Ch 3: Playing With Fire

Kael's POV

I firmly believed there were only three things in the world worth my time.

Glory of the Lycan Kingdom. 

Victory of Blood Fang Team. 

And absolute, Crushing Destruction of Ethan Rawcrest.

The rest of everything else was a waste of energy to me, including women. Though I had my fair share of hookups and flings, all of them were short-lived, devoid of complicated emotions like love. 

But I have always particularly avoided getting involved with wolf maidens, not because I was prejudiced, but in the world of lycans, something like their sacred ‘mate bond’ didn’t exist.  

But on the entrance day, I first noticed a shy, timid-looking girl standing at the iron gates of the academy. 

She wasn’t breathtaking, unlike the typical omega girls from rich families who hovered around me, craving my attention. But for some damn reason, her presence had definitely burned a hole into my memory.

The moment I came across her in the hallway, my heart raced faster at the strange, intoxicating sweet scent that had drifted past me. 

The scent mimicked the essence of honey, and peony flowers dripped in morning dew. A scent so soft and warm yet dangerously alluring for me. 

When I looked into her a little, I found her name…Elisa Ashford, a pretty one indeed. 

But I knew it very well, no Lycan should have been able to perceive such a mysterious scent from a mere werewolf maiden, and certainly not from a wolfless girl. 

However, Thunder, my lycan, growled restlessly inside me when he first sensed her sweet scent, “Kael, something about this girl feels strange.” 

And without realizing it myself, I found my eyes following that girl around everywhere on that day. 

But, my curiosity died soon. 

The way her ocean eyes filled with love glistened around Ethan, it didn’t take me long to realize she belonged to him. 

Ethan Rawcrest, my greatest rival and the bastard I loathed more than any other wolf in this world. 

A pathetic coward who wouldn’t think twice before hurting an innocent being with his selfish and cruel tactics. 

I could never digest how a heinous man like him was supposed to become the future Alpha of the werewolf territories. 

Every time our eyes met, my murderous wrath flared as I wanted to make him suffer a slow, painful death. 

But even that wouldn’t partly satiate my rage for what he had done to my sister. 

Since physical fights were off-limits in this academy, I was already determined to crush his Ice Moon team in the game. 

And as far as I was concerned, anything that Ethan had touched would end up tainted, including his woman. 

For the past week, I had erased her existence from my memory and hoped our paths would never cross again.

But tonight, my plans failed yet again.

Without paying attention to the announcements or anyone else in the party, I chose to drift my mind towards the strategy for our first match with my teammates, until the announcement carrying her name hit me like a physical blow. 

"Elisa Ashford…Leader of Blood Fang's cheer squad."

A brief silence fell around us, only carrying gasps.  

But then, it transformed into absolute chaos.

>>"What?"

>>"No way… Elisa Ashford? Cheerleader for the lycan team?"

Even I was taken aback by the announcement, my heart almost skipped a beat. I could feel Thunder purring inside me, ‘Now this is interesting.’

And right next to me, my childhood best friend Rex nearly choked on his drink, coughing violently as he stared at the stage. 

He was already aware of my brief curiosity towards her. But this time, he sounded baffled, darting his gaze towards me, “Wait…what?"

I quickly turned my glance towards her, only to see that her eyes were already glued on me. She wore a black and crimson backless dress that hugged every curve of her petite frame. Her long, wavy, brown hair cascaded down her shoulders like silk. But her eyes…

Unlike before, those enchanting ocean eyes held no hesitation in them. They didn’t even show a flicker of fear or a blush of embarrassment. 

She rather looked as though she had stepped out of a foolish, love-blinded dream into a war zone, as if she was prepared for it. 

However, the moment our eyes met, she quickly turned her head away…leaving me amused as I couldn’t stop my smile. 

“Hey, Kael,” Rex grabbed me by my arm, narrowing his orbs as he lowered his voice, “I don’t know what’s happening, but you didn’t plan any of this, did you?” 

“Of course not.” I shrugged, being equally confused by the sudden turn of events. 

“Then let’s not make it more complicated.” He rubbed his forehead, quietly glancing at her once before he murmured, “A hockey team captain can reject the leader of their cheer squad and appoint someone else. There are plenty of lycan maidens…choose one among them. 

“We shouldn’t get involved with these damn wolves.” 

Before I could pay much heed to his words, Elisa started walking towards me, and somehow, the world around us seemed to slow down.

And unlike earlier, I didn’t catch the faint trace of her scent. Rather, this time, it hit my nerves like a tidal wave, almost edging my lycan.

I could feel Thunder abruptly rise inside me; his golden eyes narrowed like a predator when he growled, “Kael…”

I frowned, “What is it?” 

