Chapter 153: ¹⁵³: handsome hot men

Chapter 153: 1?3: handsome hot men

"I actually just guessed he was punished when I was discussing him with my friend at the academy," I said, trying my best to make the excuse sound believable. I kept my expression as calm as possible, even though I knew there were several holes in what I had just said.

Kael’s eyebrow rose almost immediately. "You were discussing Derek with your friend?"

There was something about the way he repeated my words that made me feel as though I had just given him another reason to question me.

"May I know why?" he asked, his gaze remaining fixed on me. "And what exactly were you discussing about the Gamma of my empire?"

He paused for a moment, his eyes moving over me from head to toe as though he were conducting some sort of survey.

I resisted the urge to ask him what exactly he was looking for. Once his eyes finally returned to mine, he let out a quiet scoff. He leaned forward, his posture becoming noticeably stiffer.

"Don’t tell me this is also something a well-informed citizen of our empire should do, because that would not be a very good excuse."

"What are you even saying, Kael?" I immediately mirrored his posture, leaning forward as well.

I hated the way he was looking at me. It wasn’t merely curiosity anymore. It felt as though he was treating me like someone incapable of coming up with a sensible answer, as if he had already decided that whatever I said was going to be ridiculous.

And somehow, that only made me want to challenge him more. "Isn’t it obvious why two girls would be discussing a man as handsome as Gamma Derek?"

I delivered the words with a completely straight face. Not even a hint of embarrassment. Inside, however, I was feeling far too smug with myself.

For so long, Kael had been acting as though he was the one who had complete control over every conversation between us. He questioned me whenever he wanted, expected me to answer whenever he asked something, and carried himself with that irritating confidence that made it seem as though he already knew exactly how I would react.

Well, perhaps it was time to remind him that I wasn’t someone who would simply sit there and let him look down on me.

I wasn’t exactly making the whole thing up, either. Rose really had talked to me about Gamma Derek’s appearance. She had commented on how handsome he was, and that conversation had eventually led to us discussing his transfer and everything surrounding it.

So, technically, I was telling the truth. I was only adding a little spice to the story. Just enough to serve my purpose. And my purpose was simple. I wanted Kael Dreven to understand that I wasn’t always going to be sitting at his disposal.

Our agreement might have tied certain things between us together, but that didn’t mean he could treat me as though I had no choices of my own.

If he refused to treat me like an equal participant in this deal, then perhaps he needed to remember that his actions could eventually have consequences.

I would never deliberately do anything that could make him leave me. That much was something I couldn’t deny to myself. But Kael didn’t need to know that.

For my own sake, he should at least have a little doubt about whether I could eventually grow tired of being treated as though I would always be waiting exactly where he left me.

After all, men were often like this. If something was already within their grasp, they took it for granted. But if something became difficult to obtain, suddenly it became the one thing they couldn’t stop thinking about.

And if that was true for Kael as well, then perhaps making him believe that I wasn’t completely guaranteed to remain within his reach would make him think twice before taking me for granted.

I watched his face carefully, waiting for his reaction and it came almost instantly. "What did you say?" His voice was different. The earlier expression on his face had disappeared, replaced by something far sharper.

I stared at him and for a brief moment, I almost regretted my little game. But then I remembered how he had been questioning me, and the smugness returned.

I just slumped back into the sofa and crossed my arms over my chest, completely satisfied with his reaction.

Even his eyes had changed. The usual coldness in them had been replaced by something darker and fiery, and the change was so obvious that I couldn’t help feeling a little victorious.

Kael Dreven was getting worked up? Good. Now he should know that I wasn’t someone stupid he could simply look down upon.

For the past few minutes, he had been questioning me as though every answer I gave him was something he needed to dissect and examine. He had looked at me with that same irritatingly superior expression, as if he were certain I couldn’t possibly know anything he didn’t already know.

So seeing that expression disappear from his face was immensely satisfying. "I said..."

I deliberately stretched out the words, making sure to draw out every syllable as I watched him. A satisfied glint crept into my eyes as I continued. "My friend and I were just discussing some handsome men in our academy and calculating who would be the best among them for us."

I moved both hands toward myself and pointed at my own chest, putting on an exaggerated, dreamy smile as though I were genuinely imagining the possibilities.

I had to admit, I was enjoying myself far more than I should have been. The reaction on Kael’s face was priceless.

He was looking at me so intensely that I could practically feel the weight of his stare. The sarcastic expression he had worn earlier had completely vanished, leaving behind something much more severe.

His jaw had tightened, his hands were clenched slightly at his sides, almost as if he were physically restraining himself from reacting to my words.

I stared at him for another moment before lowering my gaze just enough to hide the amusement threatening to spread across my face.

So this is what it takes to get a reaction out of Kael Dreven. The thought alone made me want to smile. I had never imagined that deliberately provoking him could be this enjoyable. Perhaps I should have tried it sooner.

Completely satisfied with the effect my words were having on him, I continued. "And that’s when we started talking about Gamma Derek too." I paused for a moment, deliberately letting the words settle. "Rose was like, ’He is so handsome and so strong. He could take down tens of wolves on his own in seconds.’"

I made my expression as innocent as possible, even though I was carefully watching Kael’s reaction.

His eyes seemed to darken further. I nearly smiled but instead of that, I continued as though I hadn’t noticed anything and moved my hands beneath my chin to rest my face against them, deliberately turning my gaze away from Kael.

Then I looked past him, letting my eyes settle on a random spot behind his shoulder as I tried to appear as though I were lost in a pleasant daydream.

"She was even saying how good someone so strong would look beside me." I let out a small, thoughtful hum, maintaining the dreamy expression.

"That’s why, when we talked about his transfer, I knew someone as strong as Gamma Derek, who had countless incidents of bravery to his name, would never want to get transferred from the army unless he was punished and forced to do so."

I slowly turned my head back toward Kael. "I don’t know what had happened that day..."

"Ahh, Kael!" My breath was knocked out of me as I was suddenly pushed backward into the sofa, my mind went completely blank.

The movement had happened so quickly that I barely had time to understand what was happening before Kael was suddenly above me, leaving me pinned against the cushions.

My hands instinctively moved, but the shock of his sudden reaction made it difficult to gather my thoughts. "What are you doing?!"

My voice came out far more shaken than I intended. I stared up at Kael, and for a moment, I barely recognized the man looking back at me.

His face was completely different from the one I had been staring at only moments ago.

This wasn’t the kind, considerate Kael I had first gotten to know. It wasn’t even the cold and calculating Kael who had been questioning me just moments earlier.

There was something else in his expression now. Something far more intense. The fiery anger in his eyes made my confidence falter for the first time since I had started provoking him.

I swallowed as I stared at him. His entire posture was rigid, and his gaze remained fixed on me with an intensity that made my heart pound.

"How dare you even think about someone else than me, Athena Moonvel!" Kael’s voice rumbled through the room as the words reached my ears.

I had never heard that tone from him before. There was something raw and commanding in it that made me stare at him in disbelief. Was... was this his wolf?!

The possibility flashed through my mind so suddenly that I almost forgot everything else. Before I could even think through the possibility, Kael caught both of my hands and held them above me.

My eyes widened. His gaze had turned pitch-dark. The last trace of the controlled expression he had worn earlier seemed to have disappeared completely.

"You are mine!" His voice dropped, low and absolute. "Just mine!"