Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 80: Possessive girlfriend

"You actually strike me more of an athlete." Tasha giggled, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Or... a soccer player. Yeah, you definitely look like a soccer player."

Jayden chuckled. "Funny enough, i do love to kick things."

Tasha laughed. "You sure do."

"By the way, what sport are you participating in?" Jayden asked

Tasha smiled wrly. "Well... none actually. I’m not exactly sport material." she chuckled.

Jayden snickered. "Really? Not even tennis?" he jeered

Tasha nudged him playfully. "Hey, don’t judge me." she laughed. "Though, i think Jessica’s going to be representing the school in the badminton competition."

Jayden chuckled. "Of course, she’s the best badminton player i know. I’m sure she’ll win."

Tasha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too."

And like that, their conversation shifted into buddy-mode. Purely casual. No flirty undertones. No stolen glances or racing pulses. Just two teammates talking sports.

Jayden made a joke about missing all his shots. Tasha teased him about wearing the wrong shoes. They laughed a little too loud. The whole thing felt like a performance, but it was one they both nailed.

Eventually, their plates were dry and stacked.

Tasha wiped her hands on a towel and gave him a playful nudge. "Alright, player. Don’t stay up late. We leave early tomorrow." she stated, as she began walking out of the kitchen.

"Noted," he said, throwing her a casual salute. "Goodnight, Tasha."

"Night, Jayden." she waved.

No hugs. No blushing. Just two friends saying goodbye.

But the second she left the room, Jayden exhaled hard.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Jacob whispered to Harleen as they both walked to their room. "They’re good kids." he shrugged.

Harleen nodded, hiding her smirk. "Yeah.. maybe too good."

...

Jayden entered his room and sank into the bed, his mind replaying back to the events after dinner. Who knew being in a relationship could be so... dramatic.

He shook his head and threw everything at the back of his mind. He opened his inventory, and summoned the giftbox given to him for completing the quest.

"Alright." he muttered in excitement. "Open giftbox."

Jayden commanded, and almost immediately, another tab opened with a new information.

[You have received one Stamina Recovery Potion]

Jayden blinked. Of course he knew what a stamina recovery potion was... it’s function is clearly in the name. What confused him was...

"That’s it?" he asked in a bewildered expression.

[Yeah] Luna replied casually

Jayden scoffed. "I expected more... you said i would get a new skill or ability."

Luna burst into laughter. [Hahaha! I said you could... not would. Which means it’s a probability. One based on pure luck. I have no control over what lies inside a giftbox] she said

Jayden sighed in dissapointment, he’d been excited for nothing. What was he supposed to do with a stamina recovery potion. His stamina attribute was off the charts, which meant he could hold any transformation for a long time. And this rendered the potion useless to him.

"Might as well keep it." he muttered and added the potion to his inventory. Before inspecting the other things in his inventory, which were basically; Two D-Rank Howler crystals, three E-Rank Howler crystals, four E-Rank Tremor Gator crystals and nine beast corpses.

He had taken the crystals of the two D-Rank Howlers he fought immediately after defeating them. But he didn’t take the corpses because they had been mashed up and rendered inedible by the impact of his fight with the Winter wolf.

He planned to keep all the crystals he’d gained. But he didn’t know what to do with the corpses.

When Jayden arrived home, he had kept the corpses of the three E-Rank Howlers in the storage freezer. He didn’t put the corpses of the Serpenthis, Tremor Gators, and Wolverine Stalker because that would raise a bunch of questions he wasn’t prepared to answer.

The last time he brought beast corpses home, he had to concoct a convincing lie. One Jacob still found suspicious.

"What do I do with the remaining corpses?" he pondered

[You can sell them to restaurants] Luna stated. [Beast meat are very much in demand right now]

Jayden placed his hands on his chin. "Hmm, not a bad idea." he muttered. Though he wasn’t really lacking in credits, he didn’t want the beast corpses to go to waste. And he had no idea if his inventory kept things fresh or not.

[Or...] Luna’s voice came in again, playful and mischievous. [You could just eat them]

Jayden’s eyes widened. "What?!"

....

The Next Morning...

Jayden barely got any sleep.

Not because he wasn’t tired, but because he’d spent the entire night in a frantic montage of YouTube videos, Wikipedia tabs, and short clips of NBA games trying to understand the very alien world of basketball.

"Okay... dribble, pass, shoot. Don’t travel. No fouls. And what the hell is a double dribble again?"

He had taken Luna’s ’suggestion’ as a joke and so didn’t linger further on it.

By the time the sun peeked in through his window, Jayden had memorized the basics. He knew the rules... well, kind of. He knew the positions. And he knew enough to not embarrass himself... hopefully.

