Their Hidden Princess Novel

---- Chapter 137 Kairos The black out as Zora pressed into his carotid artery and cut the blood to his brain was the most peace Kairos felt during the fight. The fight hard started off fine. Zora had gone out then he had. The rush of the crowd cheering his name fueled the excitement within him. He'd never tell anybody, but he was slightly nervous at the beginning. Between his persistent, annoying thoughts about Zora and the fact that she'd been training with both Maximus and the Headmaster, Kairos had a pit in his stomach.

It didn't help that when he walked out, he saw her standing there looking like that. Clearly, the additional training had helped her. Her legs were not only toned, but vibrating with muscle. In the thin strip of skin between her shirt and leggings, he could see the indents of her abdominal muscles. She looked like a true Alpha up there, chin tipped high. Then, there was her stupid fucking hair. Part of Kairos thought maybe someone had told her how her curls drove him wild. He quickly realized he'd never vocalized that to anyone and it was mere coincidence.

He still wanted to curse her to high heavens ---- when he saw that she'd left her curls out. He swore, as he got up to the mat, he could smell her on the other side of Petyr. All of that aside, he started the fight well. It felt similarly to how their first fight started. Zora was quick to block but wasn't fast enough to counter every attack. The third time his fist collided with her cheek, it broke skin, sending blood pooling down her pale face and into the collar of her shirt. The sight made his stomach turn over. What the fuck is wrong with me? He thought to himself.

He shook the disgust out of his head and tried to sail another punch into her. He caught her twice in the ribs but the third one, she flinched out of his reach. He was so shocked with how fast she moved, he didn't have time to adjust as her elbow came down to his ribs hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He stuttered as he tried to regain his composure. Luckily for him, Zora gave him a second to reset. He blinked to try and will his pain to subside. He rolled his shoulder once, then he heard it. There it was, in the background.

A gentle hum that he wouldn't have picked up on unless he was looking for it. Asking for it. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, His eyes as he turned back to face Zora. The sound increased and his heart seemed to swell eight sizes, threatening to burst out of his chest. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't get ---- anything out. Then, she charged He blocked jab after punch after cross. The punches were strong, though not enough to take him off guard if he wasn't as disoriented as he was.

It didn't help that each time her hands touched him, it felt like she was shocking him from his head down to his toes. All his could do was shove her away. When she roared at him then came flying at him with her claws, he swatted her away as if she was a fly. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her. But she would surely hurt him. She swiped his feet out from under him and wrapped his arms around his head. His entire body felt like it was on fire. The electricity coursing through him was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. An innate desire to not hurt Zora.

Not even when her arms wrapped tight enough that he felt his breath slipping away slowly. So when he finally succumbed to her hold, he felt peace for the first time since he'd gotten into the gym. It was suddenly ruined as he jolted back awake to a hoarse throat and the same confusion he'd had before he passed out. It took him a second to figure out that he was in the infirmary. The ---- shrill beeping off the machine hooked into him was making his throbbing head worse. He grunted as he sat up, ripping the machine from his arm. It buzzed wildly as he stumbled out of the bed.

He discarded the nonsensical robe they'd put him in before shifting and bolting into the hallway as a nurse decided to come check on him. She gasped but made no effort to stop the auburn wolf as it ran down the hall to the exit. He burst into the night and made his way back to his house. The entire time, his mind was running itself haggard. There was no fucking way in hell that Zora Smith was his fated mate. Firstly, she was unlike him in every way possible. She was soft, not hardened from years of grueling training.

She was wise and kind which were two things that Kairos did not think of himself. She was pure and powerful and all things that just screamed " good." Kairos had just broken out of the infirmary and was about two seconds away from shredding the nearest classmate to a pulp. Second, she was Thorne's fated mate. Wolves weren't supposed to get a second mate while their other fated mate was still alive. Maybe it was different because Thorne was the one that Zora had rejected? Kairos didn't pay enough attention in class to know. But he knew a wolf was not supposed to have two.

---- Which brought him to point three: Zora Smith was already sleeping with Maximus Wolfham. The thought made him snarl mid sprint, causing the student walking by him to flinch away with a yelp. It didn't change that fact that Zora was still fucking someone else. Someone else who'd been very vocal about the fact that she was his fated mate. If point two made any sense then his interactions tonight with Zora made no sense. His head thudded harder as he skidded to a stop in front of his house.

He shifted back, unphased by his nudity as he knew the rest of campus was probably asleep at that point. He pushed the door of his house in and walked up to his room. He slammed the door shut, probably waking his roommates but at that point, he didn't give a fuck. His head felt like it'd melted and the only thing he could focus on was fucking Zora Smith. Specifically, the cut on her cheek that he had put there. He'd hurt her before that. Physically and emotionally. If she was truly his fated mate, he didn't know if he'd ever get to consummate the bond. Zora loathed him and for good reason.

He didn't know if he could apologize. If it would mean anything in the grand scheme of their relationship. He threw himself into his bed and pressed his hand against his forehead. The headache was finally subsiding but the rest of ---- him ached. Not in a way where he'd worked out to hard or over exerted himself but in a wanting kind of way. He wanted his fated mate. He wanted fucking Zora Smith. That night, Kairos stayed up all night. He worked through every possible scenario as he tried to figure how he'd win her back.

He may not end up with her, but he'd be remised if he didn't at least try.