Uneasy moments
1046 Words
Kaitlyn
The next day is tense from the start.
Not just because of the mark burning faintly beneath my sleeve or the fact that I barely slept. But because everything feels like it's teetering on the edge, like one wrong move will crack this entire lie wide open.
Jax hasn’t pushed me again. Not yet. But I can feel his eyes on me, his presence trailing close like a shadow that wants answers I’m too scared to give.
I’m grateful for the drills today. Blistering pace, nonstop movement, no time to think. No time to feel.
But even then, I know I’m slipping. My reactions are faster. Too fast. My strength feels heightened, my senses sharper than even some of the instructors. Kael notices. So does Reed, though he masks it with jokes.
“You on steroids or just running on pure spite these days?” he teases, elbowing me after I send a dummy flying across the mat with more force than I meant to.
“Spite,” I reply dryly. “And caffeine.”
He laughs, but Kael watches me quietly, his expression unreadable.
By the time we’re dismissed, my hoodie is clinging to my back with sweat and my head is pounding—not from exhaustion, but from holding back.
~~~
Back in the dorms, Jax finally corners me.
I’m pulling off my boots when he sits across from me on his bunk, elbows resting on his knees.
“You’re hiding something,” he says, not accusing—just certain.
I glance up. “Is this about me winning another spar?”
“No. This is about the fact that you keep zoning out, you flinch when no one’s touching you, and your energy is all over the place. I can feel it, Kai. since you got here it's like you're running from someone or something."
I don’t answer.
He leans in slightly. “Last night… whatever you were doing outside—it wasn’t just about this Yuna, was it?”
The name hits too hard. I swallow the sudden lump in my throat.
“I told you,” I say quietly. “She’s in trouble.”
“Then tell me what kind of trouble. Let me help.”
He means it. I can see it all over his face.
loyalty, concern, something else swimming in those dark eyes that I don’t deserve. Not when I’ve lied to him since day one.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“Can’t or won’t?”
I look away. “Both.”
Silence stretches between us.
He lets out a long sigh. “I don’t want to push you, Kai. But I need you to trust me.”
I want to.
I really do.
But if I tell him who I am _what I am_it changes everything. I’m not just risking my spot at Crescent Hill. I’m risking him.
His trust.
His safety
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I just... I can’t yet.”
His jaw tightens. He nods once. Then gets up and leaves the room without another word.
~~~
Later, I try calling Yuna again.
Still nothing.
This time, it doesn’t even ring.
Just straight to voicemail.
I stare at the glowing screen until my fingers go numb. My wolf growls low inside me, pacing, unsettled.
Something’s wrong.
Really wrong.
She would’ve answered by now. She always answers.
Unless she can’t.
~~~
At lights out, I can’t sleep.
The mark on my arm pulses under my sleeve, like a heartbeat. Like a countdown. You have until the full moon. The words branded into my skin flash through my head over and over like a curse.
I roll out of bed slowly, my feet bare against the cold tile.
I don’t wake Jax.
I don’t need another confrontation I’ll barely survive.
Instead, I pull my hoodie over my head and slip into the hallway, heart pounding. This time, I’m not sneaking toward the woods—I’m heading toward the east wing. Toward Renna’s office.
If I’m going to save Yuna... if I’m going to save myself, I need help.
Real help.
~~~
The halls are eerily quiet this time of night. The only light comes from the moon through the high windows, painting silver patterns across the floor.
I reach Renna’s door and knock twice.
No answer.
I try again.
Still nothing.
Panic nips at me. I was sure she’d be here. I was ready to beg, to tell her everything.
But now…
Footsteps echo behind me.
I turn fast.
It’s not Renna.
It’s him.
Jax.
why won't he just give up.
His arms are crossed, eyes shadowed and unreadable. “Where are you going this time?”
I exhale shakily. “I need to see the Captain.”
He walks closer. “You were going to sneak off again.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Yes, you were.” His voice isn’t angry. It’s hurt. “You were just going to leave again. Alone.”
“I didn’t want to drag you into this.”
He stops right in front of me.
“You’re already dragging me into it, Kai.”
My chest tightens. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Then don’t do it alone. whatever it is.”
I almost break right there.
Almost tell him.
But before I can answer, before I can even think, the mark on my arm ignites.
White-hot pain lances through me and I cry out, staggering back into the wall.
Jax lunges forward. “Kai?!”
I grip my arm, biting down a scream. The veins around the mark glow like molten gold, spreading fast up toward my shoulder, down toward my hand.
It hurts.
It burns.
Jax catches me as I fall to my knees. His hand closes around my shoulder.
“What’s happening?!”
I can’t speak.
My mouth opens but no words come.
Only light.
The glow bursts from beneath my sleeve, illuminating the corridor. I know what he sees—those words, etched into my flesh like runes.
Come back home, Kaitlyn.
His breath catches.
“Kaitlyn?”
His voice is barely a whisper. Disbelieving.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
No more hiding.
No more time.
“I’m sorry,” I gasp.
Then everything goes black.
- Writer