He threw on his school tracksuit and headed downstairs, stretching his arms and putting on some confidence.

At the bottom of the stairs, Jacob was sipping coffee, leaning against the kitchen counter, and Tasha was already geared up, waiting by the door with a sports duffel slung over her shoulder.

She smiled when she saw Jayden.

"Morning," she said gently.

Jayden opened his mouth to respond, but just then—

Thump. Thump.

Footsteps echoed above and down came Jessica.

Her eyes were shadowed with sleep and silence. She walked past Jayden like he was a ghost.

"Morning, Dad," she muttered, giving Jacob a quick kiss on the cheek.

Then she was gone, out the door with not so much as a glance toward Jayden or Tasha.

The air tightened.

Jayden sighed. Tasha glanced away. Jacob sipped his coffee, pretending he didn’t notice, but his sharp eyes missed nothing.

Without a word, they followed Jessica out.

The ride to school was like a tomb. Jacob drove silently, or rather, flew silently, the car humming softly as the skyline blurred past them. Jessica stared out the window the entire time, arms folded. Jayden kept his hands in his lap, while Tasha tapped her fingers to a silent rhythm on her thigh.

Even Jacob, ever the chill dad, felt the tension slicing through the air like cold steel.

When they reached the school gate, the hovercar settled gently, and Jacob glanced back.

"Good luck today," he said to all of them.

"Thanks," Jayden replied with a faint smile.

Thanks, Dad." Tasha replied too.

But Jessica didn’t wait, she was already halfway across the courtyard before the others stepped out. No "bye," no glance back.

Jayden watched her go, heart a little heavy.

Tasha, sensing his thoughts, looped her arm into his. "Come on. Let’s go introduce you to the team," she said, her voice soft but a little teasing.

Jayden blinked, then nodded. "Okay."

As they walked side by side through the front entrance, heads turned. Whispers stirred like wildfire.

"Is that... Jayden Starrk... ? With Natasha Smith?"

"Dude... he that guy who kicked through a titanium armour!"

"Why do all the cool girls like the new guy?"

Some were in awe. Others were boiling in their envy stew. Especially the boys.

Jayden walked with a quiet confidence, ignoring the glares.

Tasha, meanwhile, wore a calm, almost smug expression. Like she knew exactly what kind of message this stroll sent.

"I need to grab something from my locker," she said as they passed the science hallway.

Jayden nodded. "Cool. I’ll wait here."

She moved to her locker, inputting the code and pulling the metal door open with a soft clunk. Books, a water bottle, a lucky keychain. She started rummaging inside.

Jayden stood about five feet away, arms crossed, gazing at nothing in particular.

Then he heard it.

A voice like honey and sunshine.

"Jayden?"

He turned, to see a beautiful purple-eyed blonde.

Cassandra.

She stood a few feet away in a cheerleader-style top and a short jacket, her hair a golden waterfall, and her smile... dangerous. Her boobs practically defied gravity and bounced elegantly as she approached him.

"Cassie, hey." Jayden smiled, a little surprised.

She walked over, swaying just enough to cause a scene. "Hey, Jayden. I didn’t think you’d come to school today."

Jayden chuckled. "Yeah, I didn’t think so either. But... I was kinda talked into joining the basketball team."

Her eyes lit up. "You play basketball?"

"I mean... sorta. Not really. But—"

"That’s so cool!" she said, stepping closer. A bit too close. "I like basketball," she purred, placing her hand softly on his arm. "Maybe you could teach me sometime?"

And then she leaned in.

Pressed her assets against his bicep with a soft squish.

Jayden froze, his brain officially crashing.

"Well, I don’t really—"

"What’s going on here?"

Her voice sliced through the hallway like a cold wind.

Jayden’s heart stopped.

He turned slowly, already knowing who it was.

Tasha.

She stood just beside her locker now, glaring at both of them. Her eyes were narrowed and locked in on Cassandra like a sniper.

Jayden gulped.

Without a word, she strode forward, pulled Jayden away, grabbed his arm, and hooked it into hers. Firm. Possessive. Clearly sending the message: He’s mine, and no one else’s.

Cassie blinked. "Wait, i thought... he didn’t have a girlfriend?" she thought. "And don’t they live together? I figured they’d have more of a... brother-sister thing."

Jayden tried to speak. "Hey, uh, i was just..."

Tasha cut him a sharp side-eye that caused his throat to go dry.

He wisely shut up.

"Hello, Cassie," Tasha said sweetly, too sweetly. Her voice dripped with honey... and poison.

Cassandra frowned. "Hello, Natasha. It’s been a while."