<h4>Chapter 194: Bing one II</h4>


    <strong>Charis</strong>


    He was so still he could have been a statue. Just staring out at nothing.


    I walked over quietly and touched his back.


    He didn’t flinch. He’d probably heard meing long before I reached him.


    "What’s wrong?" I asked softly.


    Kael turned to face me. In the moonlight, his face still had his signature nk expression, but he smiled when he saw me, only it didn’t reach his eyes.


    "Nothing," he said.


    "Kael."


    He shook his head again, then suddenly pulled me into a hug. His arms wrapped around me tightly, and he buried his face in my neck. I could feel his breath against my skin.


    I held him back, running my hands soothingly up and down his back. We stood like that for a long moment, not speaking and just holding each other.


    Finally, he pulled away. He turned back to staring out at the city, his hands returning to his pockets.


    "I’m going back to Ravenshore tomorrow," he said quietly.


    "What? Why?"


    "There’s nothing for me to do here." His voice was t, emotionless. "You have Rhett and ter. They can take care of you. You don’t need me hanging around."


    "That’s not true," I protested. "Kael, what happened? Did something go wrong with Rhett’s mother?"


    He was quiet for a long time. I waited, knowing that pushing Kael never worked. He’d talk when he was ready. Or he wouldn’t talk at all.


    "I found her," he said finally. "Made sure she was settled. She’s staying at the Ravencrest Hotel."


    "That’s good, right?"


    "She was meeting with Isolde Knox."


    "What?"


    "At the hotel restaurant. They were having drinks, talking. They looked veryfortable with each other." Kael’s jaw clenched. "Elena’s been working with Isolde this whole time. Everything—her showing up now, the emotional reunion with Rhett, the fight with ra—it’s all part of Isolde’s n."


    I felt sick. "Does Rhett know?"


    "No."


    "Are you going to tell him?"


    Kael was quiet again. "I don’t know. That’s part of why I need to leave. I need to think. Figure out what to do with this information."


    "You can’t just leave," I said. "Kael, we need you here. I need you here."


    "Do you?" He turned to look at me, and there was something unexinable in his eyes. "Because it seems like you have everything you need. Rhett and ter worship you. They can give you everything—protection, affection, a future. I have nothing to offer you, Charis. I am an agent who will always obey my master’s order. I do not have a rich father, nor am I affiliated with any pack. I have nothing to offer you."


    "Kael, don’t say that," I tried to go close, but he took a step back.


    "Don’t touch me, please," he murmured.


    And it broke my heart. It broke me so much that I felt like I would die. The fact that he was refusing my affection and locking me out broke me into pieces.


    "Kael, don’t be like this," I cried out. "You give me everything I need. You give me honesty. You see things the rest of us miss. You keep us grounded. You—" I stopped, searching for the right words. "You love me. You don’t let me hide from hard truths. And I need that."


    "You need someone who walks in on you with two other guys and immediately thinks the worst?"


    So that was part of it. "Is that what happened? You walked in and thought..."


    "I thought you’d made your choice," Kael said. "Rhett and ter. The easy ones. The ones who don’tplicate everything."


    "Kael, that’s not—"


    "I’m not good at this," he interrupted, his voice tight. "I’m not good at sharing. Being vulnerable. At ying nicely with others." He looked away. "I’m broken, Charis. I’ve seen too much, done too much. I don’t know how to be part of this... this thing we’re trying to build."


    I stepped closer to him, reaching up to touch his face. "You’re not broken. The choices you made, you had no say in them. It was all you could do at that time. There’s a difference."


    "Is there?"


    "Yes." I made him look at me. "And I’m not choosing between you. All three of you are my mates. I want all three of you. But I can’t force you to stay if you don’t want to."


    "It’s not about wanting," Kael said roughly. "It’s about what’s best. For you. For everyone."


    "And you think what’s best is you leaving?"


    He didn’t answer.


    I felt frustration building. "Fine. Run away. That’s what you’re good at. When things getplicated, when you start feeling something, you disappear."


