Claimed By The King(s) Of Kings

Aina

"You want me to be your boyfriend?" Aina asked, pointing a single, trembling finger straight at her own chest. Her eyes were wide with sheer, unadulterated shock. "Fake boyfriend," Princess Molly corrected softly, leaning back from Aina’s ear and offering a charming, hopelessly persuasive smile.

Aina blinked, her mind frantically trying to process the absurdity of the request. "Molly, I, why on earth do you need a fake boyfriend?"

Molly let out a soft, dramatic sigh, hugging her fluffy pink notebook tightly against her ribs. "Because, Travis, I want a boyfriend. I even cut my hair to my shoulders so I’d get a boyfriend, but even that isn’t working because of my brothers every boy in the school doesn’t talk to me or else my brothers will make them have an early meeting with the goddess. I just want to be like every girl my age and know what it feels like to have a boyfriend." She took a step closer, her eyes practically glowing with desperation.

"You’re new, you’re brave enough to stand up to my idiot brothers. You are perfect, you don’t bow to my brothers and if you agree to be my fake boyfriend. I’ll protect you from these lesser bullies."

Aina opened her mouth to argue, to scream that she was actually a girl, that she was running from her own arranged breeding arrangement, that she was currently dodging four terrifyingly massive wolf mates who happened to be Molly’s very brothers, but no words came out. If she rejected Molly, she lost her only ally on this godforsaken campus.

"Fine," Aina squeaked out, deflating entirely. "Fake boyfriend. But no kissing. No hand-holding. And if your brothers try to murder me, you take the blame."

Molly beamed, clapping her hands together in delight. "Deal! Come on, we’re going to be late for theory class!"

Second day at this school and already in a relationship, I’ve got game. Aina thought sarcastically to herself.

The rest of the morning was a chaotic blur of absolute paranoia.

Every single time a classroom door creaked open, Aina’s heart leaped straight into her throat. Every shadow in the hallway looked like Malric’s towering frame; every deep laugh echoing from the courtyard sounded like The headmaster or Vance coming to snap her neck; every whiff of cedarwood and ozone made her skin prickle with frantic terror that the guy who saw her naked had snapped out of his haze to expose her bare truth.

She spent three full periods sitting at the very back of her classrooms, huddled in her oversized male blazer, practically vibrating with nervous energy. Her wolf was cowering deep within her, utterly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of dominant Alpha scents floating through the corridors.

By the time the afternoon bell chimed, signifying the start of Wolf Combat, Aina was a nerve-wracked mess.

She shuffled along with the stream of students into the Academy’s underground combat arena. The hall was massive, carved out of dark volcanic stone, with high vaulted ceilings and walls lined with weapons racks. The entire floor was covered in thick, shock-absorbent black mats that smelled strongly of sweat, leather, and disinfectant.

"Listen up, first years!" barked a harsh, gravelly voice.

Standing in the center of the main mat was Instructor Garrow, an ancient, battle-scarred Alpha with a missing left ear and a terrifyingly muscular build. He paced back and forth, dragging a heavy wooden staff along the floor.

"Combat class is not for weaklings! You will learn how to defend your throat when your wolf cannot save you!" Garrow boomed, stopping to glare at the gathered students. "Pair up! Now!"

Aina looked around frantically, hoping to catch Molly’s eye, but Molly had already been pulled into a circle by a group of high-ranking noble girls.

"Hey. You. You are going to be with me."

Aina turned around and looked down. Standing behind her was a tiny girl. She couldn’t have been more than four-foot-eleven, with silver hair tied into two neat braids and pale, icy-blue eyes. She wore a tight black sparring uniform, like everyone else, her hands wrapped neatly in white cloth tape.

"I’m Pip," the little girl said, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "Daughter of the Shadow Pack. You’re the potato guy, right?"

"Uh... yeah," Aina mumbled, scratching the back of her neck. Looking down at Pip, Aina felt a sudden wave of pathetic relief. Thank goodness, she thought. She’s tiny. She looks like a breeze could knock her over. Finally, a break. "Nice to meet you, Pip. It’s a pleasure to pair up with you. Let’s just go easy, okay?"

Pip didn’t reply. She simply stepped onto the black mat, raised her wrapped fists, and beckoned with two fingers.

Aina held back a laugh watching the scene and like everyone else in that hall stepped onto the black mat holding her fists out.

"Begin!" Garrow shouted.

Aina took a tentative step forward, raising her arms lazily. "Look, Pip, I really don’t want to hurt—"

BAM!

Before Aina could even finish her sentence, Pip blurred out of motion. A lightning-fast low kick slammed directly into the side of Aina’s knee, buckling her leg instantly. Aina gasped, bending forward, only to be met with a violent, crushing upper-cut straight to her jaw.

CRACK!

