Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 194

Marked by the Alpha Team

The Price of Being His Girlfriend

Luna’s POV

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I didn’t think I was going to be this nervous, but I actually was. For the first time ever, I was going to let myself be seen getting out of one of my mate’s cars, and unfortunately for me, that mate happened to be Jace Callahan. It was not like I had forgotten what I had agreed to. I had been the one who brought back the whole fake relationship idea in the first place, and I had been the one who told the boys that I was going to go public with Jace.

I had even spent the last few days trying to convince myself that it was only a simple arrangement. Jace and I would pretend to date, the school would believe we were together, the werewolves would recognize his scent on me and hopefully understand that I was his mate, and my reputation would finally stop taking hits because of my association with five of the most popular guys at Blackridge. On paper, it sounded easy. In reality, as Jace’s SUV slowed down near the main entrance of Blackridge, I suddenly realized that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

I stared through the windshield at the familiar entrance, watching students walk in groups across the campus, and my stomach twisted when I imagined what was going to happen the second I opened that passenger door. I could already picture people stopping to stare, girls whispering behind their hands, phones coming out, and rumors spreading faster than I could possibly keep up with them. Something told me I was about to experience the full weight of Jace Callahan’s fanbase, and whatever I had been dealing with before this moment was probably nothing more than child’s play.

Jace must have noticed how quiet I had become because he turned toward me after pulling the SUV into a spot where he could easily drop me off without blocking the entrance. His eyes moved over my face, and I could see the concern in them even though he tried to keep his expression calm. I already knew that he could sense my emotions, so pretending I was completely fine would have been pointless. I gave him a small nod, trying to convince myself at the same time that I really was okay. I was nervous, but nervous did not mean I was going to back out. I had already made my choice, and if I wanted this plan to work, I needed to stop acting like I was being dragged into it against my will. Still, the fact that my palms were already sweating was not exactly helping my confidence.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft as he watched me carefully.

I nodded again, then let out a small breath before admitting the truth. “I’m okay. I’m just a little nervous.”

Jace gave me a quiet chuckle, and instead of making fun of me, he looked almost understanding. He had probably seen this reaction from girls before, although I had a feeling most of them were nervous for very different reasons than I was. To them, getting out of Jace Callahan’s car probably felt like a dream. To me, it felt like I was willingly walking into a storm while hoping I would somehow come out without getting struck by lightning. He rested one hand on the steering wheel and looked toward the entrance for a moment before looking back at me.

“If you’re not ready, you don’t have to force it,” he said. “We can always do this another time, and I can just drop you off here.”

I immediately shook my head. The offer was tempting, especially now that I was sitting safely inside the car with the doors still closed, but I knew delaying this would not make it easier. If anything, it would only give me more time to imagine every possible disaster. I had agreed to this, and sooner or later, I was going to have to let people see me with Jace if I wanted them to believe we were actually together. There was no point in

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91

Marked by the Alpha Team

making a plan and then hiding from the first difficult part of it.

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I took a deep breath and looked toward the entrance again, forcing myself to focus on what I wanted instead of what scared me. “I agreed to this,” I responded. “No matter how nervous I am right now, I’m eventually going to have to get over it and do what needs to be done.”

Jace gave me a small smile, but I could still see the concern in his eyes. I knew he was trying not to push me, which I appreciated. The last thing I needed was for him to tell me I was being dramatic when I was already fighting with myself. Instead, he waited patiently while I gathered my thoughts, and that gave me enough time to think of something I had been wondering about since the day I decided to do this.

I turned toward him fully and narrowed my eyes slightly because I needed him to be completely honest with me. I had heard enough stories from Ivy about how popular the boys were, and I had personally experienced enough dirty looks from girls around campus to know that their popularity was not some small thing, but there was a difference between knowing someone was popular and understanding what it meant to pretend to date them. If I were about to become Jace’s public girlfriend, I wanted to know exactly what I was walking into.

“Be honest with me,” I said. “Just how crazy is your fanbase?”

