Chapter 60 Chapter 60

Chapter 60 Chapter 60
Kaelani POV

Liam swims over to me. “Hey mama, you okay?” he asks.
“Zaire just does a lot sometimes,” I say.
Liam glances across the pool toward him before looking back at me. He doesn't immediately defend him, which I appreciate because I'm still irritated enough that I don't want to hear excuses.
“He’s possessive of you. We all are,” he says, leaning against the wall, pulling me into his arms.
I wrap my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist. He keeps one arm on the edge of the pool and wraps the other around my waist to steady me.
The irritation slowly starts to settle as I relax against him. Liam has this way of calming me without making it obvious that he's trying to. He doesn't push me to talk or tell me I'm overreacting. He just lets me be.
“You’re becoming more comfortable with us,” he says low in my ear as I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I know. It honestly scares me,” I admit. “I don’t want to get hurt.”
Even admitting that out loud makes my stomach tighten. A few weeks ago, none of them could've gotten close enough to hurt me because I wouldn't have let them. Now I'm kissing them, holding their hands, letting myself get used to having them around.
That's the scary part.
“None of us will intentionally hurt you, mama, but we are also stupid teenage Alpha wolves who don’t like seeing other guys near you. We will mess up. Those two more than me,” he says.
I giggle because I know he’s right about that.
“You're including yourself in the stupid part, right?” I ask.
“Unfortunately.”
“Okay, just making sure.”
He laughs, and some of the tension finally leaves my shoulders.
“I just don’t like that he thinks because we are whatever this is that they can control what I do and with who,” I say.
“Which they don’t. Which we don’t. I will talk to them, especially Zaire. He’s more protective of you because of everything else, so it may be harder for him,” he says.
I know exactly what he means by everything else. Zaire isn't only dealing with whatever is happening between the four of us. Now there's this whole Guide connection tying him to me too, and neither of us completely understands what that means yet.
But that still doesn't give him permission to make decisions for me.
“I’m ready to go home. I still have training,” I say softly.
“Your dad is brutal,” he says, chuckling.
“Tell me about it.”
Just thinking about whatever Dad has planned makes me want to sink underneath the water and stay here.
“Okay, are we telling the goofs you’re leaving?” he asks.
“Yes, before they both show up at my pack,” I say, rolling my eyes. "Ezra will take their heads off"
Liam laughs. “I would actually like to keep my head.”
“Then make sure they behave.”
Liam picks me up and sits me on the edge of the pool. He moves between my legs.
“You stay,” he says and swims to the other side of the pool where Zaire and Kieran are with the other guys and Kaia.
I watch him say something to them. Kieran looks over first, followed immediately by Zaire. Kaia looks at me too, but unlike those two, she doesn't immediately look like she's preparing for an emergency.
Liam says something and all three of them swim over.
The moment they’re in earshot, “I’m going home,” I say.
Zaire frowns and Kieran looks annoyed.
“Why are you looking like that?” I ask Kieran.
“Because you're leaving.”
“I have a home.”
“Unfortunately.”
I stare at him. “You want to rethink that answer?”
His lips twitch. “Probably.”
“Do you want one of us to take you?” He asks softly.
“No, I need to think, and I can’t do that with any of you around. I will take my own car.”
That wipes the amusement from his face. He nods instead of arguing, and I appreciate that too.
“Are you sure?” Zaire asks.
I look at him, still annoyed. “Positive. I will see you all tomorrow.”
“We’re walking you to your car,” Kieran says, climbing out of the pool and lifting me up.
“I can walk,” I say, giggling.
“You looked tired from swimming,” he says, smirking.
I laugh harder and smack his arm. “Kieran, put me down.”
“You just said you were tired.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“That's what I heard.”
“Put me down before I drop you.”
He laughs. “There she is.”
He sets me down by my clothes, and I put my shorts and sandals back on while Zaire hands me a towel.
“Thank you,” I say.
He nods but doesn't try to say anything else. Maybe Liam already warned him to give me a minute.
