CH 5 - Kai
1457 Words
KAI POV
I had exactly 3.5 seconds of peace after slamming the dorm door shut behind me.
Three and a half seconds of glorious silence.
Then—
An arm—warm, heavy, casual in the way only guys who had zero personal boundaries could manage—slung over my shoulders like we were best buds in a coming-of-age movie.
I tensed.
He didn’t notice.
Of course he didn’t. Reyes had that golden retriever energy. Tail always wagging. Smile always easy. The kind of guy who could throw his arm around a stranger and make it feel like a handshake. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like.
To me? It felt suffocating.
Partly because Summer, the insufferable wolf in my head, started laughing her ass off the second he touched me.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a f*****g bison,” Reyes announced, steering me effortlessly down the hall like I’d agreed to go anywhere with him. “Let’s see what the Alpha Academy has to offer tonight. Maybe they’re sacrificing virgins or serving roasted traitors. Either way, I’m in.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
He snorted. “As long as it’s not tofu, I’m good.”
I side-eyed him. “Pretty sure tofu isn’t on the King Pack menu.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re here, hermano. The Fangar elite don’t mess around.”
We rounded a corner, passing two other wolves—both of whom gave us a wide berth. Not because we were intimidating (okay, maybe he was), but because Reyes and his pack had a reputation for being unpredictable.
You’d never know what set them off until their wolves were surrounding your pack, ready to take you down.
People didn’t know whether to pet him or run.
Me? I kept my head low and my hoodie lower. The less attention I got, the better.
But maybe an ally like him wouldn’t be the worst thing. A friendship with him could save me from a lot of messed-up situations and nosy people poking into my business.
Reyes could be the key to surviving this year in one piece.
“You always this dramatic before dinner?” I asked, shrugging his arm off as casually as I could.
He didn’t take it personally. Just grinned wider and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Only when I’ve skipped lunch because I was stuck in that damn train.”
Figures.
He walked with the easy confidence of someone who was always at the top of the food chain—and knew it. His dark brown hair was still damp from a late shower, curls bouncing slightly with each step. He wore a navy shirt tight across the chest, sleeves rolled to the elbows like a casual afterthought, revealing tanned forearms marked by thin scars and ink. His smile had that reckless Alpha edge, but there was something boyish under it—something warm that made people let their guard down.
Dangerous combo.
We reached the dining hall doors, already cracked open and buzzing with voices inside. The scent of roasted meat and melted cheese hit me like a freight train.
Summer nearly passed out from excitement.
“Oh my goddess, they have garlic bread,” she moaned.
“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath.
Reyes didn’t hear me. He pushed the doors wide like he owned the place and strolled in like it was his castle.
I hesitated a second too long.
“You coming, Kai?” he called, already halfway to the tables.
I sighed and followed.
The room was massive—vaulted ceilings, dark wood beams, iron chandeliers glowing with soft amber light. Wolves in uniforms and casual gear filled the rows of long tables, most already seated and halfway through dinner. At the center of it all was the King Pack table—elevated slightly, circular, and annoyingly symbolic.
Reyes didn’t go there.
He veered off to the left, sliding onto a bench at one of the standard tables like a regular guy.
Bold move.
I hovered beside him, unsure if I should sit. But before I could awkward myself into another panic, Reyes waved to someone behind me.
“Dalton! Derrick! Over here!”
My heart almost stopped.
No. No, no, no.
The two towering Alphas I was trying to avoid until I could emotionally recover from their whole “shirtless Greek statue routine” were now walking toward me with matching predator smirks.
Derrick was in a black Henley, his tattoos half visible and his eyes bright with amusement. Dalton had gone full savage in a loose tank top and joggers, damp curls falling in his face.
I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
Instead, Derrick clapped Reyes on the shoulder and nodded toward me. “This one following you around already?”
Reyes laughed. “I told you. He’s my emotional support buddy and best friend now.”
Dalton slid onto the bench across from him and glanced my way. “Hope he’s got thick skin.”
“Thick skull more like it,” Derrick muttered, dropping beside him.
I didn’t sit.
I stood there, frozen, pulse loud in my ears.
Summer whispered, “Don’t freak. Don’t freak. Don’t look at his arms. Don’t—”
I sat.
Reyes shoved a tray toward me that he must’ve grabbed on the way in.
“You’ll thank me later,” he said, already loading his own with roast beef, mashed potatoes, and what looked like some kind of glazed ribs.
I picked at the food without really seeing it.
This was dangerous.
Being near them. Letting them get used to me. Letting myself get used to them.
Reyes grinned, mouth full, and said, “So, Kai, tell me something weird about you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Weird stuff. Everyone’s got something. Like, I once ate an entire squirrel raw on a dare when I was twelve.”
“Why would anyone dare you to do that?”
Dalton snorted. “Because he’s Reyes. He probably dared himself.”
Reyes grinned. “Correct.”
Derrick rolled his eyes. “You still brag about that like it’s an accomplishment. You got worms, man.”
“At least I didn’t cry the first time I shifted,” Reyes fired back, grinning wide.
Derrick opened his mouth to snap back a retort, but Dalton beat him to it.
“Wow. This is the kind of highbrow conversation I get to enjoy at dinner? No wonder the council thinks we’re all animals.”
The way he said ‘council’ wasn’t casual. He might as well have thrown a dart at Derrick’s forehead.
Derrick stiffened, his fork pausing mid-air. “Better an animal than a mutt with no pack loyalty.”
Dalton’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Careful, Derrick. You’re sounding bitter. Not my fault the council likes me more.”
Derrick's gaze darkened. “The council likes clean records,” he said, voice low. “Not charming manipulators who get others to do their dirty work.”
Reyes made a low whistle. “And there it is.”
I glanced between them, heart thudding.
This wasn’t playful banter. This was...something else. Old and festering. Like a wound that never really healed.
Like they’d fought over something—or someone—and never forgave each other.
Their gazes finally locked, and for a second I swore the air got colder.
“You two done measuring d***s?” Reyes asked cheerfully, biting into a rib. “Because the tension’s strong enough to season the meat.”
Dalton looked away first, jaw tight.
Derrick let out a breath that was almost a growl, his voice smooth but his jaw clenched. “Come on, Kai. Your turn. Don’t hold out on us.”
I panicked. My brain short-circuited. “I hate the sound of other people chewing.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then—
Dalton leaned forward, staring at me like I’d just confessed to being a cult leader. “You moved into a shared room and you hate chewing noises?”
“I have regrets,” I muttered.
Reyes lost it. Full belly laugh, head back, eyes crinkling.
And somehow, I smiled too.
Just for a second.
Because then, I felt watched.
I glanced around, expecting eyes on me, whispers maybe.
The small guy hiding between the most powerful wolves in the academy.
But Nothing.
Everyone was focused on their own food, their own people.
No one was paying me any attention.
And yet… The feeling didn’t go away.
It settled deep, like a weight behind my ribs.
Not dangerous exactly.
But something close.
Something that tasted a little too much like fate.
- Writer