    His eyes shed. "That’s not fair."


    "Isn’t it?" I challenged. "You found out something disturbing about Elena, and instead of talking to us about it, instead of figuring it out together, you’re nning to leave. To go back to Ravenshore and brood alone. How is that not running away?"


    "Because staying would be selfish," Kael said, his voice rising slightly. "Because every time I’m near you, I want things I shouldn’t want. I think things I shouldn’t think. And seeing you with them tonight—" He stopped, his hands clenching. "It reminded me that I’m the outsider here. I’m the one who doesn’t fit."


    "You fit perfectly," I said softly. "You’re just scared."


    "I’m not scared."


    "Yes, you are. You’re scared of getting attached. Scared of losing people. Scared of being vulnerable." I stepped closer. "But Kael, it’s toote. You’re already attached. We all are. And pushing us away won’t protect you from getting hurt. It’ll just guarantee it."


    "Well, I can’t have you alongside another man. The thought of it disgusts me. I don’t want you to ept Rhett and ter’s bond. Can you do that?"


    I opened my mouth several times to speak, but no words woulde out. "We are fated mates, Kael. It’s not like I can just..."


    "That’s bullshit, and you know that," he scoffed and turned away from me. "If you’re going to be with the boys, then I don’t want to be part of your little orgy group."


    "That’s selfish," I blurted. "Have you thought about me? You think this is an easy decision for me to make, too? Why are you thinking only for yourself?"


    He stared at me for a long moment. I could see the war happening behind his eyes.


    "Fine, do whatever you want, Charis and I will do what I want. Let’s drop it."


    "Do you care about anyone else except yourself?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "With this attitude, you want me to choose you? You’re dreaming."


    He shrugged but didn’t say anything else.


    I wanted to continue the conversation, but I was so angry that I turned to leave when his voice stopped me again.


    "There’s something else," he said. "About what Elena told me."


    "What?"


    "The woman in the underground fighting arena. The one I saw in my vision." He took a breath. "She was my mother."


    I felt the ground tilt slightly. "What?"


    "Elena confirmed it. The woman in the cage, fighting for her life while Terry and the others watched and bet—that was my mother." Kael’s voice was hollow. "Which means I have a personal connection to all of this. To the Thatchers, to Ss Greye, to Headmistress Vale. They all watched my mother fight. Maybe they even..." He trailed off.


    "Maybe they even killed her," I finished.


    "Or got her killed. Either way, Isolde may be using that as leverage against them. And now she’s using Elena to destroy the Thatcher pack from the inside." Kael looked at me. "And we’re caught in the middle of it. You, me, Rhett, ter. We’re all pieces on Isolde’s chessboard."


    My mind was racing. If what Kael was saying was true, then everything was connected. My mother—Eva Greye—was married to Ss Greye, one of the men who’d watched that fight. Rhett’s father, Terry, had been there too—and Headmistress Vale, who’d been so interested in keeping me at the Academy.


    "We need to tell the others," I said.


    "Not yet." Kael’s hand caught my wrist. "We don’t have enough information. If we tell Rhett that his mother is working with Isolde, he’ll confront her. And if Isolde realises we know, she’ll change her n. We’ll lose our chance to figure out what she’s really after."


    "So what do we do?"


    "We watch and wait and, in the process of waiting, gather information." His grip on my wrist tightened slightly. "And we don’t trust anyone outside this group. Not Elena. Not Vale. Not anyone."


    A chill ran down my spine. "Kael, you’re scaring me."


    "Good." His eyes were intense. "You should be scared. Because whatever Isolde is nning, it’s big. And it involves all of us."


    The roof door suddenly banged open.


    We both spun around.


    ter stood there, his face pale. "You need toe downstairs. Now."


    "What’s wrong?" I asked.


    "It’s Rhett." ter’s voice shook. "Something’s happening to him. His heart—"


    He didn’t need to finish. We were already running.