Sh.it.
I cursed under my breath, forehead thumping lightly against the door. Trapped. Cornered like
a damn cartoon rabbit.
I heard them behind me.
One set of footsteps. Then another.
Then silence.
When I turned, they were both there.
Dalton leaned against the railing like he belonged there. Smirking, but his eyes were sharp. Dangerous.
Derrick stood near the stairwell door, arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes darker than I’d ever seen them.
“So,” I said, dryly. “What’s the plan, boys? We do the whole territorial posturing thing again? Pee in a circle? Or is this the part where you tear your shirts off and fight for dominance
while I record?”
Dalton’s lips twitched. “Tempting.”
Derrick didn’t smile. “Cut the crap, Kai.”
“Oh, good. We’re at the grumpy threatening stage.”
“You said you’d kill us.”
“Hypothetically,” I said sweetly. “Maybe.”
Dalton stepped closer. “Do you want to?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
His eyes were on mine, unflinching. “Do you want to hurt us? Is that where we’re heading?”
“No,” I said, too fast. “I want space. I want quiet. I want-” My voice cracked. “I want out.”
Derrick’s voice was low now. “Out of what?”
“This!” I threw my hands out. “Out of being your personal chew toy. Out of being dragged into fights I didn’t start. Out of being caught between two walking, talking, territorial dysfunctions who can’t even keep their claws to themselves in Diplomacy class!”
Neither of them spoke.
I shoved a hand through my hair. “I never asked for this.”
Dalton’s voice was softer now. “But you’re in it.”
“Yeah. Because I don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” Derrick said, voice low, steady. Dangerous.
“You chose to come here. You chose to stay.”
I snapped before I could think. “Because it was safer than the alternatives!”
Oh. No.
No no no no no.
Did I really just say that?
Out loud?
Goddamn it, Kai.
Cool. You have to play it cool. Recover. Salvage something.
The silence hit like a slap-thick, heavy, knowing.
I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying not to sound like I was crumbling. “Look. I’m not playing some twisted game, okay? I’m not trying to manipulate either of you.”
My voice cracked-just a little. Enough to make me flinch inside.
“I just…” I swallowed. “I can’t breathe like this. I need space. That’s it.”
They both looked at me. Not speaking. Just watching. Studying. Like I was prey pretending to be a wolf.
Then… Dalton’s expression shifted. He looked almost… regretful.
Derrick still looked like he wanted to punch a wall.
“I’m not your pet,” I said finally. “I’m not your territory. I’m not some prize to fight over.”
“No,” Dalton said slowly. “You’re something else.”
“Something better,” Derrick muttered. “Which is exactly the problem.”
I stared at them. “Then let me go.”
They didn’t answer.
I turned my back on them and pushed against the rooftop door again. Still locked.
Summer stirred. ‘Want me to shift? Break the lock?’
‘No,’ I whispered her in my mind ‘Not yet.’
Dalton’s voice behind me: “What do you want from us, Kai?”
I turned slowly. “Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“I want you both to leave me alone.”
Derrick’s jaw tightened.
Dalton didn’t flinch. “Not going to happen.”
“Then we don’t have anything else to say.”
I started down the stairs.
They didn’t follow.
Not this time.
But I could feel their eyes on my back like a brand.
And deep down, I knew this wasn’t over.
Not even close.
DALTON POV
Kai said “kill,” but all I heard was “fu.ck.”
Yeah. That word came out of those pretty lips like a dagger, but my brain twisted it into something filthier. Needier.
Because every inch of Kai’s body screamed for attention, even if their mouth hadn’t caughtI it.
The way their knees bumped into mine under the desk wasn’t an accident. The way their breathing hitched when I leaned close? Not defense. Anticipation.
Still playing hard to get? Cute.
I can play the long game.
My wolf was crawling under my skin, whispering the same damn thing on repeat.
MINE.
Even if Kai didn’t know it yet, not 18 yet.
Even if I couldn’t explain why my instincts screamed female when everyone else called Kai ” alpha.” Even if my nose caught something hidden, buried, like Kai had locked away a secret so deep it was suffocating them.
I needed to get close enough to tear down whatever fu.cking wall she/he/they – I don’t know anymore – had built between us.
Because Kai might think they can stay neutral. Stay safe.
Cute.
But there’s no middle ground with people like us.
Only fire.
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