Kaia runs over. “Mind if I stay? I can catch a ride back with Kieran.”
“Enjoy yourself, friend. Behave,” I say.
She grins. “Always do.”
“That is the biggest lie you've told all night.”
She gasps and puts a hand against her chest. “I don't appreciate being attacked by my best friend.”
“You'll survive.”
She kisses my cheek and runs off. “Love you!” she yells over her shoulder.
“Love you too!” I call after her.
I take Kieran’s hand and thread my fingers through his.
I do it without thinking, and that realization hits me about two seconds too late.
He looks down at our hands and smiles.
Goddess, that smile.
I look forward before he catches me staring at him.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he says when we get to my car.
Zaire and Liam stay a little back to give us our moment.
I glance over my shoulder at them before looking at Kieran again. Somehow we've already developed this unspoken system where they know when to give each other space with me.
How did I end up here with these three guys?
“I know you don’t like feeling like things are out of your control. I also know you enjoy seeing us lose it over you,” he says, his head dipping as he pushes me flush against my car.
My lips twitch because unfortunately he's right about the second part.
“I don’t like seeing another guy so close to you,” he says, looking back at my other two guys. “Except them two, it’s so fucking weird. Atlas hates it too,” he says low.
“Nyra doesn't seem to have that problem.”
“Of course she doesn't.”
I laugh softly. “She's apparently collecting Alphas.”
“Yeah, well, tell her Atlas would appreciate if she stopped.”
Nyra snorts in my head.
“Absolutely not.”
He grips my chin and forces my eyes to lock with his.
“As we all get closer to our birthdays, be careful playing with fire, beautiful, because if you truly are ours, it will be way worse. Your little games will get someone hurt,” he says, nipping at my jaw before kissing me softly.
The teasing disappears from his expression when he pulls back, and I know he's serious. Not about controlling me. About whatever is already happening between all of us becoming stronger once our wolves can actually recognize their mates.
The thought sends a nervous flutter through my stomach.
“Be safe. Text us when you get home. Don’t forget,” he says.
I just nod.
“Words, beautiful.”
I roll my eyes. “I'll text you.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t have time to recover before Liam is standing in front of me.
He smirks. “You okay, mama?” he asks, amusement in his voice.
I nod, and he cups my cheeks and kisses me deep and hard. His fingers curl through my hair, my hands gripping his shirt.
The kiss catches me off guard for half a second before I relax into it. Liam has been the calm one all night, so the sudden change makes my heart race even faster.
He pulls back with a massive grin on his face.
“Different, right? That’s for trying to make me jealous earlier. Good night, mama. You heard what Kieran said. Don’t forget,” he says, stepping back.
I blink at him.
He laughs.
“You're annoying too,” I mutter.
“But I'm still the most tolerable.”
I hate that he remembered that.
Zaire steps in front of me, and I roll my eyes instinctively.
“Don’t be like that,” he says low.
“I don’t like that you think you have a say in what I do.”
He’s quiet.
“I know,” he says.
“You know, but you still do it?” I ask.
His jaw tightens, but he doesn't get defensive. For once, he actually seems to think about his answer before giving it to me.
“It’s not easy navigating what I’m feeling, Kaelani. I’m trying not to break the jaw of every guy that looks at you. Because I want to. I’ve been fighting the urge to punch Hayden for touching you,” he says tightly.
“And Hayden didn't do anything wrong.”
“I know.”
“The guy in the pool didn't either.”
His eyes close briefly. “I know that too.”
That takes some of the fight out of me because at least he understands the problem.
He looks at me and steps closer, not touching me but close enough to feel the heat from his body.
“You don’t even understand what control looks like around you. I’m an Alpha. You said it. You said you were ours,” he says, shaking his head. “I can’t see another guy touch you. I physically can’t,” he says, voice low.
I study him for a second.
I don't doubt that what he's feeling is intense. Between whatever is happening romantically and this new Guide connection, Zaire probably doesn't even understand half of his own reactions to me yet.
