26. Kylian
26
KYLIAN
“How the fuck did they get in?” Ridge paces around our tiny cottage, as he always does when he feels a particularly strong emotion.
I wave my hand in the air to garner his attention. “This may be jumping to conclusions, but I would say a door.”
The look Ridge throws me? It could curdle milk.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Luka begins to scrub down the counter with a soapy rag. If Ridge paces when he’s upset, then Luka cleans. The kitchen is already immaculate, but by the time my packmate is done, I’ll be able to see my reflection in the granite countertop. “We always suspected that bastard was a traitor. This is just further proof.”
Three Noths were able to infiltrate Eros Academy. We have no idea what their goal was, but if I had to hazard a guess, it was to eliminate the crown prince. Fortunately, the little shit was able to take one out. Guess he’s not as useless as he first appeared. That, or our training has toughened him up. Ridge and I disposed of the other two. Colter is currently scouting the perimeter, ensuring that no one else has infiltrated our defenses.
I’m just grateful the Noths didn’t decide to target Darling Academy. The thought of my mate being under attack, alone and defenseless… A vise squeezes my heart.
I don’t even want to think about that.
As it is, I’m fighting every alpha instinct I have demanding I race over there, blast through her door, and ensure with my own two eyes that she’s okay.
I force myself to tune back into the conversation.
“Impossible,” Ridge is saying, punctuating the word with a shake of his head. “I may not trust Headmaster Asshole either, but I was following him all day. He never even left his office. There’s no way he let the Noths inside. At least not physically.”
“And the guards on duty?” Luka demands, scrubbing even harder at a particular spot. I don’t see any stain, but then again, what do I know? The last time I cleaned was…never. I’m more of a “throw my clothes on the ground and wait for the magic elves to wash them for me” type of guy.
Luka would look positively dashing in an elf costume.
“Dead.” Ridge’s lips straighten. “But even if the Noths were able to get past the front entrance, it doesn’t explain how they got into the school.”
During the day, the school has over a dozen active-duty soldiers guarding it. At night, the doors are locked and can only be opened from the inside. All of the windows are bulletproof.
Someone must’ve let the Noths in.
Anger thrums through my veins, and I suddenly feel restless. I’m not sure it’s even possible in my current state for me to stay still. I need to move, to act, to do something .
An idea occurs to me. A risky, stupid idea.
Fortunately for me, risky and stupid are my middle names.
Can someone even have two middle names? Hmmm. Something to ponder once everything calms down. Maybe I should consider officially changing mine. Anything would be better than Leslie.
Ridge curses and glances down at his phone, which has started to vibrate. “It’s the boss. I need to take this.” He flicks his gaze toward Luka. “Go debrief with the headmaster. If he’s innocent, we need him on our side. And if he’s guilty, see if you can trip him up.” Ridge turns toward me, one of his brows arched. “And Kylian…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Remain here and look sexy.” I strike a pose from my position on the couch. “Been there, done that, am currently doing it.”
Ridge rolls his eyes but turns away without comment, accepting the call. He steps into another room, and the door snicks shut behind him.
Luka stares at his half-polished work with a scowl, then sighs and drops his rag into the sink. He reaches for his black peacoat—though I’ve told him time and time again that it makes him look like a douche—and slips it on.
“See if you can find Colter. I want to know what he found out,” Luka instructs, as if he’s somehow the boss of me. Imperious prick.
Instead of answering verbally, I give him a one-fingered salute that has his right eye twitching. Then, in a cloud of douchebaggery, he stomps out of our cottage. I wait until I’m sure he’s gone before grabbing my coat, which was draped over the back of the couch. I glance in the direction of the bedroom, ensuring Ridge is still on the phone, before hurrying outside.
The cool night air batters my skin, but I welcome the chill. I’ve been feeling overheated as of late, and the cold is a blessing.
Despite the attack, the grounds are preternaturally silent. The majority of the guards are rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off, unsure of what to do or how to help. I can’t help but think how easy it would be for a Noth to sneak inside while everyone’s distracted…
Determination fuels my movements, and I begin to walk faster, swatting away skeletal branches that dare to impede my progress.
To the right, Eros Academy stands tall and daunting, the brick facade beginning to crumble with age. Movement in one of the windows briefly captures my attention, and I turn, startled to see a familiar silhouette standing in a lit hallway, his back to me.
Colter.
What is he doing in the dorms? Why is he just standing there? Isn’t he supposed to be walking the grounds? Whose dorm is on that particular floor? I rack my brain and come to the only reasonable answer—Teddie. Our fearsome, terrifying packmate is guarding the crown prince’s door.
Is it because of who he is…or who he’s related to?
Or is there some other reason that I can’t think of currently, with my thoughts so out of sorts?
I frown but do nothing more than shoot Colter one last passing glance.
Finally, I reach the wall that separates Eros from Darling.
With a muttered curse, I begin the painstaking task of climbing it, my feet struggling to find footholds. I’m a pretty big dude, and “agility” and “gracefulness” aren’t usually terms used to describe me. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I finally reach the top and am able to straddle it, one thigh on either side. Below me, the thorny hedge beckons.
“The things I do for love,” I grumble as I fling myself over the side, landing in the greenery below. Pain ripples through me as a hundred thorns embed themselves in my skin.
