Their Hidden Princess Chapter 104

The Saturday of the first week of classes was the final challenge in my series of fights with Kairos. Bubba vehemently tried to stop me from fighting. But I had to do it. I had to finish the series and show the campus, and Kairos, I was worthy of their respect. Bubba grumbled when he walked me to the gym and left me in the locker room.

I could hear the roar of the crowd outside of the locker room. It was the loudest it’d sounded yet and I knew why. The campus was divided on who would be winning. It was all anyone talked about the rest of the week after Basics. Some thought I was a sure to win, given how I’d thrown Kairos off so much in our last fight. Others saw my display in Basics and thought I was sure to lose.

Whispers seemed to chase me around campus. Not that they didn’t before, but this semester, they were slightly more positive. One of the Alphas in my class had even come up to me with his friends and wished me luck. I couldn’t help but notice the blush spreading across his cheeks. As he left, I looked across the cafeteria to see that Maximus had crushed his can of water into aluminum foil. His face was murderous.

I ignored it.

I didn’t need his distraction before the fight. In fact, I’d avoided all of my fated mates the whole week. I hadn’t gone to training with Valentin and Thorne hated me enough to keep his distance. I didn’t need the drama that surrounded them.

I needed to beat Kairos.

I heaved a sigh and finished lacing up my sneakers. I ran my thumb over the smear of blood that Kairos had punched out of my nose. It had oxidized into a dark brown. That person, the one who’d first fought Kairos, she seemed so far away from the person I’d become. I tapped the mark before standing up and making my way to the gym.

Apparently, Kairos had chosen the exact same time as me to make his entrance. As such, we both emerged from the locker rooms at the same time. The crowd went wild. Kairos, however, seemed unphased. I huffed and tried to storm up to the mat. His legs were too long, though and he caught up to me.

“Still time to stop this,” he murmured, so only I could hear.

I scoffed. “You wish.”

Kairos stopped short and I stopped with him, brows creasing. The crowd was still roaring around us as he stared at me. I felt a twinge in my chest and brought my hand up to rub at it. Kairos’s eyes went wide then he snapped his gaze back up to mine.

“I do,” he said, softly. “I do wish.”

I stared at him for a moment before scowling again. I turned on my heel and marched up to the stairs to the stage. In the middle, this time, was Maximus. I balked slightly at him before I took my place on his right. I didn’t expect him to be here. Let alone, commanding the fight. I opened my mouth to speak, but by the glance he shot at me, I gave up. My jaw slammed back shut.

Had he given up on me?

Kairos marched up the stairs, face still set in an impassive line. He stood on the other side of Maximus, looking at me. He seemed at peace, odd considering we were about to claw each other to pieces again.

Maximus raised a hand to cull the crowd. The noise died down immediately. Maximus looked at me, then Kairos, then spoke.

“This is the final round of the challenge,” he stated. The crowd cheered before dying back down as he raised his hand again. “All sparring techniques are for use,” he said. “A knockout results in an automatic win. Fighters, take your positions.”

I dropped into my stance and continued to glare at Kairos. His face was still plain and his stance was loose, wrists not tight enough and legs not bent enough. I smirked. This was going to be easy.

“Begin!” Maximus said, dropping his raised hand. Then, the crowd started. Maximus scurried backwards and I started to circle Kairos.

He tracked me in the circle I stalked him in. I was trying to figure out how best to hurt him first. The ribs? Maybe a kick to the head would do it. I was known for my kicks. Just as I was about to make my first strike, Kairos did the unbelievable. It was so shocking, the entire gym was gasping.

He took a knee.

He held my eyes as he did it. Then, when his knee hit the ground, he bowed this head. He bowed his fucking head.

NO! Mona howled in my head. I ignored her, completely incredulous. He was giving up. He was letting me win. I wouldn’t have it.

“Get up!” I barked.

“I concede,” Kairos stated, plain as ever.

“Get the fuck up!” I snapped again, sounding hysteric.

“You concede?!” Maximus was back on the mat, staring incredulously at Kairos.

“Fuck you!” I snarled. “Get up! Fight me goddamn it!”

“No,” Kairos said. “I refuse.”

I jerked my head to look at Maximus. He too, looked like he was losing his mind. His eyes darted back and forth between Kairos and I then finally out to the audience. My heart heaved in my chest.

“Smith wins.”

The crowd was incredulous. Cheers and screams of protest overlapped and collided in my ears. Behind me, a crowd of people came up. They shook me and clapped me on the shoulders before enveloping me in a pack. All the while, I kept my eyes affixed on Kairos. He slowly rose and walked calmly back to the locker room.

Rage flared hot and fiery inside me. It engulfed my skin and I felt the heat radiating off me. The people swarmed around me jerked away from me as if I were on fire myself. It left me the perfect line to the men’s locker room. I stormed in there, vaguely aware that Loren and Maximus were calling after me. But, none of it mattered.

I slammed the door open and saw Kairos standing in the middle, locker half open. At the noise of the door slamming against the wall, he turned over his shoulder to look at me. His face was still a mask, lighting the fire in me more. I stormed over with the force of a thousand suns.

“How dare you!?” I screeched, slamming his back against the locker as I shoved his chest. “How fucking dare you!?”

“I conceded,” Kairos grit out from between his teeth. “I let you win. I gave you what you wanted. And you’re mad at me?”

I slammed my fist against his chest, earning a grunt from him. “It wasn’t yours to give!” I spat. “It was mine to take and you took that from me! Again!”

“Stop it,” Kairos snapped.

His one hand wrapped around my wrist and the fire inside me seemed to be fueled by his touch. My other fist still was slamming into his chest. I started to feel hot, angry tears welling in my eyes.

“You took it from me!” I shrieked. “I was supposed to ruin you. To show you and everyone at this stupid fucking school that I wasn’t a nobody. And you took the opportunity from me! You fucking asshole!”

“Zora—”

Kairos tried to placate me but I could hear the angry behind his tone. It was a warning. My fire licked higher up my skin. If he didn’t want to fight me in front of the school then I’d fight him in the locker room. But I deserved a fight.

“I hate you!” I cried, becoming more hysteric as the moment passed. “I hate you and this fucking school and I fucking hate being a wolf and the stupid wolf politics—”

I rambled on aimlessly, tears now springing out of my eyes and onto my burning cheeks. My fist was still trying to pound Kairos into submission as he wrestled it away from him. I was so angry and felt so hot all at the same time. I needed to get it out. I felt like I was going to erupt if I kept my anger in anymore.

“Zora—”

Kairos tried again to calm me down but wound up pissing me off more when his other hand captured my free wrist and pinned it to his chest. More fire, curling into my brain and poisoning it.

“I hate you!” I repeated. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you—”

I could’ve gone on until the end of time. But Kairos surprised me more than he already had that day. I expected him to punch me. To kick or hit me back. Or to swat me away like I was an annoying bug. He hated me. I hated him. It had been that way since I’d gotten to the school. It was our normal.

What wasn’t our normal, was the softness he’d shown me. It was confusing enough that I pushed it out of my mind. It was some tactic of his. But that was all changed in the moment he cut me off of my incessant comments about how much I despised him.

Because instead of hitting me, Kairos Moonraiser dropped his head to meet mine and press our lips together so abruptly that I burst into flames.