But neither do I.
We're both figuring this out.
I close the distance and kiss him hard.
He grabs me in his arms and pins me to the car. His fingers spread across my back, and I grip his shirt tight.
Someone groans behind him, and he pulls back and rests his forehead on mine, breathing heavy.
“They're literally right there,” I whisper.
“I know.”
“You three are ridiculous.”
His lips twitch. “Probably.”
“I will try to be better and keep my jealousy and possessiveness under control,” he says low.
That's all I wanted. Not for him to suddenly stop feeling whatever he's feeling. Not for any of them to stop being themselves. Just for them to understand that being close to me doesn't mean making choices for me.
“Thank you,” I say breathless.
He lets me go and places me back on the ground.
“Text us when you get home, please, Shorty,” he says.
I nod. “Okay.”
This time there's no command underneath it. Just concern.
He walks me around to the driver’s side, and I get in. He closes the door behind me.
“Drive safe,” he says before stepping back.
I start the car and look through the windshield at all three of them standing there.
Three Alphas. Three completely different personalities. Three different ways of making me lose my damn mind.
And somehow, against every instinct I've had about keeping people at a distance, I'm letting all three of them closer.
Maybe that's why this scares me so much.
Because I don't think I'm pretending anymore.
On the drive home I think about all three of these boys. Zaire and Kieran are both overly possessive and jealous and although I enjoy it sometimes. It’s also a big problem sometimes. There’s a difference between wanting me and thinking that means they get to make decisions for me. I don't think either of them means anything bad by it, but they're going to have to learn that difference if whatever this is between us keeps growing.
But Zaire is playful and funny while Kieran is intense and more controlled. Zaire can turn almost anything into a joke, even when I'm two seconds away from strangling him. Kieran doesn't joke nearly as much. He watches, thinks, and then says something that leaves me standing there trying to remember how to breathe.
Liam is safety wrapped in a person. Everything about him calms me. He’s way more low key and sometimes after being around the other two I need that. He doesn't pull at me the same way they do. He settles me. Tonight when I was angry, he didn't try to fix it or tell me how I should feel. He just listened.
“They each make us feel something different,” Nyra says.
“Is that a good thing?”
“I think so.”
I smile slightly as I turn into the pack grounds. Of course she does. Nyra has been significantly less concerned about this entire three-boy situation than I have.
When I get home Ezra is waiting outside.
“You’re late,” he says.
“He never gave me a time,” I say.
He rolls his eyes. “Oh little sister, there is always a time. Go change and meet me on the course. He switched it up,” he says walking toward the course.
I stop halfway toward the door and look back at him.
“Switched it how?”
He keeps walking.
“Ezra!”
He raises a hand over his shoulder without turning around.
Great.
It’s been a while since he’s done that.
“He thinks we’re getting comfortable,” Nyra says.
“Apparently being comfortable is a crime in this family.”
“According to your father? Yes.”
I snort as I hurry inside.
I run upstairs and drop my bag and change quickly since I’m already late. My body protests slightly as I pull on my workout clothes. Three spars at school, swimming at the party, and now Dad wants me on the course. Apparently sleep isn't included in preparing me for whatever the hell is coming.
I run back out and slow my steps when I approach the course.
Oh, he definitely changed it.
The familiar structure is still there, but several obstacles have been moved while others have been replaced completely. I scan the course, mentally working through each section before I even reach Ezra.
That's one thing Dad taught me early. Never charge into something just because you know how to fight your way through it. Look first.
Ezra smiles. “Good thing if you fall tonight, you don’t have to run it again.”
“Good to know,” I say.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why do I feel like you're saying that because you expect me to fall?”
“Because I do.”
“Asshole.”
He laughs. “Love you too, Bean.”
“Okay, come on, it’s late,” he says.
I move to the starting point. My heart pounds in my chest because some of these I haven’t done before but I know what they are.
Knowing what an obstacle is and actually having my body suspended ten feet in the air while trying to complete it are two very different things.
