Chapter 20.4

Melanie's eyes lit up but she quickly frowned and crossed her arms and considered the ramifications of what his words implied.

"Are you … planning to overthrow the Council?" She finally asked slowly. While she had an obsession with Jason and would agree to anything he ordered from her in a heartbeat, she still felt that going against the Council was a poor choice.

"What? No, no. That'd be boring," Jason gave her an amused glance. "Plus, more work for me if I did that. That's like asking you to take Silvie's position in the Academy. Would you agree to that?"

Melanie shook her head repeatedly in horror. Just imagining how much more paperwork she'd have to do if she were to replace Silvia caused a shudder to run through her body and she tried driving away that horrific scene from her mind. The one thing she hated the most was paperwork.

"Hmm, well. This ... is a problem," Jason muttered while moving past Melanie to observe the docks.

Enhancing his vision, he could see a handful of armed men overlooking a small group of workers who were loading large containers from a ship. Considering the timing and their handling, Jason narrowed his eyes as he realized that he could detect faint signs of life from those containers.

Fuckers, He thought.

"I didn't bring my Phantom armour," Jason turned back to Melanie and stated calmly.

"Good," Melanie replied while leaning and supporting herself on his shoulder. "This is a covert mission, we can't let them know that we're Phantoms."

Jason turned his head and looked at Melanie, realizing now that her Phantom armour had no Council insignia. Phantoms were covert operatives that did the Council's dirty work. For such reasons, there were no approved uniforms and instead, each Phantom had its own unique armour. The only thing that they were required to wear was a special holographic badge that was usually worn on their shoulders. This hologram emitted a solid light image of the Council insignia just a few centimetres above the arm.

"So … what you're saying is…" Jason tilted his head and asked.

"I'm saying it's the perfect time to test your new gear," Melanie answered flirtatiously.

Immediately Jason turned and grabbed her by the throat with a single arm and lifted her into the air. His killing aura froze the area around him as the droplets of rain slowed down from the intent that became nearly tangible. Melanie, despite having her throat constricted, smiled and looked at Jason with eyes full of misguided passion.

"Mmm . . . I like being . . . manhandled," Melanie said to Jason. "You're so . . . dominant. More, Jason. Harder!"

"Were you spying on me?" Jason asked quietly while tightening the grip on her throat. He was concerned that she knew more than just his armour. If she knew about his status as a Practitioner . . .

"Do ... you have ... to ask?" Melanie gasped out erotically as her eyes twinkled in apparent joy.

Jason tossed her away and tried to calm his killing intent. His first reaction to Melanie's revelation was to kill her, that way he'd be sure she wouldn't know or reveal his secrets. But he also knew that there would be complications if he killed or attempted to confine her in any way.

"I told you before didn't I?" Melanie coughed before talking to Jason. She didn't even lift herself up as she looked up at him, her body lying exotically on the ground. "I know you. The real you, Jason."

Jason understood what she meant and his breathing stalled. The fact that trouble didn't come knocking on his door meant that Melanie hadn't revealed his secrets to anyone. Yet.

"How long?" Jason asked coldly, his voice full of danger.

"Since we first met, all those years ago," Melanie replied calmly while getting up. "You barely used your Esper power to fight those bastards off."

"Ungh," Jason grunted. He finally realized that he was sloppy in his young age. "So, what do you want from me?"

"Yours, I want to be yours," Melanie answered without thinking. "I want everything. Your body, your mind, your heart. I want it all."

"Too bad," Jason replied dismissively. "My heart is missing. Oh, and two girls already have my body and mind respectively. Pick again."

Melanie froze in shock before grabbing Jason's shirt. Her eyes were filled with crazed pain and anger. "You're lying. Please … please tell me you're lying. Who? WHO ARE THEY?! TELL ME! Please ..."

Melanie started off screaming before she began sobbing, begging Jason to tell her who had stolen him away from her. Jason looked down impassively, his eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities of her trying to kill his women. There was a spark between him and Elizabeth; she was his first and he could never forget her how she felt and Katelyn was always on his mind. The guilt and desire he once felt for her made sure she was never off his mind.

I'll find them, I'll find them and I'll kill them, Melanie insisted in her mind after calming down. I'll make sure there's no one else for you but me, I promise.

Well, fuck, Thought Jason, who could tell what she was thinking from her crazed eyes. She's finally lost it.

Jason's mind spun as he tried coming up with solutions and soon an idea formed. He considered the possibilities and decided to go forth regardless. "It's impossible for you to replace them like that. The one who has my body is my first love. If you kill her, you can never take her place. I will always compare you to her."

Melanie's body shook as despair filled her when she heard Jason's cold voice. Tears dripped down her eyes as she slowly gripped the gun on her thigh, considering whether she should just kill herself instead of living like this.

"Also, the one I always think about is dead. That's why I can't get her out of my mind," Jason continued while preparing himself to stop her if she tried shooting the gun. He wasn't sure if she'd try to kill him first so he wasn't about to let his guard down. "But that doesn't mean I don't have a place for you."

It took a few seconds for Melanie to comprehend Jason's words before she looked up at him hopefully with tear-filled eyes.

"You still have a chance to win me over, to heal my broken heart," Jason tried speaking elegantly, spewing words from songs he knew to try and convince her. "But only if you play fair. Killing them will just make me hate you but if you -"

Melanie looked at him as her fighting spirit ignited the flames burning deep in her eyes. "I'll make you forget about them, I'll steal you from them! I'll make sure you can't live without me!"

Crisis averted. For now, Jason thought. Gotta thank Alle for making me binge-watch anime.

"Good," Jason said smoothly. "For now, can we focus on the mission instead?"

"Alright, but you still owe me a favour," Melanie replied after calming herself down and returning back to her sweet self. Seeing Jason's confused face she explained. "You asked me what I want from you. Since I can't have you, I'll just cash it in as a favour for now. Any. Favour. I. Want."

"Fine," said Jason, knowing this was the least he should do. "Now, tell me about the mission."

"Simple. See that tower? That's our objective," Melanie pointed to a tower that was about five stories high. There was an observation deck that allowed guards to oversee the entire docks and the cranes that towered over it. The station was only accessible through a single elevator that could be remotely deactivated should the station be targeted. "We tried hacking into their systems but it runs on a closed network. The only entrance to their network is monitored 24/7, meaning they'll detect any hackers. So, the only way into their system -"

"Is to access it on-site through a physical memory device," Jason said, finishing Melanie's sentence.

"Mmm, I get all wet when you finish me like that," Melanie said with a purr.

"I'll handle the guards," Jason said after watching the gunmen patrol for some time. "You wait for my signal then go in and check the cargo."

"It's your call," Melanie shrugged while agreeing to his plan. "I'll follow you anywhere. Speaking of which, how about a kiss? For good luck."

"Oh?" Jason smirked before grabbing her and kissing her deeply. Like the last time, Melanie moaned and gasped, collapsing after orgasmic spasms buckled her legs.

"You asked for it," Jason murmured huskily before walking away.

How does he do that? Melanie sighed and watched him leave with a dreamy gaze. Just one kiss and I'm … I want him. I NEED HIM...

Jason summoned a large gate-like black hole that he walked into. Instead of disappearing, Jason walked through it like it was mist, exiting the black hole from the other side. The only difference was that now he was wearing his new Fenrir armour. The armour made him look bigger and taller; now he was a hulking 6.4 feet monster that was barely visible in the dark, rainy weather.

"Time to play," Jason growled, his grating metallic voice void of emotions.