Chapter 34 Thirty four
The cafeteria was louder than usual that afternoon, trays clattering, chairs scraping, voices overlapping in chaotic waves. Harper sat across from Catherine, poking at her lunch with little interest. The fluorescent lights overhead were too bright, the air thick with gossip that never truly slept.
She was halfway through a nugget when the noise shifted.
Not louder.
Sharper.
Like something important had just entered the room.
Catherine’s head turned first.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
Harper didn’t need to look.
She already knew.
Kai.
The energy in the cafeteria changed instantly. Students straightened. Conversations cut mid-sentence. A few girls practically dropped their forks as they rushed toward the entrance.
Kai walked in like he owned the building—calm, confident, hands in his pockets. His dark hair fell perfectly over his forehead, his uniform slightly less neat than everyone else’s in a way that somehow made it look intentional.
“Congrats, Kai!”
“We heard about your dad!”
“So the Alpha really remarried?”
He nodded casually at them, accepting the attention like it was normal, like it had always been his.
Harper rolled her eyes and focused on her tray.
Of course.
Alpha Derek remarrying was big news.
What none of them knew—what none of them would even imagine—was that the woman he had married was Harper’s mother.
“Woah,” Catherine breathed beside her, staring openly at the crowd forming around Kai. “So the Alpha really got remarried.”
Harper shrugged, keeping her eyes on her food. “Apparently.”
“Apparently?” Catherine turned to her. “This is huge. That means there’s a new Luna. A new family.”
Harper stabbed her nugget a little harder than necessary. “It’s just marriage.”
“Just marriage?” Catherine hissed. “To the Alpha?”
Harper didn’t respond.
She could feel the whispers spreading like wildfire.
Who is she?
Do we know her?
Is she from another pack?
Does Kai have a stepmom now?
The irony made her want to laugh.
Kai was still surrounded, smiling faintly as students fought for his attention. He said little, but it didn’t matter. They filled in the silence for him.
Then, without warning, his gaze lifted.
And landed on her.
Harper’s stomach tightened, but she refused to react.
Act normal.
Act invisible.
Kai excused himself from the group with a few quiet words and started walking toward her table.
Catherine froze mid-sip.
“He’s coming here,” she whispered urgently.
“I can see that,” Harper muttered.
Every step he took seemed to echo louder than it should. Heads turned. Conversations dipped into curious silence.
Kai reached their table.
And sat down next to Harper.
Not across.
Next to her.
An audible gasp rippled through the cafeteria.
Harper stared straight ahead, pretending she hadn’t noticed the collective shock.
Kai leaned back casually, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
Then, without asking, he reached over.
And took one of her nuggets.
Harper blinked.
He dipped it in her sauce.
And ate it.
Catherine’s eyes widened so much Harper was afraid they might fall out.
The entire cafeteria had gone quiet.
Harper slowly turned her head to look at him.
He was chewing.
Relaxed.
Completely unbothered.
She glanced at Catherine.
Catherine glanced at Kai.
Then at Harper.
Then back at Kai.
What is happening?
Harper could practically hear the thoughts buzzing around the room.
“What?” Kai said, noticing her stare. He looked genuinely confused. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Uhm…” Harper swallowed. “Why are you sitting here?”
A sharp murmur spread instantly.
“Who does she think she is?”
“She should be lucky he’s sitting with her.”
“Is she crazy?”
Kai raised an eyebrow slightly at her question.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Can’t I sit with my si—”
Harper’s hand flew up so fast she didn’t even think.
She clamped it over his mouth.
Catherine’s eyebrows shot straight up.
Kai blinked against her palm.
The cafeteria exploded into louder whispers.
Did she just touch him?
Did she just cover his mouth?
Is she insane?
Harper leaned closer to him, her smile tight and forced for the audience.
“Excuse us,” she said sweetly.
Before Kai could react, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him up from the bench.
He stumbled slightly from the sudden force, clearly not expecting it.
