Kade's lip curled in a humorless smile. "Is that all you both do? Gossip about me?"
Lucas shrugged, utterly unbothered. "Most of the time, yeah. We also had a bet on how long you can hold out before you finally cave."
The mate pull was something no wolf could truly ignore forever. It was nature's cruel joke, binding two souls whether they wanted it or not. And the more Kade stayed away, the more the pull would coil tight, snapping harder when it finally broke him.
"I cannot be with her," Kade said. "If you bet on me caving, you're going to lose a couple thousand more dollars."
"Then did you reject her?"
Lucas's voice carried a lazy amusement, but there was an undercurrent of curiosity. His gaze lingered on Kade as if he were trying to read his soul, searching for the answer Kade wouldn't give.
Kade didn't reply. His eyes shifting briefly toward the tall windows of Lucas's office. Beyond them, the vast stretch of the fortress glimmered under the weak midday sun. The silence said more than words could. He hadn't rejected her… but he hadn't claimed her either. The mate bond still burned quietly in his chest, a dangerous ember.
Lucas smirked knowingly, leaning back in his chair. "Case in point." He switched subjects almost abruptly. "How is Nelly and Adelita?"
"They are fine….Adelita has gotten quite big." There was a flicker of pride there—protective and paternal, even if he'd never claim the title.
"When do you plan on bringing her back to the pack?" Lucas's eyes narrowed.
"When her transformation is about to begin," Kade answered. Straightening his shoulders, he shifted the conversation. "I'm going to get to work. See what I missed in my absence."
Lucas raised a brow but let him go, though not without one last quip. "Suit yourself, Beta. Just remember… every wolf who thinks they can fight a mate bond ends up crawling back eventually. The pull doesn't care how disciplined you think you are."
*****
May woke up to find that Kade had left. She had told herself she was ready for this—ready for him to disappear into whatever dangerous, secretive life he led—but her chest ached anyway. He'd told her he would be gone, but the reality hit harder than she expected.
Who knew when she'd see him again? Would she? Or would he vanish for months, until she was nothing more than a fleeting thought in his mind? She shook her head sharply. Not today. Today, she had a role to play—a life to keep up appearances for.
The low rumble of an engine in the garage jolted her from her thoughts. Mark was there. Her fiancé. The man she was supposed to belong to. They were getting their marriage license today—sealing a future she had convinced herself she wanted.
She waited until she heard the sound of the car door slam and his steady footsteps approaching. Her lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile, masking every bit of turmoil she felt. By the time he stepped through the door, she was the picture of warm domesticity.
"Hey, fiancée," she greeted.
"Hey, you," Mark replied, stepping close and brushing a kiss over her temple. "You ready for this?"
She nodded, still holding that smile. "Sure. Let's do this."
"The brooding man is not around to tell me how much of a loser I am?" Mark asked. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and the grip he had on his keys seemed a little tighter than necessary.
May glanced at him, catching the way he avoided looking directly at her when he said it. He's trying to be light about it, she thought, but he can't stand Kade's shadow any more than Kade can stand him.
"Be nice," she said softly, though her tone carried an edge of warning. "Besides, he left." She turned to the counter, pretending to check her bag, but in truth she was hiding the faint flush on her cheeks. Kade's presence still lingered in her thoughts.
"Oh…" Mark exhaled. "First good news this morning."
May arched a brow at him. "Let's hope the rest of the day goes the same way."
They both headed outside. The morning air was crisp, sunlight spilling across the cobblestone street.
Mark's car waited at the curb. They slid inside, and Mark pulled into the slow-moving traffic.
A few minutes later, they were standing in line at the council hall. Couriers hurried past, clutching files. Every few moments, a guard would sweep the queue, ensuring no one carried weapons inside.
"You think Nelly will listen to you about the small wedding?" Mark asked.
May let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "No. But I will try to remind her every now and then."
"If I didn't know better, I would think she was your mother," Mark said.
"She is the only mother figure I ever had," May replied, a soft warmth in her tone despite the ache that tugged at her chest. "I am proud to be her maid. Although, I worry… when we are married, who will help her?" Her gaze drifted past Mark, to where the queue curled.
"I'm sure you can find time every now and then to help her babysit," Mark said with a small smirk, stepping closer so his shoulder brushed hers.
She swallowed. Mark's hand slid lightly to the small of her back.
For a moment, she imagined what Kade would do if he were here—how his voice would drop low, dangerous, and how his hand wouldn't just rest at her back but curl into her hair, tilting her head so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. The thought made her pulse quicken, and she hated herself for it.
She forced herself to focus on the hall ahead, the murmur of the crowd, the scent of ink and old paper.
The line moved along in the slow, mind-numbing crawl typical of the human council hall—a place that smelled faintly of old paper, floor polish, and the faint metallic tang of a broken air vent that had been "scheduled for repair" for the last three years. May kept her eyes forward, ignoring the muttered conversations from the people ahead. Her hand was now in Mark's, warm but loose, as if they were simply waiting to renew a driver's license rather than standing at the edge of a new chapter in their lives. She hated this hall—its glass walls that let in too much light, the tight scrutiny from the cameras overhead.
Finally, the line shuffled forward, and it was their turn. The clerk didn't even look up when she spoke, her voice flat from repetition. "Identification, proof of divorce please." She might as well have been asking for a parking ticket.
Mark reached into his jacket pocket, handing over his ID with his usual calm. She followed, placing hers down with a faint click of nails on plastic. "We have never been married," Mark said.
The woman nodded mechanically, eyes flicking to her monitor as her fingers moved across the keyboard. Her perfectly neutral expression didn't falter until she looked up—straight at May. "Proof of divorce please."
May blinked. "I have never been married." She kept her tone steady, but the words came out faster than she meant them to, almost defensive.
"Not according to my system here," the woman replied, tapping her screen with a single manicured nail.
"What?!" The exclamation ripped out of May before she could temper it. She turned sharply toward Mark, whose expression was frozen in disbelief. His hand tightened over hers.
"Could you check again?" May asked. Her stomach felt like it had dropped into her knees.
The woman indulged her with a sigh, re-entering the data. The screen refreshed. "It says here you are married to a Mr. Kingsley Kincaid. Six years now."
May felt her knees weaken. The name hit her like a slap, the syllables carrying a weight she had buried deep and locked away. Her breath stuttered. "No… no… no…" she whispered, the words breaking into fragments. Her voice cracked, sounding small and desperate. "God, please, no."
"Someone you know?" Mark asked, confusion flickering into suspicion.
She didn't answer. Couldn't. The walls of the council hall seemed to close in around her. The room felt too bright, every face too sharp, every camera an unblinking eye.
May's heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She stepped backward, her body moving before her mind could catch up, Mark's grip slipping from her hand. And then she turned—running. She didn't stop when she reached the heavy glass doors. She pushed through, into the cold air outside, her breath coming fast.
The woman behind the counter gave Mark an apologetic look. Without a word, she slid their IDs back across the counter. Mark's jaw ticked, a muscle pulsing as he snatched them up. He turned sharply.