It was nightti. Jacob was at ho watching ani when his phone rang. It was Allison—and she sounded panicked.
"Jay, are you ho? Co out... I'm outside." She said, her voice shaky.
Jacob sat up. "Alright, I'm coming."
He left his mansion, walked to the iron gate, and opened it. There stood Allison, soaked by the rain and crying.
He walked over to her, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"I was driving and... and I only took my eyes off the road for like two seconds..." She stamred. "and I hit... I hit..."
"You hit soone?" Jacob said calmly. "And you want to help you get rid of the body? Alright. Wait here—I'll grab a shovel. We can bury it in the woods."
Allison froze, shocked. Her tears stopped. "What?! No! I hit a dog!"
"Oh." Jacob replied without missing a beat. "Then let's go bury it."
Allison's eyes narrowed. "It's still alive! It's in my trunk!"
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you crying and panicking? You made think you killed soone."
"I'm not crying." She said quickly. "It's the rain."
"The rain?" Jacob echoed.
"Yes! The rain wet my face." She insisted, clearly embarrassed.
Jacob smirked. "If you say so. Now show the dog."
Allison walked to the back of her car and opened the trunk. "Here it is. It won't let touch it."
Jacob looked inside. "Then how did you even get it in the car?"
She looked thoughtful. "I... I actually don't rember."
As Jacob approached, the dog whimpered and tried to back away.
Jacob frowned. 'The dog's scared of . No... not just scared—terrified. System, what's going on? Can it sense what I am?'
[The host is a dragon, and dragons are the ultimate apex predators—animals will naturally fear your aura. The stronger you get, the stronger and more dangerous your aura will beco. If the host wishes to restrain it, simply think of restraining it. The sa applies for activating it, just like summoning your claws.]
Jacob thought about suppressing his aura. Instantly, the dog stopped whimpering.
'It worked.' He thought.
He gently reached out and patted the dog. "It's going to be okay. We just need to take it to an animal clinic."
"Okay." Allison said with relief. "Let's go then."
Jacob shook his head. "No. You need to change those wet clothes or you'll catch a cold. Go take a hot shower at my place and wear sothing dry—grab sothing from my closet. I'll take the dog to the clinic."
"But I need to co with you." Allison protested.
"What you need is warmth and dry clothes." Jacob said firmly, handing her the mansion key. "Here. Take it. And give your car keys."
Reluctantly, she handed him her car keys and took his.
"Hurry up and go inside." Jacob said. "You're shaking from the cold."
He got into her car and began driving toward the nearest animal clinic. As he drove, he thought to himself. 'Well, I've completely blocked Scott from having any chance with Allison now.'
Then he asked. 'System, can you explain more about my charm ability?'
[Certainly, host. Your charm ability attracts potential mates. As your power grows, so will your charm. However, it's still weak at the mont, so you'll need to spend ti with the girls you're interested in for the charm to take effect.]
'So I have to work hard to earn their love.' Jacob thought. 'Fair enough.'
---
After driving for a few minutes, Jacob arrived at the animal clinic where Scott worked. He carried the injured dog to the door and knocked.
Soon, Scott opened it. "Jacob? What's going on?"
"This dog was hit by a car." Jacob said. "So I brought it here."
"Co in." Scott replied quickly. "Let take a look."
Jacob stepped inside and followed him. He placed the dog on a table while Scott examined it.
"I think it has a broken leg." Scott said as he gently checked the limb. He imdiately began treating the injury.
Jacob glanced around the clinic. 'So this is Deaton's animal clinic.' He thought. Then he asked. "Scott, is this your family's clinic?"
"No." Scott said. "I just work part-ti here. I love animals, and I think I want to be a veterinarian."
Jacob smirked. "You an, like sticking your hand inside cows and stuff like that?"
Scott stared at him, wide-eyed. "No! I an treating animals. I like helping and taking care of them."
Jacob chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not judging."
Scott sighed. "Like I said, I love working with animals. And… never mind. Do you want to take the dog with you or leave it here?"
"Leave it here." Jacob replied.
There was a mont of hesitation before Scott asked. "By the way… do you really think that thing from yesterday was a bear?"
Jacob shrugged. "I'm not sure. It didn't look like any animal I've ever seen. The closest thing I could think of was a bear."
"But it was howling." Scott said, clearly unsettled.
"Maybe it was crazy." Jacob said. "Ate so bad mushrooms or sothing. Or maybe… we saw a Sasquatch."
Scott blinked. "A what?"
