CH 6 - Kai
1272 Words
KAI – POV
After dinner, the group split up—Reyes and me headed one way, Dalton and Derrick another. No one said much, and I was fine with that. Reyes slowed his pace a bit, walking with me down the hall.
“You did good,” he said, nudging my shoulder. “Didn’t pass out, didn’t choke, and you even made me laugh. That’s a win, hermano.”
I tried to smirk, but it felt forced. “Thanks for the tray.”
He winked. “Anytime. Good luck surviving the night, by the way.”
I frowned. “Why would I need—”
But he was already gone, turning the corner with a lazy wave.
I stood there for a second, staring at the empty hallway.
Good luck.
That never meant anything good.
Still, I dragged my feet all the way to Room 214, stalling as long as I could. Maybe they’d be asleep. Maybe they’d be out. Maybe the Moon Goddess would throw me a bone and strike me dead before I had to see either of them again.
No such luck.
The moment I opened the door, I swore violently under my breath.
And then again.
Once for myself—for being stupid enough to think this year would be easy.
Once for my mother—who had literally thrown me to the wolves.
Once for the Winter Pack—who could all go choke on snow.
And finally, a generous, theatrical curse for half the Greek gods—just for good measure.
Because now there wasn’t just one naked Alpha in this room.
There were two.
Each lounging on their beds like they owned the world.
I slammed the door behind me. Not hard enough to shatter it. But hard enough to announce that I was two seconds from committing murder.
“Are you f*cking kidding me?”
Neither of them flinched.
Dalton, laid out like a lazy lion, and raised an eyebrow. He had a book resting on his stomach, one arm folded behind his head like this was the beach and not a shared dorm.
Derrick, across the room, had headphones on—half pretending he didn’t hear me. He was scrolling through something on his phone, legs crossed at the ankle, completely unbothered.
And absolutely, one hundred percent, naked.
I covered my eyes with one hand and pinched the bridge of my nose with the other. “You two deaf? Or just jackasses?”
Derrick looked up. “What?”
Dalton didn’t even glance at me. “Problem?”
“We had an agreement,” I hissed, walking blindly toward my side of the room. “No d*cks on display. Remember that? Or is that rule beneath the glorious Alphas of the King Pack?”
Dalton yawned. “I sleep naked. I get too hot at night.”
Derrick shrugged. “Same.”
I wanted to scream. Or set the room on fire. Possibly both.
“You’re wolves,” I snapped. “Your bodies run hot by default. That doesn’t mean I need to see the full moon rising every time I walk in here.”
Dalton smirked—an infuriating, lazy curl of his lips. “You could just not look.”
“You could just put on pants!”
He finally met my eyes. “No one’s stopping you from moving rooms.”
I stared at him, jaw clenching. “Is that a challenge?”
“No,” Derrick said without looking up. “That’s a warning.”
Oh, f*ck off.
I stormed across the room without another word, straight into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me with a force that made the frame rattle. My reflection in the mirror looked as pissed as I felt—red-cheeked, jaw clenched, glowing eyes like a wild creature.
I peeled off my clothes in silence, turned on the shower, and stepped under the spray before it was fully warm. The cold water jolted my senses, but I didn’t move. I just stood there, letting it rush over me like it could drown the frustration clawing inside my chest.
Dalton and Derrick were going to kill me. If not literally, then emotionally, mentally, spiritually. This was day one, and I already wanted to punch both of them square in the jaw.
After a few minutes, I washed quickly, then dried off and stood in front of the mirror again. The steam blurred my face, and for a second, I let myself look—really look—at the girl underneath the mask.
The soft lines of my collarbone. The slope of my waist. The shape I fought to hide every single day.
I didn’t linger.
Each loop of the bandage felt like armor.
Like I was wrapping myself back into invisibility.
When I was done, I tugged on a plain black tank top and loose pajama pants, then splashed cold water on my face for good measure.
Once I stepped back into the bedroom, neither of them acknowledged me.
Fine by me.
I climbed into my canopy bed—queen-sized like theirs—and sank into the mattress with a sigh. It was comfortable, at least. A small mercy. I faced the wall and pulled the covers up to my shoulders, pretending the heavy velvet canopy above me was a shield. Something to hold back their scent, their presence, their everything.
I closed my eyes.
And for a few minutes, I let myself pretend I was alone.
Then one of them burped.
The other one laughed.
“Gross!” I shouted, already on the verge of launching another tantrum.
“Are you even a boy, Savage?” Dalton asked in his infuriating voice. “’Cause you get upset over things girls usually do.”
My breath caught.
My spine stiffened.
One day.
One day, and I’d already blown my cover.
But then Derrick cut in with a snort.
“Nah, man. He’s too bulked up and got no curves. Couldn’t be a girl even trying.”
And I didn’t know why exactly—
But something about that… hurt.
It hurt a lot.
This was hell.
Literal hell.
There were probably demons in the underworld with more modesty than these two.
I laid there for a while, face pressed to the sheets, trying not to let my heart race too fast. It wasn’t just the nakedness. It was the constant threat. The tension. The weight of pretending every damn second.
If I slipped up—if I forgot for even one breath that I was supposed to be Kai, the quiet, sharp-tongued boy from the Winter Pack—I was dead. Or worse.
Exposed.
And I wasn’t sure which would be more dangerous.
Summer was no help. She was giggling like a drunk hyena in my head.
‘I told you,’ she sing-songed. ‘You should’ve let me shift. Then we could rip their blankets off and claim the room like a real wolf.’
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“What’s that?” Derrick’s voice floated through the curtain.
I froze.
He’d heard that?
“No talking to yourself after lights out, roommate,” Dalton added lazily. “It’s creepy.”
My voice was dry. “Sorry I’m not busy jerking off to my own reflection like you two.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then Derrick snorted. “You think we need mirrors for that?”
I bit back a groan.
This was going to be a long night.
And tomorrow?
I’d have to do it all over again.
Smile. Deflect. Survive.
I wasn’t sure how long I could keep this up.
- Writer
