The Ex

Logan barely had time to process Jared’s outburst before Kai moved away from him.

The moment Jared stepped forward, Kai let out a low, warning growl—one that sent a shiver down Logan’s spine.

Jared froze, startled by the sound. “What the—who the hell is this? You fucking animal posers now? Where'd you pick him up from, an animal shelter?” He jabbed a finger toward Kai, eyes narrowing.

Kai didn’t answer. His entire posture shifted, muscles tensing, his eyes turned sharp and predatory. 

Logan sat up straighter, snapping out of his shock. “Jared, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Jared scoffed. “You haven't taken any of my calls, genius, I came to talk. Didn’t expect to find you shacked up with some random guy already.” His gaze flickered over Kai, lip curling. “Who even is this, dude?”

Kai didn’t like Jared’s tone. He let out another soft growl, his eyes flashing with something primal.

Logan sighed, already exhausted. “First of all, not that it’s any of your business, but it’s not like that. Second, you don’t get to barge in here acting jealous when you’re the one who cheated on me, more or less with a woman.”

Jared flinched, but quickly recovered. “Oh, come on. It was a mistake.”

Logan crossed his arms. “Which part? The cheating or getting caught?”

Jared clenched his jaw, clearly annoyed. “That’s not fair, I was just experimenting—just because I screwed up doesn’t mean you have to link up with some random dude almost immediately, what has it been twenty hours?”

“It’s completely fair, Jared.” Logan stood up, planting himself beside Kai. “You don’t get to come in here and call me names, when you’re the one who fucked a broad.”

Kai’s eyes darted between them, trying to piece things together. His frown deepened.

Jared scoffed, looking away for a second before turning back with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I just wanted to talk. Maybe work things out.”

Logan barked out a laugh. “Work things out? Jared, I don't think you understand this, but the moment you let that woman and God knows who else you've been screwing, bounce off of your dick, we were through.”

Jared’s face twisted in irritation. “So that’s it? You’re just moving on with this guy? And you're telling me you haven't been cheating on me too?”

“You know what, I'm not even gonna argue with your delusions. Just leave, get out!” Logan yelled, pointed towards the direction of the door.

Jared’s face twisted in anger. “You’re such a fucking liar, Logan. You act like you’re so innocent, but I bet you couldn’t wait to hop on the first guy who looked at you twice.”

Logan scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re unbelievable. Get out.”

Jared didn’t move. Instead, he took a step forward, his eyes dark with something ugly. “You think you can just toss me aside like that?” His voice dropped lower, more threatening. “You think you’re better than me?”

Logan’s body tensed. He knew that tone. Jared had never hit him, but there had been moments, fights where his ex had gotten too close to hitting him, times where he'd grabbed his wrist too hard, or backed him against a wall. He wasn’t stupid—Jared had been testing boundaries.

And now, with the way Jared was stepping closer into his space. Logan realized he was about to push things further than ever before.

Jared’s hand shot out, fingers curling into the front of Logan’s shirt.

But he never got the chance to do anything else, because with inhuman speed, Kai moved.

One second, he was beside Logan. The next, he had Jared’s wrist in an iron grip. The sound that followed was sickening—a sharp, wet crack as Kai’s fingers tightened like a vice.

Jared’s scream echoed through the apartment.

“FUCK—” He staggered back, clutching his hand to his chest, his face contorted in pain. His index finger was bent at an unnatural angle.

Kai stood in front of Logan now, shoulders squared, eyes cold and gleaming with something dangerous. His entire body radiated raw, barely restrained violence. He was no longer just some strange, clueless man in Logan’s apartment.

He was something else entirely.

A predator.

Jared gasped for air, eyes wide in shock. “Y-You broke my fucking finger, you psycho!”

Kai didn’t blink. “Don't hurt Logan.” His voice was low, a growl.

Jared flinched at the sound, stumbling back like prey recognizing a much stronger predator. He cradled his broken finger, breathing hard. “You’re crazy! Both of you are fucking crazy!”

Logan, still in shock, swallowed hard. His heart was hammering in his chest, not from fear—but something more intense. 

Kai had protected him. Without hesitation.

Jared was still cursing, backing toward the door. “You’ll fucking regret this, Logan. Both of you.”

Kai took a single step forward.

Jared bolted.

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving behind a heavy silence.

Logan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “Holy shit.”

Kai turned to him, his eyes searching through him. “Logan okay?”

Logan blinked up at him. He should have been scared. He should have been freaked out that a guy who had been a literal dog a day ago had just snapped a man’s bone like a twig.