Jace’s lips parted slightly, but instead of answering immediately, he looked toward the windshield with a thoughtful expression. That alone made me suspicious. If the answer was simple, he would have given it to me already. The fact that he was taking his time told me that whatever he was about to say was probably not going to make me feel better. I folded my arms and waited, giving him the most unimpressed look I could manage. After a few seconds, he sighed and shook his head as if he were already regretting the conversation. I raised one eyebrow at him, silently demanding that he stop trying to avoid the question. Eventually, he turned toward me again.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you,” he admitted.

I stared at him for a moment before slowly shaking my head. “That answer is not helping me at all.”

Jace chuckled quietly, but when he realized I was not joking, his expression became more serious. He leaned back in his seat and seemed to search for the simplest way to explain it without making me panic. I was beginning to think I had made a terrible mistake by asking, but I still wanted the truth. I needed to know what kind of attention came with being attached to him, because there was no point in discovering it the hard way after we had already walked through the entrance. He finally rubbed the back of his neck before looking at me again.

“If you’ve ever been to one of our football games, you would understand,” Jace said. “I’m not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m pretty popular, and it unfortunately doesn’t end with the girls at Blackridge.”

My brows immediately furrowed. I had expected him to tell me he was popular. That part was obvious. What I had not expected was the way he had emphasized that it did not end with Blackridge. I turned slightly in my seat, suddenly more interested in his answer than I had been a few seconds ago. I already knew the football team had a reputation, and I knew the boys had won several championships, but I had never really considered what happened outside the school. Apparently, I was about to find out.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

Jace let out another sigh, and this time there was a faint look of guilt on his face. “It means that the guys and I are also popular with girls from other schools and even people outside the school,” he explained. “We’ve won

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12:22 Thu, Aug 13

Marked by the Alpha Team

:

making a plan and then hiding from the first difficult part of it.

91

20 vouchers

I took a deep breath and looked toward the entrance again, forcing myself to focus on what I wanted instead of what scared me. “I agreed to this,” I responded. “No matter how nervous I am right now, I’m eventually going to have to get over it and do what needs to be done.”

Jace gave me a small smile, but I could still see the concern in his eyes. I knew he was trying not to push me, which I appreciated. The last thing I needed was for him to tell me I was being dramatic when I was already fighting with myself. Instead, he waited patiently while I gathered my thoughts, and that gave me enough time to think of something I had been wondering about since the day I decided to do this.

I turned toward him fully and narrowed my eyes slightly because I needed him to be completely honest with me. I had heard enough stories from Ivy about how popular the boys were, and I had personally experienced. enough dirty looks from girls around campus to know that their popularity was not some small thing, but there was a difference between knowing someone was popular and understanding what it meant to pretend to date them. If I were about to become Jace’s public girlfriend, I wanted to know exactly what I was walking

into.

“Be honest with me,” I said. “Just how crazy is your fanbase?”

Jace’s lips parted slightly, but instead of answering immediately, he looked toward the windshield with a thoughtful expression. That alone made me suspicious. If the answer was simple, he would have given it to me already. The fact that he was taking his time told me that whatever he was about to say was probably not going to make me feel better. I folded my arms and waited, giving him the most unimpressed look I could manage. After a few seconds, he sighed and shook his head as if he were already regretting the conversation. I raised one eyebrow at him, silently demanding that he stop trying to avoid the question. Eventually, he turned toward me again.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you,” he admitted.

I stared at him for a moment before slowly shaking my head. “That answer is not helping me at all.”

Jace chuckled quietly, but when he realized I was not joking, his expression became more serious. He leaned back in his seat and seemed to search for the simplest way to explain it without making me panic. I was beginning to think I had made a terrible mistake by asking, but I still wanted the truth. I needed to know what kind of attention came with being attached to him, because there was no point in discovering it the hard way after we had already walked through the entrance. He finally rubbed the back of his neck before looking at me again.

“If you’ve ever been to one of our football games, you would understand,” Jace said. “I’m not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m pretty popular, and it unfortunately doesn’t end with the girls at Blackridge.”