“Go, Lani!” Ezra shouts.
I take a deep breath and run across the quad steps easily. My feet barely stay on each platform before I'm pushing toward the next, letting momentum carry me instead of slowing down enough to second-guess myself.
Then I get to the balance bridge.
I step on it slowly and get my balance before briskly walking across both beams. The first shifts underneath my weight and my arms shoot out instinctively. I adjust before stepping onto the second, keeping my eyes ahead instead of looking down.
“Those two were easy! Keep the momentum!” Ezra says.
Easy for him to say from the ground.
I get to the ring toss. I use the tramp to jump and grab the rings and make my way across the pegs. My arms start to burn but I push through and make the landing.
My feet hit the platform and I stumble forward before catching myself.
I stop a minute to catch my breath.
“Good job,” he says.
“Don't sound so surprised.”
“I wasn't.”
“You definitely sounded surprised.”
“Keep moving, Lani.”
I suck my teeth but move toward the next obstacle.
I get to the salmon ladder.
I stare up at it.
“Oh, fuck you.”
Ezra laughs. “Let’s see where your upper body strength is really at,” he says.
“My upper body strength was perfectly fine before you decided we needed to test it at”—I glance toward the clock mounted outside the training building—“this ungodly hour.”
“Excuses already?”
That does it.
I jump up and grab the pole.
I swing once to build momentum before driving upward. The bar catches the next rung with a hard metallic clang.
One.
I reset my grip.
Two.
I make it through the first three rungs easily. My shoulders are already burning from the ring toss, but I ignore it and swing again.
When I go to go up the fourth one, I end up uneven.
The left side catches.
The right doesn't.
“Shit.”
I try to get my right side up, but I lose my grip and drop.
My feet hit the mat hard and I stumble backward before catching myself. I glare up at the ladder like it personally offended me.
“Fuck. I was hoping he never put this. At least humans get to train for these. I just get thrown into it,” I say.
“They get new obstacles too, sister. That’s the point of the competition.”
I put my hands on my hips and look at him.
“Whose side are you on?”
“The side that wants you alive when something doesn't give you three weeks to practice before trying to kill you.”
My irritation fades slightly.
There it is.
No matter how much Dad turns training into scores, times, courses, and competitions, there's always something underneath it.
Survive.
Especially now.
Chosen One. Awakening. Someone watching me. Someone trying to find the tree.
I look back at the salmon ladder.
Next time I'm making it past the fourth rung.
“Come on, we’re weapons sparring again,” he says walking back towards the pack house.
I stare after him.
“Again?”
“You heard me.”
“I already fought three people today!”
“And?”
“And I would like to formally resign from this family.”
Ezra laughs without looking back. “Application denied.”
I groan and follow him toward the pack house.
Apparently almost passing out from magical overload last night wasn't enough to earn me a day off.
Then again, with everything coming for me, maybe Dad doesn't think I can afford one.
When we get to the gym Dad is already there waiting.
Of course he is. He's standing beside the weapons table like he hasn't spent the entire day doing whatever Alpha's do while I've been fighting, swimming, and apparently making questionable decisions involving three boys.
“Okay, this will be quick. No wolfsbane. Pick your weapons,” he says.
Thank Goddess for small favors. I don't think my body could handle wolfsbane right now without simply giving up on me.
The exhaustion is finally settling in as I pick up twin daggers and Ezra picks up a sword. Normally the daggers feel light in my hands, an easy extension of my arms. Tonight even their familiar weight feels heavier than it should. My shoulders still burn from the salmon ladder, and my legs are beginning to ache now that I've stopped moving long enough to notice.
“First draw of blood,” Dad says.
I get into a fighting stance, but Ezra charges at me and swings and I barely dodge it.
The blade passes close enough that I feel the air move against my skin. My body reacts a fraction of a second later than my mind does, and I stumble sideways before catching my footing.
“Slow,” Ezra says.
I know. I felt it.
“Just fight,” I say.
