KAISER
He didn't look like a guy who had just been napping. His silver hair was messy, and those purple eyes were dark, tracking me like I was a bug he was deciding whether or not to squash.
The air around him felt thick, heavy with that Alpha scent that always made my lungs feel tight.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. His voice wasn't loud, but it had a jagged edge to it that made my skin crawl.
"I dropped my pen," I said, holding it up. I kept my voice flat, trying not to give him anything to bite onto. "I was just about to leave."
Luke didn't move. He stepped closer, forcing me back a step. "I thought I told everyone to piss off. You think the rules don't apply to a ghost?"
"No," I said. "I'm sorry I disturbed your nap."
I turned to go, but as I moved, a breeze caught the air. For a split second, the heavy Alpha musk cleared, and I smelled it again.
That Omega scent. It was sweet, like lilies, but it was sharp... almost frantic.
I glanced past Luke toward the corner of the facility where he'd been hiding.
The space was empty. No girls, no Omegas, just concrete and shadows.
My brain snagged on it for a second. If there was no Omega there, then where—
"What are you looking at?" Luke snapped. He moved fast, grabbing the front of my shirt and yanking me forward until we were inches apart.
His face was twisted into something scary, a raw kind of aggression that felt different than before. "I said get lost."
He shoved me back hard. I stumbled, my heels catching on the gravel, but I didn't fall. I didn't look back either.
I just turned and walked away as fast as I could without running. I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck the whole way.
The walk home felt longer than usual.
Kingston Academy was tucked away in a district where the grass was too green and the gates were too high. I lived in an estate that felt more like a fortress.
The black iron gates of the Kairo family estate swung open as I approached. The guards didn't say hello; they just watched me pass like I was a delivery guy who had stayed too long.
The driveway was lined with perfect trees and cars that cost more than most people made in a decade.
As I reached the front yard, a heavy Jeep pulled up, tires crunching over the white gravel. The door swung open and my half-brother Kade stepped out.
Kade was two years older than me, a third-year Alpha who looked exactly like the son our father wanted.
He was tall, built like an athlete, and carried himself like the world was a gift he'd already unwrapped. He spotted me immediately.
"Look at you," Kade called out, his voice full of easy, casual cruelty. "You look like a drowned rat, Kaiser. Did you finally decide to crawl into a sewer where you belong?"
I didn't answer. I just kept walking toward the massive front doors.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, defect," Kade barked, catching up to me in three long strides. He looked at my matted hair, the smell that still clung to my skin, and the dirt on my face.
"God, you're embarrassing. If the old man sees you like this, he's going to lose it. Try not to breathe near the guests, okay? You smell like a trash fire."
We entered the house together. The foyer was huge, all white marble and gold trim.
From the entrance, I could see into the main living room. My father, Kenneth Kairo, was sitting there, glass of whiskey in hand, entertaining three other men in expensive suits.
The sound of their forced, booming laughter filled the hall.
I tried to slip toward the stairs, but my father's eyes shifted. He saw me first. The laughter didn't die, but his face hardened, his lip curling in a tiny flick of disdain.
It was the look you gave a leaking pipe... annoying, messy, and something he'd rather just replace.
Then he saw Kade behind me.
"Kade!" my father called out, his voice instantly turning warm and proud. "Son, come here. You're just in time."
Kade flashed a brilliant, golden-boy smile. "Yes, father."
"Gentlemen, this is my eldest," Kenneth said, gesturing for Kade to join them. "Top of his class, already scouting for the national teams. A true Alpha, through and through."
Kade started to walk toward them, but as he passed me, he didn't move aside. He slammed his shoulder into mine with everything he had.
I wasn't expecting it. I stumbled, my sneakers sliding on the slick marble, and I almost went down. Kade didn't even look back. He just kept walking, laughing as he shook hands with the guests.
One of the men, a guy with graying hair, glanced over at me as I tried to regain my balance. "And the other one, Ken? Is that your youngest?"
There was a silence that lasted a heartbeat too long. My father didn't even look at me. He just took a sip of his drink.
"That one's not important," Ken said flatly. "Just a late bloomer. Don't mind him."
The men went back to their drinks. I didn't wait to hear the rest. I climbed the stairs, my legs feeling like lead.
When I finally reached my room, I shut the door and locked it. I didn't turn on the lights. I just collapsed onto the bed, face-down.
The pain started to really set in then. My ribs throbbed where Miller had kicked me. My face felt raw and stung where Sarah had ground her heel into my skin.
But the worst was the burn on my thigh. It was a deep, pulsing ache that felt like it was eating into the bone.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
Maybe this was just how it was supposed to be. The system worked for everyone else because they were something.
I was nothing. A Null. A defect. It made sense that the world treated me like garbage; you don't put a broken tool on a pedestal. You throw it in the dirt. I didn't feel like crying. I just felt empty. Exhausted.
I was hungry, but the thought of going back downstairs and risking another look from my father made my stomach turn.
I crawled off the bed and sat at my desk. I hit the power button on my computer, the blue light hummed to life, washing over the dark room.
I put on my headset and logged into the game. In here, I wasn't a Null. I wasn't a ghost.
I was just a player with a sword and a mission. I didn't have to worry about scents or hierarchies or the fact that my own father and brother hated the sight of me.
I started playing, my fingers moving over the keys by memory, trying to drown out the stinging in my leg and the sound of my father's voice echoing in my head.
In the dark, with only the screen for company, I could almost pretend I didn't exist at all.