My brows immediately furrowed. I had expected him to tell me he was popular. That part was obvious. What I had not expected was the way he had emphasized that it did not end with Blackridge. I turned slightly in my seat, suddenly more interested in his answer than I had been a few seconds ago. I already knew the football team had a reputation, and I knew the boys had won several championships, but I had never really considered what happened outside the school. Apparently, I was about to find out,

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

Jace let out another sigh, and this time there was a faint look of guilt on his face. “It means that the guys and I are also popular with girls from other schools and even people outside the school,” he explained. “We’ve won

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12:22 Thu, Aug 13

Marked by the Alpha Team

:

91

20 vouchers

enough championships, we’ve been in enough events, and, unfortunately, we also happen to look the way we do, so people recognize us.”

I stared at him, trying to decide whether I wanted to laugh or become annoyed. Of course he had to mention their looks. The worst part was that he was not exactly wrong. I had eyes. I knew what Jace and the others looked like, and I had seen firsthand how girls reacted whenever the five of them were in a space together. Still, knowing that their popularity extended beyond Blackridge made the whole situation feel much bigger than I had expected. I looked back toward the entrance, where students were still moving around without any idea that I was sitting inside a car trying to mentally prepare myself for what could possibly become the most ridiculous public relationship in the history of the university.

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I thought about the girls who had already looked at me like I had committed some personal crime simply by existing near the boys. If those girls thought I was annoying now, I could only imagine what they would think once they believed I was Jace’s girlfriend.

“If I’m being completely honest with you,” he continued, his voice quieter now, “dating me is going to come with a lot of jealousy from other girls, and I mean a lot of other girls.”

I turned back toward him slowly. “When you say a lot, are we talking about a few angry looks and some gossip, or are you talking about something worse?”

Jace’s expression became uncomfortable, and that alone told me everything I needed to know. He looked away for a moment before running his hand over his jaw. I could almost hear him deciding how much truth he should give me without making me change my mind before we even started. Unfortunately for him, I had already noticed the hesitation.

“There might be some harassment at first,” he admitted.

I stared at him.

He immediately looked guilty.

I slowly blinked, trying to process what he had just said. “Harassment” was not exactly the word I had expected to hear when I asked how crazy his fanbase was. I had expected jealousy, gossip, maybe some girls trying to intimidate me or spread rumors. I could handle that. I had already been dealing with rumors since I arrived at Blackridge, but harassment was different. That meant people might actually go out of their way to make my life difficult simply because they figured I was dating Jace.

I leaned back against the seat and crossed my arms again, giving him a long look. There was something almost funny about the fact that he had said “a bit” as though he were talking about a small inconvenience instead of something that could potentially become a serious problem.

“Are you sure it’s only a bit?” I asked.

Jace winced.

That reaction alone nearly made me laugh.

“Maybe it could be a whole lot,” he admitted, looking genuinely sorry now. “But I’m going to make sure it doesn’t go too far. That much I can promise you.”

I looked at him for several seconds, trying to decide whether his promise was enough to make me feel better.

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12:22 Thu, Aug 13

Marked by the Alpha Team

:

20 vouchers

enough championships, we’ve been in enough events, and, unfortunately, we also happen to look the way we do, so people recognize us.”

I stared at him, trying to decide whether I wanted to laugh or become annoyed. Of course he had to mention their looks. The worst part was that he was not exactly wrong. I had eyes. I knew what Jace and the others looked like, and I had seen firsthand how girls reacted whenever the five of them were in a space together. Still, knowing that their popularity extended beyond Blackridge made the whole situation feel much bigger than I had expected. I looked back toward the entrance, where students were still moving around without any idea that I was sitting inside a car trying to mentally prepare myself for what could possibly become the most ridiculous public relationship in the history of the university.

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I thought about the girls who had already looked at me like I had committed some personal crime simply by existing near the boys. If those girls thought I was annoying now, I could only imagine what they would think once they believed I was Jace’s girlfriend.

“If I’m being completely honest with you,” he continued, his voice quieter now, “dating me is going to come with a lot of jealousy from other girls, and I mean a lot of other girls.”

I turned back toward him slowly. “When you say a lot, are we talking about a few angry looks and some gossip, or are you talking about something worse?”

Jace’s expression became uncomfortable, and that alone told me everything I needed to know. He looked away for a moment before running his hand over his jaw. I could almost hear him deciding how much truth he should give me without making me change my mind before we even started. Unfortunately for him, I had already noticed the hesitation.

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