Chapter 76 Chapter 76
Zane
I stood near the window, my back to Kaius, letting the quiet stretch until it became unbearable.
Control. I needed control.
My wolf was snarling in my mind, demanding I rip Kaius apart for daring to want what was mine and saying those words in front of the entire pack leadership.
I turned to face him.
He stood in the center of the room, his shoulders squared and his jaw set.
That made this worse somehow.
“Sit,” I said.
“I’d rather stand.”
“Sit down, Kaius.”
He moved to one of the chairs, settling into it with tension visible in every line of his body. I took the chair across from him, close enough to see every micro-expression on his body.
The silence stretched again. I let it, watching him sit there.
Finally, I spoke.
“Do you feel anything for my mate?”
The question came out very casually like I was asking about patrol schedules instead of something that could tear apart every family bond we shared.
Brazenly, Kaius met my eyes. “Yes.”
My hands tightened on the arms of the chair. “How long?”
“I don’t know exactly.” He paused. “It just happened.”
“It just happened,” I repeated the words flatly. “You just happened to develop feelings for your Alpha’s mate, your uncle’s wife.”
“Yes.”
“And you thought tonight was the appropriate time to announce this to the entire pack?”
His jaw clenched. “It was not intentional. Margaret crossed a line. The things she said about Tiana—”
“So you defended her. That’s one thing. What you did was something else entirely.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” I leaned forward, my voice dropping lower. “Do you understand what you just did? You declared your feelings for my mate in front of me and the elders. You made my mate look like—”
“It’s not on her. She did not encourage this, she doesn’t even know.”
He continued, “I’ve been careful with whatever I felt, keeping it to myself until tonight.”
I studied his face, looking for the lie. But found nothing rather than honesty and misery.
“Tell me why,” I said. “Why her?”
Kaius was quiet for a long moment before he replied. “I’m not sure why.”
“So you fell in love with her for no reason?”
“I didn’t say I was in love with her.”
“You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face when you were shouting at Margaret.”
Kaius didn’t deny it.
I sat back in my chair, my mind working through consequences. Through what this meant for the pack, and the balance I’d been carefully maintaining.
Through what it meant for me.
“And what do you want me to do about this?” I asked.
The question seemed to catch him off guard. “What?”
“You’ve admitted your feelings. You’ve destroyed your engagement and made a public declaration that’s going to spread through every pack in the territory by tomorrow morning.” I kept my voice level and devoid of emotion. “So what do you want me to do about it?”
Kaius stared at me. “I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know.” I stood, moving to the window. The moon was rising in its full force. “Let me make this clear, Kaius. Tiana is my mate. Those are facts that will not change regardless of how you or anyone else feels about it.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?” I turned back to face him. “It looks like you’re hoping for something that will never happen.”
“I’m not hoping for anything.” His voice cracked slightly. “I know she’s yours. I know this is wrong. I know I have no right to feel this way.”
“Then why did you say those things tonight?”
“Because Margaret was insulting her!” The words burst out of him again. “And everyone, including you, was just watching. I couldn’t—” He stopped, breathing hard. “I couldn’t stay silent.”
The intent of his words were not lost on me but I ignored.
I moved back to my chair, sitting down and forcing myself to think past the rage and the complicated mess of emotions churning in my chest.
This was Kaius. My nephew. And he was trapped in an arrangement he hated, with a woman who made him miserable, because I allowed it happen.
Just like Tiana had been trapped in an arrangement she hated with me who gave her no choice, because I needed an heir.
“Can you marry Margaret?” I asked quietly.
“No.”
“Can you pretend you don’t feel what you feel?”
“I’ve been trying. It’s not working.”
I nodded slowly, the pieces falling into place in my mind.
With it was a decision forming even though I hated every part of it.
I raised my voice, my expression stoic. “You need to leave the pack.”
Kaius’s head snapped up. “What?”
“You need to leave.” I held his gaze, making sure he understood. “I can’t have you here.”
“You’re exiling me?”
“I am not. I am protecting you.” The distinction mattered. “And protecting her. And protecting myself from doing something I’ll regret at least till you are back to your senses.”
His face had gone pale. “Uncle—”
I cut him off. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. You admitted you have feelings for my mate. Feelings you can’t control, so you can’t stay here.”
“But the pack—”
“Will survive without you.” I stood again, needing distance. “I am not trying to punish you, Kaius. This is a necessity. For your sake and for the pack.”
“Does Tiana get a say in this?”
“No.” I shook my head. “She’s my mate. This is between you and me.”
He sat there for a long moment, then slowly, he nodded.
“When do you want me gone?”
“Three days. That gives you time to settle your affairs and say your goodbyes.”
Kaius stood, his movements stiff. “Can I… can I say goodbye to Tiana? Properly?”
The request made my wolf snarl. Made possessiveness surge through me so violently that I had to clench my fists to keep myself from refusing outright.
But Kaius had been honest, admitting everything without trying to hide or minimize it. And they were friends, whatever else might exist between them.
“Yes,” I said finally. “But supervised. And brief.”
“Thank you.”
He moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle.
“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly, not looking at me, “I never wanted to feel this way about your mate It just… happened.”
“Okay.”
“And I’m sorry for the position it puts you in.”
Then he moved out of the hall, the door closing softly behind him.