Chapter 136 CHAPTER 137: Shadows and Comfort

Chapter 136 CHAPTER 137: Shadows and Comfort
KAI’S POV

I slammed my hockey stick down against the concrete wall of the corridor, letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh. Kai was becoming increasingly frustrated because he hated keeping secrets from Aria.

Every single time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the sharp, hurt look on her face when we argued after her training session. Ever since their argument after training, he couldn't stop thinking about the look on her face when she realized he was hiding something from her.

She already distrusted them because of everything that happened in the past—the teasing, the way we used her, the way we kept her locked into our crazy orbit—and now we were giving her another reason not to trust us.

"You're going to snap that stick in half if you keep gripping it like that," Reed said, walking past me down the hall. He didn't stop, just tossed the warning over his shoulder without looking back.

I knew he was right, but I didn't care. The problem was that Kai genuinely didn't know enough to explain things properly. Every answer they found seemed to create even more questions. Cole was still digging through old pack archives, trying to connect her childhood to that missing pack elder, but we still had nothing concrete to tell her.

The more confused Aria became, the guiltier he felt.

I hated lying to her. I hated watching her try to piece together a puzzle where half the pieces were hidden. But telling her that international syndicates and dangerous mercenaries were hunting her down without having a plan to protect her felt like a death sentence.

A few days later, Kai returned to hockey practice for one of the team's championship obligations.

The season was over, but the team still had interviews, public appearances, and training sessions scheduled with the school board and visiting pack officials. Normally hockey helped him clear his mind, but this time he couldn't focus.

On the ice, my skates felt heavy. My mind was completely somewhere else.

His teammates noticed immediately. He kept missing simple plays and losing concentration. During a three-on-two drill, I completely blanked on defense, letting the puck slide right past me into the net.

"Wake up, Kai!" the assistant coach yelled from the bench, blowing his whistle sharp and loud. "What is wrong with you today? You're playing like you're sleepwalking!"

Eventually one of the coaches stopped practice and called him aside.

I skated over to the boards, leaning my forearms against the glass, breathing heavily as Coach skated up to meet me. At first Kai assumed he was about to get another lecture about leadership and keeping my head in the game, but the conversation quickly became something else.

Coach lowered his voice, looking around the empty arena before focusing his sharp eyes on me.

The coach asked if everything was okay with Aria.

The question immediately caught Kai off guard. My heart skipped a beat, and my grip on my stick tightened instantly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.

When he asked why, the coach admitted that several influential visitors who attended the championship had been asking unusual questions.

"Officials from the Northern Territories and some high-ranking delegates," Coach explained, wiping sweat from his forehead. "None of them seemed interested in hockey. Instead they wanted information about Aria, her connection to the brothers, and even details about her background."

Hearing that made Kai uneasy because it confirmed that the attention surrounding Aria was spreading.

"Did you give them anything?" I asked, my blood running cold.

"Of course not," Coach scoffed, shaking his head. "I told them to talk to the administration or the pack elders if they wanted student files. But it struck me as odd, Kai. People don't ask about ordinary students like that. Especially not high-ranking delegates."

Whatever was happening was no longer limited to Bianca or a few suspicious strangers. It was expanding into official pack politics, which meant it was ten times more dangerous than we originally thought.

That night Kai found Aria training by herself again.

After practice finished, I didn't bother changing out of my team hoodie. I walked straight to the campus gym, pushing open the heavy double doors. The room was quiet, lit only by the soft amber lights near the boxing bags.

Aria was standing by the heavy bag, throwing punches with a fierce, frustrated rhythm. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and her breath came out in short, exhausted gasps.

This time neither of them felt like arguing.

I didn't yell at her about her schedule this time. I didn't demand to know where she was going. I just walked quietly across the rubber floor, picked up a spare towel, and waited by the bench until she stopped.

She threw one last hard punch, let out a shaky breath, and turned around, jumping slightly when she saw me standing there.

"Kai," she said, her voice dropping into a defensive tone. "If you're here to interrogate me about my schedule again, you can turn right back around."

"I'm not here to interrogate you," I said softly, holding the towel out to her.

Aria was clearly exhausted from constantly worrying about things she couldn't understand. She looked at the towel for a second, then took it, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her shoulders slumped, and all the feisty fight seemed to drain out of her in an instant.

Instead of talking about danger or secrets, they sat together quietly after training.

We sat down side by side on the wooden bench, our shoulders lightly touching. The silence between us wasn't heavy or tense anymore; it was just quiet, giving her a moment to breathe.

Eventually Aria admitted that she was scared.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling slightly in the quiet gym.

"I'm so tired of feeling like I'm losing my mind, Kai," she confessed, staring down at her hands. "Not of getting hurt, but of discovering something about herself that would change everything she thought she knew. What if everyone is right? What if there's something wrong with me? What if I find out something about my past, and it turns out I'm... I'm not who I think I am?"

Her vulnerability hit me right in the chest, sharp and painful.

Kai reassured her that no matter what they uncovered, it wouldn't change how he felt about her.

"Hey. Look at me," I said, gently reaching out to turn her face toward mine.

She looked up, her dark eyes shining with unshed tears under the dim lights.

"No matter what we find out," I told her, my voice dropping into a fierce, steady promise. "No matter what your past looks like, or what those secrets are, it won't change anything about you. And it sure as hell won't change how I feel about you. You're stuck with us, Aria. All of us."

A soft, genuine smile broke through her tired expression, and a tiny laugh slipped past her lips.

The conversation became softer after that, and for the first time in days, Aria seemed genuinely comforted by his presence.

She leaned her head against my shoulder, letting out a long, shaky sigh of relief as her body finally relaxed completely.

"Thanks, Kai," she whispered, her eyes drifting closed. "I needed to hear that."

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer against my side, making a silent vow that I would protect her from whatever was coming—no matter what it took.