Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next week went by without much drama. I started going to breakfast again, where Marcus sat with me quietly each day. This time, it was my fault our relationship was tense, and I had no idea what he currently thought of me.

It was almost impressive the way I'd managed to mess up every relationship in my life this month. I'd say I was surprised, but… I wasn't. I'd never been anything more than the girl who was always passed over up until now. Why would it be shocking that the moment men were suddenly giving me attention, I'd fall on my face in a puddle of shit and make a fool of myself?

I was also still processing the fact that not even one of the men to take interest in me was human, and I couldn't say if I should be flattered or offended by that. Was I suddenly desirable? Or had I always been, and I'd just been surrounded by the wrong people my whole life? Who could say.

But rather than dwell on my mistakes, of which there were numerous, I had an important platonic not-a-date to prepare for. As many times as I'd seen my professor since he proposed this ridiculous meet up, he'd done a great job of continuing to be professional, while I'd been sweating in my seat every time class ended, and I wasn't the first person out the door.

Two weeks of that had me mentally exhausted before the whole thing even started. Time flew fast when I spent every single minute stressing out of my mind.

The day before the full moon arrived, I was working a morning shift with Ceto, trying to prepare myself for the worst, while also wanting to find the right dress for the occasion.

"What outfit would you pick?" I asked Ceto, who was busy organizing one of the racks at Threads of the Magi.

I held up a black velvet dress in one hand and a heavy blue sweater dress in the other. Spring was coming up fast, but I was still going to have to endure a few more weeks of chilly nights and light rain before that happened. I didn't want to freeze, but I still wanted to look good on my date. Working at a clothing store definitely made that a bit easier.

"I'm a fan of black, personally." Ceto shrugged, continuing to organize the dresses by size, not even glancing at the outfits in my hands.

"You didn't even look." I pouted.

"I didn't have to. Black is always the answer, every time, always. If there was a black one in your hand, I was going to pick it."

"There wasn't." I lied, trying to get him to actually look at me.

"Then you have bad taste, and I can't save you." He finally gave me the attention I was begging for, meeting my eyes with a soft smirk on his handsome face. His gaze honed in on the little black velvet dress, and he tipped his chin in its general direction. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. That would look adorable on you."

My cheeks warmed for no reason, even in spite of the tongue in cheek teasing. I nodded and returned the blue sweater dress to the rack. "Black it is then."

"Oh, and this." He tossed me something, and it was by some miracle that my reflexes reacted quickly enough to catch it. I admired the accessory in my hand, sorting out what I was looking at. Little black gemstones were set in a silver chain belt. It was cute and unique and went perfect with the velvet.

"This is so cute." I blinked at his unexpectedly impeccable fashion sense. I knew he worked at a clothing store, but it still surprised me somehow that this guy, who I only ever saw dressed in various uniforms, who didn't seem to have any sort of style of his own, not only was a tailor and designer, but had a great sense of how to enhance an outfit.

What was that old saying about the shoemaker always wearing the worst shoes?

Ceto nodded in acknowledgement before he went back to organizing a table of sweaters.

"So is it safe to assume this date is with one of your mates, Human Lila?" Ceto asked not at all subtly.

I pursed my lips at the title. "Can't you come up with a better nickname?" I raised a brow, but he shook his head .

"Not until I know what kind of species you are, Human Lila." He said for obnoxious emphasis.

"I'll tell you what I am when you tell me what you are." I tried next. I was being facetious, but that still made him laugh.

"Really?" He flashed his slitted eyes at me, and that sent a cold shiver down my spine. "That's all it'll take?" His tone dropped to something sinister, and I stood still as he approached. Something about the way he looked at me with his shifted eyes was heart stopping, and I didn't know how to react. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe—he held me captive every time he bore into my soul.

Ceto didn't strike me as a dangerous person but… I knew next to nothing about him. Maybe I was underestimating the cute nerd from the library.

He closed the distance, taking his time to fully appreciate the hold he had on me, then he bent down just enough so his gaze was directly in line with mine. He rested a hand on my cheek, and he stroked the delicate skin beneath my eye with his thumb. I didn't react, even though I wanted to, and instead I let him stare into me like he was searching for an answer I didn't have. He moistened his lips with his tongue before he whispered, "Do you even know what you are, sweetheart?"

He shifted his eyes back into the cold, solid white gemstones with rounded pupils, and I released a breath like he'd been holding me at gun point and just fired an empty chamber into my forehead as a joke. I swallowed the built up saliva in my throat and blinked moisture back into my eyes.

Fuck, he's intense . "Yes. I told you. I'm human." I reiterated for the thousandth time. "Now your turn. "

My coworker chuckled as he took a single step back. He patted me on the head like I was a daft puppy dog, and he flashed me a grin that could only be described as cute and harmless. "Of course you are. That's why your nickname is Human Lila."

The expression I returned was flat and annoyed. The mocking and sarcasm was not lost on me. "Whatever." I mumbled under my breath.

"So when is your date?" He walked around the checkout counter and came up with some cleaning supplies. He tossed me a rag, and we both got to work at cleaning up any fingerprints or dust on the displays.

"Tomorrow night."

"The full moon." He lowered his volume when he added, "How interesting."

I flushed, though there was no reason he would have understood why that was so embarrassing.

"Oh, is it?" I feigned ignorance.

Ceto, who was straightening out the manikin in the athletic wear section, patted a pile of tennis skirts. "Maybe you should consider an outfit that pairs well with running shoes."

He always spoke with so little emotion that I could never tell if he was joking, offering advice, or making a general statement.

"He said it's a nice restaurant. I don't think they'll let me in with gym clothes."

"He's a shifter, correct?" Ceto confirmed. I nodded. "An Alpha? "

I nodded again, having already gotten that confirmation.

My coworker and friend looked me over like he was sizing me up. I didn't know where all of this was coming from. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as though he was the one stressed about this ordeal more than I was, then he walked into the backroom. When he returned, he was holding a beautiful, delicate bracelet with black gemstones that matched the belt he'd given me. He approached me, took my hand, then clasped the jewelry around my wrist.

"Don't take that off," he whispered before he stepped away. With that, he returned to his work like nothing had happened, and I just gaped at the beautiful jewels on my wrist.

"Is it special?" It would be par for the course for this to be a magical artifact of some sort. He tipped his chin without words, and I wrapped my hand around the metal links. "What does it do?"

Ceto pulled his collar to the side, revealing a necklace of the same design that he kept hidden under his shirt. I'd never noticed it before, but he was always wearing collared uniforms, so that wasn't surprising. "It's a weapon against Alphas." He said, clearly without any intention to clarify. He returned to his work in silence, and I stared into the black gems.

"Thank you." I said, and I didn't probe further.