Chapter 66 Chapter 66
Tiana
“This is because of me, isn’t it?”
The words left my mouth in a rush, my voice rising with each syllable.
“Tiana.” Zane’s voice echoed. It was only then that I took in my surroundings.
Zane had lifted his gaze from the documents spread across the table where he stood with Beta Ezra and two elders.
And every attention as well as the people gathered there was fixed on me.
Heat flooded my face. I stood my ground still, even as my wolf whispered warnings about challenging an Alpha in public.
“I would like to speak with you, Alpha. It is important,” I added, hating how my voice wavered slightly.
The elders exchanged glances.
Zane’s jaw tightened, then he straightened to his full height. Even from across the room, I felt his authority pressing down.
“Very well.” His voice was dangerously quiet. “Everyone please excuse us.”
Ezra gathered the documents without a word. The elders filed out quickly, their curiosity barely hidden behind neutrality. Within seconds, the hall was empty except for the two of us.
Zane didn’t move from his position behind the table.
“What is it that is important?” he asked flatly.
The words I’d rehearsed on my way here tangled in my throat. Now that we were alone and those cold eyes were fixed on me with that particular intensity, my anger felt smaller.
But I’d come this far.
“Kaius,” I managed. “His marriage.”
Something shifted in Zane’s expression, but it was gone before I could identify it. “What about it?”
“You approved it.” My words came out strongly. “You are forcing him into an arranged marriage.”
“And?”
“And it’s—” I fumbled for the right words. “It’s not fair. To impose that on someone. To force a grown adult into a union.”
“Force.” He repeated the word like he was testing its weight. “Interesting choice.”
I pushed forward, my voice dropping lower as guilt twisted in my chest. “I think you’re doing this because of me. Because of my friendship with him. You still think there’s something—”
“Why are you making this about you?”
The question landed flat and simple.
I blinked. “What? I’m not making it about me. I just think it’s wrong to force someone into—”
“Force.” Zane’s jaw tightened. “You keep using that word.”
He took a step forward. I instinctively stepped back, my thighs hitting the edge of the table behind me, forcing me to brace against it.
“Kaius is a grown wolf,” Zane continued, his voice still dangerously quiet. “If he truly objected, he could refuse.” His eyes held mine. “Has he done any of those things?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. The truth was I did not even know if he had.
Zane read the realization on my face and something almost like satisfaction crossed his features.
“You’re getting too noticeable,” he said, and the shift in topic made my head spin.
“What?”
“This.” He gestured vaguely between us, at the empty hall.
“Barging in. Making demands and drawing attention.”
His hand came up when he got to me, his fingers brushing the bracelet on my wrist. The touch sent electricity racing up my arm despite the coldness in his voice.
“I don’t appreciate it,” he finished.
I stared at him, confusion warring in my chest.
His words were clear, I should know my place. But did he need to stand this close?
His hand was still resting against my wrist, and his body angled toward mine in a way that felt more protective than threatening despite the warning in his tone.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered.
His thumb pressed against my pulse point, and I knew he could feel how fast my heart was racing. “It means think before you speak. Consider consequences. Not running in here making scenes based on assumptions.”
The reprimand should make me defensive.
Instead, all I could focus on was the heat of his hand on my skin. The way his gaze had dropped briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes.
“You’re too close,” I replied instead, though I made no move to push him away.
“Am I?”
His other hand came up, bracing against the table beside my hip. Caging me in without actually touching me anywhere else.
My breath caught and I was processing how my anger had melted into this, where I was looking for an escape before I would lose myself.
Zane’s gaze shifted suddenly, looking past me toward the tall windows that lined the hall.
I followed his line of sight and through the glass, I could see the front courtyard. A car had arrived and there was a small pack gathering, their attention fixed on whoever was emerging.
“She’s here,” Zane muttered.
I didn’t need to ask who. The timing was too perfect to know it was Luna Margot’s daughter, the she-wolf I heard was to be mated with Kaius.
Suddenly realizing how intimate we were placed in a somewhat open space, I jerked back instinctively, breaking contact.
“You should go greet her,” I said, hating how breathless I sounded. “As Alpha.” I was close to adding that it was what you wanted anyway, but I kept quiet.
“Yes.” He murmured, staring out that window blankly.
Then Zane stepped back, creating distance with the same way he had closed it. “Stay here. I’ll handle the arrival.”