CH 7 - Kai
1209 Words
KAI POV
I was jolted awake by the most obnoxious sound known to man—or wolf.
Beep.
Beep.
BEEEEP.
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I sat up like I'd been slapped awake by the Moon Goddess herself. It wasn’t my phone—I'd triple-checked it before bed, set it for 7:45 AM like a normal person.
Dalton groaned across the room. “Derrick, for f*ck’s sake—turn it off.”
Beep.
Beeeeeeep.
No response.
I flopped back down, yanking a pillow over my head. No good. The sound pierced through fabric, bone, and soul like an ancient torture device.
5:30 AM.
I checked the clock twice to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating.
What kind of psychopath sets an alarm this early when class doesn’t start until 8:30? A masochist? A gym rat? A serial killer?
I snapped the covers off me, marched across the room, and yanked my curtain open like I was preparing to rip the wings off a butterfly.
“Derrick, shut that damn thing off before I rip your throat out and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine,” I hissed.
No reaction.
The bastard was asleep. Blissfully, fully, nakedly asleep.
At least his d*ck wasn’t on display this time. Small wins.
His back was massive—like a sculpted slab of angry stone, tattooed and tanned. His face was turned slightly toward the ceiling, mouth open, drool forming at the corner of his lip. And he was snoring.
Loudly.
I stood there, absolutely dumbfounded.
“Isn’t he supposed to be an Alpha?” I muttered. “With like... heightened senses and sh*t?”
“Apparently not when he’s drugged,” Dalton mumbled from the other bed, voice muffled in his pillow.
I blinked. “What?”
“I may or may not have added something to his water bottle last night. It was supposed to mellow him out, not knock him into a f*cking coma. Regretting it now.”
I laughed despite myself. “What the hell, Dalton?”
He lifted his head slightly, his hair sticking up in every direction like a pissed-off porcupine. “He’s a prick. He deserved it.”
“Yeah? Well, I guess prickness is something you two have in common,” I shot back, glancing between them. “Maybe the Goddess thought it would be funny to stick all of us in one room together.”
He smirked. “Still waiting for the punchline.”
“Find his phone and shut it off before my eardrums explode.” Dalton added.
“Under him,” I said, staring down at Derrick’s body with a mix of horror and resignation. “He’s literally lying on top of it.”
“Good luck,” Dalton muttered, rolling onto his side.
I sighed. Loudly. And reached out to give Derrick a little shove.
Nothing.
I nudged harder, trying to shift his weight. Still nothing.
Okay. New plan.
I crouched by his head and made small, annoying noises in his ear.
“Peep. Beep. Cheep. Wake up, sleeping beauty. C’mon, Derrick…”
Dalton groaned behind me. “He’s not hearing the actual alarm. Why the hell would he hear your whispers?”
“Is he deaf?” I muttered before my brain could catch up to my mouth.
“Unlikely,” Dalton said, “but honestly? I’m not ruling it out anymore.”
I groaned and pushed again, harder this time, trying to get him to roll over. His body was built like a tree trunk—impossible to move and equally frustrating.
He mumbled something unintelligible and shifted slightly, but not enough.
The phone was definitely beneath him. And still screaming.
I reached beneath him, careful not to touch anything that would haunt me for life, and tried to feel around for the phone.
Just as I turned to glare at Dalton again, ready to give up—
I was flipped.
Like. A. Damn. Rag. Doll.
My back slammed into the mattress with a whoomp, and the wind rushed out of my lungs.
One large, warm, naked body was suddenly pressed against mine.
Hands pinned above my head.
Breath hot against my cheek.
And Derrick—smirking like he hadn’t just scared the life out of me—was staring down with half-lidded eyes and absolutely no shame.
“Well, well,” he drawled. “Trying to get into bed with me already, Kai? Didn’t realize we were at that point in the roommate experience.”
My brain short-circuited.
Heat exploded across my face—equal parts rage and panic.
“You—absolute—d!ckhead!*” I squirmed, trying to shove him off. “Get off me!”
He just chuckled. Actually chuckled.
“Alarm was driving me crazy,” he said, still not moving. “Thanks for the wake-up call.”
“You weren’t waking up, you half-dead gorilla!”
He shifted his weight, and the motion pressed his hips against mine in a way that made every cell in my body scream.
I barely suppressed the urge to headbutt him.
“Seriously,” I snapped. “Move.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, scanning my face. Something flickered there—confusion? Interest? Amusement?
Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.
“Relax,” he said, finally rolling off me. “You act like I’m the first person to pin you down.”
I sat up so fast the world spun. “You’re lucky I didn’t claw your eyes out.”
Behind us, Dalton was practically howling with laughter. “Ten bucks says that’s not the last time Kai gets caught under Derrick.”
“Screw you both,” I hissed, storming back to my bed.
My heart was still racing. My hands were shaking. My entire body was burning—too hot, too exposed, too close to danger.
I flung the curtain closed and sat with my back against the wall, forcing my breathing to slow.
That had been reckless.
Careless.
Too close.
If he’d noticed something—anything—I’d be done.
‘You good?’ Summer’s voice echoed in my head.
‘No,’ I whispered. ‘Not even close.’
‘Admit it, though,’ she teased. ‘You kind of liked it.’
‘I swear I will muzzle you.’
‘Rude.’
I stayed behind the curtain for a long minute, listening as Derrick finally shut his alarm off and muttered something about being late for his run. Dalton kept up a steady stream of sarcastic commentary while he got dressed, and eventually, the two of them stomped out the door, leaving a blessed silence in their wake.
I didn’t move until I was sure they were gone.
Then, and only then, I peeked out.
Empty room.
I exhaled. Slowly.
Let my head fall back against the bedpost.
My heart was still hammering.
One mistake. That’s all it would take.
I let out a breath, grabbed my bag, and headed toward the bathroom to freshen up before the rest of the day could come at me like a freight train.
The boys would be back soon.
And I needed to be ready.
Because if this morning was any indication…
I was going to have to survive a hell of a lot more than just early alarms.
- Writer
