Carefully, keeping the tray steady, she entered her room, only to find Kyle lounging on her bed. She gave him a pointed look while he winked at her annoyed expression, clearly reveling in the amusement her reactions always seemed to bring him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing on my bed?" Ashlee placed the tray on the bedside table, folded her arms, and stood firm in front of Kyle.

"Is that for me?" Kyle reached for the soup, but Ashlee smacked his hand away.

"Get out of my bed." She snarled, irritation clear in her voice. She didn't want her bed smelling of men's cologne.

"What? No!" Kyle pouted, rubbing the back of his hand. "Rude!" he muttered, eyeing her from head to toe. Was he high on something? Why was he acting like a child?

"What do you mean, 'No?' I said, get out!" Ashlee almost yelled, but he still couldn't understand why she was so bothered. After all, he was just lying there, not doing anything inappropriate.

"I mean, no. How impeccable of you to ask that. Is this how you treat an injured person?" He was clearly playing on her weakness, knowing she still felt guilty for hurting him. "A person you injured yourself." He slowly crept closer to her, still refusing to leave the bed.

"Fine. Fine. Have it, have it all. I'll just wash the sheets later," she huffed, stomping away to sit on her rolling chair.

Kyle, immensely proud of himself for his minor victory, grabbed the bowl and dug in. It was disturbing, really, this urge he had to be possessive and stay close to her—even though he insisted he didn't like her.

"By the way, it's getting dark. Leave once you're done," Ashlee said, slurping her hot soup, her tone telling him she was ready for him to go.

"Why? Can't I just stay here? On this cozy bed?" He rubbed his feet against the sheets, smirking. What was wrong with him? He had a much more comfortable bed at home.

"No, you can't!" Ashlee replied sternly, raising her eyebrows.

Kyle scoffed, swirling his soup. "Do you think I want to?" he muttered, casting a sideways glance at her as she drank her soup, legs folded up in her chair.

"I'm just worried about you. You didn't even realize who hurt your mother," he murmured under his breath, though Ashlee couldn't hear him.

Kyle's healing abilities were strong enough to keep him alive despite the injury she'd inflicted. He wasn't fully recovered, but he was well enough to walk and jump around. His sharp hearing even picked up the sound of her mother crying in her room, speaking to a photograph of Ashlee's dad. The poor woman thought she was protecting her daughter, while she had no idea what Ashlee was enduring.

"Don't you have someone waiting for you at home? Won't your parents wonder where you are, spending all day in other people's business?" Ashlee scoffed sarcastically.

"Good one." Kyle snickered. "But, no, my parents are..." He stopped, nearly admitting that his parents knew he was with her. She was already under enough stress, so he decided to keep that hidden. "They're out of town," he shrugged.

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"So, you're home alone?" She was startled at the thought of a "teen" living alone. Little did she know he wasn't even close to being a teenager.

"Yeah." Kyle lied, feeling a pang of guilt. Lying to her felt wrong.

"Do you know how to cook? What do you even eat at home?" Ashlee's voice softened with concern. As much as she hated his annoying behavior, her heart was still kind.

"Uhh... no?" Kyle was unsure how to answer, sensing she'd have a million questions for him.

"How long will they be out of town?" She asked, curiosity sparking in her eyes.

"I have no idea," he sighed, waiting for the next question. She was a curious one—a blessing, Kyle thought wryly.

"Don't eat too much junk food. It's bad for your health, you know?" Ashlee gave him a serious look, expecting his agreement. What if he didn't agree? Would she hit him again?

"Of course." He nodded. What kind of spell did she know to make an Alpha like him nervous?

"Hmm. Why don't we do this," she said, suddenly jumping onto the bed beside him, almost startling him.

"Like what?" he stuttered, inching away.

"You're going to follow me anyway, so I'll make you some food every day, and you can take it home. Store it and eat when you're hungry, okay?" She leaned closer, her face dangerously near his.

Her sudden kindness caught him off guard, but he knew he wanted her to stay away—it was almost dawn, and his control was wearing thin.

"Why would you do that? You hardly eat enough yourself." He tried to look away but found himself staring into her kind eyes.

"Well, let's see... until my uncle comes back, it'll be easy for me to make food for you. I'd get bored eating outside every day anyway, and I actually enjoy cooking. So, if you want, I can make some for you." Her bright smile was genuine, her excitement about cooking contagious.

Despite eating lavish meals at home, he didn't care anymore.

"Okay, I'll come by every day, and you can make me food." He melted at her excitement, unable to resist her.

He left her house with a smile wider than he'd felt in years. This felt better than those meaningless nights with random girls. She was the first to make him blush like this.

"Someone's flying high. Oh, wait... do I smell love?" Esyn sniffed the air dramatically, teasing Kyle. His smile quickly faded into a glare.

"Shut up. No one's in love." He rolled his eyes, collapsing onto the hall sofa.

"Why do your cheeks look like they're about to burst?" Esyn smirked. She already knew he was falling hard for his mate.

Admit it or not, Kyle was in love.

"Can't I just be happy?" he grumbled, pouring himself a glass of scotch.

"Sure, sure. Happy." Esyn chuckled, clearly not letting him off the hook. He was the one who swore he'd never fall for a human girl, yet here he was.

"Quit it already," he grumbled, downing his scotch.

"Anyway, did my plan work? Has she started to trust you?" Esyn asked, making herself a glass of red wine and relaxing beside him.

"Your brilliant plan to send me to human school? Awe-inspiring," Kyle muttered sarcastically.

"Hey!" Esyn scowled, smacking his back without realizing he was hurt.

"Ow!" Kyle hissed, wincing.

"What's that?" Esyn's hand brushed over something on his back. She quickly peeled his shirt up to check.

"Hey! I told you we're not kids anymore. Stop it! You have a mate, you pervert!" Kyle scolded, covering his chest.

"Yeah, I'm not a pervert—to my own brother, stupid! Why do you have bandages on your back?" She was puzzled. Kyle hated human medicines.

"Stop touching me. I got hurt," he muttered, pulling his shirt back down.

"Why didn't you ask me to heal you?" Esyn asked, narrowing her eyes. "Wait... how did you get hurt?"

"Ashlee accidentally pushed me. I bumped into something hard." He avoided her gaze, knowing she'd tease him endlessly.

"A human girl pushed you?" She gaped. How was that even possible?

"I already told you, Esyn. She's different from other humans. I don't know why." Kyle sighed, feeling exhausted by the explanations.

"So... did she put the bandages on you?" Esyn's evil grin returned.

"Don't," Kyle warned.

"Someone's so in love. Someone doesn't want to take the bandages off because their mate treated them with love." Esyn began shouting and singing around the house.

Kyle shook his head, letting her be. He couldn't deny it anymore.

Because he was definitely in love.