CHAPTER 31

JASMINES POV

That was one step up.

Putting Bryan at the center would certainly bring him out of his hiding, and I’ll get my revenge on him. His act last night still lived fresh in my memory, taunting every part of my body.

Caine drove me silently back to town. He went down the lane leading to Mrs. Maria’s diner, where I was supposed to work.

“Are you sure nothing happened between you and Bryan last night that i should know about?” Caine snapped me out of thoughts as he parked in front of the diner.

“Nothing happened. He just happened not to be at the scene when it happened. So there’s every that he’s behind it,”

“And you…what were you doing in the woods that late?” He asked. I sighed, turning to look at him.

“You can’t know everything, Caine,”

“But I want to know if I can trust you,” he said.

I hesitated, staring into his eyes and realizing how genuine he was. That wasn’t enough to make me share the events of the previous night.

“Trust is earned, not negotiated,” I replied and came down from the car.

The diner was already buzzing with life, people trooping in and out. Most of the students who were selected to be on my team too were serving. Alyssa was standing behind the counter, and she gestured me to come to her.

“Hi, Alyssa,”

“First day and you’re late,” she said with a smile, reaching for a cabinet and taking out an apron.

“I’m sorry, I was a witness to a crime so I got called in,” I apologized. The bell at the door rang as Caine walked in. I saw his reflection from the mirror infront of me while Alyssa’s face shifted to him.

“Called in…with him,” Alyssa said. I took the apron and found my way around it. “Be careful around him, okay,” she muttered right before Caine came up to us.

“Alyssa,”

“Caine. Long time,” Alyssa replied. I left the two of them and went into the kitchen behind the diner. I bumped into someone at the entrance.

“New girl,” Eric called as he let go of my shoulder which he grabbed so I wouldn’t fall after hitting him. “You’re here. Told you we’ll get along real good,” he said, taking a strand of my hair away from my face.

“What’s with you and the alpha’s son. We’ve been seeing you two lately,”

“You should learn to mind your business, Eric,” I dismissed him immediately. I got my hands busy with the cake preparation, following every instruction about speed and accuracy until Caine walked into the room.

He was in an apron too.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, dragging him away from the rest to a secluded corner.

“Your father asked that I keep an eye on you. He says the seekers never let go of those who saw them,”

“You're bluffing,” I objected, but then I remembered my fathers last words. I sighed, rolling my eyes away from him. They landed on Eric who winked at me and bit his lower lip. “Don’t you have students to train?” I turned to Caine.

“I do. That happens at dawn. Which means I have all day to myself,” he responded. Alyssa walked into the room, eyes darting around until she spotted me.

“Jasmine,” she called. “You’ll serve the front tables. Pick a near apron,” she told me, ignoring Caine who was lurking behind me.

I did as she instructed and made my way to the counter.

“Are you going to pretend like I’m not standing right here?” Caine called my attention.

A heavy sigh escaped my mouth as I turned to him.

“I don’t know what you want, Caine. But listen…” I started, scanning the diner to ensure there was no one focused on us. The coast was clear, then I continued. “You are dating my best friend. If you have an atom of shame then you wouldn’t be making such advances towards me,”

I wanted to sound like I didn’t like the fact that he was all around me, but I guess I failed with that. Caine only smiled, staring quietly at me. I crossed my arms over my breast and leaned on the counter. “Did I say something amusing?”

“No, no…not at all,” he fought the smile that was growing wider.

“Then what’s funny,”

“You look cute when you’re trying to be serious,” he responded.

“I’m dead serious Caine. Lucy is my best friend. You can’t be doing this to her. We can’t be doing this to her…”

“She’s your best friend. But are you her best friend?” Caine asked, and the silence that followed was a proof of my uncertainty. The bell at the door jingled and Caine’s smile grew even wider. “That’s our list, in their right order,” he said, sending my gaze to them.

What could be the coincidence?

Jojo, Spencer, Harper, Imani and Jerry, walking into the diner all cooked in their discussions that they barely noticed I was in there.

“Shall we?” Caine sounded more excited than I was. For a second, I doubted him. I stared at him, trying to understand why he was helping me get revenge on his friends. But I guess that was a question for the nearest future to come.

“Yeah…sure,” were the only words that came out under my breath. I attended to the table bell ring, and of course, their usual drama spun into play.

“Ohh…medium rare for the diner,” Spencer started with a chuckle.

“Fate has its way around, don't you think?” Imani snickered, glaring at me.

They kept yanking stupid jokes at me while I stood holding the menu with a forced smile. If this wasn’t part of the training/test, one of them would definitely be bleeding from the head by now after I’d have struck him with the sharp edge of the menu.

“This is a diner, not a public space. Cut the girl some slack and act mature for once,” Caine’s voice silenced theirs. I saw the shock on their faces, followed by little murmurings.

Imani picked her phone and typed something in it. The phones of the rest beeped, sending their eyes digging. The next time they looked up, they had a small smile on.

“We apologize. We wouldn’t want to interrupt your perfect script, Caine,” Harper broke the silence, staring at Caine. I furrowed my brows, my mind wandering about to process his words. I turned to Caine who looked almost as shocked and surprised as I did.

“What script?”

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