CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54: IMPOSSIBLE

Kael Sinclair, a handsome blonde with piercing blue eyes, ran excitedly through the halls of the Student Union building. His speed and energy was so fast that even if there was other people with him in the building they wouldn’t even be able to know that someone passed beside them, all they would have felt is just a breeze passing beside them, but he barely noticed his own speed. Being a member of the Student Union himself, Kael had no trouble moving freely between floors, slipping past the cleaning staff who were too used to seeing him around to stop him. He took the stairs two at a time, nearly colliding with someone, a fae coming down, muttering a quick apology without slowing. The news he carried was too good to wait.

When he finally reached the right floor, Kael rushed straight toward Ryker’s office. His excitement left no room for patience. He grabbed the door handle, flung it open, and stepped inside without bothering to knock.

Ryker’s head immediately snapped up from the stack of papers he was reviewing. His brows drew together into a frown, his expression sharp as his amber eyes fixed on the intruder. Ryker was not fond of people barging into his office unannounced. But when he saw it was Kael standing in the doorway, he forced himself to relax, his features settling into a neutral mask.

"Kael," Ryker said, his tone flat but carrying a faint edge. "Why were you running as if someone was chasing you? You didn’t even bother to knock. You just barged in."

Kael waved one hand in the air as if brushing off Ryker’s words while using the other to brace himself against the back of a chair, trying to catch his breath. His chest heaved from his mad dash up the stairs, but after a few moments he managed to steady his breathing. Without waiting for permission, he dropped into the chair opposite Ryker’s desk.

"No one’s pursuing me," Kael said with a grin, leaning back casually as though he hadn’t just nearly sprinted across the entire building. "I just had to tell you something very interesting that happened in school today."

Ryker’s brow rose slightly. "Interesting enough to have you tearing through the building like this, so what interesting news do you have for me again?"

Kael nodded eagerly. "Very interesting. It’s about your boy. But since you don’t seem to want to know, there’s really no reason for me to tell you, is there?"

Ryker’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of Aiden. His irritation vanished, replaced by alertness. "What happened to him?" Ryker asked quickly. "What do you mean by that? When did I say I didn’t want to know?"

Kael rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh, come on, Ryker. When I first came in here and told you something interesting happened, you gave me that look. The one that says, ’what useless gossip are you here to bother me with this time?’ Don’t even deny it. We’ve been friends for years. I know exactly what you were thinking."

Ryker leaned back in his chair and gave a long sigh. "Fine. I’m sorry. I did think you were here to gossip." His apology was genuine enough, but a corner of his mouth twitched as he added, "But I wasn’t wrong to think that though,to be fair, eighty percent of the time you do come to me on your own, it’s to spread gossip. You can’t be too upset that I thought the same this time."

Kael raised a brow at him, clearly offended but also a little amused. "You really are impossible," he said with exaggerated pride. "Since you clearly still want to prove yourself right, I guess I don’t need to tell you what happened to your boy after all, since what I’m trying to do is spread gossip, if I tell you about Aiden then I would have done exactly what you think of me, that is being a gossip."

Ryker’s pride flared at the challenge. Maybe it was the Alpha in him, but he hated backing down, even with Kael. He crossed his arms over his chest and said stubbornly, "Fine. Don’t tell me. From how worked up you are, I can tell you’re not the only one who knows what happened to Aiden. I can just call someone else and ask them what happened. I’m sure they’d be happy to tell me."

Kael’s confidence faltered at that. His shoulders slumped a little as he muttered, "Fine, fine. I’ll tell you. I swear, I don’t know if it would kill you to just admit defeat once in a while. But don’t worry. I’ll be the bigger person here."

Ryker arched a brow, clearly pleased to have won, but he said nothing and simply gestured for Kael to go on. His black eyes fixed sharply on his friend, every trace of distraction gone.

Kael smirked at having Ryker’s full attention, then leaned forward with obvious relish. "Your boy got into a fight today," he announced.

Ryker was on his feet in an instant, his chair sliding back a little as he stood. "What? How did that happen?" His words came quickly, heavy with worry. "Is he okay? Is he hurt? Damn it, he can’t even defend himself properly yet and he has no healing abilities. There’s no way he’s okay." His voice grew darker with each word, the protective edge in his tone unmistakable. "Where is he? I want to see him."

But Kael didn’t answer right away. Instead, he simply stared at Ryker with a strange look on his face, almost as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ryker noticed and stopped mid-stride, his worry momentarily replaced with suspicion.

"You’re not telling me everything," Ryker said, narrowing his eyes. "Out with it. Stop drawing this out and tell me the whole story."

Kael huffed, folding his arms. "Why do you assume he’s the one injured? I’m telling you, Aiden is dangerous even without his powers. You can’t keep underestimating that boy."

Ryker’s frown deepened, though this time it was mixed with confusion. "What exactly did Aiden do?"

Kael’s grin returned as if he’d been waiting for that question. "Today, I was in the class building when I saw two students carrying a wolf boy out of the room. His head was a mess—blood everywhere. I swear, Ryker, I could see part of the boy’s brain. I was so shocked I had to stop them and ask what happened."

He paused as though savoring the memory before adding casually, "Oh, I almost forgot to mention—those students are all Aiden’s classmates."

Ryker’s patience snapped. "Kael," he said warningly, his voice low. "If you don’t get to the point right now, we are going to have a friendly spar. And you know how those end for you."

Kael lifted both hands as if surrendering, speaking quickly. "Calm down. You shouldn’t threaten your best friend like that. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to find another person like me?"

Ryker’s glare said plainly that his patience was wearing thin.

"Alright, alright!" Kael said, holding back a laugh. "From where I stopped—Aiden is the one who injured that boy."

Ryker stared at him, stunned. "Impossible."

Kael groaned loudly. "I knew you were going to say that. I was literally about to explain how it happened, but no, you just had to demand the conclusion first. And now that you have it, you’re telling me it’s impossible? Will you let me explain properly?"

Ryker pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled, fighting the urge to throw Kael out the nearest window. He reminded himself that Kael was his best friend, and that murdering him would probably not be good for their friendship. After a few moments, he managed to calm himself. "Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "Talk."

Kael leaned back, finally satisfied that Ryker was listening. "Your boy, Aiden, brought a hammer to class today," he said with clear admiration. "Apparently that Carl kid strangled him yesterday."

Ryker’s eyes darkened at the memory of the red marks he had seen on Aiden’s neck the day before. He had asked Aiden who had hurt him, but Aiden had refused to answer.

Kael continued, oblivious to the storm brewing in Ryker’s chest. "So today, Aiden brought a hammer and asked for permission to challenge Carl to a fight. The teacher thought Aiden was on a suicide mission and tried to talk him out of it, but Aiden pushed until the teacher agreed. And you know what happened? Aiden won. Carl was the one carried out of class bleeding, not Aiden."

Ryker was silent for a long moment, then finally said in a flat voice, "Impossible."

Kael stared at him, exasperated. "Seriously? That’s all you have to say?" He shook his head, muttering, "I don’t know why I even bother telling you things. You’re so confident in that boy that you can’t believe he would actually harm someone. But I saw it, Ryker. Your boy is full of surprises."