A One Night Stand With The Alpha Kings

Chapter 6

Eliza

It's day two of being the babysitter of an Alpha king, and this peculiar one, Kai, is one I would rather not be around. He can read minds and that’s why I escaped from him right after I had shown him to the cafeteria yesterday.

No such luck today, though.

Kai is waiting for me in the parking lot, waving happily as I step out of the old black car I share with Kayla. Why does he look so happy? We don't know each other! Yet Kai reminds me of a faithful golden retriever. In his eyes, I'm probably seen as his beloved master that is finally paying him attention.

I sigh to myself and glance to the right. There is a herd of unmated werewolves and I swallow thickly. It beats me how Kai hasn't noticed them even though they are swooning over him and sending me looks of jealousy. One of them even walks straight into one of the street signs, probably distracted by Kai's insane biceps.

"Eliza! Good morning!" Kai grins as I come closer, and I mentally curse him for being beautiful. My hair is a mess on top of my head and I have panda-eyes since I put on too much eyeliner earlier. Which is why Kai's early morning "I woke up like this" perfection is irritating.

I swallow down an ounce of bitterness. "Morning..."

"Are you excited about our PE class?"

"No..." I growl as I walk past his tall frame. The guy is a goliath, probably 6'5, if I were to guess.

"You seem uptight, and your eyes are red. Have you been crying?" He asks, sounding concerned.

My chest constricts. I had nightmares about my mother dying again so yes, I have been crying. But I'm not about to share that sort of intimate secret with a stranger.

I won't tell Kai the truth. "No."

"Looks like it."

Seriously?

"I haven't been crying."

"Are you sure?"

"Why do you keep pushing the subject?"

"Because I'm concerned. You don't seem that happy about PE, and I've heard it's an amazing class."

Something within me breaks, and anger rises to my chest. I've had enough already!

"Look, pretty boy," I prod Kai's chest with my finger, glaring up into his face as I snap at him again. "Just because I'm not jumping for joy at the idea of being in a class with you doesn't mean I've been crying!"

Kai raises his eyebrows, looking down into my eyes with a softening to his own. "You have."

I grit my teeth and create some distance. "Well, that is none of your business. Why are you even following me?"

Kai shrugs his broad shoulders, looking at me innocently. "I thought I would escort you to class. I'm a gentleman, after all. And you're supposed to be showing me around, right?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm sure you can find the gym by yourself."

Kai smiles at me, looking at me with kind eyes. "Maybe, but I want to go there together with you."

Doesn't he understand that I don't like him?

No.

That's mean... but it's just... Kai is too bright! He shines like the radiant sun, and I'm this gloomy b***h whose granny wants me dead. I'm not a happy person, or even a good person. Kai shouldn't be my friend. I'm just going to stain his soul if he keeps hanging out with me.

I don't deserve to have friends.

"You shouldn't get too close to me," I mutter.

Why am I telling him this? Because almost everyone I love is dead: my dad, my mom, probably my pet fish, and probably most of the people in my kingdom since my lunatic granny is now the new Alpha queen of Arcadia.

Kayla is the only person I have left.

"I want to get to know you, though." Kai follows me, easily keeping up with my furious pace since his legs are so long. "I'm actually super excited for this class. Today we are going to play basketball and I just know that I'm going to dunk the ball for the first time!"

I look at him in disbelief. "You've never dunked a ball before?"

He laughs. "I've never played human games before."

"Great." I say flatly. "Remind me to ask our teacher to put you on the opposite team."

Instead of getting offended, Kai chuckles, and pokes me with his elbow. I look up at him in response and he grins down at me with amused eyes.

"So she DOES have a sense of humor."

"No, I don't." I say, but I find it harder not to smile. "I think you're just imagining that."

"Oh, I'm not imagining it. You just have a very sarcastic sense of humor." Kai says, still smiling. "That's good."

"It's not good." I grumble, crossing my arms. "It just means that I'm mean."

"Maybe you're not mean." Kai says softly. "Maybe you're just grumpy."

I snort. "Grumpy is a nicer word for it."

"No, you have a warm, caring heart, Eliza. You're not a bad person, just a little bit grumpy. But that's okay. It's probably how you defend yourself."

My eyes narrow. "Oh, are you one of those people who think they have everyone else figured out?"

Kai laughs. "Want me to try and read you?"

"Sure." What is the harm in that?

"You try to keep people away by acting in the stubborn way you do, but I bet you secretly love animals and people alike. I'm also positive you might even have saved a few strays in your lifetime."

Wait.

How could he possibly know that I love animals and that I've saved a couple of strays? I also fed all the homeless cats on the street in my garden, but that's a secret. Yet somehow Kai knows about that?

