Zak looked at me curiously at my laugh. I shook my head at him.
"It's nothing. Just thinking about stuff."
He gave me a miniscule shrug. I looked at him with curiosity in my eyes, elbows on my knees, hands cupping my chin.
It's one of those things that peeved me about Lycans. Their movements were so elegant. Like someone instilled that etiquette into their brains even before they were born. Zak's movements were so rigid, yet so graceful. I felt like I had to take notes.
I was so jealous of him, and also a teeny bit proud that he was my mate, even though I was going to leave him. His hair was so dark, darker than the night sky, with a beautiful violet sheen. Impeccably trimmed, with only a few unruly strands falling over his pale forehead. My hands itched to brush them back.
A face so angular that even a beginner could sketch a masterpiece if they just copied the planes of his face. His pupils were a stark contrast against his icy blue eyes, that were speckled with gold.
He was perfect.
"Done staring at me?" Zak asked, looking bored. What a rude mate. He should be the one admiring me like I was doing to him. I forgave him because he had such an ungrateful mate as me.
"Not really," I answered. He made a strangled noise of surprise.
"Do you have no decorum, woman?"
"I am just appreciating beauty. What's decorum got to do with that? Can you pose for me? I just need to take a few pictures." So that I could cry over him on a dark moonless night someday in the future. Maybe I was being too dramatic.
I took out my mythcom. Magicka and Mythicka had to use different communication devices, as our magical auras were different. We used Mythcom for nearly everything and adjusted its size and functions to our needs. But how much we could adjust depended on the price. Mine was pretty basic.
Zak looked taken aback and got up from his chair.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked as the flat black square in my palm lit up.
"Trying to take pictures of you. What else? It annoyed me that he couldn't even stay still for a bit while I was trying to take pictures of him. It did not cross my mind that asking a stranger for pics might be a bit rude.
"Why do you need pictures of me? Are you a reporter?" He asked curiously.
"No. Why would you think that? I just need some references." I made up a dumb sounding excuse on the go. It's not like I could admit that I wanted to take pictures of him because he's my mate and I didn't want to forget him.
Zak leaned towards me. I leaned back reflexively. The closer he came, the more his scent assaulted me. I also couldn't handle seeing his handsome face up close.
"What?" He asked, looking extremely confused and too close to my face for my liking. I pushed his forehead back with my fingers. The small touch sent pleasant shivers down my spine. He leaned back obediently while frowning.
"Drawing references. I draw things for a living. You look handsome, so I was going to ask you to model for me so that I can sell my paintings and earn money." He looked completely dumbfounded at this.
"Pack members who were born in other packs do not receive the money. The jobs are only available if you're in school or twenty and over," I said awkwardly, waiting for him to ask the question.
Everyone who learnt that I did not have a job or compensation and sold magical paintings for a living asked for it.
"Ah, you are nineteen, aren't you? You must have finished school early." He nodded in understanding.
'Oh yeah, let's go with that.'
I just nodded along. I did not want my mate to know that I got kicked out of school for disobedience. It's not like I was going to cross paths with him again. No point in him having to know minor details like that.
I tried to distract him from the topic at hand.
"So, erm, you said that you just wanted to keep me away from him, right? I was actually going to run away from here myself." His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You have been planning this for some time now, haven't you?" He asked quietly. Again, what was with him just stating things like that? He didn't ask like he was doubting it, he just stated it as if it were a fact.