14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Zane

The bear in me hated that my Alpha was displeased. Shame filled my gut and weighed down on me like a heavy, wet blanket. I was his second, the one he relied on the most. My job was to make his job easier, not more difficult.

It wasn't as if I had a choice, though. His brother was my mate. Fate deemed it so, not me. Denying him was outside my abilities. He was mine, full stop.

I followed Aydan and the rest of his visitors back inside the diner to the back room, where there was a private area set up for us to chat. I don't believe the intention had been to utilize that room today, but it would work well now. I wasn't sure I'd have been able to wait long enough to get us all back to the Alpha house before talking. This had to be dealt with now if I were going to keep control of my bear. He wasn't having any of this arranged mating thing, and his power was rivaling my own at the moment.

"Go ahead and deliver our food in here, Stacy," Aydan said, his voice calm to all who didn't know him. But I saw it as the facade that it was. He was holding on by a thread and it was our fault.

No, screw that. It was fate's fault, and I couldn't allow myself to be sorry about it. It wasn't fair to my mate, and he came first. Always.

The young bear waitress nodded, her eyes wide. She could feel the tension radiating off her Alpha. Aydan touched her shoulder. "All is well," he whispered. "I promise you that."

She visibly softened at his words. "Thank you, Alpha."

No, Aydan wasn't mad at anyone else in the pack or in this room even. It was me who had disappointed my Alpha. A man who was not only my Alpha, but my closest friend. I wished that my mate could be by my side for this conversation, except I didn't want him anywhere near this other alpha who thought he had a claim on him.

We should've told Aydan before now. It could've avoided all of this. My mistakes in this were piling up like a laundry heap.

"Zane," Aydan's voice broke me out of my stupor. The rest of the group had sat down. I sat next to Aydan on his left, just as I would as his second, which for the time being I still was. I didn't know what the future was going to hold on that front, though. Only time would tell.

"So, this omega you promised me you have also promised to another? This man here, your Beta?" the visiting alpha asked.

I couldn't read him. Was he mad? Frustrated? Relieved? He needed to take up poker. The guy was good. I opened my mouth to speak, but Aydan held up a hand.

"I'm not sure what has transpired while I've been away, Griff. As you know, this mating was not set in stone; we had talked about it. That was all." Aydan could've gone in so many directions, and he took the one that protected his brother. He was a good man, a great Alpha. That didn't mean this was all going to work out with ease, but there was hope. "It appears that my brother is rethinking his decision, and I will respect his desire to do so. I do apologize that it seems you have come all this way for nothing."

The alpha's jaw set hard. Mad it was. "This is the way you run your pack? They're allowed to do whatever they wish? We may not have come to a final agreement, but it was close, Aydan. I brought my brothers here on good faith."

"Everyone in my den is allowed to pursue their own happiness in whatever form that may take, yes. As long as they don't infringe on the rights of others. I don't rule with an iron fist. I'm not a tyrant." He sucked in a deep breath. "I've seen how that turns out, and it is never good."

The alpha sat back, seeming to think this over.

"It doesn't change the fact that I came here with the thought that there'd be a mate provided for me so we may strengthen our alliances between our dens. I brought my omega brothers along so that they may find their own mates here, as well."

I could see how very much this had to suck for him.

"My Alpha will not be pleased with this. However, if it is fate that has brought your brother and your Beta together, I won't stand in the way of that. But I can't allow our omegas to stay if I won't be staying with them. They'll be returning home with me."

All the hard work Aydan had done was unraveling before his eyes. His purpose had been to bring more omegas here to boost our numbers and help his own den find their mates. Now those omegas were leaving.

"We'll be returning to my den tomorrow. My Alpha will be in touch with you shortly." His curt tone said he wasn't going to be happy. And honestly, I couldn't blame him. But that didn't change anything. Not for me, anyway.

Aydan nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate your understanding and honesty in this matter."

The other alpha got up and left, and it was just me with Aydan and his two of his other Betas. He stayed quiet. He didn't need to say a word. Disappointment exuded from his pores.

My head dropped, my shoulders hunching forward.

"I'm sorry, Alpha. That's not the way I wished for you to find out."

He let out a long sigh. "You were to leave my brother alone. He was promised to another."

"I know that. But I also know that he is my fated mate, and I wasn't going to deny him. Trust me, I tried."

Aydan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"It is," I said. "You can ask him. It sucked, and we both ached from it. Neither of us wanted to mess up what you'd accomplished."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I've got so much to do after being gone for so long. I still need to meet with at least half the den. And I'll have several pissed-off alphas on my hands since the whole purpose of this endeavor was to secure more omega members of the den."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, and I went to speak, but he shook his head, a silent order.

"I'm not sure that I'll have a chance to speak with you or my brother until tomorrow. I'll make a determination on what the repercussions of your actions will be."

Fuck. I hadn't been expecting that. He'd defended us to the alpha, and I thought he'd be disappointed, sure, but repercussions? If he asked us to leave, it would break his brother. He'd only just arrived, but the den welcomed him with open arms, and he was at home here.

"Can I see him?" I asked.

Aydan shook his head. "Both of you need to be working right now. Touch base with me later in the afternoon. I'll make a decision by then."

I wanted to argue, tell him that Corey had conquered the books like a beast and that he had the time. I did too. Last I knew, all we had was a couple of oil changes left. It was going to be a boring day at the shop.

But I knew better. When Aydan laid down the law, it wasn't a suggestion.

"He tried to talk to you yesterday, Alpha," I said. Even though I wasn't sure I necessarily had permission to speak freely, I was going to anyway. His brother was going to be beside himself over this, and his brother needed all the facts before making any decisions.

If it came between choosing my den and my mate, I was choosing my mate every day.

"Clearly, he didn't try hard enough. We could've saved ourselves a lot of embarrassment if the two of you had come forward sooner."

Ouch.

"Perhaps he didn't get room to speak. Did you allow him any?" I asked.

Aydan narrowed his eyes. I knew I was tiptoeing over the line. But it needed to be said.

"As your Beta, it is my responsibility to make sure that you're being the best Alpha that you can be. Sometimes that means I have to remind you that you have a one-track mind."

Aydan nodded. "Noted. I'll speak with you this afternoon," he said, and then he left.

That went better than it could've but nowhere nears as well as I wanted. I needed it to be this afternoon already.