Chapter 2
1945 Words
Kieran POV
What the hell just happened, and why am I so turned on right now?
She just put you in your place, Atlas, my wolf, says, laughing.
“Shut up,” I mutter back.
I stand there like an i***t, watching her hips sway as she walks away. How have I seriously never noticed how attractive she is?
She told you, Atlas adds. Your head was up Aliza’s ass.
“Yeah,” I admit, “but she looks better than Aliza. Prettier. She’s beautiful.”
My best friend and future Beta, Elias, walks up beside me.
“Staring at the other Quinn girl now? That’s new,” he says.
“Has she always looked like that?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says. “She’s wearing more fitted clothes now, but she always looked like that.”
“I’ve been pursuing the wrong Quinn this whole time,” I say quietly.
“Yeah, good luck with that,” he replies. “She doesn’t talk to anyone but Kaia, she’s big into school, and I heard she wants to be a doctor.”
Interesting.
“I might need to talk to her again,” I say. “When she isn’t mad anymore.”
“What did you do to make her mad already?” he asks, laughing.
Go on, tell him, Atlas says.
“I told her she looked good,” I admit.
“Why did she get mad about that?” Elias asks.
“Because I asked if she did something different this year,” I murmur.
“Oh yeah,” he winces. “That was not smart. Also—Aliza is walking this way.”
“s**t,” I whisper.
“Kieran, where did you disappear to?” Aliza says, snatching my schedule from my hand. “Let me see if we have any classes together.”
She scans the page. “Oh, we have Math and English together, and lunch. That should be fun.”
“Yeah,” I say. “It should.”
“Look, Aliza, I need to get to my first class,” I say, taking my schedule back. “I’ll see you in math.”
“Oh… um, okay,” she says. “How about a kiss?”
I bend down, press a soft kiss to her lips, and turn away.
“That was brutal to watch,” Elias mutters as we walk to class.
My first class is Combat Theory, and the moment I walk in, I spot Kaelani sitting in the back row with the only empty seat next to her.
Perfect.
Don’t mess it up this time, Atlas says.
“Hey,” I ask, “mind if I sit here?”
“Not like there’s anywhere else for you to sit,” she says without looking at me.
“Look, Quinn—Kaelani,” I correct myself. “I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s fine, Kieran,” she says calmly. “I stayed invisible for a reason. This school will eat you alive if you let it. And besides, I know I look good—and now you do too.”
She doesn’t say anything else to me for the rest of the class, no matter how many times I try. The moment the bell rings, she’s out the door before I can say anything else.
I’m not sure how I missed her all these years, but now that I’ve noticed her, I can’t stop looking at her.
The problem is that I don’t want to.
Kaelani POV
The Moon Goddess must hate me to make my first class with Kieran.
He likes you, Nyra says.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “He must have me mistaken for Aliza.”
I love Aliza, she adds, but she’s not prettier than us.
“I know,” I say. “And I know my mate will love me no matter how I look, but I can’t believe it took me showing my body for him to even notice I exist.”
The Crescent heir likes you too, Nyra says. And he’s cute.
Kaia finds me by my locker halfway through the day.
“So spill,” she says. “How has your first day been so far?”
“Well,” I say, “I’ve already had two classes with Kieran, and the day isn’t even over yet.”
“Sheesh. How was that?”
“Annoying. He’s been trying to talk to me every time he sees me.”
“Yeah, sorry Aliza,” she smirks. “Kieran has definitely set his eyes on a different Quinn.”
“Please don’t say that,” I groan. “I don’t even need that kind of drama in my life. This year was supposed to be smooth and easy.”
“And now you have not one but two sexy Alpha heirs circling you,” she says. “This year is going to be interesting—and I’ve got front-row seats. Oh, and here comes the sexier one now.”
Liam walks up smiling.
“Kaelani, I was hoping to run into you again today.”
I can’t help but smile. “Oh really? And why is that?”
“Well, a little birdie told me you want to be a pack doctor,” he says. “My pack’s doctor is retiring soon, and there’s also a pretty decent medical school in my territory. Just something you might want to look into.”
He’s so sweet, Nyra says.
I know, I reply.
“Thank you, Liam,” I say. “That was really nice of you to think of me.”
“You’re welcome. So where are you headed?”
Girl, this man is sexy and showing interest. Flirt, Kaia links.
“I have Healer Sciences next,” I say, checking my schedule.
