Weres

8. Supernatural

"Hey, Marley, C-can I ask you something?" Sanjay's voice wavered.

Marley turned around to face Sanjay, who was fidgeting in his seat. She was taken aback by her friend's nervous state. He wasn't the shy one and hardly ever refrained from speaking out his mind.

They were in calculus class and expected their teacher to arrive any moment now. 

"Sure." Marley had noticed changes in Sanjay's mood for the last few days. He was acting strange. She had tried to make him open up, but the latter never uttered a word.

Two weeks had passed since Marley and Sanjay's first encounter and their friendship only grew. But Marley didn't  want to push him, no matter how much she wanted to help.

"Do you —uh—believe in supernatural stuff?" He mumbled hurriedly, his eyes downcast.

The images of flickering golden eyes of Eden crossed her mind, but she quickly wiped them away.

"Uhm... I don't know. I never saw stuff like that. Sometimes our brain can trick us into seeing things that aren't actually there," she replied casually, trying to convince herself of the words that came out of her. "Why do you ask?"

"Never mind." Sanjay turned away, choosing to glare at the textbook on his desk instead.

"Is everything alright? You've been zoning out lately?" Marley made another attempt.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he said, his gaze still fixed on the textbook.

Circumstances like these made Marley wish she had some social skills—they might come in handy right now. She knew Sanjay was anxious about something, yet she didn't want to overstep her boundaries either. They had only known each other for two weeks.

Suddenly, a thought made its way into her head. "Is it Oliver? Is he bothering you?" The words spurted out of her before she could stop them.

Sanjay's head whipped to look at her, eyes wide and mouth half open. Marley realized she hit a nerve.

"You can talk to me about it," she said soothingly.

"No, he-he's just." Sanjay let out a heavy sigh. His eyes once again found the calculus book on his desk. "It's nothing."

"If you say so." Marley relented with a frown.

*****

The mundane sounds of high school were pricking the inside of Eden's ears. Teenagers were too damn loud. 

The cafeteria was loaded with students but Eden's gaze only fell on one—the one who was adamant on ignoring it—Marley. A low growl escaped his throat, only to be heard by his friends sitting around him.

"How long are you going to wait?" Matthew asked, sensing the alpha's frustration.

"Not long. I am going to do it today. She has to deal with it," he said, before turning to Oliver. "How's Sanjay taking it?"

"Well, he passed out. Then tried his best to stamp it as a nightmare but eventually he gave into the bond. He still avoids me." Oliver slipped out a small chuckle. "He's adorable when he tries that but he's good and accepting it."

"How did you manage to keep it from him for three months? I cannot even manage for two weeks?" Eden furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes shifting to her once again. He was getting impatient.

"My Nana told me that it is harder for Alphas to stay away from their mates. They are more eager because of their dominating nature," Matthew added.