But I simply give the hedge my middle finger, jump to my feet, and attempt to clean myself off the best I can. I’m pretty sure I look like I lost a fight with a rabid worm in the dirt.
Wait. Can worms even be rabid?
Focus, Kylian.
I move from shadow to shadow, constantly scanning my surroundings. Once again, I think of how easy it would be for an enemy to infiltrate Darling. There are no guards manning the doors. No security. Nothing.
I’ll have to rectify that situation, and soon.
I stay close to the building and shuffle forward until an achingly familiar scent tickles my senses. I crane my neck back and stare at a window on an upper floor. The heat in my belly morphs into a blistering inferno. A flush spreads through me like wildfire.
My mate.
That’s my mate’s room.
For a moment, I debate my next move.
My omega has made it clear time and time again that she wants nothing to do with us. I want to respect that, I do, but every instinct in my body demands I rush to her. Hold her close. Coddle her.
I just need to see that she’s okay…
I note the tree closest to Brylee’s window. That would work.
Without thinking too hard about what I’m about to do—no surprise, considering I’m an “act first, apologize later” type of person—I pull myself up the tree, cursing when one of the branches begins to crackle ominously beneath my weight.
“You better not break, or so help me…” I threaten the branch, glaring at it.
It settles.
“That’s what I thought, bitch.” I narrow my eyes on it once more, daring it to cross me, but it remains steady.
Slowly, I crawl across the branch, stopping when I’m only a foot away from Brylee’s closed window. The curtains are drawn shut, prohibiting me from setting eyes on my pretty obsession.
“Just one peek,” I whisper to myself. “That doesn’t make you a creeper.”
I reach for the window and am moderately surprised when it opens easily. Yes, that makes my job easier, but it also sends ripples of trepidation down my spine.
If I can enter Brylee’s room so easily, then anyone could. It would be so easy to take out the princess.
Suddenly, all I can envision is a Noth fucker standing over my omega, holding a knife above her heart, prepared to snuff her life out once and for all?—
I barrel-roll through the window, landing in a crouch in the middle of her surprisingly spacious dorm. I half expect Brylee to jerk upright in bed and scream, but nothing happens.
My obsession isn’t here.
Panic thrums through me, siphoning the air from my lungs.
Where is she?
Dozens of scenarios pop to the forefront of my mind.
Brylee, in the hallway, bleeding out from a hole in her chest.
Brylee, crying for help as she’s carried out of Darling over the shoulder of a Noth.
Brylee, stuffed in a closet, dead.
My thoughts spiral, and I can feel myself descending into a dark abyss I can’t hope to escape from.
Think, Kylian. Think.
I force myself to take a deep, calming breath and then study the room with the trained eye of a warrior, not the panicked one of an alpha missing his mate.
The first thing I note is that her backpack is gone.
Which means that she either left of her own volition or never returned after classes.
Good. That’s good.
Or at least, that should be good.
So why does my stomach move in riotous swirls?
I tiptoe toward her closet and fling it open. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here, though I do note a few empty hangers. Are those clothes being washed or did she take them with her? Why would she need a change of clothes? I sift through the dresses and shirts before deciding there’s nothing of importance here. With a sigh, I shut the closet door and move toward her dresser, opening the top drawer.
All of the heat in my body instantly migrates to my cock, which stands at attention.
“God, you are turning into a full-blown pervert,” I chastise myself, staring at the lacy underwear. But god help me, I can’t help but imagine Brylee in these various pieces. She would look fucking divine. Scowling, I focus on my cock, wagging a finger in disapproval. “You’re being such an asshole right now, you know that? We’re trying to find our omega, not pop a stiffy.”
My cock, of course, doesn’t listen.
Bastard.
I absently grab a pair of red lace panties with a tiny bow in the center. What would they look like on her? I close my eyes and envision them cupping her tight ass.
God, I want to touch myself, but I know how inappropriate that would be. Brylee may be my obsession, but I’m certainly not hers. For all I know, she’s in the arms of another alpha at this exact moment.
The thought instantly sours my mood, and a wave of white-hot jealousy crashes through me. I tighten my grip on the panties.
I’ll kill anyone who thinks they can touch my omega. I’ll pluck their eyeballs out, shove them up their assholes, and then use a machete to?—
“Who the fuck are you?” an unfamiliar voice demands, sounding aghast.
I spin, a lifetime of training kicking into gear. I instinctively throw the object I’m holding at the intruder, momentarily forgetting that I’m not clutching a blade but a pair of underwear.
The red panties hit the brown-haired omega straight in the forehead and then bounce to the floor at her feet.
Umm…
Bullseye?
She gawks at me.
I gawk at her.
There’s a lot of gawking going on.
This must be Brylee’s suitemate.
Shit.
Before she can scream for security, I race toward the open window and dive out of it, rolling once I reach the ground.
“What the fuck?” The omega has moved to Brylee’s window and is staring out of it, her mouth agape.
“Sorry for pan-tacking you. Get it? Panties and attacking? No? Not even a chuckle? Tough crowd.” I offer her an awkward as fuck wave and then slip into the shadows once more, internally cursing myself every step of the way.
Okay, so Brylee is obviously not at her dorm.
Where the fuck could she be in the middle of the night?
Determination quickens my pace and puts a literal spring to my step.
I’ll find my little obsession.
If she wants to hide, then I suppose I’ll have no choice but to seek.
Game on, Brylee.
Game on.