“Oh, me too. Can I walk with you?”
Say yes, say yes, Kaia insists.
“Yeah, sure,” I say, closing my locker and flipping her off as we walk away.
“So tell me something interesting about you that nobody knows,” Liam says.
Tell him. We can trust him, Nyra says.
“I’m a blessed wolf,” I admit. “And I’m meant to stop something.”
He stops dead in his tracks.
“You’re serious,” he says.
“Yes,” I reply. “Deadly.”
“Wow. That’s… a lot,” he says, starting to walk again. “How do you feel about that, knowing your future is somewhat already written for you?”
“Honestly? I’m terrified,” I say. “What am I stopping? How dangerous is it? Am I enough? What if I die? It’s just so many questions and not enough answers.”
“My wolf says I’ll know more after my first shift,” I add, “but that doesn’t stop the anxiety.”
“I get that,” he says. “So how do you deal with knowing that and keeping it to yourself?”
“I train a lot with my dad,” I say. “And alone. I meditate.”
“I guess those are good stress relievers,” he says. “I asked around about you.”
“And what has the gossip train revealed about me?” I ask.
“Honestly? Everyone said the same thing. You don’t talk to anybody but Kaia and your sister occasionally. You sit in the back of all your classes. And you’re probably the smartest wolf in every class.”
“Well,” I shrug, “they aren’t wrong.”
“They also said you changed your look and that you were a tomboy for most of high school.”
That makes me laugh. “They’re not wrong about that either.”
“So what changed?” he asks as we reach the classroom. He opens the door for me, and I step in with him right behind me. There are two empty seats in the back by the window.
We head for them.
“Honestly, I just wanted to dress how I feel,” I say. “I love my body, and I’m not ashamed of it anymore. No need to hide under piles of clothes.”
“I like that,” he says. “So what made you talk to me?”
“I can feel that you’re a good person,” I admit. “My wolf senses it too. Something about your aura just feels safe. I felt it the moment I actually looked into your eyes.”
“Well, I try to be a good person,” he says. “I hope to be half the Alpha my dad is.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“So can I ask a guy question?” he asks.
“Oh God,” I groan, rolling my eyes.
He laughs. “Come on, I’m still a guy. I hear a certain Alpha heir has been paying you some attention, and I just want to know if I have a chance.”
I don’t answer right away. I think about Kieran. About Aliza. About the drama I don’t want.
“Yes,” I say finally, smiling. “You have a chance.”
“Good,” he says, grinning.
The bell rings, and we start packing up.
“What’s your next class?” he asks.
“I have lunch.”
“Me too,” he laughs.
When we reach the cafeteria, Kaia is already waiting.
“Oh, we brought company?” she teases.
“Liam has lunch this period too,” I say—and immediately wish I hadn’t.
Kieran is sitting at the center table with his friends. Aliza and her friends are there too.
When Kieran sees Liam next to me, his eyes darken. He stands and walks over.
Of course he does.
“Oh, this is going to be good,” Kaia mutters.
I give her a death glare.
“Hey, Kaelani,” Kieran says. “I was hoping to see you again today.”
“Why, Kieran?” I ask, walking past him into the cafeteria.
“I feel like we started off badly this morning,” he says, following me to the line.
“You already apologized,” I reply. “So what else do you have to say?”
“I was hoping you’d sit with us so we could talk,” he says, gesturing to his table.
“Actually, I already told Kaia and Liam we’d eat outside,” I say. “But thank you for offering.”
“Well then, can I join you?” he asks, still following.
I spin on him. “No, Kieran. You can’t. I just want you to stop talking to me today.”
Outside, Kaia is the first to speak.
“He is embarrassing himself.”
“He’s doing too much,” I agree. “Honestly, it’s annoying.”
“He’s crazy doing all that in front of Aliza,” Kaia adds. “Like he hasn’t been dating her or sleeping with her since last year.”
Liam looks shocked. “Wait—he’s sleeping with your sister and trying to pursue you now?”
“Yeah,” I say bitterly. “He realized this morning he probably wasted his time with the wrong sister. And that’s only physically. He doesn’t even know I’m smarter than her, stronger than her, and way more interesting.”
“Aliza’s biggest aspiration is being somebody’s Luna,” I add. “Well—his Luna.”
“Oh, he knows now,” Kaia says. “You’re feisty. He’s definitely going to try harder.”
- Writer
