Charis
He was so still he could have been a statue. Just staring out at nothing.
I walked over quietly and touched his back.
He didn’t flinch. He’d probably heard coming long before I reached him.
"What’s wrong?" I asked softly.
Kael turned to face . In the moonlight, his face still had his signature blank expression, but he smiled when he saw , only it didn’t reach his eyes.
"Nothing," he said.
"Kael."
He shook his head again, then suddenly pulled into a hug. His arms wrapped around tightly, and he buried his face in my neck. I could feel his breath against my skin.
I held him back, running my hands soothingly up and down his back. We stood like that for a long mont, not speaking and just holding each other.
Finally, he pulled away. He turned back to staring out at the city, his hands returning to his pockets.
"I’m going back to Ravenshore tomorrow," he said quietly.
"What? Why?"
"There’s nothing for to do here." His voice was flat, emotionless. "You have Rhett and Slater. They can take care of you. You don’t need hanging around."
"That’s not true," I protested. "Kael, what happened? Did sothing go wrong with Rhett’s mother?"
He was quiet for a long ti. I waited, knowing that pushing Kael never worked. He’d talk when he was ready. Or he wouldn’t talk at all.
"I found her," he said finally. "Made sure she was settled. She’s staying at the Ravencrest Hotel."
"That’s good, right?"
"She was eting with Isolde Knox."
"What?"
"At the hotel restaurant. They were having drinks, talking. They looked very comfortable with each other." Kael’s jaw clenched. "Elena’s been working with Isolde this whole ti. Everything—her showing up now, the emotional reunion with Rhett, the fight with Clara—it’s all part of Isolde’s plan."
I felt sick. "Does Rhett know?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell him?"
Kael was quiet again. "I don’t know. That’s part of why I need to leave. I need to think. Figure out what to do with this information."
"You can’t just leave," I said. "Kael, we need you here. I need you here."
"Do you?" He turned to look at , and there was sothing unexplainable in his eyes. "Because it seems like you have everything you need. Rhett and Slater worship you. They can give you everything—protection, affection, a future. I have nothing to offer you, Charis. I am an agent who will always obey my master’s order. I do not have a rich father, nor am I affiliated with any pack. I have nothing to offer you."
"Kael, don’t say that," I tried to go close, but he took a step back.
"Don’t touch , please," he murmured.
And it broke my heart. It broke so much that I felt like I would die. The fact that he was refusing my affection and locking out broke into pieces.
"Kael, don’t be like this," I cried out. "You give everything I need. You give honesty. You see things the rest of us miss. You keep us grounded. You—" I stopped, searching for the right words. "You love . You don’t let hide from hard truths. And I need that."
"You need soone who walks in on you with two other guys and imdiately thinks the worst?"
So that was part of it. "Is that what happened? You walked in and thought..."
"I thought you’d made your choice," Kael said. "Rhett and Slater. The easy ones. The ones who don’t complicate everything."
"Kael, that’s not—"
"I’m not good at this," he interrupted, his voice tight. "I’m not good at sharing. Being vulnerable. At playing nicely with others." He looked away. "I’m broken, Charis. I’ve seen too much, done too much. I don’t know how to be part of this... this thing we’re trying to build."
I stepped closer to him, reaching up to touch his face. "You’re not broken. The choices you made, you had no say in them. It was all you could do at that ti. There’s a difference."
"Is there?"
"Yes." I made him look at . "And I’m not choosing between you. All three of you are my mates. I want all three of you. But I can’t force you to stay if you don’t want to."
"It’s not about wanting," Kael said roughly. "It’s about what’s best. For you. For everyone."
"And you think what’s best is you leaving?"
He didn’t answer.
I felt frustration building. "Fine. Run away. That’s what you’re good at. When things get complicated, when you start feeling sothing, you disappear."
His eyes flashed. "That’s not fair."
"Isn’t it?" I challenged. "You found out sothing disturbing about Elena, and instead of talking to us about it, instead of figuring it out together, you’re planning to leave. To go back to Ravenshore and brood alone. How is that not running away?"
"Because staying would be selfish," Kael said, his voice rising slightly. "Because every ti I’m near you, I want things I shouldn’t want. I think things I shouldn’t think. And seeing you with them tonight—" He stopped, his hands clenching. "It reminded that I’m the outsider here. I’m the one who doesn’t fit."
"You fit perfectly," I said softly. "You’re just scared."
"I’m not scared."
"Yes, you are. You’re scared of getting attached. Scared of losing people. Scared of being vulnerable." I stepped closer. "But Kael, it’s too late. You’re already attached. We all are. And pushing us away won’t protect you from getting hurt. It’ll just guarantee it."
"Well, I can’t have you alongside another man. The thought of it disgusts . I don’t want you to accept Rhett and Slater’s bond. Can you do that?"
I opened my mouth several tis to speak, but no words would co out. "We are fated mates, Kael. It’s not like I can just..."
"That’s bullshit, and you know that," he scoffed and turned away from . "If you’re going to be with the boys, then I don’t want to be part of your little orgy group."
"That’s selfish," I blurted. "Have you thought about ? You think this is an easy decision for to make, too? Why are you thinking only for yourself?"
He stared at for a long mont. I could see the war happening behind his eyes.
"Fine, do whatever you want, Charis and I will do what I want. Let’s drop it."
"Do you care about anyone else except yourself?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "With this attitude, you want to choose you? You’re dreaming."
He shrugged but didn’t say anything else.
I wanted to continue the conversation, but I was so angry that I turned to leave when his voice stopped again.
"There’s sothing else," he said. "About what Elena told ."
"What?"
"The woman in the underground fighting arena. The one I saw in my vision." He took a breath. "She was my mother."
I felt the ground tilt slightly. "What?"
"Elena confird it. The woman in the cage, fighting for her life while Terry and the others watched and bet—that was my mother." Kael’s voice was hollow. "Which ans I have a personal connection to all of this. To the Thatchers, to Silas Greye, to Headmistress Vale. They all watched my mother fight. Maybe they even..." He trailed off.
"Maybe they even killed her," I finished.
"Or got her killed. Either way, Isolde may be using that as leverage against them. And now she’s using Elena to destroy the Thatcher pack from the inside." Kael looked at . "And we’re caught in the middle of it. You, , Rhett, Slater. We’re all pieces on Isolde’s chessboard."
My mind was racing. If what Kael was saying was true, then everything was connected. My mother—Eva Greye—was married to Silas Greye, one of the n who’d watched that fight. Rhett’s father, Terry, had been there too—and Headmistress Vale, who’d been so interested in keeping at the Academy.
"We need to tell the others," I said.
"Not yet." Kael’s hand caught my wrist. "We don’t have enough information. If we tell Rhett that his mother is working with Isolde, he’ll confront her. And if Isolde realises we know, she’ll change her plan. We’ll lose our chance to figure out what she’s really after."
"So what do we do?"
"We watch and wait and, in the process of waiting, gather information." His grip on my wrist tightened slightly. "And we don’t trust anyone outside this group. Not Elena. Not Vale. Not anyone."
A chill ran down my spine. "Kael, you’re scaring ."
"Good." His eyes were intense. "You should be scared. Because whatever Isolde is planning, it’s big. And it involves all of us."
The roof door suddenly banged open.
We both spun around.
Slater stood there, his face pale. "You need to co downstairs. Now."
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
"It’s Rhett." Slater’s voice shook. "Sothing’s happening to him. His heart—"
He didn’t need to finish. We were already running.
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