Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Kaelani POV

When the four of them step onto the field, the stadium goes quiet again. It isn't the same kind of silence as before. This one is filled with anticipation. Everyone has already seen what today's obstacle course is capable of doing to reputations, and now they're waiting to see who rises to the top next.

“So what are we thinking?” Zaire asks.

“Oh, Kaia is most definitely getting the best score. Maybe Canon or Caelum after that. I think they both have more focus than Sebastian.” I glance at Liam with a small smile. “No offense. I know he's your Beta.”

He shrugs. “Hey, good thing we aren't taking over the pack yet.”

I laugh, and Liam smirks beside me. “That's probably for the best,” I tease. “Poor Crescent Ridge would never recover.”

The starting gun fires, and the four of them explode off the line. Caelum is immediately neck and neck with Kaia, a small smile spreading across my lips as I watch her. She's completely in her element. Every movement is sharp, confident, and practiced. If I didn't know better, I'd think she'd been running this course specifically her entire life.

She's on the cargo nets before Sebastian and Canon even make it over the wall. Caelum stays on her heels the entire time, refusing to give her even an inch. I catch Kaia glancing over at him before laughing. Leave it to those two to turn a competition into a personal challenge.

When she reaches the balance beams, she clears the first one easily. As soon as she steps onto the second, her foot slips, and I hold my breath. For one terrifying second, I think she's going down. Instead, she catches herself and keeps moving without missing another step.

“She almost had it,” Liam mutters.

Kaia weaves through the ropes with ease before dropping into the crawl tunnel and coming back out within seconds. She falls behind Caelum during the weight carry, his longer stride giving him the advantage, but catches him again at the tire run. By the time they hit the final sprint, they're side by side.

Neck and neck.

The entire stadium falls silent. Hundreds of students lean forward in their seats, every eye locked on the final hundred meters. Even the instructors seem to stop talking as they watch the two of them race toward the finish line.

“Come on, Kaia,” I whisper.

She crosses the finish line first.

Barely.

Half a second.

The stadium erupts into cheers.

I jump to my feet, cupping my hands around my mouth. “Go, Kaia!” I yell.

She immediately looks up into the stands, finds me almost instantly, and blows me a kiss.

The guys chuckle.

“You two are funny,” Kieran says.

“She’s literally my person,” I reply without hesitation. My best friend. My sister in everything except blood. There isn't much I wouldn't do for her, and I know she'd say the same about me.

He nods thoughtfully. “Well... maybe now you can have people instead of one person,” he says softly.

His words settle somewhere in the back of my mind. A few weeks ago, my world had been pretty small. Now... somehow... these three and their friends had become part of it too.

We wait while the scoreboard flickers overhead. A second later, the stadium erupts again as the scores appear.

Kaia: Blackridge — 99

Caelum: Blue Mountain — 98

Canon: Crescent Ridge — 96

Sebastian T.: Crescent Ridge — 94

“Called it,” I say with a grin. Kaia may not have gotten a perfect score, but ninety-nine was still incredible.

I stand, and the three of them immediately stand with me. Kieran's hand settles against my lower back, guiding rather than pushing, as we make our way down the bleachers. Almost immediately I notice students watching us again. Some whisper behind raised hands while others don't even bother pretending they aren't staring.

Principal Rivers' voice echoes throughout the stadium.

“Hello, students. If you have already completed the course, you are free to go to the cafeteria and are dismissed for the day. You may stay for the remaining races or enjoy the rest of your day.”

By the time we reach the bottom of the bleachers, a guy from the White Claw pack breaks away from a small group of students and walks over.

“So... what does a guy have to do to get a bit of your attention, Kaelani?” he asks with an easy smile.

“Not be a dick,” I reply with a shrug.

A few students nearby laugh, and I hear Liam snort behind me.

Two low growls rumble almost simultaneously.

I turn toward them.

“Oh, cut it out.”

I narrow my eyes at all three of them.

The guy laughs. “Damn. They don't like other guys talking to you, huh?”

“They're just being stupid.” I roll my eyes before looking back at him. “What's your name again?”

“Felix.”

He holds out his hand.

I reach out to shake it.

The second our hands touch, my symbols on my arm begins to glow.

Golden light blooms beneath my skin, spreading from my fingertips to my forearm in slow, glowing lines.

