Chapter 103 The Truth Between Brothers
Kier’s POV
For a long moment I just stared at Jaxon. The words hung in the air between us like something poisonous. She’s my mate. My brain tried to process it and failed.
“You’re joking,” I finally said.
Jaxon didn’t smile. Didn’t even blink. The silence stretched until my stomach dropped.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said again, this time sharper.
“No.”
The word landed heavy. I ran both hands through my hair and paced away from him, boots grinding into the dirt.
“This is not happening today,” I muttered.
First Sable’s rejection. Then the council’s insanity. Now this? I turned back on him.
“When did you find out?” I demanded.
Jaxon’s jaw tightened. “A while ago.”
“That’s not an answer,” I snapped. “When.”
He held my gaze. "Since we got back from your uncles pack.”
My chest tightened. “That was five years ago.”
“Yeah.”
For a second I couldn’t speak.
Five years.
Five years my own brother had been hiding something like that from me. “Why would you keep this from me?” I said slowly.
Jaxon rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't want to.”
“Bit you did.”
“Kier—”
“No,” I cut him off, stepping closer. “Explain to me how my Beta, my brother, kept a mate bond secret for five damn years.”
Jaxon exhaled heavily. “Because it didn’t last.”
My brows pulled together.
“What does that mean?”
His eyes dropped briefly before coming back to mine. “It happened the night we got back.”
Something in his voice shifted. Like he was replaying it. Reliving it.
“I went for a run,” he began. “First night back. I couldn’t sleep.”
We’d both been restless after leaving our uncle’s pack.
Coming home had felt… different.
“Anyway,” he continued, “I cut past the training grounds.” His expression darkened slightly. “And then I smelled it.”
My wolf stirred faintly at that. Anyone who’d ever found their mate knew that moment. That impossible scent.
“That pull.” His voice softened. "Sweetest damn thing I’ve ever smelled.”
Despite everything, I understood. “Liora?” I asked.
He nodded. “I followed it to the field. She was standing there by the weapons rack.” His mouth twitched faintly. “And she looked just as shocked as I was.”
The mate bond. When it hit, it hit both wolves like lightning.
“I didn’t even think,” he admitted. “I just… walked to her.”
Of course he had. No wolf could fight that pull the first time.
“And she came to me,” he said.
The memory flickered in his eyes.
“The bond was strong. Stronger than anything I’d ever felt.”
My stomach twisted slightly. Because I knew exactly what he meant.
“We spent the next few days together.”
I crossed my arms. “And?”
“And she didn’t want anyone to know yet.”
My brow furrowed. “Why?”
“She said she wasn’t ready,” he replied. “Said the pack would expect things right away. Said she wanted time.”
That didn’t sound completely unreasonable. Mate bonds changed everything.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “So what happened?”
Jaxon’s jaw tightened again. "That’s where it gets stupid. One night we were together,” he said. “And afterward she told me it had to end.”
I blinked. “What?”
“She said she was rejecting me.”
The words hit like a rock.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
My wolf stirred again, confused. “That makes no sense.”
“Exactly what I told her,” Jaxon said.
“What was her reason?”
His lip curled slightly. “She wanted to be Luna.”
The words sat heavy. For a second I thought I’d heard him wrong. “You’re serious.”
“She said if she accepted the bond with me, she’d never have a chance to lead the pack.”
My stomach twisted. “That’s insane.”
“Tell me about it.”
I shook my head. “And she thought I’d choose her over Sable?” I asked.
“She thought she could become Luna if Sable never came back.”
Silence fell. Because we both knew there was a possibility we would never see Sable again.
“So she rejected you?” I asked.
“She tried.”
“Tried?”
Jaxon’s eyes flickered. “I rejected her rejection.”
My brows lifted slightly.
“You can do that?”
“You can delay it,” he said. “You can refuse to accept it.”
My wolf stirred faintly. A stubborn instinct. "Did it work?”
“Sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?”
“The bond didn’t disappear,” he said. “It just… changed.”
“Changed how?”
“The pull was still there.”
My chest tightened slightly. Mate bonds didn’t vanish easily.
“Did you two stay together?”
He hesitated. “Sometimes.”
I frowned. “Define sometimes.”
His jaw clenched. “Over the years we… hooked up.”
I blinked.
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I couldn't stay away from her. She's my mate. I thought she would eventually come to her senses and we would be together.”
“And you never thought to mention that to me?”
“It wasn’t exactly something I wanted to advertise,” he muttered.
Fair. “You should’ve told me,” I said.
“I know.”
Silence stretched again.
Then something clicked in my brain. I looked at him sharply.
“Wait.”
Jaxon frowned slightly. “What?”
“The baby.”
His shoulders tensed.
“You think—”
“It might be mine,” he said quietly.
The words hit like a hammer.
“What?”
“We were together the morning everything went down,” he admitted.
My brain scrambled.
“You’re serious.”
“She came to my apartment that morning. We hadn't been together for a few months. She said she needed me and it was the first time we had sex unprotected.” he added.
That made my stomach twist even harder.
“I thought finally, we would be together.”
Silence fell heavy again.
Then Jaxon exhaled.
“I didn’t understand it at the time,” he said. “Why after all this time she suddenly wanted me again.”
My wolf stirred slowly realization creeping in. “But now?” I asked.
Jaxon met my eyes. “Now it makes sense.”
The pieces clicked together like a puzzle finally snapping into place. My jaw tightened slowly.
“She’s lying,” I said.
Jaxon didn’t argue.
“She’s playing the council,” I continued.
“And us,” he added.
My wolf rose slightly beneath my skin.
If Liora is lying and the child isn't mine. Then Sable had destroyed us for nothing. And the council had used it to break us. My hands curled into fists.
“We’re going to prove it,” I said.
Jaxon nodded slowly. "Yeah.”
My voice dropped.
“And when we do…”
The promise hung in the air between us. Liora had started a war. She just didn’t know it yet.