Charis
I swallowed hard as his toned torso came into view, and my wolf stirred within me.
His body was lean yet muscular, clearly the result of rigorous training. Pale skin stretched over defined abs and broad shoulders that were begging to be touched.
I cleared my throat loudly, hoping to catch his attention, to give him a chance to realise I was still in the tent and maybe show some modesty.
If Kael heard me, he gave no indication. Instead, he proceeded to remove his pants as well, leaving him standing in nothing but dark briefs that left very little to the imagination.
This wasn't like the casual undressing I'd seen in the dorms with those other boys. This was different. Seeing him naked made my stomach flutter, and my redundant wolf was more active than it had ever been.
He turned, and our gaze met each other for a second. I quickly lowered mine busying myself with unpacking my bag. I tried to focus on my reality right now, which may have brightened up significantly.
I would be spending the night with Kael; the tent was big enough to accommodate both of us. We had a bathroom and a toilet, which was good because that meant I only needed to hide from one person.
He brushed past me towards the bathroom. As soon as I heard the sound of the shower running, I seized the opportunity immediately.
Moving quickly, I dug through the clothes in the bag and found something that would fit my disguise – loose-fitting pants and an oversized black linen shirt that would help hide my figure. I changed as quickly as I could, grateful for the sound of the running water that masked any noise I might make.
I couldn't bathe —not without fresh bandages to rewrap my chest, which I didn't have. So, I'd have to make do with the basic hygiene I could manage while fully clothed.
Just as I finished changing and was folding my discarded clothes to put away, there was a knock on the tent door.
Thinking it might be Rhett, I rushed to open it.
Instead, I found myself face-to-face with a girl who wasn't from Ravenshore.
The stranger had big brown eyes and striking hair, dyed in two shades — blonde on top and dark brown at the roots. It was styled in loose waves that framed her face perfectly. She wore a low-riding red dress that clung to her curves, leaving very little to the imagination, which was definitely not standard academy attire.
The girl looked me up and down, not bothering to conceal her disdain. Her gaze travelled from my messy hair to my oversized, ill-fitting clothes that would look better on a boy with disapproval.
Without saying a single word, the girl brushed past me into the tent as if she owned the place.
"Wait," I called, following after her. "Who are you looking for? I think you might have the wrong —"
The bathroom door opened at that exact moment, and Kael came out with nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist. Water droplets still clung to his dark hair and traced paths down his chest, and the sight of him made the words die in my throat.
The girl's entire mood changed instantly. Her face lit up with genuine joy, and she rushed toward Kael without hesitation, throwing her arms around his still-wet body.
"Hi baby," she said, her voice warm and filled with affection. "I missed you so much."
Kael's arms came up automatically to return her embrace, and for the first time since I had met him, his expression softened into something approaching warmth.
The intimate scene playing out in front of me made my stomach twist with an emotion I didn't want to name. This was someone clearly important to Kael —someone who knew him well enough to walk into his private space uninvited, someone who called him 'baby' and expected to be welcomed with open arms.
She was his girlfriend. Definitely.
The realisation hit me harder than it should have, considering I barely knew him and had no right to any feelings about his personal life whatsoever.
Recognising that I was very much the third wheel in this reunion, I quietly backed toward the tent entrance. This was a private moment, and I had no business witnessing whatever was about to happen between them.
"I should go," I said softly, though neither of them seemed to be paying attention to me anymore.
As I reached for the door handle, I caught a glimpse of Kael's face over the girl's shoulder. For just a moment, his eyes met mine, and I saw annoyance flicker in them.
Was he annoyed I was still here?
Then the girl was pulling back to kiss him, and I quickly looked away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
I slipped out of the tent into the afternoon air, leaving them to their reunion and wondering slightly if they would have sex.
I shook my head at the thought. It was none of my business what they did together.
I wandered around the campsite, trying to give them privacy and figure out what to do for two hours. Still, I couldn't shake the memory of the girl reaching for Kael's lips.
***
Two hours dragged on forever until it was finally time.
I arrived at the square; it was pretty easy to locate since they all had a signpost at every corner with directions to anywhere you'd want to go.
I was the only student when I arrived there. So I chose a bench at the back and sat down, grateful for the silence and also using it as an opportunity to gather my scattered thoughts.
It was nearly 4 pm, and for the first time in days, I had a moment to reflect on the journey that had brought me to this point.
Just a week ago, I'd been Charis Greye—Alpha's daughter, preparing for an arranged marriage that would have destroyed my soul. Now I was Eamon Riggs, a boy with a forged life, sitting at a camp a hundred miles from home.
I wondered what was happening back at Crestborne. Had my father organised search parties? Were they scouring the countryside looking for his missing daughter? And my mother…poor Eva was probably taking all the blame for my disappearance. My father would never accept the responsibility for driving his child away.
The thought of my mother suffering because of my choices made my chest tighten with guilt, but I wasn't regretful of any actions I took. My mother and I didn't have the best relationship because she spent half her time putting up with my father's excesses.
She was also the daughter of an Alpha on the brink of ruin from an alcoholic dad. My father, Silas, had married her and restored the pack to its glory, also taking over the reins of its affairs, making him one of the most powerful Alphas in our world.
But my mom lived in constant debt to him. He would never fail to mention how he rescued her from rot and blamed it all on the Moon Goddess for making my mom his fated mate. When my brother died, after an accident where he was trying to save me, it became even worse.
My mother was scared he would reject her and bring in another woman, and so she danced to his tune always. Suffering from his constant emotional abuse. My father didn't believe in beating a woman and has never done so with her, but I would prefer he did that than the nervous wreck he had turned her into.
I decided I didn't want to be like my mother because that was the same fate that awaited me with Darian Blackmoor.
Already, he has bedded nearly every girl in our pack, and they would constantly rub it in my face. He had hit me twice, not to mention trying to force me to have sex with him.
Marrying him would be to choose a life of abuse and misery and to submit to my father's will, becoming nothing more than a political pawn.
So, this was the right choice.
Little by little, other students began arriving at the square, all walking in pairs with their assigned partners. I also noticed none of the students from Ebonvale were here yet. As they gathered, I observed that each partnership from Ravenshore wore matching headbands in bright colours.
Some pairs had red bands, while others had blue, green, or yellow.
I tried to remember if I'd seen anything like that in my supply bags, but I'd been too distracted by Kael's impromptu striptease to examine everything thoroughly.
Speaking of Kael… where was he?
I sat there waiting, trying not to picture him back in our tent with that beautiful girl. How long does it take to have sex and be done with it? How long had they been together? Was the girl staying for the entire camp experience?
The thought of spending the night in the same space where Kael had just been intimate with someone else made me feel disgusted.
When I was beginning to think he wasn't going to show up at all, I saw him strolling across the square in his usual measured gait. His dark hair had been brushed to perfection, and he'd changed into fresh clothes —dark jeans and a grey shirt that fit him perfectly.
Thankfully, the girl was not with him.
Without a word, he sat down beside me on the bench and dropped a pair of blue headbands onto my lap—still no acknowledgement, no explanation for his lateness, no mention of the girl.
"Your headband," he said, his voice as emotionless as ever.