That's Inappropriate, Mr. King

Chapter 15: Yes, We Are

A/N: Song "idontwannabeyouanymore," by Billie Eilish.

"I..." Anna closes her eyes.

She opens her eyes and glares at me, her lips curve into a confident smirk. "So what if the Moon Goddess chose you as my mate? As I see it right now, I don't have a mate... If my mate was anything like you, I would reject him on the spot." The words flow out of her mouth like venom but she keeps smiling. "Do you still want me to answer that question?"

"So, you would reject me," I say more for myself than for her.

"How could I ever be with someone who doesn't respect the mate bond at all? Everything that you've done is disgusting."

I've been called worse before, but her words get to me in a way no other could. It hurts. Is that her intention?

"Anna, I'm sorry." I reach for her cheek but she shoves my hand away.

"Do not touch me!" Her angry growl makes me flinch.

I look down at her. This hurts more than I thought it would. "You let me touch you before. So, why?"

"Where was that hand this afternoon?" She points at my hand and grimaces.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Where did you put that hand in this afternoon? Don't play coy, Caleb. I was right beside you. Just imagining you touching me now makes me sick."

Oh, that. I whimper at the thought of what I've made her feel, clench my fists and lower my head. It's as if she's picking just the right words to crush me. She's so good at it.

She scoffs. "This immature disrespectful version of you will never ever get me."

"You're being unfair right now. I can't even feel the pull. I'm not of age. There's no way for me to know who my mate is yet."

She stares in silence for a moment and her expression softens before turning back to a scowl. "Why do you care about me, then?"

"I said we were going to be friends." I sigh and look at her in the eye. "Also, I want you to know that if you happen to be my mate, I'd make things work."

The silence is back. There are so many things I wanted to tell her. I drop my hands to my sides and stare at the frowning girl in front of me. I could laugh at how she was signaling me to stop scowling earlier, yet she's frowning so much now.

Even like this, she's beautiful. I like her already and I can't even feel the pull. And my super helpful wolf, wouldn't help me. This what terrifies me. How can I even differentiate what I already feel from what the bond would make me feel?

I reach out to take her hand but she pulled it away.

"I told you not to touch me!" She growls.

I cover my face with one hand and shake my head slowly. I shouldn't have done that, but I thought she just wanted us to be friends. "Why are you so angry?"

"I'm angry because you are a hypocrite. You say that you would make it work, but I already know what you really think. You can do way better than me, can't you? That's what you said. So, why act like you care about what I think about you?"

My jaw almost hits the floor. Had she heard that? How? I want to tell her that those were empty words, that I didn't mean any of it. However, that could make her angrier.

"Sorry. That was before I got to know you. I would never say that now."

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Don't act like you care. You're just playing me. aren't you? You tell me that I send you mixed signals and act all sweet. Less than one hour later you... you" She winces as if keep talking would hurt her.

"I am sorry." I look at the floor.

"I... I... rejec—" Anna put her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding on her chest. Is she going to reject me? No, please. Are we really mates? She takes a deep breath. "I refuse to be a part of your game anymore."

She turns her back to me and walks into her room. She's about to close the door but I grab her wrist. She spins around still glowering and yanks her hand away from my grasp.

"The answer to your question from earlier is yes. I do want to know if we are mates." I need to know what was happening, to understand.

We lock eyes. If only my feelings would reach to her. Even if I'm not sure of what I 'm feeling yet, just sharing this with her would be better. Please, if you're my mate give me another chance.

"Yes, we are mates," Anna whisper and closes the door.

I stay still for a moment, allowing what I've just heard to sink in. A grin spread across my face. She's my mate, and she's precious. I knock on her door. I need to apologize a thousand times.

"Anna, come out, please. I'm so sorry. Talk to me. I apologize for how I have acted. We need to talk about this."

She told me the truth. I'm all over the place. For once, I'm in awe. The woman I thought I had less than zero possibility to be with is my mate. My smile quickly vanishes, though. I made sure that she hates me and now I regret it.

"Get out off here before I reject you," says Anna.

I scramble away before those dreadful words can leave her lips. "I can't believe I messed up so badly." I walk down the hall and step into my room.

'You better fix this,' my wolf said.

Why didn't you tell me? I close my bedroom door.

'I didn't want you to go full jerk and reject her.'

I wouldn't reject Anna just like that.

'That is not what you said.'

I have a bad reputation to keep up. Lame excuse.

'That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You've outdone yourself, congrats.'

I lay down on my bed trying to come up with a plan to make her hate me a little bit less day by day. Sooner than expected, the first sun rays shine through the window. I groan as I stand up. At least I came up with a plan.