Chapter 46 Chapter 46

Chapter 46 Chapter 46
Liam POV

I knew the moment Sebastian said that Zaire slept with Stephanie it would blow up.
Maybe not like that... but I knew it wasn't going to end well. Kaelani had barely started sorting through everything that had happened between us this past week, and hearing that was like pouring gasoline on a fire that was already burning.
"She doesn't even understand why it bothers her," Orion says.
"I know. That's why I got her out of there. She was losing control."
Not just emotionally either. The tables shaking and everything floating around us wasn't something anyone in that diner was going to forget anytime soon.
"She's different. Not just wolf or witch."
"How do you know?" I ask.
"I can feel it."
Before I can ask him anything else, he retreats into the back of my mind, leaving me alone with more questions than answers.
She looks over at me.
"So mind telling us where we're going?" she asks.
I grin at her.
"Somewhere to take your mind off of today," I say.
I don't know if it'll actually work, but sitting around letting her replay everything that happened isn't going to help either. Right now she needs something that isn't rumors, magic, or broken trust. She just needs to breathe.
My phone goes off in my pocket.
"Group chat," she says.
"You read them?" I ask.
"No. I took myself out."
My smile fades a little. I hadn't even considered that she'd leave the group chat, but I couldn't blame her. Every notification would just be another reminder of what happened.
Orion whimpers at that.
"She pulled away from the pack."
"Why?" I ask.
"I'm just not ready for the group chat yet," she says.
I nod, understanding more than I let on. Sometimes space isn't about giving up on people. Sometimes it's the only way to stop yourself from saying something you'll regret later.
I've been trying to be the calm one of the three.
Kieran carries enough guilt for all of us, and Zaire wears every emotion on his face whether he realizes it or not. Somewhere along the way, I became the one trying to keep everyone from falling apart.
Be her safe place.
"Okay, I hope you do come back," I say.
"Do you think he's trying to play me?" she asks.
Kaia sucks her teeth.
"Hell no. He slept with Stephanie because he's a guy and he was in denial of his feelings for you too. Whatever you said to him at the skate party changed something for him."
I glance at Kaia through the rearview mirror. She says it with so much certainty that part of me wonders if she's figured out something the rest of us haven't.
I don't know what she said to him or Kieran that day, but both of them have been different since that night.
They've stopped pretending this is just flirting. Every decision they make now somehow circles back to Kaelani.
I didn't think that when she bumped into me on Monday we would be here, but I haven't been able to stay away from her.
A week ago she was just the quiet girl everyone noticed but nobody really knew. Now I catch myself looking for her the second I walk into class, wondering if she's okay before I even realize I'm doing it.
Orion is drawn to her...
...and if I'm being honest, I stopped fighting that feeling days ago.
When we pull up to the carnival, both Kaelani and Kaia practically throw themselves forward in their seats. They both squeal at the same time, making me laugh.
“Oh my God! I have been dying to come here ever since I drove past it the other day,” Kaia says, bouncing in her seat.
Kaelani turns toward me, her eyes brighter than they've been since we left Mitzy's.
“Thank you,” she says.
That one smile makes the drive over worth it. It isn't as carefree as the ones she's given me before, but it's real, and right now that's enough.
“You're welcome, Mama,” I say as I pull into a parking spot.
I pull out my phone.
She glances down at it.
“I know they're asking you where we are. You can tell them if you want, but just make sure he knows not to talk to me,” she says before climbing out with Kaia.
I watch her walk toward the entrance before looking back down at my phone. The group chat is exactly what I expected.
Kieran: Where did you guys go?
Zaire: How mad is she? Can I fix it?
Kieran: ??
Me: We're at the carnival in Neutral Territory. She said if you come, don't speak to her.
Almost immediately, the typing bubble appears.
Zaire: She really said that?
Me: Yeah, she really said that. I think this time she really wants the space, bro.
The typing bubble appears again almost instantly.
Zaire: FUCK. It was only one time.
I stare at the message for a second before locking my phone. Whether it happened once or a hundred times doesn't matter anymore. What matters is how it made Kaelani feel, and that's the part he still hasn't figured out.
Kaelani opens my door and leans her head inside.
“Coming?” she asks.
I smile.
“Of course, beautiful.”
She rolls her eyes at the nickname, but I catch the corner of her mouth twitch before she turns away. I'll take that as progress.
I shut the car off and climb out, catching up to the girls before we reach the ticket booth.
When we get to the gate, I purchase three wristbands for the rides and games.
“Seriously?” Kaelani asks.
“Come on, not this again. This is my treat.”
“Yeah, Lani, relax. Besides, if I had a guy willing to pay for me, I'd gladly let him. He even paid for me too, girl,” Kaia says.
Kaelani rolls her eyes before letting out a defeated sigh.
“Fine.”
She doesn't argue nearly as long as she usually does, and I have a feeling she's too emotionally exhausted to fight over something this small.
Then she looks at me.
“They're coming, aren't they?”
I nod slowly.
“Yeah. They're already on the way.”
She lets out a quiet sigh.
“Guess I should enjoy myself while I can.”
The words are meant to be joking, but they don't quite sound like one. Then she reaches over and grabs my hand as the cashier fastens our wristbands.
My heart stumbles for half a second. She doesn't even seem to realize she's doing it, but I notice. Orion notices too.
"Don't read into it," he warns.
Too late.
The first three rides we get on have my stomach somewhere up in my throat.
Whoever invented carnival rides clearly had a personal vendetta against people who liked having both feet on the ground. I personally hate carnivals, but every time I think about suggesting a break, I look over at Kaelani.