'This girl is strange. There is no way she is wolfless. I can smell it. Something is sleeping inside her, but I can’t sense it… She must be hiding something.” 

My expression darkened when I heard his impatient grunt. 

I knew werewolves couldn't hide their wolves from lycans because our sensory instincts were hundreds of times sharper than any ordinary Alpha. Yet, the confusion is Thunder’s voice made me dubious.

By the time I had snapped out of my thoughts, she had already reached me, standing just inches away.  And the moment we stood facing each other, it hit me just how tiny she actually was in front of a 6’4” lycan prince. 

She barely reached up to my shoulders, but as I looked down, I didn’t miss a flicker of something dangerous in those ocean eyes locked in me.

I could also sense a profound sadness hidden in them, but she was trying her best to mask it with an utterly captivating determination written on her face. 

She tossed a small smile, and it wasn’t a shy one…but rather a challenging smile. 

"So, Captain Blackwood..." Her voice was a soft echo in the night breeze when she lowered her tone. "Do you prefer a kiss or a peck?” 

But the moment she spoke those words, I caught her eyes shimmering with a hint of mischief. I stared blankly at her round oval face before I burst out laughing.  

While I ignored Rex constantly nudging me with his elbow, my laugh was a loud, genuine one, unlike the kind my teammates rarely heard. 

The entire party arena froze, even Rex, who held a horrified expression written on his grimace, while whispering, shouting at me, “Don’t! Don’t do it, Kael.”

But I had already lost all of my restraint to stop anymore. Did she even realize she dared to play with fire? 

Quickly, my gaze shifted past her, and I found something even more amusing- watching Ethan Rawcrest’s expression. 

The bastard looked like he was about to combust, holding a grimace of fiery rage while glowering at me. His fists clenched so tight his knuckles had turned white. 

And the aura of his aggression was so strong that I could sense his wolf was barely restrained from attacking me. 

How pathetic of him. 

Yet still, suddenly, a dark, thrilling desire surged through me. 

I wanted to see him suffer just like this by snatching away every single thing he had desired, starting with his woman. 

Who, not long ago, used to look at him as if her entire world comprised of him. 

Without warning, I reached out and wrapped my arm around her waist, jerking her petite body against my chest.

She gasped at my quick movement, but her entire body stiffened against me. 

I could feel the rapid thumping of her heart beating against my ribs, creating a frantic, synchronized rhythm that drove my sudden spike in adrenaline.

Thunder purred, a deep, possessive howl, 'Yes…do that, Kael.’ ’

Tilting my head closer to her face, my lips brushed against the shell of her ear, making her body suddenly tremble a little. 

This time, sensing that tantalizing scent radiating off her skin from so close almost drove me insane as I whispered, “Since you’re offering so generously,” my voice dripping lower, “it would be rude of me to refuse. I choose a kiss.”

Before she could breathe or blink, I tilted her chin up and pressed my lips to hers. It wasn't just a kiss to spite Ethan…it rather turned into an explosion. 

The moment our lips met, as if a spark of raw electricity had surged through my veins, ignited a fire I never knew I was capable of feeling. 

What the hell? 

I had kissed countless women before, yet none of them had ever made Thunder purr like this. And none of them had ever made my heart pound so violently.

She tasted alarmingly sweet, almost enough to turn me into an addict. 

I felt her trembling hands soon climb up to my chest, first to push me away and then, to her own surprise, clenching my shirt tightly. 

As if she was melting from the kiss, a soft moan escaped her lips that sounded like a surrender. 

The entire crowd exploded with cheers, whistles, and screams. Someone even opened bottles of champagne. But for a second, I opened my eyes just to look over her shoulder, and my smile deepened. 

Ethan Rawcrest's eyes were bloodshot, along with his face twisted in a grimace of maddening jealousy and rage. 

Not only me, but he was glaring at the girl in my arms, with a look of absolute devastation washed over him. And for some reason, watching him lose his mind made me want to deepen our kiss. 

Only when I felt her faintly pushing against my chest did I realize she was struggling to breathe. Reluctantly, I parted my lips away and saw  Elisa was shivering a little, her cheeks turning flushed crimson red. 

Those beautiful ocean eyes stared up at me in shock, her lips swollen and glistening from my saliva. How divinely beautiful…

“CRANK!” 

But all of a sudden, the noise around us paused at the unusual sound. 

Curiously, we both turned around, but my emerald orbs narrowed with a wicked smile when I saw Ethan had crushed the glass of whiskey in his hands, and it disintegrated into shards, cutting into his palm. 

Blood dripped onto the floor, painting it red, but he didn’t even flinch. His brown eyes changed into dark red, flaring his death glare towards me.