Chapter 7

~Felix pov~

"SOREN!"

Felix's voice pierces the night, and I snap my head away from Kai—who I don’t even know and just bumped into—to find Felix blocking the door of the apartment.

He looks like he's about to kill somebody.

His eyes fix on Kai, and the temperature drops. Gets heavier. Dangerous.

Kai rises from his motorcycle, his whole demeanour changes, he looks so different from the guy who was just slouching on his bike. The easy smile disappears. His jaw tightens.

They stare at each other.

I look back toward the apartment building. The windows are filling up with people, now watching. Waiting. As if they’re waiting for a fight.

"Soren!" Indie's voice. She's pushing open the front door, Jazz nipping at her heels. "Let's go. Now." Indie grabs my arm, already dragging me toward the street.

I look back once.

Felix and Kai are still locked in that stare-off. Felix's hands are clenched into fists. There’s nothing readable in Kai’s expression, but there’s something dangerous in the very way he’s standing. Coiled and ready.

"Do you know that guy?" I whisper as we speed-walk away.

"Yes, of course. His name is Kai, second hottest guy in school, sweet bad boy aura and his smile can make you melt."

I roll my eyes.

“Uh, Felix looks like he’s gonna rip his head off,” I mutter.

“He is Felix's cousin and sworn enemy.” Jazz continues.

"Come on. My car is this way."

Indie, Jasmine and I all rush into Indie's old Honda, and she’s speeding away as if she’s being chased by the cops.

“So.” Jazz swivels around in the passenger seat, who is looking at me with wide eyes. “We’re going to have to talk about what went down in there.”

“No, we don’t.”

“You kissed Felix Dimitri.”

“It was a dare.”

“That was NOT a dare kiss,” Indie says with her eyes on the road but a smile on her face. “That was a ‘This is the first chance I’m ever going to get to do this’ kiss.”

My face is burning. "Can we not—"

"He switched seats," Jazz interrupts. "He literally made Marcus move so he could be the one you kissed. Do you have any idea how bonkers that is?”

"I was there, Jazz."

“And then you ran. Very smooth, by the way.”

“I panicked!”

“Clearly.” Indie sweeps a glance in my direction in the rearview. “But really, what’s going on with you two?”

Nothing. Everything. I don’t even know anymore.

“It’s complicated,” I say finally.

“Complicated how?”

“Just... complicated.”

They trade looks but thankfully drop it.

Indie turns up at the mansion after twenty minutes. The windows are dark except for a couple of outdoor lights. Both vehicles are no longer in the driveway.

"Parents out?" Indie asks.

"Looks like it."

“You going to be okay?”

I nod. “Yeah. Thanks for the ride.”

"Text us if you need anything,” Jazz says. “Or if your hot stepbrother does anything weird.”

“He’s not—” I stop myself. “Goodnight.”

I get out before they can ask more questions.

The house is quiet when I walk in. It's empty. It’s just me and about five thousand square feet of high-priced nothingness.

Perfect.

I head straight to my room and lock the door before collapsing on my bed.

What the hell just happened tonight?

The kiss.

Oh God.

I press my fingers to my lips, and I can still feel it. The way his hand cupped the back of my head. The way his mouth moved against mine like he was starving. The way the mate bond exploded between us like fireworks.

I kissed Felix.

In front of fifty people.

And he kissed me back like—

Stop. Stop thinking about it.

But I can't.

I can’t stop remembering the way he tasted. The way his other hand gripped my waist, pulling me closer. How everyone went quiet because the kiss was that so intense, it took all the air out of the room.

Monday is going to be a nightmare.

Eastmoore kids were all over it. Or you’ve heard about it by now. It’ll be all over campus by tomorrow.

“Soren kissed the Alpha’s son in truth or dare.”

Except it didn’t seem like a dare.

It seemed real. 

I need a shower. 

I strip and run my hands under the hot water for far too long, attempting to scrub the night away. The party. The kiss. How Kai looked at me. The way Felix looked at Kai.

But it doesn’t work.

I’m thinking about it when I get out.

About him.

I dry off, throw on a t-shirt and some shorts and go back to bed. My hair is still wet, dripping on to my pillow, but I don’t care.

I close my eyes.

And then I’m there, right now.

His hands in my hair.

His mouth on mine.

The way his body felt pressed against me, solid and warm and— 

My eyes snap open. 

Stop.

But my brain doesn’t listen.

I picture his hands sliding down from my hair. Over my shoulders. Along my sides. Clutching my waist as they did in the kiss, only tighter. Possessive. I imagine him pushing me against a wall. His mouth on my neck. While I’m tangling my fingers in his hair and he —

Heat pools low in my stomach.

This is bad.

This is very bad."

I shouldn't be thinking about him like this. He’s my stepbrother. He’s infuriating. He thinks omegas are lower than him.

My body doesn't care about logic.

I twist in bed, pressing my thighs together, and hear his voice in my ear. Low. Rough.

"Siren."

The way he says it. Like a promise. Like a threat.

I picture his hands all over me. Touching. Claiming. Letting me forget every single reason this is so terribly wrong.

I'm getting wet just from the thought of that.

Damn it.

I grab my phone and try to get my mind off of things. Scroll through Instagram. TikTok. Things enough to stop my brain from casting that kiss over and over.

It doesn't help.

I chuck my phone away and look up.

This is torture.

How can I be expected to live in the same house with him, go to the same school with him, act like nothing happened when all I want to do is....

A knock at my door.

I freeze.

"Soren?"

Felix's voice.

My heart jumps into my throat. I swing my legs around and pull the blanket up around me even though I’m already dressed.

"What?" I call, trying to sound normal. Not like I was just inventing fantasies about kissing him two seconds ago.

"I need to talk to you."

"It's late. "

"I know. Open the door."

"No."

Silence.

Then: "Please."

That one word—please—does something to me.

I shouldn't open the door. I should tell him to go away.

I’m getting up, unlocking the door and pulling it open.

Felix stands there in black jeans and a t-shirt, his hair a bit disheveled. His eyes are that in-between color—blue with flecks of gold.

He looks unfairly hot.

"What do you want?" I say coolly.

His eyes glance down to my legs—bare except for my sleep shorts—then back up to meet my gaze. His jaw tightened.

"I came to give you something."

"At midnight?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"What is it?"

He pulls something out of his back pocket.

My poetry notebook.

My stomach drops.

"You—" I reach for it, but he holds it just out of reach. “That’s mine. Where did you get it?”

“You left it. In the garage. During the tour.”

"Give it back."My voice comes out strangled as I speak.

"I read it," he says quietly.

My face goes hot. Then cold. Then hot again.

"You what?"

"I’ve read your poetry, Soren."

I want to die. Sink into the floor and cease to exist.

Those poems are private. Personal. Some of them are about things I've never told anyone. About what I yearn for. About feeling invisible. About craving someone I shouldn’t want.

About him."You had no right—"

"I know." He holds out his notebook. "That's why I am bringing it back."

I snatch it out of his hand, holding it to my chest like a shield.

"Leave now."

"Soren—"

“I told you to get out.”

He doesn't move. Just stands there, looking at me with an expression I can't read.

"My apologies." he says finally.

“For what? For reading my diary? For going through my private property? For kissing me in public and dumping your emotional instability on me?"

"All of it." His voice is ragged. Raw. "Sorry for all of it."

I'm not sure what to say to that.

He backs off. “Goodnight, Siren.”

He turns to walk away.

I look down at the notebook in my hands.

And that’s when I see it.

A sheet of paper protruding from the pages.

“Wait.” My voice arrests him. “What’s this?”

He doesn't turn his head. "Turn to page 37".