Chapter 44 Chapter 44
Zane
“Your nephew,” Elder Tobias said. “Kaius is of age. A strategic marriage alliance could strengthen our position while we wait for your heir. Also—”
“No.” The words left my lips before I even thought of it.
All five elders stared at me.
“No?” Marius repeated carefully.
“Kaius makes his own choices regarding marriage.” My voice was firm. “I won’t force him into a political arrangement.”
“Even if it benefits the pack?” Cora challenged.
“Even then.”
Silence fell across the table.
I could feel their judgment. Their confusion. It was obvious they had expected me to agree immediately, to see the strategic value in using Kaius as a backup plan.
But I could not.
Not after seeing the look on Tiana’s face when I had asked her to do exactly that. Not after hearing the defeat in her voice when she had accused me of twisting everything.
And maybe I had suggested it to her as an excuse to send Kaius away from the pack, but the elders wanting it could put him under some real pressure that I hate to be responsible for.
“Alpha Zane,” Marius said slowly, “we understand your position. But you must understand ours. This pack cannot afford another period of instability. We need certainty. Our pack needs lifetime security.”
“And you’ll have it,” I said. “The Luna will conceive. The treatments will work.”
“And if they don’t?”
“They will.”
I said it with more confidence than I felt in that moment.
Because the truth was, I didn’t know if they would work. I had tried with other she-wolves before Tiana and it did not work.
The healers had been cautiously optimistic, but there were no guarantees. And if they failed…
If they failed, everything I had rebuilt could fall apart.
Just like before.
The thought made my wolf snarl with frustration.
“Very well,” Marius said finally. “We will trust your judgment, Alpha. For now. But the council will be monitoring the situation closely.”
The threat was implicit but clear: Get this handled, or we’ll intervene.
The meeting continued with discussions of border patrols, trade negotiations, and alliance management. I participated mechanically, my mind only half-present.
The other half was stuck in that hallway with Tiana when she said,
‘You’re asking me things that don’t make sense.’
‘Don’t accuse me of things that aren’t true.’
‘Just go, Alpha.’
I wanted to believe that they were not true and I was only overthinking. Because it would be a shame to me if my Luna felt anything for my nephew.
By the time the council finally dismissed, the sun had shifted lower in the sky. Hours had passed and it was now late afternoon.
I emerged from the council hall to find Ezra waiting in the corridor.
“That went well,” he said dryly as we walked.
“Did it?”
“You refused to throw Kaius into a political marriage. The elders weren’t expecting that.”
“I’m sure they weren’t.”
We walked in silence for a moment.
Then: “May I speak freely, Alpha?”
I tensed. “When have you ever asked permission?”
“Fair point.” Ezra’s tone softened slightly. “You’re losing control.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not of the pack,” he clarified. “Of yourself. The situation with your Luna is affecting your judgment.”
My jaw clenched. “My judgment is fine.”
“Is it?” Ezra stopped walking, forcing me to stop as well. “You cornered your mate in a hallway and interrogated her about having feelings for your nephew. Then you refused a strategic alliance that would have satisfied the council and benefited you. That’s not calculated leadership, Zane. That’s the emotion of a man speaking.”
The use of my name instead of my title made the words hit differently.
“I’m only protecting my terrain,” I replied.
“Are you?” Ezra’s eyes held mine. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re doing exactly what you have spent years avoiding.”
“And what’s that?”
“Caring.” He paused. “Caring enough that losing control of the situation terrifies you.”
I chuckled. “You’ve said more silly things so you did not surprise me.”
“I’m serious, Alpha.”
“Are you?” I probed, like I was intrigued. When he said nothing, I continued. “I am only giving this explanation so you don’t run with the silly ideas in your head. Everything I am doing is for the benefit of the pack, and what you might confuse as care is just concern for who should be the mother of my heir.
I won’t want any false narratives about my heir in the future so I have to shun any form of impropriety.”