Gasps followed them as she dragged him across the cafeteria, through the staring crowd, past students who moved aside like they were watching a live drama unfold.
“Harper,” Catherine whispered loudly behind them, “what are you doing?!”
Harper didn’t answer.
She didn’t stop until they were out in the hallway, the cafeteria doors swinging shut behind them.
The noise dulled instantly.
She released him.
Kai looked down at her, rubbing his wrist where she had grabbed him.
“What was that for?” he asked, more amused than annoyed.
“You almost ruined everything!” she hissed.
“Ruined what?”
“You were about to say something stupid!”
“I was about to say ‘sister,’” he replied calmly. “Because that’s what you are now.”
She shot him a warning glare.
“Do you want the entire school to know my mom married your dad?”
He tilted his head slightly. “They’re going to find out eventually.”
“Not like that,” she snapped. “Not in the middle of the cafeteria.”
He studied her for a moment.
“You’re embarrassed.”
“I am not.”
“You dragged me out like I committed a crime.”
“You were about to announce it like it’s casual news,” she shot back. “It’s not casual.”
Kai’s expression softened slightly.
“You think they won’t react?”
“They’ll lose their minds,” she said bluntly. “You saw how they reacted just to you sitting next to me.”
He smirked faintly. “That was interesting.”
“You stole my nugget.”
“You weren’t eating it.”
“That’s not the point.”
He stepped a little closer, lowering his voice.
“You’re overthinking this.”
“And you’re underthinking it.”
For a moment, they just stared at each other in the empty hallway.
Then the cafeteria doors creaked open slightly, and a few students peeked out, pretending to walk by while clearly trying to listen.
Kai noticed.
A slow, mischievous smile formed on his lips.
“Oh no,” Harper muttered.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Don’t.”
He leaned down just enough to make it look intimate from a distance.
“You know,” he said quietly, “if you didn’t want attention, you probably shouldn’t have grabbed me like that.”
Her eyes widened.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“Maybe.”
Inside the cafeteria, whispers were already rising again.
Harper exhaled sharply.
“Next time,” she said, pointing a finger at him, “you don’t sit next to me. You don’t steal my food. And you definitely don’t call me that in public.”
He glanced at her finger, then back at her face.
“So bossy,” he murmured.
“I’m serious, Kai.”
He studied her for another second before straightening.
“Fine,” he said casually. “For now.”
“For now?” she repeated.
He shrugged.
“But you can’t hide forever.”
She folded her arms.
“Watch me.”
He chuckled under his breath, then walked past her toward the cafeteria doors.
Before stepping inside, he glanced back at her.
“You owe me a nugget,” he added.
Harper stared at him in disbelief as he disappeared back into the noise.
\-
Molly had always considered herself observant.
She didn’t need to be loud to be powerful. She didn’t need to sit at the center of attention to understand how the room shifted when something unusual happened. And today, the shift had been obvious.
Kai had walked into the cafeteria like always—calm, untouchable, the Alpha’s golden son. The air had changed instantly. People flocked to him with congratulations about his father’s remarriage, curiosity dripping from every word.
But Molly hadn’t been watching Kai.
She had been watching Harper.
Harper hadn’t looked surprised.
She hadn’t looked impressed.
She hadn’t even looked interested.
She had rolled her eyes.
That alone was strange.
Then Kai had left the crowd and walked straight to Harper’s table.
Not Catherine.
Not the popular table.
Harper.
Molly had felt it then—that tightening in her chest. That quiet alarm bell.
And when Kai sat beside Harper—close, casual—and took food from her plate like it was normal, Molly knew something wasn’t adding up.
Harper had looked shocked, yes—but not in the way the other girls would have been. There had been irritation in her expression. Ownership. Familiarity.
Then the hand over his mouth.
The dragging him out of the cafeteria.
The whispers that followed.
Molly hadn’t moved.
She had simply watched.
And as the doors swung shut behind them, a colder thought had crept in.
