Chapter 113: Stroll Through The Garden
For a while, only silence remained between them.
At last, Kael spoke quietly, his tone low but steady. "You should have come to me sooner. Why keep something like this to yourself."
Lance’s jaw tightened. He gave a short nod, his eyes shifting away as if the truth itself stung. "I know. But I didn’t want to believe it."
Kael studied him for a moment, then asked, "You want me to go in there... and go through your memories?"
The question hung in the air. Lance paused, his hand flexing restlessly at his side. He knew all too well what Kael meant.
His brother had that rare ability to walk into someone’s mind as though he were strolling through a garden path, stepping into the deepest corners of thought.
It was what had saved Kael from those who had kidnapped him. But it was also something Kael rarely did, because the toll on him was immense.
Still, if Kael chose to, he would uncover the truth of what had caused Lance’s wolf to surge forward in those vulnerable, uncontrolled moments. However, there were some things that he did not want to burden his brother with.
So, he shook his head and instead grinned at the man, "Like hell I’m going to let you stroll around in my head."
Kael gave the faintest smile, one corner of his mouth twitching. "It’s your choice. You might get the answers faster if you let me."
"Not yet." Lance’s tone was firm, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. "For now, I don’t want to burden you with this. If anything, just get into that blockhead’s head and see what’s going on with him."
Lance’s frustration spilled out in the next words. "First he forced us to accept that slave bond, and now he’s refusing the mating bond. What the hell is wrong with him?"
Kael’s smile disappeared at that moment, "I guess he’s just worried. You know as well as I do, of the three of us, he’s the overthinker. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him."
He turned to leave then, already trying to think of some way that could help Lance but then, Lance’s voice stopped him cold. "Kael. You don’t seem to have any problems with the slave bond either."
Kael paused mid-step. His back stiffened as he realized Lance wasn’t going to let this subject slip by so easily. Slowly, he turned around to face him, his expression unreadable. "We made a pact," he said at last, his tone calm but carrying the weight of memory. "The only woman the three of us would ever share would be our mate. We would take her together. But you and I both know it cannot be Ramona. Knowing someone doesn’t like you is one thing, Lance. But feeling it every single moment..." He drew in a slow breath, his lips curling with distaste. "It makes me nauseous."
Lance’s gaze hardened, but he said nothing. What Kael was saying that he would never claim Ramona physically so they were going to break that pact. Did that mean, he planned to take the slave for himself and he was in agreement with Zen?
As if reading his mind, Kael continued, "As for letting the slave stay close, I’ve come to accept her only because her emotions don’t overwhelm me. They don’t claw at me the way others’ do. But don’t mistake that for anything else. I’m not foolish enough to see her as a replacement for our mate."
The words were spoken with finality, yet even as Kael said them, his mind was already pulling in another direction- snagged on something he had overlooked. The thought clung to him, refusing to let go.
Because usually, with his high sensitivity to emotions, he forced himself to remain closed off. It was the only way he could function without drowning in the flood of others’ feelings.
When he had first found her, caught in Zen’s grasp, he had not felt her fear or panic or anything at all. At the time, he had dismissed it, believing her lack of emotion had been swallowed by the haze of arousal Zen had pushed her into. After all, she was underage and close to her first heat.
Later, at the Moonville Pack, the emotions of the alpha had been so overpowering-his twisted exhilaration at striking the omega-that Kael had been sickened. He had slammed his own shields shut in disgust, trying to block the storm of excitement and cruelty pouring off the man.
And even later, when Kael had pulled her away from that alpha pup, the boy’s raw, vile excitement at the thought of taking her by force had been so revolting that Kael’s own anger had surged over everything else. He hadn’t noticed anything beyond that burning fury.
But now... now as he replayed those moments and others in his mind, Kael realized something he had missed all along. Something too strange to ignore.
He could not feel her feelings.
Not then. Not now. Not ever.
The realization crashed through him like ice water.
"Lance," Kael said abruptly, his tone clipped. "I’ll see you later. I have something to do at home."
Before his brother could respond, Kael turned and hurried away urgently. His chest was tight, his thoughts racing. He needed to get back to his home. He needed to test this, to make sure he wasn’t mistaken.
Because if he was right... if he truly could not sense her emotions... then how had he missed something this important?
Unknown to him, his leaving urgently had only made Lance worry more. Because as far as he could see, their words and actions did not match.
Not many things were hidden from Lance within the pack. Kael promised that he would not replace their mate with the Slave omega but he could already see his mind consumed by her thoughts. And Zen... usually an alpha like him would sort comfort from their mate. But right now, after their argument, he was with Emira instead of Ramona...