Is he reading my mind all the time?!

I gape up at Kai, who gives me a mysterious smile before turning his gaze away. "Anyway, we should hurry if we don't want to be late for class."

"You're right." I agree, even though my heart is pounding. "But you are wrong about that other part."

Kai chuckles as we enter the gym. "We will see about that."

I don't have time to elaborate on the subject. Mr. Martin, the PE teacher, is already calling the students. He is a tall, fit man with a big mustache, who doesn't seem very friendly.

"Alright, listen up everyone!" He is practically yelling. "Once you're ready and changed, you will warm up by doing thirty laps around the course. Capish?!"

"CAPISH!" The class shouts in response, and the gym suddenly becomes loud and alive with laughter and cheering.

I look at Kai, who is already stretching in preparation. "What? Aren't you going to change?"

There is a glimmer in his eyes and a hint of a smile on his sculpted lips. "I'm already wearing sweatpants."

"Yeah, but don't you want to change your shirt—"

I can't even form a coherent thought as Kai strips off his shirt, revealing his sculpted chest, six-pack, and huge arms. He has tattoos on his left arm, maybe more on his back? Either way, he is handsome. I'm sure my mouth is wide open as I stare at his athletic body—no wonder the female werewolves are swooning. Kai is s*x-on-a-stick, but the cynical side of me is wondering what his flaws are. All hot guys are usually assholes...

Despite knowing that, my eyes still do a double sweep over Kai's body, and his lips curve higher on his face. I turn my head away, blushing like crazy. I'm sure Kai is fully aware of how he looks. He is an Alpha, after all.

"Um, Eliza?" He says softly, still stretching. "Aren't you going to go and change your clothes?"

"Right..." I turn on my heels, and head for the door far, far away from the half-naked Alpha.

My steps are quick, but before I can make it to the changing rooms, Brandon grabs my arm.

"Eliza..." his eyes look haunted as he looks me up and down. Even his face looks a little pale. "You can't seriously be hanging out with Alpha Kai."

I arch an eyebrow. Brandon is still gripping my arm in a way that is uncomfortable. "Why not?"

"Because I don't trust him... he is weird."

"Why?" I challenge him. "Because he is a guy and doesn't bully me like you do?"

Brandon pauses. At first, he looks shocked, but that emotion is quickly replaced by anger.

"I'm not the only one who is mean. You always get back at me and your revenge is usually worse than whatever I did to you."

"Ah, so that makes it fine that you started it? It justifies everything, doesn't it?"

He gapes at me like a dumb goldfish. Opening and closing his mouth multiple times before growling. "You're really annoying... I was just trying to warn you about that dragon Alpha! He isn't like us!"

I snort. "He is nicer than you."

Brandon lifts an eyebrow. "Maybe he is faking it? Dragons are destructive and pack members have been disappearing in the mountains. Are you sure your friend didn't eat them? Pretty sure it was him swimming in that lake."

"Do we have a problem over here?" Kai asks.

Brandon turns around, sizing up the other male with a bitter look upon his face before grunting. "No..."

Before another word can be uttered, Brandon stalks away. I blink after him, but turn my attention to Kai when he bends forward in front of me. I'm shocked to see that his friendly demeanor has been replaced by dark possessiveness as he seems to scan my clothes.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-no..." I'm not sure why, but Kai touching even the outside of my clothes with his large hands makes my heart pound faster. I can smell his cologne and a hint of his deodorant. Did I ever call him a boy before? Because that was wrong. He is a man, a very beautiful one at that.

"Good..." Kai stands up to his full height, and I eye him thoughtfully. Since he can read my mind, I figure it's easier to just blurt out what is on my mind.

"Brandon isn't right about you, is he?"

Kai doesn't seem surprised by my question. "What do you think?"

My heart leaps to my throat. It takes me a beat longer than what is normal to process his question. Did he mean to taunt me? To drive home the point that it doesn't matter what he says and that I can only trust my own instincts?

I wet my lips. "I... I don't know."

Kay seems amused and steps forward. I'm forced to crane my neck to keep seeing his eyes, and I realize I'm feeling the actual heat of his body as he leans into me. I can't help but freeze as his scent whirls into my nose.

"I'm not dangerous to you," he picks a strand of loose hair from my shoulder, and smirks. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not dangerous.”

His words send a sickly shiver down my spine, but my expression remains unmoving for so long that after a moment, Kai leans away and actually laughs. The low, steady sound is a rolling tremor that cuts through the tense atmosphere between us. It doesn’t seem like it's at my expense, but it's a sound that I can easily imagine being cruel.

"Anyway, go get changed,” Kai says, and winks at me. “I will be waiting for you so we can run all of our laps together."