Chapter 178: 178-The Cream Of The Academy
Joshua:
"All set," I told her with a smile as I got up, but she instantly held my hand. Her touch would ignite flames in my body. And she knew that too. All my life, I have only loved Suki. So it really suck that she betrayed me.
"Please forgive me," she whispered.
I gave her a small nod. I guess even she realized that whenever I tried to be close to her, I couldn’t stop thinking of her with Jack, and it just made me so uncomfortable.
"I will, with time," I told her.
"I will wait. I will wait forever for you," she said, making me give her a broken smile.
"That is all I want to hear. I want to be your special too, Suki, like you are special to me." I knelt beside her again, holding her hand. She had put her clothes back on. She was so pretty. Honestly, she had no clue what she meant to me.
"I am so sorry. When I first cheated on you, I felt like if I kept doing it, it would be fine. I was trying to ease my guilt, and I was afraid if I stopped, Jack would get angry," she admitted, making me frown and scrunch my eyebrows.
"Did he force you?" I asked, and she quickly shook her head.
"No, no, no, that’s not what I mean. It’s just that I’m really sorry. Please, let’s make it work," she pleaded, and I gave her a gentle pat on the back of her hand.
"I was thinking about that too. It’ll take me some time to be my regular self, but I really want it to work," I murmured with all honesty. Somewhere along the line, I knew I loved her more than she loved me. That I wouldn’t be able to live without her if she rejected me.
She instantly threw herself at me, hugging me tightly. I couldn’t hug her back because of the bandages on her back, but I cupped her face and kissed her lips. The sweet taste of her tongue could turn me on during a war with a monster. She held that much power over me. I deepened the kiss, moaning as I slipped my tongue into her mouth. She hungrily started to suck my tongue.
Once we broke off the kiss, I finally smiled with all my heart.
"I don’t know what I’d be without you, Sukie. And somewhere along the line, I know you know this too." I smiled.
A tear slid down my cheek while she nodded. She knew what she meant to me.
"Guys, we can’t stay hiding, we have to go and speak with Ian as well. Those things, those flying creatures, if they somehow pass through the net, the mainland will be in danger," Jack suddenly spoke up, probably thinking he was too clever to be sneaky. But I knew he couldn’t stand the sight of me with Sukie.
On the other hand, he was also telling the truth. We had to get to work. These things were dangerous. So we all got up and headed toward the door again.
But as soon as we reached the door, I saw Ian, Clementine, and Haiden heading after Yorick and Troy. And it was Clementine who gave us such a nasty glance.
"Where are you heading? Don’t tell me you’re gonna go after her wherever she takes you. We have a mission in hand!" I shouted at Ian, who shrugged without even turning around to respond. I hated that guy. He thought he was too superior to us, so he wouldn’t even get involved in conversations. But once in a while, he’d speak up just to say something so outrageous and it made our blood boil.
"Where are you heading?" I yelled again, but they just kept walking silently, as if they couldn’t even hear us.
At this point, Yash had to be the one to go after them. He hastily approached them to have a word while Jack cleared his throat beside me.
"Don’t you think that Ian guy is a little too relaxed to be in the North?" Jack said. Suki stepped to the side, probably to put some distance so I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. She didn’t respond to him. But I had to agree with Jack.
"I’ve noticed it myself," I said, staring at Ian’s back. "There’s something off about him." I nodded as I spoke.
I watched Yash speak to them and then return.
"They’re taking care of the ones that got bitten, because the hallucinations will start. Ian will join you and Jack in a few minutes, while the others stay back with the ones that will be sleeping," Yash explained, making me look around in disbelief.
They were seriously leaving other crusaders behind. First they let the red squad separate, now this. Who the heck would take care of us when we reached the tower?
"Who the heck put them in charge of everything?" I groaned, wondering if someone in their group was calling the shots.
"Maybe it’s that girl, Clementine. She acts too clever and tough," Jack said. I started to nod, because I’d noticed it too. At times I thought she’d back away from the monsters, but she always went headfirst into trouble, and came out on top. Our ringleader also hated the side of her for being too cocky at times.
"And then that Ian guy, he’s odd too," Jack added.
"To be honest, I don’t see anyone leading that group. They’re all alphas. Maybe they just share the same kind of energy," Yash said.
It was the only thing that made sense, but we all shot him a sharp look. He shrank back, and that made me realize he might be right. When alphas or betas are together, they hardly let others speak. And in their case, they were all alphas, the cream of the academy.
Then my eyes moved to my squad.
"It’s okay, we’ll be there with you," Suki said, stepping forward and holding my hand. And that was all I needed.