Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(80)

the rim of his water bottle as he takes a sip, and I widen my eyes in fake surprise at his words.

“Who, me? I would never,” I reply quickly, placing a hand over my heart, and Khaos scoffs,

dismissing my bullshit instantly.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Zen retorts with an eye roll as his pasta dish appears in front of him on

the table, and he digs in while still offering me a pointed stare. “Obviously they both seem very

protective of one another at the moment, so we need to be careful of every situation that could

possibly trigger that reaction, and no more crap from you, will help.” He continues to look at me, all

while I continue to feign innocence.

I know what he’s saying without spelling it out, I do, but what pisses me off the most is the fact

that I can’t argue with him, or worse, I don’t want to. Because he’s right.

Rhea Harrington is a hot mess. One I was more than happy to stick my dick in way back when she

first arrived, but everything changed quickly, and I knew it was safer, I was safer, to keep her at arm's

length. Not that I would compare the situation to Selene. If anything, it was on the complete opposite

scale. Rhea isn’t needy or desperate for my attention, which only drew my body closer to her without

conscious thought.

After today, and what she did for my brother, I am almost in awe of her. She didn’t have to do

what she did, sealed soul or not, and I feel myself consumed with an overwhelming need to repay her.

I don’t mention this to Zen or Khaos, instead I simply shrug. “Whatever you say.”

Neither of them respond as Khaos’ burger appears at the same time as my steak and potato. The

conversation pauses for a moment so we can eat, just as I catch sight of Xander entering the dining

hall.

He’s not with Rhea, which both pleases and concerns me, but I push it all to the back of my mind

as he wordlessly drops down into the seat beside me, leaving a space between us. It’s our usual

practice when we don’t want anyone to join us unexpectedly. No one wants to take the seat between

Xander and me, it’s far too intimidating for most to handle, which is just how we like it.

Murmurs seem to pick up from the table beside us after Xander sits down. Selene and her friends

clearly have something to say among themselves, but I don’t even glance in their direction, not willing

to offer them unnecessary attention because it’ll only open up a can of worms.

Xander places his food order before he sighs, glancing around the table at the three of us with a

shrug as he offers a tight smile. At least his eyes are their usual color now. Not even a fleck of amber

in sight. I release a small, thankful breath that he was able to calm down.

“How bad is it?” he finally asks, a slight frown marring his forehead as he braces his elbows on

the table waiting for the bad news, and Zen quickly shakes his head.

“Not as bad as you think. Adonis and Hector’s fight on the other hand? On the tip of everyone’s

tongue with minimal mention of yours and Rhea’s situation,” he states, trying to relax Xander

immediately as I smile wide at my brother.

“You’re welcome,” I add, before taking another bite of my food, and even Khaos shakes his head

at me, trying to hide the smile teasing his lips.

Xander offers me a knowing grin as he flips me the bird. “You’ve wanted a good excuse to beat

the fuck out of him for ages. You should be thanking me,” he says with a raised eyebrow, and I smile

wider, unable to argue with that. The man isn’t wrong. Clearing his throat, he glances around the

room, and I immediately know what he’s looking for, or more specifically, who, but Khaos speaks

before I get a chance.

“Sorry. She hasn’t made an appearance, not since she ran from Combat like I told her to, but I was

kind of expecting her to be with you,” he states, saying what we were all clearly thinking, but the way

Xander shakes his head tells me we were far from being right.

“No. I chased after her, and she soothed my fucking wolf enough to stop me from growling, my

anger diffusing almost immediately, but by the time we reached Agion, her eyes were still red. I

almost… nevermind. Then we got to my door, but before I could even open it, Harmonia appeared

through the portal and the pair of them ran off to do damage control on her eyes.”

I just stare at him, confused with every word that falls from his mouth as I try to keep up, nodding

along like I have a fucking clue. My brain scrambles to ask a question or two to make sense of it all

when a flash of brunette catches my attention as they enter the hall, and everything else falls away

except the sight of her.

I’m not sure if the others see her too, but the silence that descends over the table tells me they

have. The four of us watching every move Rhea makes as she walks through the tables with Harmonia

at her side. She’s hypnotizing.

Her eyes are no longer red, her blue pools of sapphire glistening before us as she tucks a loose

tendril of hair behind her ear. It’s clear she’s beelining for their usual table in the far corner, where