Their Hidden Princess Chapter 102

Kairos

Kairos watched as Zora walked away from him. He could see the heat rising off her back in the cold of the night. He knew she’d felt it too, the raw desire licking up her spine. He groaned and tipped his head back. It was very much like the last position she’d left him in. Once again, she was walking away from him.

He was going to kiss her.

He really wanted to.

Maybe it was the way she looked under the dim moonlight. Maybe it was the way her smell had him by the throat. Maybe it was the way her narrowed gaze and lips curled in distaste made his dick so hard—

Maybe it was some sort of cosmic punishment for his previous wrong doings.

But he really, really wanted to kiss her.

He watched as the door to her build slammed shut across the campus lawn and groaned again. He was no closer to getting Zora on his good side than he was the last time he saw her. He was going to apologize for it all and tell her that he thought they were mates. But then fucking Maximus was there and Lunerly and then the Gods damned Queen herself.

And Kairos was cast aside again.

He let out a noise of frustration and ran his hand down his face. Kairos wasn’t used to people not giving a shit about him. He was the center of attention at all points in his life. His father, his family, his girls. They all gave a shit about him.

Until Zora.

Zora Smith didn’t give one singular fuck if he wanted her. She was still worried about the target he’d painted on her back, the first day she’d arrived on campus. It was a valid concern, but Kairos had tried twice by then, to call off the final fight. Zora was the one to say no.

Plus, there were the other wolves trying to claim they were here fated mate. It made Kairos’s face twist with disgust. He scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets, resigned to spend the rest of his evening alone in his house.

He briefly, on the walk back, thought about storming Zora’s dorm and barging into Maximus’s room and challenging him. But, he knew there was no way Zora would approve of that. Plus, he didn’t really want to fight his friend. Even if Maximus was the one Zora had chosen to bed.

Valentin Lunerly, however, was an entirely different opponent.

Kairos wanted to shred the man. He’d contemplated going after Amara on his own when he’d seen her wandering into the forest. But, he knew that Alpha Academy’s Headmaster was a great deal stronger than he was. Even if the guy was a bit of a cunt.

So, he’d gone to Lunerly with his information. Kairos remembered the man’s face as soon as he’d mentioned Zora. It was like all color had drained from his face. The panic that ensued told Kairos all he needed to know about Lunerly’s relationship with Zora. It had been confirmed when he heard Lunerly snapping about his mate mid battle with the vampires.

So, two additional men were in competition for Zora with him. Something about it seemed wrong. He’d never heard of a wolf having so many fated mates. Lunerly was a High Alpha. He knew the signs of a fated mate well. But, maybe Maximus was misreading the signs? Kairos brushed that thought out of his head as quickly as it came in. If Maximus’s signs were anything like his own, it was hard to dispute that they weren’t real.

The electricity.

The beating of their hearts together.

The lust.

Kairos scoffed at the last one as he walked up the steps into his house. He could smell Maximus all over Zora that one day in the woods. They had for sure fucked. It was probably why it’d sent him into such a rage. Zora was supposed to be his. Not fucking Wolfham’s.

The house was empty as Kairos moved inside. Thorne and Petyr didn’t have classes on Monday. They weren’t supposed to be back on campus until the following night. Kairos was alone in his big house. He walked upstairs and into his room. He contemplated stopping outside for a smoke but decided against it.

When he arrived to his room, he shrugged his jacket off and tossed it on the ground before falling into his bed. He sighed heavily and scrubbed at his face with his hands. He desperately needed someone to talk to. Though, none of his friends knew anything about the matter at hand. For God’s sake, Thorne had severed his fated mate bond. And Petyr was so loved up all he’d do is wax on poetically about Alessia.

Grumbling, Kairos turned over and palmed the landline sitting on his nightstand. He turned the phone over in his hands before giving up and dialing the only number he knew. It picked up on the second ring, a gruff voice grunting through the line.

“What? What is it? Are you safe?”

“Dad, I’m fine,” Kairos sighed. “I just was calling to say hi.”

“’Hi’?” Atlas Moonraiser sneered. “Gods be damned, kid. I thought something was wrong.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Kairos rubbed at his face again. “I just – I needed to talk to someone.”

Atlas cleared his throat. “Yeah. Yeah. ‘Course. What is it?”

Kairos groaned. This was a mistake. His father, as much as he tried, was not a warm and fuzzy kind of guy. Kairos vividly remembered the uncomfortable talk they’d had about fated mates as he turned sixteen. How his father had almost choked when Kairos had asked about consummating the bond.

Now, he was trying to ask his father about the same thing. And he expected Atlas to be helpful? He didn’t know why he thought the call was a good idea.

“S’nothing,” Kairos mumbled. “Nevermind.”

“Clearly, something is bothering you,” Atlas said. “Though I don’t know why you didn’t bring it up when we were together yesterday. Had to use the bloody emergency phone—”

“Yep, yep, sorry,” Kairos cut his father off. “Don’t use the emergency phone to say hi. Got it. Noted.”

Atlas sighed. Kairos could heard himself in his father across the line. “What is it son?”

Kairos looked up at the ceiling and mimicked his father’s deep sigh. He slapped a hand on his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. Finally, he said it.

“I think I’ve found her.”

“Her?” Atlas repeated, shocked. “Bloody fucking hell, boy! Don’t sound so excited about it!”

Kairos rolled his eyes. “It’s complicated,” he said. “Remember the wolfless I told you about?”

“Fuck me,” Atlas laughed. “’Course she’d be that girl. That’s a wee bit of irony, yeah?”

“She’s not anymore,” Kairos continued. “But she still fucking hates me. I tried to call off the last fight in our challenge and she didn’t let me. Something about proving herself to me.”

“Bit romantic, I’d say,”

“Dad—”

“Aye, aye,” Atlas replied. “Only kidding. But, if you truly believe this lass is your fated mate, she’ll come round. There’s something to be said about wolves who are destined to be together. No matter how the relationship starts, it’ll end the way it’s supposed to. Always has and always will be. Even when the vampires suppressed our magiks, we still wound up with the people we were meant to be with.”

“Like you and mum,” Kairos said.

“Aye,” Atlas agreed. He paused for a second, clearly lost in a memory. Kairos hummed before speaking.

“I miss her too, Dad,”

“Aye,” Atlas sighed. “But my point still stands. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

“Right,” Kairos mumbled.

“Go to bed, son,” Atlas said. “Start the day with a new mindset. She’ll come around.”

“Goodnight. Thanks for talking,” Kairos said again. “And sorry for using the emergency phone.”

“Despite the fact it gave me a heart attack, I like hearing from you boy,” Atlas sighed again. “Goodnight, son.”

“Night,” Kairos said. He put the emergency phone back on the receiver and rolled back to stare at his ceiling. He hoped the next day would be more promising.

Especially with regards to Zora Smith.