Chapter 26
Kian Erskine had an unhealthy and toxic obsession with him.
Sky notched another arrow and tried not to dwell on that thought, but it’d haunted him all week, cloying his mind whenever he managed to slip away from it and find concentration elsewhere.
The Persimmon Competition was the last tournament Sky might ever participate in, and he was down two points.
He couldn’t focus on the targets, his mind too cluttered.
This was the final shot of the second-to-last set, but if he blew it now, he doubted he’d be able to recover after the break.
He’d need a perfect score to do that, and while he was good, he’d never accomplished that before.
He might lose his title today, all because he couldn’t clear his damn mind like he’d been taught.
Granted, he somehow doubted any of his coaches had ever had to deal with the sort of things he had this past month.
That night after the incident at the corn maze, Sky had returned to Caelum, but he’d been mostly quiet.
What was he supposed to say after what Kian had said?
How was he supposed to combat possessiveness like that?
According to the alpha's own words, he was putting Sky above his siblings, and…Sky didn’t know how to feel about that.
No, that wasn’t correct.
He knew how he felt.
He just wasn’t sure it was okay for him to accept those feelings.
Did that initial rush of desire make him a selfish prick? Was he a monster for clinging to that confession, even knowing Shiloh had been on another floor, grieving the worst loss of his life at that same moment?
Even now, four days later, Sky didn’t know what was socially acceptable, and he hated himself for it.
“All right, everybody,” the announcer's voice boomed through the surrounding speakers of the large gymnasium he was currently in. “Archers, take position.”
Sky readied himself along with the five others competing against him. There were only two rounds left, and he needed to use them to catch up if he had a hope of walking away as number one. Before, his goal had been to end his time as an athlete on a high note.
Now all he wanted was for this to be over, so he could crawl back to his apartment and continue burying his head in the proverbial sand.
He’d thought he’d made a decision that night in front of the police station, but that’d been before he’d been attacked by gang members, shot at, and—
He couldn’t go there.
If he thought about what he’d done, he’d start shaking.
The announcer was giving instructions now, walking them through the motions.
Competitors had each been given their own lane, and twenty yards away, three targets of varying sizes floated up and down in a random mixture of straight and back-and-forth lines.
The goal was to hit each target in at least one place in under a minute.
There was a total of four sets, each with three rounds.
So far, Sky had managed to do well in the first two sets, but then he’d spotted Kian entering the gymnasium with Elm and had completely lost his groove.
He’d refused to glance over to the bleachers on his left, where he knew the alpha was sitting, but his presence alone was enough to keep him mentally spiraling.
Why was he even here? Sky hadn’t invited him.
Hell, the two of them had barely spoken since Sky had woken in bed alone Sunday morning.
When he’d asked Pike on their way out, the Eumia member had mentioned something about Kian hunting down the people who’d attacked them, but that was all he’d tell him.
Out of principle—aka, pride—Sky had refused to ask Pike anything else about the alpha. Unfortunately, that meant he’d gotten nothing. No updates. No messages. Jack. Fucking. Shit.
“Release!” the announcer’s voice came a second before a loud buzzer.
Sky let his first arrow loose, but he was too worked up. It hit the third outer ring of the bottom target, two away from the center. He could hear his coach swearing and a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd, some for him, some for his competition.
He notched another arrow, took aim, and let go.
Second ring this time on the middle target. Closer, but still not good enough.
He made the mistake of glancing at the scoreboard, wincing when he saw he was in second place. That might not be bad for most, but he wasn’t most.
Another arrow in place. Aim.
“Good Light, this is your brother!” a female voice cut across the gym, and without thinking, Sky’s head tipped in its direction.
An omega female was hovering at Elm’s side, her hand on Kian’s shoulder.
The alpha was looking at her, and though his expression was inscrutable, the fact that his attention was on her and not on Sky was enough.
A low growl slipped past his lips, and he lost control, the arrow slipping from between his fingers to fling aimlessly across the lane.
As soon as the sound was out, Kian’s head snapped to the side, catching Sky’s furious gaze.
The buzzer sounded again, tearing Sky out of his momentary lapse and he swore, turning to find his third arrow had landed on the very last ring of the top target.
