Too Late, Alpha: I Choose Your Rival

Ch 12: A Fake Fling?

Kael’s POV:

“Are you saying I should go out with you or something?”

Her words hung in the air, leading to an awkward silence between us because, for the first time in my life, I was utterly speechless.

I stared down at Elisa, both my hands pinned to the rough concrete on either side of her head, but my mind was stubbornly refusing to process the question she had just tossed into my face!

If there was anyone other than her, I would’ve laughed in the girl's face and walked away by now.

Because I was Kael Blackthorn, the future lycan king of the entire territory.

Since the day I enrolled here, I had half the females of Marvian Academy pining after me frantically.

Every single time someone tried to slide into my personal space, I shoved them away without a glance back.

From the beginning, my life had a razor-sharp focus… I must win the Marvian Ice Hockey Championship, become the Supreme ruler, bring glory back to the Lycan kingdom, crushing anyone who dared to stand in my way.

Everything else…including romance or campus drama was just a useless distraction.

But right now? What is wrong with me?

I sensed my Lycan, Thunder, was pacing in a restless circle against my ribs, purring in a way that made a hot surge of blood gush through my veins.

~ “What do we want to do with this girl?” Thunder growled in the deep corners of my mind, and the baffling part was that I didn't have a damn answer.

Before I could force my jaw to move, her ocean eyes flickered in rage when she bluntly answered her own question.

"I hope you don’t think of something impossible like that," she said, and her voice was toned down to a rigid murmur.

To my surprise, she grabbed the lapels of my dark leather jacket and pushed me against my chest with a certain strength that wouldn't have budged a weak wolf, let alone a 6’4” Lycan.

But the sheer boldness of the gesture startled me when she continued, "I bet you’re well aware that our races have been generational enemies for the past thousand years. And I know you don’t like to mess with wolf maidens either, especially wolfless like me.

“So, you’re just messing with me, right?"

I didn't answer, but continued to watch her, letting my silence stretch between us while the air grew dense.

"You can laugh all you want at my cliché heartbreak story," She rushed on, her chest heaving as she deeply inhaled within our narrow space.

"But I will take Ethan down at any cost. And…to achieve my goal…I am prepared to do anything, Kael. Even if it means playing with fire."

All of a sudden, a dark, dangerous thrill rippled right under my skin the moment I heard her bold answer.

I leaned into her a fraction closer, while watching her dark ocean eyes burning with that lethal resolve.

But right beneath her small hands resting on my leather jacket, I could feel they were shaking a little. It was quite clear that she was nervous being trapped between my body and the cold brick wall behind her.

Yet those eyes were looking up at me like she wanted to conquer me. And just that one glance was enough to draw me into her little game.

"Playing with fire, huh?" I murmured after her, with a calculated smirk that curved my lips. "Since we both share a mutual hatred for Ethan... why don’t we form a team to take him down instead?"

Elisa blinked, as I could see her brow furrowing in guarded confusion. "Are you insisting that... you’ll let me take advantage of you in this game?”

Turning a little pale with the realization, she further inquired, "Or…are you seriously talking about dating—"

"I don’t date wolves." I cut her off, my rigid voice vibrating within the narrow distance between us.

I tilted my head, letting my eyes drop to her lips for a fraction of a second before locking back onto her anxious gaze. "But... we can sure form a fake dating fling in the public eye for the time being.”

The moment she heard my answer, I could sense Elisa pull her guard up. Her body stiffened against the wall, while her ocean eyes narrowed with a suspicious glare as she studied my face.

"A fake fling? Hold on, Blackthorn. What’s the catch?" She crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows. Her tone dripped with cold suspicion.

"Why would the future Lycan King offer to let himself be used as a pawn to help me spite my ex? What could you possibly get out of a deal like this?"