She's laughing.
Really laughing.
The kind of laugh that makes her throw her head back without caring who's watching. The tightness that's been sitting on her face since Mitzy's slowly melts away with every ride we get off, and suddenly I don't mind being tossed around if it means I get to see that smile again.
"Worth it?" Orion asks.
"Every second."
By the time we step off the third ride, I spot Caelum and Sebastian making their way toward us through the crowd.
“Finally,” Sebastian says. “We've been looking everywhere for you guys.”
“We were hiding from you,” Kaia says.
He places a hand over his chest dramatically.
“I'm hurt. I thought we were friends.”
She rolls her eyes.
“You're dramatic.”
"I've been told it's one of my better qualities," Sebastian replies, earning a laugh from all of us.
“Where's Kieran and Zaire?” I ask.
Caelum glances behind him.
“Kieran and Canon are trying to get Adonis here to talk Zaire off a ledge.”
Kaia raises a brow.
“Oh... entertainment.”
I shake my head, laughing.
“You live to watch people suffer?”
She shrugs.
“Chaos is life.”
"One day that attitude is going to get you in trouble," I tell her.
She flashes me a grin. "And it'll probably be entertaining too."
I shouldn't laugh.
I do anyway.
“Why is he on a ledge?” Kaelani asks softly.
“I guess he thinks you won't talk to him anymore,” Caelum says.
Her smile fades just enough for me to notice.
She lets out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“Aside from the fact that he's literally the only person who can help me with my magic or even understands it...” She sighs. “I hate the idea of never talking to him again, but I'm mad, and one sorry or conversation won't fix that.”
Nobody argues with her. Honestly... nobody can.
She reaches over, grabs Kaia's hand, and starts walking toward one of the game booths.
I watch them weave through the crowd together until they're swallowed by a sea of people carrying stuffed animals and cotton candy. Only then do I turn my attention back to the guys.
“What is the deal with the four of you anyway?” Sebastian asks. “I remember when you were dating Sarah and Joshua hugged her—you nearly ripped his head off.”
"He's right," Orion says. "We had to do two weeks of cleaning the stables and helping the Omegas around the pack."
A laugh slips out before I can stop it. I'd almost forgotten about that. Dad said if I was old enough to start fights over a girl, I was old enough to scrub stalls until I learned some self-control.
I shrug.
“Not sure. We all think she may be one of our mates... at least one of us. I think it has something to do with what she is. That would explain Zaire—he's a witch too. But Kieran and I...” I shake my head. “We're just going with it until we all turn eighteen. Kieran's birthday is up first, so we'll see.”
Even saying it out loud sounds crazy. Three Alpha heirs being drawn to the same girl shouldn't make any sense... yet none of us has been able to explain it either.
Just then, I see Kieran, Zaire, and Canon making their way through the crowd.
“Where is she?” Zaire asks the second he's close enough to hear.
“She went to get on rides with Kaia,” I say.
“You good?” I ask, studying him. He looks like he hasn't taken a full breath since we left Mitzy's.
He runs a hand through his hair.
“I should've listened to you,” he says quietly.
My eyebrows shoot up. In all the years I've known Zaire, I can count on one hand the number of times he's admitted somebody else was right.
A grin spreads across my face.
“I'm sorry... say that again.”
“Don't push it, Liam,” he mutters, shooting me a look.
My grin only widens.
“Okay, okay.” I chuckle. “But yeah... you should've. I told you leaving with her after kissing Kaelani was a bad idea.”
He drags both hands down his face.
“Fuck. What am I supposed to do? Stephanie is the clingiest she-wolf I've ever met.”
“Maybe have her transferred,” Canon suggests.
Kieran immediately shakes his head.
“That won't work.”
“You're a witch,” Sebastian says. “Do something magical to her.”
Zaire gives him a flat look.
“That's against the very nature of a Light Witch. We don't use magic for personal gain.”
Sebastian holds both hands up. “Worth a shot.”
Zaire sighs.
“Besides, I'm not that kind of witch. That's not how my powers work.” His expression softens as his eyes drift toward the game booths. “I'm meant to guide her.”
The words make me look at him. He says them so naturally, like guiding her isn't something he's hoping to do someday. It's something he's already accepted as his responsibility.
“Just give her time,” I say. “She needs time to process her feelings. You aren't the only one going through it.”
He stays quiet for a long moment before looking over my shoulder.
I turn to see what caught his attention.
Kaelani is standing with Kaia at the cotton candy stand, laughing so hard she has to grab Kaia's arm to keep herself upright. The look on her face is completely different from the one she wore walking out of Mitzy's, and I silently thank every ride operator in this carnival for giving her something else to think about, even if only for a little while.
She looks up, catches all of us staring, and waves.
Every single one of us waves back.
“Yeah...” Sebastian says with a laugh as he starts walking toward the girls. “You three are doomed.”
“Completely gone,” Caelum adds, laughing as he and Canon follow after him.
I watch Zaire and Kieran exchange a look before following the others. Neither of them argues. Neither of them denies it. Maybe because deep down... they already know it's true.
I'm not sure what's going on with Kaelani.
I don't know why Orion is drawn to her, why the three of us can't seem to stay away from her, or why every day brings another question instead of an answer.
But they're right.
I don't think I could stay away from her...
Even if I wanted to.
At the time, all I wanted was one good day for her after everything that happened. I didn't realize we were living through one of the last normal afternoons any of us would have for a very long time.