DESIRE

21

News had spread quickly about Kennedy's suspension, but it spread even quicker about Damon and the shifter school fire.

 It was like everyone was talking about it and wanted to know what really happened.

 Jace knew the exact moment that the news broke because everyone started staring at the table they were occupying.

 "Damon set fire to the school?" Marcus whispered, glancing between Jace and Liv in shock.

 Damon had only left thirty minutes prior and somehow managed to confess to arson.

 "No way," Liv gaped looking at Jace who got that distant look in his eyes when he was mind linking someone.

 "He's blocked off his mind," Jace sighed "I can't believe it was him. His dad's going to go apeshit as well."

That was one thing for certain. Luna Elena had found Damon standing in the hallway stroking the top of his arm when she grabbed him by the ear dragging him out to the car. It was a sight to behold as Elena was a foot shorter than her son. 

 "That's if his mum doesn't kill him first." Marcus sighed "He's just been so different recently ever since we came to this school,"

 "Was he not always like... well Damon." 

 "He was always quiet and broody, but he never drank as much as he does now but..." His eyes darted between the mates "I think a part of him is struggling since you found your mate Jace, since he won't be with his mate, I think he's just trying to cope."

Jace sighed, putting his head in his hands, this had all become one giant mess and he wasn't sure how to fix it. He needed to talk to Damon. "I'll see you tonight," He murmured, pressing a kiss to Liv's forehead before leaving out of the cafeteria doors shifting into his wolf running into the woods nearby.

 "He'll be okay," Marcus reassured Liv, catching her staring out of the window with a soft frown on her face. "I don't think any of this will ever be okay again,"

*

When Jace arrived at the frat house it was deadly silent inside, the only tell that Damon was home was his scent that covered the front door. He didn't know how his best friend would react to being confronted for his behaviour over the past couple of weeks. 

 "Damon?" Jace called out pushing the heavy door open to his surprise Damon was sitting at the kitchen island eating a sandwich as he scrolled through his phone. He was completely and utterly relaxed as if he hadn't confessed to burning down their school a couple of weeks ago.

 "We need to talk," Jace frowned, sitting beside his best friend and Alpha who just shrugged and gave him a look as if to say, 'about what?' he tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, or grab Damon's shoulders to shake some sense into him "you burned down the shifter school?"

 "Why did you accuse Kennedy?" Damon interrupted him, narrowing his eyes "I've seen that girl throw a temper tantrum over chipping a nail, never mind burning down a whole school." 

 "It looked like it was her, and her cardigan was left at the scene of the crime." Jace defended "I get it now in hindsight it doesn't really make much sense." 

 "Yeah, you clearly should've used your heads before jumping to such conclusions." Damon snapped "you're meant to be the future Beta Jace and now you're accusing humans of crimes they didn't commit?"

 "And you're meant to be the future Alpha Damon, maybe if you had bothered to come to any of the meetings then none of this would've happened. Maybe you and your genius brain would've been able to solve the mystery, or you could've been there to confess before we even took it to the Alpha in the first place!" Jace shouted, his chest was heaving with anger as he stared at his best friend, he could feel his eyes changing colour as his shifter surfaced.