Jason's POV
Taking Aurora into my room was all in a bid to get her away from my father's horrible glare.
I knew she was uncomfortable sitting there while he stared at her like he wanted to strangle her even though she denied it when I asked if she was okay.
It was a bit surprising for me to see Gieon act so sweetly towards her; not to talk about him smiling at her when she talked about her drinking hot cocoa for the first time. I wonder what changed his mind about her, I mean he never liked her and never failed to show it then, so his sudden change of behavior towards her is quite questionable.
Getting back to the living room, the woman Aurora talked about was already there, back from wherever she went.
There was this awkward silence around that I couldn't seem to shake off, with Gieon sitting on a chair next to a couch and my dad standing by the kitchen counter with a brooding face.
Taking a glance at the woman again, where she sat on a couch placed in the middle of the room, she smiled, revealing a little bit of her fairly straight white teeth, which I found quite friendly, but I couldn't still escape the nervousness I felt within me.
She had an almond-shaped face and winter-white hair that fell over her shoulders; her dark hazel eyes were slightly covered by her long eyelashes with black, thick eyebrows over them.
She had very sharp cheekbones as well, along with some faint scars running along with them, almost disappearing under the edge of her collarbones.
Judging by how young she looked, I could say she looked like she was in her late twenties but if actually, she was a friend of my mother like she claimed when we all were back in the forest, then it would for a fact that she was definitely way older than that; much, much older.
She stood up from the couch and walked over towards me as I stared blankly trying not to show any kind of expression. Her gaze stayed fixed on mine, with her hands holding each other behind her back.
"Believe me, I wish our meeting was due to other circumstances.….." She trailed off, her dark hazel eyes sparkling as bright as a jackdaw.
She came closer, and placed her palm on my cheeks; which I found very odd of her to do considering we were strangers to each other.
She continued smiling warmly as she spoke, "You still look very much like your mother." With that said she let out a small laugh before releasing my cheeks, moving away from me while smiling.
"I'm sorry, I've always done that since you were little and I just couldn't help it."
That made me snap out of whatever confusion I was in, giving her a weird look.
"Uh…thanks?" I replied unsure whether to accept her apology or not. Which she seemed to have sensed because she laughed again, "Don't thank me for such an old gesture, my bad!"She chuckled, placing one hand inside her coat pocket and the other against her hip, "Anyways, how about I introduce myself? Since I haven't done that yet." She added after noticing my blank stare.
I gave her a nod and a slight smile, motioning her to continue with another nod.
"My name is Nina, holder of the amber amulet of the deer coven, and like I said before I was a friend of your late mother, Elaine." With that, she removed her hand from the pocket and extended it towards me as she introduced herself.
I took her hand, shaking her gently, a smile still plastered on my face as I did so, "Nice to meet you" I said softly, giving her a soft, genuine smile that she returned immediately before we released our handshake.
Nina returned to her spot on the couch. "Now where are we? Oh right," she began, "I should be explaining my presence here, and to be honest, it seems like I'm going to stay for quite a while, but maybe I'll leave once in a while so don't worry too much."
I nodded, not saying anything.
"Right," she cleared her throat, "Well, before I start, where's Aurora?" she questioned looking directly at me.
"She's in my room…" I trailed off, passing a glare to my father who was now watching me intently, his eyes narrowed.
"She's a bit cold, and staying here won't help her feel better." Even though that wasn't the whole truth, it's close enough.
She gave a slow nod, with a smirk on her lips, " You must care about her so much then ."
The way she said those words, the way her voice sounded so knowing, it almost felt like she knew something, maybe why I was so protective of Aurora. but I let it slide off my conscience.
"Yeah, I do," I stated, a hint of a smile making its way onto my lips as I spoke, making Nina's smirk widen. She leaned forward, crossing one of her legs over the other and resting her elbow on top of her knee.
"I can understand why you would feel that way. She must really be special to you, isn't she? " She stated, her head tilted a little to the side. The same smirk was now fully on her face. But before I could open my mouth to reply, my father's voice interrupted us.
Walking towards us. His eyes trained on Nina, and his expression was serious and cold.
"She means nothing to him! She's nothing but trouble and might eventually get us all killed! So stop asking him silly questions about her and trying to build up feelings that don't exist for him."
He spat in venom, earning a glare from me.
That was really enough that I could take from him, enough of his unnecessary tantrums and verbal attacks.
This time around he has to listen to me and uphold my wishes whether he likes it or not.
I didn't care that he is my father, all I cared about is to stop him from referring to Aurora as nothing.
How dare he call her that?
He had crossed the line and I don't think he would be able to hold a candle to the fury I felt.
This time I won't hold it back.
Not today.
"She's something!, she's my mate!"