CHAPTER 90: THE TRUTH HURTS.

Kaito shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the photo in his hands. This was going to be another shock of his life. Angel had been in disguise all this time? How the fuck was that even possible? He didn’t want to believe it, didn’t want to think about it, but it was too late. It had already happened, and he was part of it.

The boy... no, the girl, had always acted strange, but he never imagined this would be the truth behind her. He had done everything to protect this person, tried to be there for her, yet all along he had been nursing a snake.

"I can explain," Renn began, but his voice was unsure. He didn’t even know what to say to keep his brother from completely snapping. He could already see the pain in Kaito’s eyes. "I’m sure Angel didn’t want you to—"

"Wait..." Kaito closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. This shit was getting too messy, too fast. He opened his eyes again, his voice tight with anger. "Did you know about this? Were you aware of this lie?" He raised the photo in his hand, and Renn nodded silently. That was enough. Kaito didn’t want to hear another word.

"You kept it from me. I thought we were brothers. Something like this... this should’ve been told to me."

Renn saw his brother’s eyes turning red. He didn’t want to argue, not now, not here. They were standing in the enemy’s damn room. Kaito was hurt, but him? He felt disappointed too. Still, his brain knew they were running out of time.

"Can we not do this here?" Renn said quietly.

Kaito rubbed his forehead with his damp palm. His chest tightened, and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He never thought he’d feel this hurt again. His voice was laced with sarcasm now. "Let’s not do this here. Nice suggestion. Then help me snap the papers on the floor."

"Sure..." Renn replied, unsure of the shift in his tone but still going along with it. He squatted down, picked up the scattered documents, and began taking pictures of them one by one. He took photos of Angela too—the ones lying on the ground like discarded memories. When he was done, he asked, "Are we going to put them back?"

"Don’t ask me anything," Kaito snapped, a deep frown carved into his face. He stood, holding the flashlight, keeping it steady for Renn. But from time to time, he couldn’t stop staring at Angel’s photo in his hand.

How fucking stupid of him to care. He tried so hard to protect her, to trust her, and all she did was lie.

He wondered how many more lies she had told him.

"Sorry," Renn apologized, leaving the papers on the floor. He didn’t know what else to say. Maybe trying to make Kaito understand would help, but then again, he gave it a second thought. The relationship between Kaito and Angela was much deeper and more personal than the one he had with her when he found out the truth about who she really was.

Kaito had been the one who let her into the academy by approving her admission, even when she didn’t have the usual background. He let her into his personal space... something he never did for anyone, not even his best friend or his Beta. And it didn’t stop there—he had been protecting her from the very first day, even before knowing who she really was.

The reason they were even out here tonight was because Kaito had led this search. If there was anyone who deserved to know the truth about Angela, it was him. And finding out like this? It wasn’t fair.

"Trust me, she didn’t want you to find out like this," Renn said as he followed him back to the room. He closed the bathroom door behind them. There was no word from Kaito.

"If you give her a chance..."

"It’s so simple for you to say that," Kaito turned to face him, his voice hard and sharp. "I hate people who make a fool out of others. Angela did that. And you, Renn, you’re part of it too. You didn’t care to let me fucking know."

"I wanted her to tell you first," Renn said, his voice low, filled with regret. "Also, I was jealous... and selfish..."

"Fuck your feelings, Renn," Kaito snapped, checking under the bed one last time. His mind was in chaos. He was doing everything not to lose his temper in here. If he snapped, it would ruin everything. Their plan. Their safety. Someone could get hurt.

Renn nodded, staying silent as he helped with the search. He only stopped when Kaito’s phone beeped. After a few seconds, Kaito turned to him.

"We have to leave. Something went wrong," Kaito said, and they both rushed out of the room together, running towards the entrance. But it was too late. Principal Valois and Mr. Slade were already there with security guards, blocking their way. Without wasting time, they changed direction.

Kaito led the way, taking the back door. Luckily, it was still unlocked because of the thunderstorm earlier. They jumped the fence and found Alex already waiting for them.

"What happened?" Kaito asked, his face full of worry. He had seen the message, but it didn’t say enough.

"Evan..." Alex began, struggling to find the right words. "I don’t even know how to say it. The boy just looks innocent. But he’s not. He’s nothing like that."

"He is the opposite of anything good. He is not even a werewolf," Stales said, still shaken by what he had seen earlier. "If you had seen him, you would know right away that the boy is something else."

"It seems people are not really what they say they are," Kaito said coldly, his eyes settling on Renn. Then he turned to the others. "Where is Evan?"

"He ran off down this path," Alex pointed to the right, toward the woods. "We didn’t chase him. We didn’t want to do anything without your say-so. And honestly, he looks dangerous."

"At least someone gives a damn about how I feel," Kaito said, cutting a look at Renn again. Then he faced the boys. "It’s good you didn’t go after him. You should go back to the dorms. It’s risky out here. The authorities are already around and if they see you, they won’t spare you."

"Okay, Alpha," Alex said as he brought out something from his pocket. It was Evan’s wristwatch. "He dropped this."

Kaito frowned and took it from him. He examined it for a few seconds, then his eyes widened. "He’s more advanced than he looks. Get out of here. Go back to the dorms now."

After the boys left, Kaito and Renn ran into the woods, trying to find Evan. They searched everywhere. His scent was still fresh, but they couldn’t find him. Since the security team was already out searching too, they decided to stop before Principal Valois figured out they were the ones who had broken into the Central House.

On their way back, Kaito spotted something on the ground. It was a wristband he had seen many times on Angel. He picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. Then he noticed the torn clothes lying nearby. They belonged to Alex. That meant he must have shifted here. But when the hell did all this happen without him knowing?

"Can you let me talk about Angel one more time?" Renn asked as they reached the gate of the West House. He just wanted to help, but Kaito wasn’t having it.

"Don’t. You’re only making things worse," Kaito said flatly.

Renn nodded. Maybe it was really best to stop trying to fix things. But as he turned to leave, Kaito spoke again.

"Do you want to help Angela?"

"Yes, I do. I really want to help... and fix things between you two."

"Good. Then don’t tell her that I know," Kaito said before walking away.

Renn stood still, surprised by what his brother just said. But he knew Kaito meant it. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

Kaito took out his phone and texted Hiro, telling him to make sure Angel came straight to the dorms as soon as she could.