you?"

A strong blush coated Marley's cheeks. "As a matter of fact, yes."

"If only you can stop being so stubborn," she heard Eden mutter to himself. "I'm not going to do anything to you, trust me on this one and please get in," he used a softer tone.

Marley almost stopped, his voice making her insides fuzzy. But she remembered her resolve. He was bad news. "Go away."

"Sweetheart, get in or I'm going to get out," he threatened, all the playful arrogance gone. The sudden change in his tone gave her goosebumps.

Marley stopped, and glared at him for a whole minute, trying to hide her fear. There stare down continued until she backed down, his gaze too sharp to handle. She turned her head ahead and resumed walking, adamant on ignoring his existence. She heard the car come to a halt and the opening of its door. *Oh no!*

Warm tingles wrapped her wrist and she looked up to find Eden, who had secured her left hand in his. Marley tried to get out of his hold but all her efforts were in vain, he was too strong. He pulled her towards him closing the distance between them, and the pink in her cheeks turned red.

"You are coming with me." His eyes flashed the yellow hue as they fell on her face.

Eden opened the car door and pushed her inside. He went to the other side and adjusted himself at driver's. Doors locked and the sound of engine rumbled.

"What are you doing?! You can't just so that!" Marley was panicking, imagining all sorts of bad things that could happen to her but a part of her knew that Eden was not going to hurt her. But she refused that part to take over her mind. "What about my bike-"

"Don't worry, I am not going to hurt you and you know it." His voice gentle. He didn't like the idea of his mate being afraid of him. "I'll get someone to drop your bike at home."

"You- wait- we are not going home. Are we?" Marley was scared.

Eden let out a long sigh, calming his pulsing nerves. He was just as nervous if not more. What he was about to do was going to change both of their lives.

"No."