Chapter 13 Lines We Don’t Cross
The rest of the school day just passed by like that in a blur.
I moved through classes without thinking, pretending to be ordinary, and pretending the bond between Kai and me wasn’t humming just under my skin. Every sound felt louder, and every movement felt sharper. The ordinary routine of notes, chalk, and whispered conversations grated against the pain inside me.
By the time the final bell rang, my nerves were strained.
Students poured into the halls, with their laughter bouncing off, and their bodies shoving past one another. I turned suddenly instinctively toward the quieter exit near the science wing, i was craving space, and being alone, and anything to quiet the pain in my chest.
Kai was there instantly.
Not beside me, he didn't touch me.
He was just close enough.
“You don’t have to run,” he said quietly, matching my pace.
“I’m not running,” I muttered.
He didn’t call me out, didn’t smirk and he didn’t tease.
That somehow made it worse.
We stepped outside, and the cool afternoon air hit my face like a shock.
Clouds hung low and heavy, and the sky was threatening rain. The scent of wet road and leaves grounded me, even as my thoughts spun.
And for a moment, neither of us spoke.
I hugged my arms around myself, staring at the cracked sidewalk. “Mara knows,” I said finally. “More than she should.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. “I know.”
“You’re not surprised,” I asked.
“No.” He replied.
That made my stomach twist. “How long have you known she was watching me?”
He hesitated.
That single pause told me everything.
“Since before the classroom,” I said flatly.
His silence confirmed it.
Anger flared in me, it was not explosive, but sharp and gnawing. “So you just… let her?”
“I didn’t let her,” he said evenly. “I monitored her.”
I scoffed. “That’s not comforting.”
His gaze softened, and that was worse than any argument. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
I laughed bitterly. “Kai, I’m way past scared.”
He stepped closer, not touching, but near enough that I could feel his warmth, and his presence anchoring me. The bond pulsed faintly, as if it were listening.
“You’re doing better than you think,” he said. “Holding it in, you're learning and you're fighting it.”
“I don’t want to fight myself,” I whispered.
For the first time, something cracked in his composure.
Just slightly. His shoulders stiffened, and his breath deepened.
“You won’t have to,” he said. “Not forever.”
I looked up at him then.
The careful distance. The restraint. The way he never crossed a line, even when everything between us begged for it.
“You like me,” I said softly.
The words weren’t an accusation. Or a tease.
They were true.
His eyes darkened, and something raw flickered there before he masked it.
“That’s not the point.”
“It is to me.”
He exhaled slowly, like he was bracing himself. “Luna…”
“Do you?”
I pressed.
A beat. Then another.
“Yes.”
The word landed like a shiver under my feet.
“But,” he continued immediately, “that doesn’t mean I get to act on it.”
My heart pounded. “Why not?”
“Because liking you makes you vulnerable,” he said. “And you don’t need that right now.”
The honesty stunned me more than any confession could have.
“So you’re protecting me from… you?” I asked.
“From everything that comes with me,” he corrected.
The silence stretched, it felt heavy and intimate.
“I don’t feel weak around you,” I said. “I feel… steadier.”
His fingers twitched at his side, like they wanted to reach for me and didn’t dare. “That’s exactly why this is dangerous.”
A sudden sound cut through the moment, and we heard footsteps.
We both turned.
Mara stood near the edge of the lot, with her phone in her hand, and she was wearing a fake-sweet smile plastered across her face.
“Well,” she said lightly, “this is… cozy.”
My stomach dropped.
Kai shifted subtly, placing himself half a step in front of me, it wasn't aggressive, it was him being protective.
“Mara,” he said coolly. “You should go.”
She laughed. “You don’t get to give orders.” Her gaze flicked to me. “Not when I know what she is.”
My chest tightened. The power inside me stirred, restless.
“You don’t know anything,” I snapped.
Her smile widened. “Oh, I know enough.”
She raised her phone slightly, she wasn't recording, she was just… reminding us it existed.
“I saw the way the air moved around you,” she said. “The way he reacted. The way you two look at each other.”
Kai’s voice dropped dangerously low. “Put it away.”
She tilted her head. “Or what?”
For a split second, I felt it... the urge to unleash everything. To show her exactly why she should be afraid.
Kai felt it too.
His hand brushed my wrist.
Just barely.
The contact sent a sudden shock through me, it was grounding, steady, and electric. The power settled instantly, as it recognized him.
Mara’s eyes widened.
“Oh,” she breathed. “So that’s how it works.”
My pulse thundered.
Kai didn’t let go immediately. His thumb pressed lightly, a silent plea.
"Breathe," he said.
I did.
Mara recovered quickly, and her smirk returned. “Relax. I’m not telling anyone. Yet.” She stepped back. “But you should know… people like you don’t stay hidden forever.”
She turned and walked away, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement.
The moment she was gone, Kai released me like he’d been burned.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately.
“For what?” My voice shook.
“For touching you without asking.”
I stared at him. “You saved me.”
His gaze met mine, intense and conflicted. “That doesn’t mean I get to decide for you.”
Something in my chest softened.
“I don’t mind,” I admitted.
That almost broke him.
He looked away, his jaw was tight, like he was fighting something primal. “You should.”
We stood there, close but not touching, the air between us was alive with everything we weren’t saying.
Finally, he stepped back.
“You should go home.”
“Will you walk me?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He hesitated... then nodded. “Yeah.”
We walked in silence, and our shoulders nearly brushed, neither daring
to close the distance.
The slow burn wasn’t fading, it was growing.
And somewhere deep inside, I knew.... whatever line we were trying not to cross…
We were already standing on it.