Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 99: Chocolate Muffins

Chapter 99: Chocolate Muffins

Mallory:

The night air was crisp as we walked down the cobbled street of Mapleton Town.

"Coming here was a great idea. Thanks for calling us here, Eva." Selene said and the rest of us nodded along. This was our first time in Mapleton and we were enjoying it so far.

We were walking past by a little bakery nestled between a flower shop and a closed tailor’s store, when the scent of warm chocolate and butter drifted out and curled around me like a promise.

I stopped mid-step.

"Wait," I said, turning toward the glowing windows. "I need something sweet."

Selene raised a brow. "Didn’t we just stuff ourselves like wild dogs?"

"I have a separate stomach for desserts," I replied, tugging her and Eva’s arms with a grin.

"Don’t we all," Noah added, already pushing open the door.

The place was warm and fragrant inside, and the air was thick with the aroma of baked goods and melted chocolate. A glass display revealed rows of cupcakes, cookies, and muffins, all glistening under soft golden lights.

We each ordered a chocolate muffin, and the first bite melted into my mouth like sin. It was soft, rich, gooey in the center with chunks of warm chocolate that clung to my soul like a warm blanket.

"Oh my goddess," I moaned. "I could marry this muffin."

"Not before I propose to mine," Selene said while closing her eyes in pure bliss.

Even Eva, who wasn’t usually one for sweets, had a small smile on her lips as she finished hers.

Once we finished, we headed outside, stepping into the late-night cool breeze. And then, I felt someone brush against me.

I turned... and froze.

Jasper.

Every cell in my body reacted to the sight of him. He was standing tall and calm under the moonlight. His dark clothes were clinging to his lean but muscular frame. And his impossibly dark, deadly eyes softened the moment they met mine.

I stopped breathing. All I could do was stare at him.

He was looking like a storm wrapped in silk - dangerous, powerful, but oddly gentle in that moment. His hair was tousled slightly by the wind, and I was hit with the memory of our first encounter at the mansion. That electric jolt the moment we realized we were mates.

Since then, we hadn’t seen each other face-to-face again. But he messaged me. Not every day. Not annoyingly often. Just enough to make me look forward to seeing his name pop up on my screen.

He asked about my classes. My weekend plans. If I liked sunrise or moonlight more. It wasn’t like anything I had expected from someone like him.

And now... here he was.

"Mallory," he said, his voice low and warm. "I was hoping I would see you tonight."

I swallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of my friends around me and the fact that I was probably looking like a starstruck idiot.

"You look-"

"Stunned?" I offered.

"Beautiful," he corrected smoothly as the ghost of a smile curved his lips.

Eva’s eyes narrowed playfully. "You are not stealing her unless we get a guarantee that she’ll be in the dorms before midnight."

Jasper didn’t even blink. "I promise she’ll be at the Academy before the gates close. Safe and sound."

I turned toward my friends, giving them a small smile. "I’m good, I swear."

Eva stepped closer, squeezing my arm. "Take care."

"I will."

And then they left, disappearing into the street as the crowd thinned around us.

Jasper didn’t waste time. He gestured toward the street ahead. "Walk with me?"

"Gladly."

We strolled in silence for a few moments with the hum of night sounds around us - distant crickets, the whisper of leaves, the occasional passing car.

He was close but not too close. As if he was respecting the space but didn’t want to be too far.

"How was your dinner?" he asked.

"Delicious. And I think I have met my soulmate in the form of a chocolate muffin," I replied lightly.

He chuckled. It was a quiet, velvety sound that made my pulse flutter.

"I’ll make a note of that. Chocolate muffins - top of the list."

I smiled and glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "So you are making a list?"

"I’m trying to learn everything about you. Your likes. Dislikes. What makes you laugh. What makes you run. What makes you stay."

The way he said it - so simply, without flair - made my throat tighten.

"I like rainy days. I hate beetroot. I read mystery novels before bed. I have a terrible habit of pulling all-nighters before exams and then acting like I’m fine the next day."

He kept listening like every word was worth gold.

"And I have been good," I added after a moment. "Busy. But... content. Happier than I was months ago."

His eyes softened again. "I’m glad. I wanted to ask you out sooner, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you."

"I would have said yes," I admitted, biting the inside of my cheek. "If you had."

He paused. Then smiled, a slow and crooked one. "I’ll remember that for next time."

We reached his sleek black car parked near a quiet stretch of the road. He opened the passenger side door for me like it was instinct, not just courtesy.

The drive to the Academy was silent but not uncomfortable. Just... quiet. Comfortable.

I watched the moonlit landscape pass by through the window, playing with the hem of my sleeve. I was feeling a buzz in my chest that I couldn’t explain, like something important was about to happen.

When we finally pulled up near the gates of the Academy, he shifted in his seat to look at me.

"I’ll walk you to the gates," he said.

But I didn’t move.

I stared at him for a long heartbeat. The way the moonlight softened his sharp jaw. The scar on his brow. The way he was calm and composed and quiet but somehow always made my heart beat like a war drum.

He wasn’t going to kiss me. I could feel it. He wasn’t the type to steal things, not even kisses.

So I did it instead.

I leaned forward, my hand gripping his jacket near the collar as I pressed my lips to his.

He inhaled sharply, as if caught off-guard, but the next second, his mouth was moving against mine with fire.

It was nothing like the stolen kisses from boys at school.

This was deep. Intense. It was molten and slow, lips sliding together with growing hunger.

He tilted his head and deepened the kiss. One of his hands slid behind my neck while the other gripped my waist gently, as if grounding himself.

His lips were soft and demanding all at once. I felt like I was being drawn in, dissolved and made new again in the heat of his mouth.

When we finally pulled apart, I was breathless and flushed.

And he was staring at me like he wanted to devour the air I breathed.

"Goodnight, Jasper," I whispered with a wicked little smile on my lips.

Before he could say a word, I slipped out of the car and jogged toward the gates, but his voice still reached my ears.

"Goodnight, Mallory."