Ashlee shrugged her shoulders, frozen in her chair. What is he doing? Is this normal for him? But taking a closer look, he is handsome. His features are so perfect.

Deep, deadly eyes, a pointy nose, and those seductive lips. Ashlee forgot the whole conversation and started to admire Kyle. She subconsciously began roaming her fingers freely over his face.

Kyle was bewildered by her gestures. He didn't expect that in return for his question. He didn't move a bit or stop her. Somehow, it felt right and needed. His eyes were fixed on her while her eyes roamed all over his face.

'Does she remember? Is that why she's touching me?'

The only thing Kyle could come up with was if she remembered him changing his form that night. He desperately hoped she didn't, but he couldn't know unless she told him herself.

It was frustrating how he couldn't read her thoughts or her past.

"You..." Ashlee stopped as soon as she breathed a word out of her mouth. Her eyes rested on his, waiting for her to finish, but she realized what she was doing.

Abruptly, she pulled back her hand and tried to get up. But she forgot she was locked in place by Kyle's arms around the chair. She shrank into the seat, awkwardly blinking away.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking away from him.

Kyle sighed, throwing his head lower. He certainly hadn't expected that. He wanted to answer at least one of his questions, but he got nothing. Why is she so complicated?

"Ashlee, I will ask this last time. Who did this to you?" Kyle didn't take his gaze off her, not even for a second. He waited for her answer, but she made it clear with her actions that she didn't want to tell him.

"Okay. Fine." Kyle let go of the chair and Ashlee. "Do whatever you want. Do you think you can endure everything on your own and don't need anyone's help? Fine, carry on with that." He was mad. Really mad. She could tell by the way he said it.

"It's not that." She whispered, rubbing her hands on her thighs.

"What is it then?" Kyle gave her another chance to tell him. Not that he wouldn't be able to figure it out himself. He just wanted her to tell him. Ask me to help you.

"I just don't want to owe you or anyone. I'm not doing this because I want to. Sometimes it's hard for me too. But I can't stop midway. I know someday it will all stop hurting, and I'll be happy with my mom. I'm doing this for her. I can't live a normal life because I'm not normal." She whispered her last sentence, being very accurate about herself.

She surely wasn't normal. But how did she know that? A human girl who could be so beautiful and strong but still couldn't protect herself? Is that even possible? Of course not. And Kyle knew something was off.

He searched her past and present but found nothing other than Ashlee getting abused and bullied repeatedly. While she wasn't doing anything about it, she could because she was stronger than him. He knew that.

"Why aren't you normal?" Kyle calmly tried to get it out of her. But she wasn't going to give in. He could still feel the pain in her voice when she explained herself. He wanted to end it if she could just cooperate a little with him.

"Because I... I'm a freak." Ashlee stuttered. She obviously couldn't tell him the truth. It's better if he doesn't know. A stranger shouldn't be trusted.

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"What?" Kyle coughed. He was so stupefied by her answer.

"As people say, I'm a freak. So, I'm not normal." Ashlee gave him a tight smile and dug back into her food, sighing internally for not revealing anything to him.

She could feel it inside her. She could hear something in the back of her mind. But she denied it every single time. That weird voice overwhelmed her, and she just became more feisty and uncontrollable. Still, she couldn't understand what was wrong with her.

And the fact that the memories of that night suddenly flashed in her head when she touched Kyle made her freak out even more. But her practice to stay calm in freakish situations was incredible.

'He is an animal. How is that even possible?'

She couldn't stop thinking about it since then. Kyle let go of the conversation, adding one more important task to his list. Finding the person who hurt Ashlee. He was sure it wasn't human, but someone else.

It couldn't be a vampire. They still didn't know who Kyle's mate was, and they had made the agreement to never hurt humans. It had to be someone who knew Ashlee was his mate.

"By the way, how many lies have you fed me?" Ashlee quickly changed the topic, sipping the juice Kyle had made.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kyle tilted his head in confusion. Is she going to confess about the other night?

"You said you couldn't cook." She narrowed her eyes at him. He had forgotten about that. But her memory was sharper than his.

"I... I just wanted to taste your cooking. You cook the best." Kyle couldn't bring himself to apologize. Rather, he would praise her. She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

He spent the whole day taking care of her. Meanwhile, Derion kept updating him on Diana's condition. Thankfully, she was recovering at a good pace. Heather was always around her, so Kyle had nothing much to worry about at home.

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked, eating sour candies he bought for Ashlee without knowing she hated them.

"Checking for college applications." She replied without bothering to even look at him.

"Why bother?" Kyle huffed, chuckling, roaming around her bed in an attempt to grab her attention.

"Because I have to go to college far from here and take my mom with me. Then we'll be free and live happily." She gave him a hopeful smile with certain eyes. She was so sure she would be able to get out of here.

"...." Kyle didn't utter a word. He didn't want to break her heart full of hope with his painful words. She was his mate, and she couldn't leave him to go anywhere.

"Anyways, you didn't tell me," Ashlee muttered while her hands kept typing on the laptop nonstop.

"About what?" Kyle sat on the rolling chair, filling his mouth with candies.

"Why didn't you come to school yesterday?" Ashlee looked at him, expecting a genuine excuse. She didn't want him to confess to being a scary, big wolf, but she had an unknown urge to know everything about him.

"I'll tell you when you tell me what happened to your face." Kyle raised his brows, winking at her.

"Ugh! You are so annoying." Ashlee groaned, getting frustrated. "Childish." She murmured under her breath.

"I'm not childish. I'm very mature." Kyle replied, making sure she knew he could hear her every word, no matter how far away.

'So he can hear me even if I just whisper? What else is he hiding?'

She was getting curious, and she knew curiosity kills, but it didn't matter as long as she stayed within her boundaries.

"Oh really?" She dared him through her eyes, smirking, challenging him.

"You need me to show you?" He asked, grinning, making her realize he could take on any challenge.

"Oh, can you?" Ashlee closed her laptop, sticking her tongue out at him. She got up on her bed, ready to run away, knowing he would come for her.

"Why are you running away? Let me show you, now." Kyle walked over temptingly, chasing her.

"Show me from there. I have eyes." She giggled, rounding the bed, making it harder for him to catch her.

"I'm gonna make sure, once and for all. Come here." He snickered, looking up at the ceiling, arching his neck.

With a wider jump, he got close to her. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her in, stopping her from running away. Both chuckled ceaselessly at their childish behavior.

Suddenly, Derion's voice entered Kyle's mind. He stopped laughing and focused on listening to him. His face fell into a serious look, making Ashlee confused about what was going on.

"Kyle, I found something unusual. I need you to come and check this out." Derion was huffing and sounded urgent.

"Can't you tell me? I don't want to leave Ashlee alone without protection." Kyle sent a mind link to Derion, worry creeping into his voice.

"We can put her under protection. I'll send some guards over to her house. This is urgent, and I need you here. This can't be talked about through links." Derion replied, his voice strained, and Kyle felt like he was being interrupted by someone.

It could be really serious. He looked at Ashlee, who stood in front of him, cluelessly concerned.