"You know—Bigfoot." Jacob said, half-joking.
Scott shook his head. "That thing definitely wasn't Bigfoot. It was walking on all fours."
"I saw it standing." Jacob said. "It was at least eight feet tall."
Scott finished bandaging the dog, and said. "I don't know what that thing was, but I know I never want to see it again."
'Good luck with that.' Jacob thought. 'You may not want to see him again, but Peter's obsessed with you… and I don't even know why. He could just make more betas.'
"I'm done treating the dog." Scott said. "She'll be fine."
Jacob patted the dog gently. "Thanks."
He pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to Scott.
"What's this for?" Scott asked.
"For treating the dog." Jacob said.
"You don't need to pay." Scott replied, shaking his head.
"Just take it." Jacob insisted. "You work here because you love animals, sure—but also because you need the extra money, right?"
Scott opened his mouth to protest, but Jacob cut him off. "Don't worry, I'm not judging you. I actually respect you for it. Now take the money. It's not charity—it's for the dog. But just so you know, next ti I need your help, I'm not paying."
Scott hesitated for a mont, then nodded and took the money. "Then if you ever need help treating an animal, co to . I'll do my best."
Jacob gave the dog one last pat. "Alright. I need to head ho. See you tomorrow at school."
"Yeah, man. See you." Scott said with a smile.
Jacob left the clinic and drove back to his mansion. When he stepped inside, he found Allison sitting on a chair next to the fireplace, wearing his clothes—a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.
She looked at Jacob and asked. "How's the dog?"
Jacob pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "She's fine. Her leg was broken, but she'll recover. It was actually Scott who treated her."
"Scott from school?" She asked.
Jacob nodded. "Yeah. Turns out he works at an animal clinic."
"Well… thank you." Allison said softly. "I panicked. I didn't know what to do, so I just drove here and brought the dog to you."
Jacob grinned and teased. "You didn't just panic—you were crying, and I'm pretty sure there was snot coming out of your nose. It was kinda ugly."
Allison pouted. "Hey! That's rude! I cried, sure, but there was no snot!"
"If you say so." Jacob said with a smirk.
Allison snorted. "You're an idiot. I thought I killed a dog—I was scared. And instead of comforting , you're making fun of ."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Allison, you almost killed that poor dog. Instead of comforting you, I think you need a spanking—so next ti, you'll actually pay attention while driving."
"I'm not a kid." She huffed. "Besides, it was the stupid dog's fault."
"How noble of you." Jacob said. "Blaming the victim."
"I'm not talking to you anymore." She said, turning her head away.
Jacob chuckled, stood up, and headed toward the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Allison asked.
"I'm hungry." Jacob said. "I want to eat sothing and keep watching my ani."
Allison followed him. "Ani? Are you a little kid?"
"Ani aren't for kids." Jacob said. "Wanna watch one with ? But I don't recomnd a romance ani, though."
"Why not?"
As he started making hot chocolate, he replied. "Because they're kind of gross. Either the main character is too shy, or he's secretly in love with a girl but can't confess, or he is dense. Also, the Japanese have this weird thing about touching hands—I an, it takes a full season or even a few seasons for them to just hold hands."
Allison laughed. "Well, I don't know anything about ani, but I could watch a movie with you. Not tonight, though—it's getting late."
"You should try watching ani. Maybe you'll like it." Jacob said.
"I'll give it a try." She said with a smile.
Jacob handed her a cup of hot chocolate. "Here. Drink this."
Then he opened a cabinet filled with snacks. "What do you want? Oreos, Snickers, or chocolate chip cookies?"
"Chocolate chip cookies, please."
They went back to the fireplace and chatted while eating snacks. After a while, Allison said. "I should probably head ho. If I stay out too long, my mom will ground ."
"Okay." Jacob said, getting up. He walked her out to her car.
As she was about to drive off, she looked at him and said. "Good night. And… thanks for the dog thing."
"You're welco." Jacob said. "And please make sure you pay attention on the way ho. Don't hit another dog."
Allison snorted. "Idiot." Then she drove away.
Jacob smiled, closed the iron gate, and headed back inside to continue watching ani.
---
Later that night, after dealing with her mom's endless questions, Allison went up to her room. She opened her laptop, put on her headphones, and searched: "popular ani to watch."
'I'm only doing this to see what that idiot likes so much about it.' She told herself. 'Yes, this is for research.'
But before she knew it, she was hooked—and kept watching until she fell asleep.
To be continued… 😊
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