But all he felt was… safe.

Logan let out a shaky breath. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I’m okay.”

Kai’s gaze softened. He reached out, hesitated, then gently, carefully, placed his warm palm against Logan’s cheek.

Logan stiffened, eyes widening.

Kai tilted his head, thumb brushing over Logan’s cheekbone. “Safe.”

Logan suddenly groaned, realization hitting him like a truck.

“Oh, crap.”

Kai tilted his head. “Crap?”

Logan gestured to Kai’s body. “You’re wearing Jared’s clothes.”

Kai looked down at himself—the outfit Logan had given him that morning. He frowned, tugging at the fabric like he had just now realized it didn’t belong to him.

Logan could already picture Jared’s boiling expression if he had noticed.

Kai, however, had a different reaction. His frown deepened as if something truly unacceptable had occurred. Then, with absolutely no hesitation, he grabbed the hem of the shirt and started pulling it off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold on!” Logan yelped, lunging forward to stop him.

Kai paused, confused. “Jared's clothes.”

“Yes, but—” Logan groaned. “Look, I get it, but you can’t just strip in the middle of my living room!”

Kai blinked, looking down at himself again, then at Logan. Slowly, as if trying to be reasonable, he asked, “Off?”

Logan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We’ll get you different clothes. Just—just keep those on for now, alright?”

Kai considered this for a moment before nodding, though he didn’t look particularly happy about it.

Then, as if deciding that was enough stress for one day, he plopped himself onto the couch again, watching Logan expectantly.

Logan let out a breath. “Alright. First thing tomorrow, we’re getting you something else to wear. Something that doesn’t have Jared’s lingering bad karma all over it.”

Kai nodded, still staring at Logan. “Did you find Job?”

Logan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “No. Every place I went to either wasn’t hiring or wanted experience I don’t have.” He flopped onto the couch, exhausted. “So, no job. No money. No clue how I’m supposed to feed both of us.”

Kai frowned, his brows furrowing in concern. He sat down beside Logan, watching him closely. “Logan… sad?”

Logan huffed out a laugh. “That obvious?”

Kai nodded seriously, then, as if trying to fix the problem, he reached out and patted Logan’s head.

Logan froze. “Uh—what are you doing?”

Kai tilted his head. “Comfort.”

Logan blinked. “You’re… petting me.”

Kai nodded again, his hand still awkwardly resting on Logan’s head. “Good?”

Logan groaned, dropping his face into his hands. “You’re so weird.”

Kai seemed to take that as a good thing because he beamed.

Logan sighed, leaning back against the couch. “I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

Kai watched him for a long moment, then, unexpectedly, he said, “I help.”

Logan turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Help? Help with what?”

Kai puffed out his chest, looking determined. “Job.”

“No, you’re staying here until we figure out what to do with you,” Logan said firmly. “If you go outside, people are gonna think you’re some undocumented immigrant since you can barely talk and don’t have any ID.” He ran a hand down his face, groaning. “And getting you papers? That all costs money.”

He winced at the last part. Money—his biggest problem right now.

Kai’s expression shifted into something thoughtful. “Money… bad?”

Logan let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, buddy. Money’s real bad when you don’t have any.”

Kai hummed as if processing the information. Then, with a sudden jerk, he placed a hand on Logan’s knee. “I get money.”

Logan snorted. “Oh yeah? And how exactly are you gonna do that? Put on a dog show?”

Kai tilted his head. “Show?”

“Never mind.” Logan sighed. “Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you can’t just walk into a company and start working without papers, a résumé—hell, even basic human skills.”

Kai pouted. “I learn fast.”

Logan opened his mouth, then closed it. He had to admit, Kai was adapting fast.

Still, there was no way he was letting him out into the world just yet, not until he figured out what he was.

“Okay, listen,” Logan said. “For now, you stay here. No going outside, no answering the door, and definitely no trying to get a job.”

Kai frowned but nodded. “Okay, I stay.”

“Good.” Logan stretched, groaning. “Now, I’m exhausted. You take the couch tonight.”

Kai perked up. “Couch?”

Logan pointed at it. “Yeah. Sleep there.”

Kai’s face scrunched up. “Not with Logan?”

Logan nearly choked. “What?”

Kai tilted his head innocently. “Last night, we sleep together.”

Logan’s face burned. “That was different! You were—look, just—sleep on the couch, okay?”

Kai pouted but didn’t argue. Instead, he flopped onto the couch, his large build barely fitting in it.