4
Chapter 4 Hatcher
“It was good talking to you,”Alek finally said as he backed away from me. Did he think that I was weird? Had I acted strangely because I got all caught up staring at the beautiful journalist? I wasn’t one for socializing at the best of times, and I hated trying to engage in small talk, but I didn’t want to end up being the weird guy. I was probably already being labeled that anyway because I wasn’t the normal Astro Games competitor. I wasn’t the hyper competitive man desperate to marry Azariyah. That wasn’t my aim at all, because I never planned to win. This was more of an adventure for me. Something new and different, a way to get me out of the university lab, and maybe even get me out of my shell.
“Uh, yeah, good to talk to you too.” I smiled, trying to bring myself back to a little bit of normality. “See you soon, okay?”
“You sure will.” He mock saluted me. “We’ll be out on the racetrack together soon enough, on those motorbikes.”
I nodded. That part I was actually looking forward to. The racing, the activities, the games. That would all be fun for me, even if I wouldn’t win. “Yeah, see you then.”
He headed further into the crowd, leaving me standing by myself on the edge of the room, not quite sure where to head. I’d been hoping to make my escape, but I suppose I was expected to hang around to at least to listen to the Bear King’s speech, so I better find something to do. Not talking though, I didn’t want to chat anymore. Not with any of the other guys. Alek was okay, but beyond that I didn’t think I could do it. So, I guess I was going to have to get a drink instead.
Only, the bar was in the opposite direction of the way I wanted to go. Because there was a magnetic pull dragging me back toward the utterly beautiful blonde I’d only just left behind. The journalist with a sparkle who captured a part of my heart without me expecting her to. I went to talk to Karly, the queen of TV, to try to control my interview in a way that made me feel comfortable, and I had come away from our conversation with an addiction to her. I just wanted to lay my eyes on her once more, to drink her in. So I did head to the bar, but I took the longer route that would let me see Karly. She was busy now, but I ached for those eyes to find me.
I had a feeling it was her eyes that called so deeply to me, that stirred up my inner bear. At first, I actually thought I was hallucinating, the effect on me was that powerful. Never had a woman knocked me off my feet like that. It was incredible. And the best part of it was I was pretty sure I spotted interest in her eyes as well. Since it wasn’t something I was used to, I didn’t know if I was making it up or it if was really there, but it felt nice to see it for a second. I knew that I would do anything to get a glimpse of that expression once more.
Just as I passed her, Karly seemed to sense my eyes upon her and she turned to look at me. Immediately, her expression broke out in a smile, which I couldn’t help but match. Karly’s personality was infectious, the perfect person for everyone to wake up to on their televisions in the morning. My heart skipped a beat as we locked eyes for a beat too long. There was no chance that I was hallucinating this time around, there was definite interest there. She was feeling me just as much as I was her. That was wild…
My whole body ached to go off course and to head over to Karly, to forget social norms, and the bar as well. I wasn’t even interested in having a drink, I would have much preferred to talk to her. But she was busy. She had her news team around her and she was trying to prepare for recording the Bear King’s speech. I was going to have to wait as patiently as I could manage to try to talk to her at another time.
I broke the eye contact. It killed me to do so, but I did it anyway because I was certain it was the right thing to do for now, and I eventually made my way to the bar. There I ordered a beer and leaned back on the bar to take a look around at everything that was going on. I was overstimulated, and I needed to just take it all in. Although truth be told, there was only one person I could really think of through all of this. Karly, of course. I couldn’t forget about Karly and the way that she made me feel. I’d never felt like this about anyone before. Sure, I’d dated in the past, but no girlfriends gave me this rush, none of them garnered my interest long enough to drag me away from my work, so it always just fizzled out.
Not with Karly though. She knocked me off my feet in the best way possible. I loved it, I couldn’t get enough. Even as I pressed my glass to my lips and I took a swig of my drink, I was smiling. The anticipation of what was to come next damn near overwhelmed me. I could only imagine what a morning run would be like. As safe as I would feel with her, it was definitely going to be intriguing to put my life in her hands. My heart would be pounding, and not because of the exercise. Because of her.
A weird hush suddenly fell over the room. Surely it couldn’t be the Bear King here already. He hadn’t even been announced yet. So who the hell was it? My eyes darted vigorously around the room because I absolutely needed to locate the source of this silence. Fuck. But when I found the source, I wished I didn’t know. I wished I’d just kept my eyes focused on the glass of beer in front of me.