His expression changes slightly. He knows I'm irritated, but he doesn't go easy on me. He never does.
I swing out with my right dagger and he jumps back. I follow with my left, trying to force him onto the defensive, but there's no real speed behind it. Ezra knocks the blade away easily.
Fuck.
I'm thinking about every movement instead of letting my training take over.
He kicks at my ribs with his right leg before swinging the sword across with his left hand, and I feel the burn before I realize what it is.
I hiss and look down at the thin cut along my arm.
“Point Ezra,” Dad says.
The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than thirty seconds.
I lower the dagger, breathing harder than I should be after such a short fight.
“Lani, your fighting was poor and sloppy,” he says.
My head snaps toward him.
“I’m tired. Today was a lot,” I say, breathing heavy.
I don't usually make excuses after training. If I lose, I lose. If I make a mistake, I fix it. But tonight he's acting like I haven't already pushed my body all damn day.
“Your enemies don’t care about you being tired,” he snaps before storming out.
I stare after him, my jaw tightening.
“Well, I'm not fighting my fucking enemies right now,” I mutter.
“Don't,” Ezra says quietly.
“I know what he's training me for, Ezra. I know.” I put the daggers back on the table harder than necessary. “But I'm tired.”
And for once, I want that to be allowed.
“Don’t let it get to you, he’s just scared for you,” Ezra says.
I look toward the doors Dad disappeared through.
“He's been scared for me my entire life.”
“Yeah.” Ezra puts his sword away. “But before, he was preparing for something the Moon Goddess told him might happen one day. Now somebody actually contacted you.”
I don't answer.
Because he's right.
The message changed something. Dad has always trained me hard, but now the thing he's been preparing me for since I could walk isn't somewhere in the distant future anymore.
Someone found me.
And Dad can't punch, train, or command that fact away.
“Go get some rest. Skip training tomorrow, I’ll deal with Dad,” he says walking out.
My brows shoot up.
“You're volunteering to tell Dad I'm skipping training?”
Ezra stops at the door and looks back at me. “That's how much I love you, Bean.”
“I'll say something nice at your funeral.”
He laughs. “Make sure everybody knows I was the favorite.”
“Absolutely not.”
He disappears through the door before I can say anything else, and I smile despite myself.
I make my way upstairs and go straight for the shower.
The hot water feels amazing against my sore muscles, and I stay underneath it longer than I mean to. The small cut from Ezra's sword stings when the water hits it, but it'll be gone soon enough.
My mind refuses to shut off even though my body is begging it to.
The message.
My magic.
The tree.
Nana telling me someone is trying to find it.
Zaire's markings.
Felix asking questions.
Kieran, Liam and Zaire.
School. The trials. The tournament.
My eighteenth birthday.
Everything is piling up faster than I can make sense of any of it.
After my shower I pull on some pajamas and grab my phone out of my bag, and it’s dead.
“Shit.”
I completely forgot I was supposed to text the guys when I got home.
They're going to lose their minds.
I plug it in and wait a few seconds, but the screen stays black.
“They'll survive until morning.”
Nyra laughs. “Will they?”
“They better.”
I put it on the charger and climb into bed.
I tell myself I'll wait for it to turn on. Just long enough to send one message so three dramatic Alpha boys don't show up at my house thinking I've been kidnapped.
My eyes close for what I swear is only a second.
I’m out the moment I hit the pillow.
No checking my phone.
No thinking about boys.
No worrying about whoever is looking for me.
My body finally makes the decision for me.
I need to start practicing magic tomorrow. I need to be prepared as much as possible.
Dad is right about one thing, even if I don't want to admit it tonight. Whoever is coming isn't going to care whether I'm tired, scared, confused, or seventeen and desperately trying to have something resembling a normal life.
But I can't prepare for them by running myself into the ground either.
Tomorrow I'll rest.
Then I'll learn my magic.
Because if someone really is coming for me, I don't want survival to depend on what they decide to throw at me.
I want them to regret coming at all.