Kai Winters Mechat Novels & Stories

I gasped then froze when I heard the voice behind me. “Careful, Lena,” Kai whispered, his breath warm against my ear. “You’re not supposed to be here.” I turned slowly. His eyes were calm, too calm. And then I saw it. The faint blue light flickering beneath his wrist, circuitry. My heart stopped. “Kai…” I whispered, stepping back. “What’s that?” He smiled faintly, almost sad. “You didn’t really think she was the only one who could be rebuilt… did you?”

The twinkle in Lex’s eyes dulled and his genuinely large smile turned into a tight lipped, straight line as he hung down his head. Sensing an upcoming war coming from my side, Kai quickly intervened and said, “If you ever have any trouble with that smart watch, I can help you fix it, especially in turning your soft-ware into hard-ware,” he flirted and got three collective smacks from Jax, Samantha and Aira, on his head. “Oww !” Kai howled while rubbing his head. “I was just offering him my services,” he whined. “Escort service, you mean ?” Aira deadpanned.

“The ecosystem assimilates you. Soon you’ll be arguing about the hermeneutics of compost with Miranda.” “The what of compost?” Lena asked, horrified. It was during this laughter that Kai finally approached the table, camera off. He looked hesitant. “I have to go back to the city for a few days,” he said. “Production meetings. But… I wanted to leave you with something.” He placed the same small hard drive on the table. “It’s a rough cut. Of the winter segment. I thought you should see it before I go any further.” We took the hard drive home with a solemnity it probably didn’t deserve. That evening, we gathered around Arthur’s laptop once more.

Kai looked at me one last time, guilt shadowing his features. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For everything you’re about to see.” He stepped onto the platform beside Mira. Luna squeezed my wrist, then tugged me forward. I looked into Kai's eyes again. It really wasn't Kai. It was Rex. I stepped onto the platform with trembling legs. The descent began. The deeper we went, the colder the air became. A mechanical hum echoed around us, mixed with… breathing. Dozens of them. No… hundreds. The shaft opened into an enormous underground chamber, glowing with pulsating blue light. Towers of machinery rose like metals connected with tubes that pulsed with energy.

Winters clapped Kieran’s shoulder with a knowing smile. “Good job,” I heard him say. “Keep this up, and you’ll be number two soon. I’ll ensure you get a good position at the United Factions once you graduate.” My breath caught. Kieran’s shoulders relaxed, mirroring Winters’ smile as he nodded once. “Yes, sir.” I turned on my heel and walked away, faster than I should have. Crap. Crap. Crap. So it was true. There was no need for guessing now. Winters was using the students again for his own gain. I needed to talk to someone—someone who could take action about this.

I muttered as I scurried from the room and headed to my mate. I was surprised to see that the area had cleared and only Gavin and Gideon were there. Seeing the assassin, I promptly flipped him off and said, “You're such an asshole!” He nodded and said, “Yes, I am well aware.” Shaking my head I muttered sourly that at least Remy could transport herself away from Sergio and tilted my head at seeing Gideon shaking his head. “Winters has a device that alters the energy for that gift to be used, so no, she won't be able to disappear,” he said firmly, and I growled at him.

After saying the command sentence, the cube came to life, rows of magical engrave lit up on the cube surface. "MO-501 ACTIVATE…USER IDENTIFIED..HIBERNATING MODE DISABLED…MO-501 FUNCTIONING NORMALLY…LINKING TO CURRENT LOCATIONS..SUCCESS…UPDATING USER LOG..CHANGING AUTHORITATIVE PERSONNEL…GREETING HIS MAJESTY 103RD KAISER MIES SAI OF INDEPENDENT STATE OF AETERNUM..". (Cube @ MO-501)

In sector 4, I had machines from garbage tiles that were far more complex than a simple pressure valve. ‘The thick carbon steel pipes of their steam boiler are perfect. And I need Nova and their welding multitool from the Zephyr. Give me sixty minutes.” Vane saw Kael from me. The Commander just nodded her. “They heard the woman, Sentinel,” said Kael. “Get her what she needs. I go down to the reactor and prepare the manual interfaces.”

“That’s the Overseer. The AI that runs this shitshow.” I looked. The screen was showing data, codes, numbers flashing fast. Then a mechanical voice spoke overhead calmly. “Welcome, new participant. ID: K-1087. Name: Kieran Wilson. Age: 23. Status: Alive. Game Phase: Initiation.” My stomach dropped. It said my name. “How the fuck does it know who I am?” I muttered, my voice trembling. Nova shrugged. “It knows everything. It pulled us all from different places, same way it pulled you. You die or think you die and then bam, you wake up here.”

The warm light disappears but I do not see my mates eyes open. “Kai?” “I am not sure if she’ll wake up,” he says as he chokes back a sob. “We need to get her to the pack hospital now,” says Alpha Nicolai as he scoops his mate in his arms. I take Kat in my arms as Kai makes a portal and we all head back to Winter’s Moon. When we reach the other side. Alpha Nicolai is barking orders at his medical team and they begin to attach machines and wires to their Luna and Kat. Alpha Nicolai insists Kai get examined as well. I can tell he used his Alpha command but it doesn’t seem to be working on Kai.