Chapter 8 – The Forced Pack
The news cycle lasted exactly thirty-six hours.
By the third morning after the gala, the entire campus had crowned me "the Omega who tamed Valdemar."
I hated it.
Not because it was wrong (it was deliciously right), but because it meant people now thought they had permission to approach me.
They were wrong.
I was crossing the central bridge at 7:52 a.m., Kael half a step behind me as usual, when the ambush happened.
Five students stepped into our path like they had rehearsed it.
Front and center: Leander, smiling like sunrise.
Flanking him:
- Soren Valdemar (Kael's younger half-brother, Apex, red choker, permanently bored expression).
- Juliette de Rohan (Prime Alpha, women's fencing champion, silver hair in a braid sharp enough to cut).
- Matteo Hwang (Prime Alpha, heir to the Korean semiconductor empire, always wearing noise-canceling headphones around his neck).
- Elio Castelletti (Prime Alpha, Italian, future pope of fashion, currently live-streaming to 4.8 million followers with one hand).
They formed a perfect half-moon, blocking the bridge.
Leander spoke first, arms wide.
"Official intervention," he announced. "Kael has been kidnapped by a ghost prince. We're here to stage a rescue."
Kael didn't even slow down. "Move."
Soren yawned. "Can't. Mom called. Said if I let you become a recluse who only talks to one person, she'll cut my inheritance to the price of a sandwich."
Juliette flicked her braid over her shoulder. "I lost a bet that you'd stay emotionally unavailable until graduation. I owe Matteo a private island now. I'm salty."
Matteo pulled one headphone down. "I just want to see the Omega who made Kael carry books. Historical moment."
Elio was already zooming his phone in on my face. "The people demand content. Smile, angel."
I stopped walking.
Kael stopped immediately behind me, hand settling on my lower back like a shield.
I looked at the five of them (all taller, all stronger, all radiating the casual arrogance of people who had never been told no in their lives) and felt something cold coil in my stomach.
I did not like people.
I did not want friends.
I wanted Kael and silence and the locked rooms where I could watch him breathe without witnesses.
But I was still wearing the mask.
So I let my shoulders shrink, clutched my satchel to my chest, and gave them the softest, most breakable smile I had.
"Hello," I said quietly. "I'm Rui."
Five pairs of predator eyes blinked.
Leander recovered first. "Shit, you're actually adorable. Kael, you bastard, how is this fair?"
Kael's grip on my waist tightened. "Walk away."
Juliette ignored him completely and stepped forward, crouching a little so we were eye-level.
"I'm Juliette," she said, French accent soft. "If he ever hurts you, I will cut his throat and make it look like an accident. Okay?"
I nodded solemnly. "Okay."
Matteo snorted. "She's not kidding. She did it to her last ex."
Soren studied me with lazy interest. "You're smaller than the photos. Do you eat?"
"Sometimes," I said.
Elio reached out to touch my hair.
Kael caught his wrist so fast the phone clattered to the ground.
"Don't," Kael said. One word. Death threat in formal wear.
Elio raised both hands, grinning. "Possessive. Iconic. The chat is losing their minds."
Leander clapped his hands. "Right. Decision made. You're adopted. Pack rules: Sunday brunch at the rooftop greenhouse, no excuses. If Kael tries to hide you, we riot."
I looked up at Kael.
His jaw was granite.
I let my voice waver. "Do I… have to?"
Five voices answered at once.
"Yes."
"Obviously."
"Attendance is mandatory."
"I already made the reservation."
"I'm live-streaming your refusal and it will trend for weeks."
Kael looked like he was calculating how many bodies he could hide before breakfast.
I touched his arm (light, soothing).
"It's okay," I said softly. "I'll come. If you're there."
The fight went out of him like someone had pulled a plug.
He exhaled through his nose. "Fine."
Leander beamed. "Excellent. Sunday, 11 a.m. Wear something pretty. The drones love pastels."
They left as quickly as they'd arrived, laughing and arguing about who got to sit next to me.
The second they were gone, I sagged against Kael's side.
He caught me instantly.
"You didn't have to agree," he muttered.
I buried my face in his coat. "They're your family."
"They're a natural disaster with trust funds."
I smiled against his chest. "I can survive one brunch."
He tipped my chin up, searching my face.
"You hate people," he said (not a question).
I let the mask slip for one second (just for him).
"Yes," I whispered. "But I'll tolerate anyone if it keeps you from being lonely."
His eyes darkened.
He kissed me right there on the bridge, slow and filthy and possessive, until a passing professor dropped his briefcase.
When he pulled back, his voice was rough.
"Sunday," he said. "You sit on my lap the entire time. No negotiations."
I smiled, sweet and poisonous.
"Whatever you want, senpai."
(That Sunday)
The rooftop greenhouse looked like Versailles had thrown up orchids and gold.
The table was set for seven. Ice sculptures, floating candles, a string quartet made up entirely of Betas so no one's pheromones would clash.
I arrived wearing pale lavender cashmere and a rose-gold choker that now had a tiny bite-shaped bruise peeking above it (Kael's masterpiece from Friday night).
The pack greeted me like I was a new pet.
Juliette pulled out my chair.
Matteo offered me noise-canceling headphones "in case we get too loud."
Soren slid an entire plate of strawberry macarons in front of me without comment.
Elio filmed everything.
Leander stole the seat on my left and immediately started feeding me bites of passionfruit mousse.
Kael sat on my right and spent the entire brunch glaring at everyone who breathed in my direction.
Halfway through, Leander leaned over and whispered, "He used to skip these for years. Said family was a waste of oxygen. Look at him now."
I looked.
Kael was cutting my crepe into perfect bite-sized pieces, one arm around my waist, red choker glowing against his throat like a warning light.
He caught me watching and paused.
"What?" he asked, low.
"Nothing," I said, and kissed the corner of his mouth.
The table went silent.
Elio's phone slipped into his mimosa.
Juliette whispered, "I owe Matteo two islands now."
Soren actually smiled (a real one).
Leander raised his glass. "To Rui. For domesticating the undomesticatable."
Kael's grip on my waist tightened.
I smiled at all of them (soft, shy, perfect).
Inside, I was counting heartbeats until I could drag Kael back to the Eclipse Penthouse and remind him that the only pack I acknowledged had one member, and he was currently letting me sit on his lap while the rest of the world watched.
But for now, I played along.
I laughed at their stories.
I let Juliette braid a tiny section of my hair.
I let Matteo queue a playlist on my phone.
I let Soren steal one of my macarons and pretended not to notice when he slipped it into Kael's mouth instead.
And every time one of them reached for me, Kael intercepted (hand, wrist, waist), until it became a silent game: how close could they get before the king snarled.
By the end of brunch, the entire campus had new footage: Kael Valdemar feeding the ghost prince by hand while five of the most dangerous Alphas on the continent watched in open awe.
Later, when we were finally alone in the elevator, I turned to him and said:
"You have terrible friends."
He pressed me against the wall and kissed the breath out of me.
"You're stuck with them now," he muttered against my lips.
I smiled.
"No," I whispered. "You're stuck with me."
The elevator opened on the Eclipse floor.
He carried me out over his shoulder like a conquest.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, the monster purred:
Let them try to share you.
Let them try to take even a single inch.
I would burn their world down with a smile.
And Kael would hand me the match.