h4Chapter 170: The Punch./h4

    She met his gaze. His eyes held her still, not with force but with something deeper. There were no more words, only the silence between them and the storm of emotions swirling inside it.

    Then, without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. She poured everything into that kiss, every doubt, every fear, every need. He responded at once, opening to her as she held on like she had been waiting her whole life for this moment.

    His hands moved across her back, stroking her with care, as though she was the most delicate thing he had ever touched. She wanted to stay like that forever.

    Just when he was about to take off her shirt, his phone rang. It was the fourth time it had rung. Hiro sighed. It felt like the devil was working against him because if the phone kept ringing like that, it could only mean trouble.

    "Don’t please," Ang whispered as she pulled him closer. She kissed him again, holding him tight as if letting go would make him disappear.

    Hiro loved the way she clung to him, the way her hunger for him showed in every touch. The passion between them was so strong he did not even hear the knocking on the door at first.

    When he finally did, they broke from the kiss and took a deep breath. Ang ran her hand through her short hair, trying to smooth it down, her heart racing from the fire of what they shared, but now fear slipped in with the sound of that knock.

    It reminded her of what had happened in Renn’s ce when Kaito came to look for her, but tonight Kaito was not even in school. So who could it be?

    "Are you expecting someone?" she asked, her voice unsteady.

    "No. Kael is not even in school," Hiro replied as he picked up the towel on the bed. He wiped his forehead, sweat still clinging to his skin from their kiss. "I will check who it is."

    "Fine," Ang said quickly, grabbing her shirt from the floor where he had dropped it. She put it on in a rush before he opened the door.

    The moment the door swung open, her mouth dropped in shock. Her heart doubled its pace, not from the kiss she had shared with Hiro, but from the presence of Taros.

    He froze at the sight of her, shock in in his eyes. Taros opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He turned away and rubbed his forehead as though fighting to calm himself.

    Ang’s chest tightened. She knew she was in a deep mess. Thest thing she wanted was to be caught bonding with one of her mates while the other stood there, watching.

    It was not as if she wanted to hide the time she spent with Hiro from Taros, but she did not want him to get hurt because of the bond fate had thrown upon them. They were all her mates and she had already epted that truth, ready to walk this path with them no matter how hard it would be.

    The room grew heavy with silence. Ang squeezed her fingers together as her eyes moved from one face to another. She wanted to speak, to say something that would ease the tension, but before she could, Taros stepped forward andnded a punch straight at Hiro.

    "Hey, hey, stop this," de rushed in at once, trying to hold them back as Hiro prepared to strike.

    Ang’s breath caught in her throat. This was exactly what she had feared, even though she had told herself Taros would never lose control like this. But even the calmest of people reach their breaking point.

    "Please, don’t do this," she cried, stepping between them. Hiro’s eyes glowed with fury, his ws snapping out as anger surged through him. She had never seen him like this and fear wrapped itself around her heart.

    de had both arms on Taros, forcing him back, while Ang spread her hands wide between them, her body trembling but unwilling to let either of them get hurt.

    "He started it," Hiro roared, his voice sharp with rage. He had not struck back yet, and that only made him feel more furious. "I will not stop until I get him."

    "No, Hiro, you don’t have to," Ang begged, catching his hand in hers as she stepped closer. "de is holding Taros. Let me hold you. I want you calm. Please, listen to me."

    "He hit me in the face and you are telling me to calm down?" Hiro growled, his chest heaving. He pressed his hand to his cheek where the punch hadnded, his eyes burning with disbelief. "I won’t take this from him."

    "I know he hit you, Hiro. I saw it. But if you fight back, this will only get worse. Please, for me, don’t let it escte," she whispered, her voice breaking as her eyes locked on his. Her heart ached watching them sh like this when all she wanted was peace between them.

    "I didn’t even do anything, and you are lucky it was just a punch," Taros spat, his tone sharp and filled with disdain.

    Hiro grew even more furious, his hand curling into a fist, but Ang caught it before he could do anything. She held him tightly and begged, her voice soft yet trembling, "please don’t do this. Don’t fight back, let me talk to Taros. He will apologize for this."

    "What should I apologize for?" Taros growled through gritted teeth, his body still restrained by de. Ang knew that nothing could truly hold him back if he wanted to break free, and the same could be said for Hiro. Both of them had the strength to tear each other apart, yet they hadn’t, only because of her. They actually listened to her.

    "Taros, stop making things worse. Why would you hit him like that?" Ang turned to him, her voice heavy with pain. "You could have just spoken instead of letting anger take over. I understand you felt hurt and lost control when you saw me here, but fighting each other like wild animals solves nothing."

    "Yes, I lost control when I saw you," Taros admitted bitterly, his tone sharp with spite. "Renn has been trying to reach Hiro, but here he is, unbothered that his Beta is sick." His jaw clenched as his eyes flickered toward Hiro.

    He hated that he had acted recklessly, hated looking like a fool in front of her. Seeing Hiro shirtless, reeking of Ang’s scent, had pushed him past the edge, and the only thing he could do was strike him.

    "Kael?" Ang gasped in shock. Her eyes turned quickly to Hiro, reading the horror on his face. He looked stunned, but something in his expression told her he believed it. "Where is he?"

    "At the school hospital," Hailey’s voice cut through the tension as she stepped out from the shadows where she had been quietly watching everything unfold.

    "You should have said that from the start instead of being a fool," Hiro snapped at Taros, his anger spilling as he walked to his wardrobe and grabbed a shirt.

    "Maybe you should have picked up your call so I wouldn’t have had toe here and see this," Taros shot back, his voice dripping with bitterness.

    "Can you both stop it already?" Ang finally cried out, her own anger breaking through. She rubbed her neck as worry pressed heavy on her chest. Kael was sick. What happened to him? How had it gotten this far? A cold thought struck her heart. what if it was somehow because of her?