Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mia's POV

Everybody gasped as Kai called on me. 

My eyes almost bulged out of my head as I gaped at him, wondering why he picked me. 

It wasn't enough that I was already the topic of discussion in the entire school and pack because he decided to make me his fiancée. He had to follow me all the way to school and draw even more attention to me. 

Why was he hell-bent on causing me embarrassment?

“Me...?” I stuttered as I pointed at myself. “Why...?”

A look of mischief glinted in Kai's eyes as he smirked. 

“Step forward and find out, Miss Hale,” was all he said, and I sighed in defeat. 

He was my instructor now, practically in a position of authority, and it would be considered disrespectful to not do as he asked. 

As I walked towards him in the front of the gym, all eyes were on me and I had never wished I could disappear as much as I did at that moment. 

I could feel one person's glare in particular. 

I stole a glance at Avery, and she was absolutely fuming. 

Her face was red as she balled her fists, and I knew she would have killed me if she had the opportunity to do so. 

“Face the rest of the class,” Kai said when I got to him, and I slowly turned around and did as he said. 

“Today, we will be starting with hand-to-hand combat like I mentioned earlier. This will help you in getting stronger and defending yourself against an attacker,” he started, and the students went quiet as they listened to him. 

Then he turned to face me. “Miss Hale here is a perfect example to demonstrate this. She looks vulnerable and seems like she would be unable to defend herself when somebody comes for her.”

A few snickers were heard throughout the gym, and I bit my lower lip as I fidgeted. 

Kai began to circle me, his eyes not leaving me for a second. 

Blood rushed to my ears as I fixated my eyes on him, not knowing what to do next or what to expect. 

“Try to punch me, Miss Hale,” he said, and my brows furrowed in confusion. 

“What—” 

“Try to punch me, or you'll get punched,” he said firmly. 

My heart skipped a beat when I realized that he wasn't joking. 

I tried to square up the best way I could—the way I had seen fighters do.  

I put my hands near my face to shield my chin and placed my right foot slightly back for balance. I kept my knees loose and then stepped back a few feet to create a safe reaction distance. 

His gaze assessed me, and he shook his head in disappointment. 

“Weak stance. But go ahead.”

I didn't let his words get to me as I blew a breath. 

With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I balled my fists and jolted forward before extending my right arm towards Kai. 

My arm whooshed through the air but met nothing. Kai had stepped to the side in the last second, swiftly dodging my punch. 

“That was terrible. Try again.”

I took a deep breath as I squared up again and attempted another punch. This time, Kai simply held up a hand and caught my fist. 

The entire class was watching at this point. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I resisted the urge to glare at him. 

“Again.”

My gaze hardened as I clenched my fists. With all the rage and embarrassment fueling me, I screamed as I channelled all my fury into my right arm and then I threw the punch. 

This time, Kai didn't move. My fist connected with his abdomen, but he barely reacted. 

Pain shot through my hand, and I groaned as I pulled it back.

I winced, my eyes tearing up as I cradled my fist with my left hand. 

“That was weak. Subpar at best,” he commented, and I glared at him with teary eyes. 

“You're dismissed,” he said as he eyed me.

I slowly walked back to where I was sitting earlier, my face down, not daring to look up to see the number of people staring at me and possibly mocking me. 

“Is there anybody who thinks they're strong enough to take me on? Step forward!” Kai shouted, and a few students rushed to meet him. 

The class continued for an hour after that. For the rest of the class, I stayed rooted to where I sat, not joining any of the other students and making sure not to draw further attention to myself. 

School ended in the late afternoon and I returned to the villa. 

After taking a shower and getting changed into a comfortable sweatshirt and sweatpants, I went to the dining room to eat. 

I hadn't eaten lunch at the school cafeteria because I knew there would be a lot of students there, and I had already endured enough embarrassment and unwanted attention for one day. 

I got to the dining room, and I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Kai sitting at the head of the table. 

I had no idea he had gotten back home. 

I came back with the same bodyguards who had escorted me in the morning, and he must have arrived soon after that. 

I nearly turned around to go back to my room because I wasn't ready to face him, but my stomach grumbled, reminding me that I was hungry. 

With a sigh, I joined Kai at the table and waited for my food to be served. 

My food arrived a few minutes later, and as I moved to pick up a fork, pain shot through my hand, and I winced. 

“Are you okay?” Kai suddenly asked, and I looked up to see him staring at me. I caught a hint of worry in his eyes, but I dismissed it. 

“I'm fine,” I responded harshly.

Instead of trying to pick up the fork with my right hand, I used my left hand and slowly began to eat. 

It was uncomfortable, but that was the only way I could get some food in my stomach. 

At that moment, I wished I could use my healing ability on myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't. For some reason I didn't understand, it only worked on other people.

I heard a chair scrape against the floor as Kai stood up, and he came to sit beside me. 

“I'll help you,” he suddenly said. 

“I can feed myself,” I said, my voice raising a pitch as I looked at him.

His eyes weren't their usual blue-grey. They had turned completely grey, and a low growl rumbled from his chest.

That was when I realized his wolf had surfaced.

Kai's POV 

I didn't know what came over me when I stood up and went to sit beside Mia. 

I actually did—my wolf felt bad when he saw the way she winced as she picked up the fork. We could tell her hand was hurting from when she punched me earlier in the day. 

I had wanted to test her abilities. Instead, I'd ended up worrying about her injured hand.

I felt a pang in my chest when she refused my help. My wolf didn't like being rejected, and a low growl escaped me before I could stop it.

She stared at me for a moment before reluctantly handing me the fork.

She hesitantly opened her mouth as I started to feed her, and my wolf purred in satisfaction as she ate. 

I still didn't trust her. Nothing had changed about that. She had broken into my home, tried to steal from me, and refused to tell me who had sent her.

But seeing her hurt made something inside me ache.

Watching the way she held on to her right hand with her left, I regretted telling her to punch me in the morning. 

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “I'm sorry about today.”