Charis
I was curled up on Kael’s bed, watching him at his reading table with growing curiosity and lazily tossing popcorn into my mouth.
It was his idea for to stay on his bed; he wanted to be sure I was in his line of vision, and I thought it was funny.
It was nearly 9 pm, and he was hunched over his textbook, but I noticed he was barely turning the pages—the sa observation I’d made in the cafeteria earlier. That small notebook from before was positioned next to him, and every few minutes, he would glance between it and the textbook, tracing words with his finger like he was trying to decode so secret ssage.
Several tis, I wanted to walk over and ask if he needed help, but sothing held back. Even I could tell sothing wasn’t right, and with the way he was trying so hard to look focused, I suggested this was deeply personal territory I shouldn’t intrude upon without invitation.
Or maybe because my mind had been drifting back to Rhett—and the kiss.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The softness of his lips, the way he cradled my body like it was the most precious thing he’d ever held. The way his desire had pressed against my thighs and how he’d groaned in response when I kissed him back.
The kiss had ward up in ways I hadn’t expected, and surprisingly, I didn’t feel guilty about it. Not for that kiss. Not even for the one with Kael. Or Slater. I’d kissed three Alphas in less than three weeks, and yet, instead of sha, all I felt was...warm. Wanted.
Like, for once, I wasn’t just a pawn.
While I was still lost in these thoughts, Kael stood up from his desk and ca to where I sat on his bed. I looked up and flashed him a smile.
"Hi," I waved playfully.
He dropped onto the space next to with a heavy sigh. "I’m exhausted," he said, reaching into the bowl of popcorn beside .
"You look it."
He gave a side glance, chewing slowly. "What were you doing?" he asked, settling back against his pillows. "You had this weird smile."
"Nothing, just thinking."
"About what?"
I looked at Kael and felt a little reckless. Maybe it was the mory of Rhett’s kiss still lingering on my lips, or perhaps it was the comfortable intimacy of being alone with Kael in his room or maybe the fact that my heat would be a few days from now, and I’m always pesky around that ti.
"I was thinking about the kiss we shared—"
Kael stiffened instantly, and before I could finish, he raised a hand. "I don’t want to talk about it," he said flatly.
"Why?" I pushed, leaning towards him. "You seem to like to put your lips on mine, even in public."
"That’s because you always have that look, and I can’t help it. You’re making things so hard for ..."
"You an..." My eyes strayed to his lower body. "Hard?"
"Don’t, Eamon!" he shot an exasperated look. "I’m going mad from being so attracted to a boy. Don’t make it any worse. I don’t want to talk about it."
Amusent flickered in my eyes as I shoved more popcorn in my mouth. "Of course, you don’t. Coward!"
We didn’t say anything to each other, and for so weird reason, I was annoyed. I continued eating my popcorn, painfully aware that he was staring at . After a while, he reached out and placed his hand on my arm.
"I’ve never been called a coward, ever in my life, but I’ll gladly accept that role until I figure out this."
"Good luck to you then," I said dryly.
"How was life for you growing up?"
I raised a brow. "That’s random."
He shrugged. "I’m trying to understand you, Eamon," he said quietly. "You’re the most complicated person I’ve ever t."
A humourless chuckle left my lips as I shoved more popcorn into my mouth. "Life for ? Let’s see..." I paused, suddenly feeling that old familiar ache settle in my chest. "It’s a sad story, Kael. I have a sad story, I’m afraid, and it’s too painful to talk about."
Kael shrugged with acceptance. "Fair enough. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to"
Then he asked, "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
I stared at him. "Seriously?"
His ears turned red as he shrugged again. "All the boys seem to have had so sort of experience with won."
I smiled and shook my head. "No, Kael. I’ve never had a girlfriend. Not that it’s any of your business."
"Really? Never?" He seed genuinely surprised. Totally ignoring my sarcasm. "You seem like you’d be popular with girls."
"I guess I’m just indifferent about relationships," I said, finding his assumption amusing given my actual situation.
"What about crushes? There had to be soone you were interested in at your old school or your pack."
"Not really," I replied honestly. "I was more focused on... other things."
"Like what?"
"Surviving, mostly."
His expression grew more serious. "That bad?"
"Let’s just say my family situation wasn’t exactly nurturing."
He nodded with understanding. "What’s your favourite thing to do when you’re not in class?"
"I like reading," I said, glancing pointedly at his abandoned textbook. "Though so people seem to find it more challenging than others."
If he caught my subtle hint, he didn’t acknowledge it. "What kind of books?"
"Adventure stories, mostly. Fantasy. Anything that takes away from reality for a while."
"That makes sense," he said quietly.
"What about you? What do you do for fun?"
"I like working with my hands. Building things, fixing things, fighting. It’s... peaceful."
"What’s with the Q&A?" I asked, eyeing him.
"Nothing," he shook his head. "Like I said, you confuse the hell out of and I want to get to know you more."
"Why?"
He stared at for a mont and then looked away, swallowing hard. "Aside from how you’re a pain in the ass, I don’t know why."
"Glad to know I’m consistent," I said with mock sweetness.
He opened his mouth, maybe to say sothing else, when there was a rapid knock on the door that made jump. Kael imdiately crossed the room and opened it to reveal Slater standing there, looking breathless and panicked."What’ss wrong"" I asked imdiately, already on my feet and my heart already racing at his expression."It’ss Rhett"" Slater gasped.""He had another crisis, and this tiit’s’s severe. Right nowhe’s’s being rushed to the hospital outside of Ravenshor"."
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