Drew was always going to garner this sort of attention apparently. Not only because he was in first place in the rankings at the moment, but because he was a high-ranking member of the controversial Unaligned clan. No wonder the whole room was on high alert. My bear was on high alert as well now that I knew what was going on. Shit, Drew was going to kick up a fucking storm this year, especially if he won. Not that anyone wanted to think about the possibility of that happening.
“Oh my God.” I wasn’t the only person murmuring under my breath when it turned out that Drew wasn’t alone. Not only was he not alone, he was with a guy who definitely wasn’t supposed to be here. Sly, alpha of the Unaligned clan. The only people who were supposed to be here were the ones taking part in the Astro Games, the participants. This was a chance for the players to relax and get to know one another before the motorbike racing began. Two rounds of racing within a week was going to be heavy, so this was some downtime before we got into it. Sly definitely wasn’t included in the invitees to this place, yet he was here anyway, creating a dark storm cloud above everyone’s heads. Especially when his rough guy vibe just screamed “anarchist.” This was definitely going to rub people the wrong way.
I sucked in and held a breath while Sly and Drew crossed the room, leaving a hurricane of panic behind them. The air might as well have been sucked from the room completely for all the good it was doing anyone. I had a horrible feeling that something bad was about to happen, and I wasn’t ready for it. Maybe I should have just been rude and made my escape when I had the chance to do so. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. I mean, what would I even do if shit hit the fan? It wasn’t like I was going to fight. I came here for an adventure, not violence, but from what rumours suggested, the Unaligned clan lived for that. Fighting, yelling, chaos…that was all they loved. That was why they wanted to topple the zodiac system completely, against the wishes of everyone else.
But they wouldn’t…would they? Just because they had swagger as they seemed to be coming toward the bar, and me, didn’t mean they were actually going to do this. They couldn’t. Everyone at the University of Sagittarius was content with the idea that the system couldn’t be toppled. I didn’t think anyone there was particularly worried about the Unaligned clan plan. But seeing two of them up close and in person, I could tell they were a genuine threat.
Move, my brain screamed at me, because the last thing I wanted was to be at the bar at the same time as them. I didn’t want anyone’s attention, least of all Drew and Sly’s. Unfortunately, though, my body had absolutely no intention of following that command. It was almost as if I had been encased in ice. I needed some heat to release me so I could run like the wind, but I was trapped in this living hell. They were going to kill me, weren’t they? Just because they could and because the Unaligned clan didn’t care about following the rules.
Luckily, by some miracle, Drew and Sly didn’t come my way. In the end, they headed straight for the position they needed to be in when King Bear made his speech, right underneath the flag of the Unaligned Clan. They weren’t going to have a drink and a laugh; they didn’t want to chat and make pleasantries with anyone. Even more so than me. At least I was making an effort. This was the Unaligned clan making a statement. This was them letting everyone know under no uncertain circumstances that they were playing to win. To destroy.
The atmosphere was gone in a heartbeat, the party feeling out the window. Everything had become strained and complicated. I didn’t know what to do myself, and it seemed like I wasn’t the only one. Even the hyper confident Gemini, Alek, had fallen into something of a strained silence. I couldn’t help but notice that while he wasn’t directly looking at the new attendees, he was watching them from the corner of his eye. Was he the most irritated bear in the room? Who the hell knew, it was coming from everywhere.
A strange clacking sound echoed through the quiet room. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Karly, with her shiny blonde hair and her figure-hugging dress, was crossing the room in the same direction Drew and Sly had just gone. There wasn’t a falter in her step, there wasn’t a scrap of hesitation within her. She seemed so freaking confident it was insane. How could she not feel any fear as she walked head first into the lion’s den? As she headed straight for danger?
She’s a journalist, I reminded myself. And she needs to talk to everyone while she is here. This makes sense.
But then this didn’t appear to be just journalistic intrigue. I could see it in Karly’s flaming eyes, she was angry as well. She was irritated by the intrusion from Sly, who didn’t belong here, but instead of being afraid, she looked like she could take on the freaking world. My loins stirred for her, and I wanted her even more now. I could hardly contain myself. Need itched within me. It hurt that I had to keep myself away from her. All I wanted to do was hold her and protect her, but Karly did not need protecting by me. She didn’t need anyone, and that was hot as hell. Although I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only person in the room all fired up about her now. The room had become like a pressure cooker, and it could explode at any given moment. All we could do was wait.