Before I can even process what's happening, Zaire grabs my wrist and pulls my hand back.

“We're leaving.”

His voice is calm.

Too calm. The kind of calm that usually means he's trying very hard not to lose control.

Felix stares down at his own hand before lifting his eyes back to mine. His expression shifts from confusion to genuine surprise before the corner of his mouth slowly curls into a smirk.

For the briefest second, he looks almost... relieved. Like he'd been searching for something and had finally found it. Then it's gone, hidden behind that easy smirk.

“What the fuck was that?” Liam asks.

“He has to have some kind of witch blood... or magic,” Zaire says, never taking his eyes off Felix. “That's the only thing that would explain that.”

I glance back.

Felix is still looking between his hand and me, like he's trying to solve the same mystery we are.

“That was weird,” Nyra says.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “I know.”

An uneasy feeling settles low in my stomach. Whatever just happened wasn't normal... and judging by the look on Felix's face, he hadn't expected it any more than we had.

When Kaia and the rest of them finally make their way over, she heads straight for us with a grin plastered across her face.

“Okay, Kieran,” she says, pointing toward Caelum. “Your Beta earned his position. He stayed on my ass the entire time.”

Kieran chuckles.

“Well, I guess our training paid off.”

Caelum just shrugs, though the smug grin on his face says he's enjoying every second of the praise.

My phone vibrates inside my bag.

I pull it out.

A notification from one of my social media accounts flashes across the screen.

A private message.

From Felix.

My brows furrow. I never gave him any of my socials. Hell, I don't even remember telling him my last name. How did he find me that fast?

I'd met him less than five minutes ago. Now he was somehow following me online. Either he was terrifyingly good at finding people... or this wasn't a coincidence.

Almost instinctively, I look toward where he'd been standing.

He's leaning casually against the wall beside another guy from White Claw. The second our eyes meet, he winks.

Zaire follows my line of sight.

A low growl vibrates in his chest.

“Will you stop that?” I snap.

“Why does he keep looking at you?” he asks.

“I don't know.”

And that was the truth. I'd known him for less than two minutes, and somehow he'd already managed to confuse everyone around me... including himself.

Before anyone can say another word, Stephanie, Aliza, and the rest of their little posse start walking toward us.

I roll my eyes.

“And with that...” I sigh dramatically. “I will be making my exit.”

I grab Kaia's hand and start walking toward the parking lot.

Kieran reaches for my arm.

I pull it away before he can touch me.

“I said fix it. Both of them showing up every five minutes isn't you fixing it.” I shake my head. “But you have the nerve to growl at the first guy who isn't one of you three that talks to me?”

My patience officially runs out. I'm tired of being dragged into problems that existed long before I showed up.

The guilt on Kieran's face is almost immediate.

“I’m going to Mitzy's. You two deal with... whatever this is.” I gesture behind us toward Stephanie and Aliza. “And kindly leave me out of it.”

I glance over at Liam.

“Coming?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Without hesitation, he falls into step beside me, throwing an arm over my shoulders.

Of course Liam comes. He doesn't ask questions or try to smooth things over first. He just decides where he's supposed to be and goes.

As we walk away, I can still hear the others talking behind us.

“That was awkward,” Canon says.

“Only because they haven't gotten the hint yet. I don't even know what Stephanie's problem is,” Caelum replies.

“Yeah, it's not like Zaire was dating her. I heard they only hooked up once,” Sebastian says.

My steps come to an abrupt stop.

“What?”

The conversation behind me immediately dies.

Sebastian scratches the back of his neck.

“I mean... I don't know if it's true. It's just what I heard.”

For some reason, my chest feels strangely tight.

I look at Liam.

“I don't know anything about that, Mama,” he says honestly.

He doesn't rush to defend Zaire or confirm the rumor. He simply tells me the truth.

“Let's just go,” I say quietly.

We continue walking toward the parking lot.

“Don't let it get to you,” Kaia links me. “We don't even know if it's true.”

I don't answer.

Because I don't have one.

I simply keep walking toward my car, my thoughts refusing to settle.

Why does the thought of Zaire being with someone else bother me so much?

And who... or what... is Felix? Why did my magic react to him like that... and how did he find me so quickly?

One minute I was celebrating with my friends, and the next I had a complete stranger somehow tangled up in my life.

Ugh.

This year is already so exhausting.