Where was Koda?
Koda hadn’t been in school all week.
No explanation.
No message.
Nothing.
Koda, who rarely missed anything.
Koda, who had once stood a little too close to Harper during training.
Koda, whose eyes had lingered.
Molly’s fingers curled slightly around the edge of her tray.
And now Kai was suddenly comfortable enough to sit beside Harper in front of everyone.
It felt wrong.
It felt like pieces shifting on a board she hadn’t agreed to play on.
By the time Harper returned to the cafeteria alone, Molly had already made up her mind.
Harper walked back to her seat with her usual controlled expression, but Molly noticed the faint tension in her shoulders. Catherine immediately leaned in, whispering questions. Harper shook her head, brushing it off.
As if nothing had happened.
As if the entire cafeteria hadn’t just witnessed something unusual.
Molly stood.
She didn’t rush.
She didn’t storm.
She walked with purpose.
Each step quiet, measured.
The closer she got, the more the surrounding conversations dipped again.
Harper looked up when Molly stopped beside the table.
There was a flicker in her eyes.
Recognition.
Caution.
“Can I help you?” Harper asked evenly.
Catherine glanced between them, clearly sensing something brewing.
Molly tilted her head slightly, her smile small but sharp.
“I just wanted to ask you something.”
Harper held her gaze. “Go ahead.”
Molly crossed her arms loosely. “Since when are you and Kai friends?”
The word friends hung in the air.
Harper didn’t answer immediately.
Catherine shifted awkwardly in her seat.
“We’re not friends,” Harper said finally.
“Oh?” Molly’s eyebrow lifted. “Because from where I was sitting, that didn’t look like strangers.”
“It was nothing,” Harper replied. “He just sat down.”
“And ate from your plate,” Molly added softly.
A few nearby students pretended not to listen while very clearly listening.
Harper’s jaw tightened just slightly.
Molly noticed.
“And you dragged him out,” Molly continued. “That’s bold.”
Harper leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms now as well. “Is there a point to this?”
“Yes,” Molly said.
Her tone shifted—less casual now.
“Where’s Koda?”
The question landed heavier than the first.
Harper blinked once.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t?” Molly studied her face carefully, searching for cracks.
“No.”
Molly stepped closer to the table.
“That’s strange.”
“Why?”
“Because you and Koda were talking. A lot.”
“We weren’t,” Harper replied calmly.
“You were,” Molly insisted softly. “And now he’s gone. And suddenly you’re sitting with Kai.”
Catherine inhaled sharply.
Harper’s eyes hardened.
“You’re reaching.”
“Am I?”
Molly leaned in just enough to lower her voice so only their table could hear.
“Things change quickly around you lately.”
Harper didn’t flinch.
“People are allowed to talk to whoever they want.”
“Of course,” Molly said smoothly. “But you don’t seem surprised about the Alpha’s marriage.”
That one was sharper.
More dangerous.
For a split second, Harper’s composure flickered.
Just a second.
But Molly saw it.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about,” Harper said carefully. “It’s not my business.”
Molly straightened.
“Maybe not,” she murmured. “But you seem very comfortable around his son.”
Silence stretched between them.
Students were openly watching now.
Harper met Molly’s gaze head-on.
“If you have something to say,” Harper said quietly, “just say it.”
Molly held her stare.
Then she smiled again.
Slow.
Measured.
“I just think it’s interesting,” she replied. “That’s all.”
She let the words linger.
Then she stepped back.
“But I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Harper didn’t respond.
Molly turned and walked away, feeling eyes follow her just as much as they followed Harper.
As she returned to her seat, her mind was already racing.
Harper knew something.
Harper was hiding something.
And Molly hated being the last to know.
She glanced once more across the cafeteria.
Harper was pretending to eat again.
Pretending to be unaffected.
But Molly saw it.
The tension.
The shift.
The secret.
And Molly had never been good at leaving secrets alone.