Stars exploded across Aina’s vision. Her head snapped back, and before her feet could even touch the ground again, Pip vaulted off her chest, driving a heavy boot directly into Aina’s solar plexus. The air rushed out of Aina’s lungs in a sickening, breathless wheeze. She slammed hard onto the black mats, her vision swimming in sickening shades of purple and red.

"Get up," Pip’s calm, robotic voice echoed from somewhere above her. "Student Whitlock! On your feet!" Instructor Garrow roared from the sidelines. Aina dragged herself up onto her hands and knees, gasping for air, her lungs burning like fire. Her chest binding felt like a steel cage crushing her ribs. "Wait... timeout—"

Looks are deceiving.

Pip didn’t wait. She swept Aina’s arms out from under her, caught her by the short strands of her hair, and executed a flawless hip-throw, slamming Aina violently onto her back. The impact echoed off the stone walls like a thunderclap. The last thing Aina registered was the cold ceiling lights swirling together into a single bright void before total darkness swallowed her whole.

I hate this little thing.

When Aina finally opened her eyes, the smell of antiseptic and fresh linen filled her senses. The harsh black mats were gone, replaced by a soft white ceiling and the gentle rustle of privacy curtains. She let out a low groan, reaching up to touch her throbbing jaw. "Oh, hush now, sweet girl... ah, sweet boy," a soft, motherly voice corrected quickly.

Aina turned her head slowly, wincing as her neck protested. Standing beside the bed was Nurse Clara, a middle-aged woman with kind hazel eyes, silver-streaked hair, and a warm, comforting aura.

Clara was the infirmary’s head healer, known across campus as the only person who treated lower-ranking students with genuine warmth and respect.

"You took quite a beating out there, dear," Clara murmured gently, placing a cool, damp cloth over Aina’s forehead.

"Your ribs are heavily bruised, and you have a mild concussion. You really shouldn’t be sparring with a Shadow assassin."

"She... she was so small..." Aina rasped out, her voice barely a whisper. Before Nurse Clara could reply, the heavy double doors of the infirmary were kicked open with a loud slam.

"Travis!"

Molly burst through the curtains, her hair slightly messy, completely out of breath. She rushed to the side of the bed, her eyes wide with frantic worry. Without a single second of hesitation, the Princess leaned down and threw her arms around Aina’s neck, hugging her tightly. "Oh my Goddess, Travis! I came as fast as I could!" Molly wailed softly, burying her face into Aina’s shoulder. "I saw you get carried out of the combat arena on a stretcher! Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Aina sat frozen in the bed, her breath catching in her throat.

No one had ever hugged her like this before. Back at the Whitelock estate, she was an afterthought, a pawn to be traded, a nuisance to be hidden away. Her stepfamily had never asked if she was okay; they had never rushed down a hallway just to check on her bruised ribs in fact they caused the bruises. The sheer warmth radiating from Molly’s frantic embrace made a painful, stinging sensation rise behind Aina’s eyes.

Nurse Clara watched the scene with a raised eyebrow, a soft, knowing smile touching her lips. "My, my," Clara remarked, folding her arms across her chest. "I haven’t seen Princess Molly this distressed since Prince Malric broke his arm three years ago. You certainly have a dedicated guardian angel, young man. She cares for you."

Molly pulled back slightly, her hands still resting gently on Aina’s shoulders, her face flushing a pale pink. "Of course I care about him, Nurse Clara! He’s my boyfriend!"

The infirmary went dead, suffocatingly silent. Nurse Clara froze, her eyes widening in absolute shock. In the neighboring hospital beds, three injured upperclassmen stopped their conversations mid-sentence, their jaws dropping in unison. A student nurse near the medicine cabinet dropped a glass vial, which shattered loudly against the floor.

Aina’s heart stopped. Oh, no. "Your... your what?" Nurse Clara whispered, blinking rapidly. "My boyfriend!" Molly repeated loudly, crossing her arms and holding her head high and proud. "Travis Whitelock is my official boyfriend! And if anyone in combat class hurts him again, they will answer to me!"

Within seconds, the silence melted away into a low, frantic murmur.

The three injured upperclassmen immediately grabbed their phones from their nightstands, their thumbs flying across their screens in a frenzy.

"Did you hear? The potato guy!"

"The freshman who slapped Malric?!"

"He’s dating Princess Molly!"

"He’s dating the Iron Fangs’ little sister!"

Aina pulled the white duvet all the way up to her nose, staring at Molly in pure horror as the sound of notification chimes began echoing faintly through the hallway outside.

I’m dead. I might have lived before but now I’m going to die. Imagine the princes find out I’m dating their sister though a text. I’m dead.

The news had officially spread like wildfire. She hadn’t even been at moonside for a full twenty-four hours and now, not only did someone know she was disguised as a boy, she was carrying a secret mate bond with the Headmaster, and hiding from four dangerous wolf princes... she was officially dating their little sister.

Aina closed her eyes, letting out a silent, desperate prayer to the Goddess to just strike her down right then and there.

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