It was better than nothing, but he still had two arrows tucked in his quiver.
If he’d been able to shoot them all, the highest three points would have gone to his score.
“Tancredi, get your ass over here!” Coach Nouck had his hands on his hips and was pacing back and forth on the sidelines. “What the hell is going on with you today? It’s like you don’t want to win or something.”
“He’s in second place, Coach,” Mindy, a sophomore who’d competed in an earlier tournament and stuck around to cheer Sky on, gave him a supportive smile.
“Since when was second place good enough for a talent like Tancredi?” he snapped, then seemed to realize he was talking to a student and ran a hand across his face in a bid for calm.
“It’s a fifteen-minute break. Go take a rest in the locker room.
Sort yourself out. When you get back here, I want you focused. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Sky nodded and placed his things down.
It wasn’t strange for the coach to send them to the locker room for some alone time during a tough competition.
It was loud and chaotic out here, and he was a big believer in finding your calm and center to maintain the composure needed on the field.
He ignored the calls from classmates in the stands, didn’t even look Kian's or Elm’s way, and went straight for the hallway in the far-left corner that led to the locker rooms. Each team was given its own, and since the coach had sent him, Sky was confident no one would disturb him until it was time for the final set.
The room was empty, and he made his way to the end of the rows of burnt orange lockers, popping the one he’d been assigned open.
There was a bag of bickis in his backpack, and Sky pulled it out and tore the packet open, tipping his head back to pour a generous amount of the sour candy bits into his mouth. The sour hit his tongue and sent a zip through his body, but it wasn’t enough to shake this feeling from him.
It was like there was a sticky coating draped over his shoulders, clinging to his chest and his arms and legs.
The sound of the door opening gave him pause, and he frowned, stepping around the end of the lockers.
“Leave.” He moved back out of sight as soon as he’d delivered the command, even knowing it wouldn’t be followed.
“You’re in a mood,” Kian’s voice trickled closer, and before long, the alpha was standing at the end of the row. He crossed his arms and propped a shoulder against a locker. “What’s wrong, Sky?”
“Gee, I don’t know,” he drawled sarcastically.
“Could be the fact that I cut a man’s throat open a few days ago.
Or it could be that one of my favorite season events is for sure ruined forever now.
Or maybe it’s seeing my supposed alpha get hit on right in front of my face.
” He slammed his locker shut with way more force than necessary and probably would have been embarrassed by the mini meltdown if everything he’d just said hadn’t been true.
But all of those things were true.
“I’ve never hurt anyone like that before,” Sky whispered. “And you want to know the worst part?” He glanced up at Kian when the alpha remained silent. “You can’t promise that I’ll never have to do anything like that again.”
It wasn’t a question, because he wasn’t stupid.
“I’d say this isn’t what I signed up for, but…” He chuckled humorously and closed his eyes.
Truthfully, yeah, it’d bothered Sky that he’d had a hand in killing a man.
But not as much as it probably should.
Mostly because Kian had been right. It’d been self-defense and, honestly? The bastard had deserved it after what he’d done to Shiloh. After what he’d inadvertently taken from him.
“How is your brother?” Sky had wanted to text him, but had decided not to every time. Instead, he’d reached out to Sloane and had heard from her that Shiloh was mostly acting like nothing had happened.
Was it an act? Was he sad and felt like he didn’t get to be?
Would Kian even know if that were the case?
“Never mind.” Why bother asking?
“Sky, look at me.”
He shook his head.
“Little omega.” Strong fingers captured Sky’s chin, tilting his face up as the alpha stepped in closer. “Is this tournament important to you?”
What kind of a question was that?
He scoffed. “Of course it is.”
“Then what do you need from me?” He came even closer, turning until he had Sky’s back pressed against the lockers. He released his chin and propped an arm at either side of Sky’s head, caging him in. “Will soothing pheromones help?”
Sky felt the first brush of them against his skin and quickly planted a palm on Kian’s chest, stopping him. “No.”
Kian pulled them back. “All right. What then?”
“What makes you so certain you can help me at all?”
“I’m your alpha,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Not one of my choosing.”
“Don’t lie, Sky. I’m trying to do something nice for you here.”