Chapter 80: Who To Choose

Kai had barely closed the door of his private rooms when the latch turned again.

He did not turn at once, he didn’t even have the energy to do so. He had come here to think, to put the pieces back into some order that would not destroy the northern alliance in a single afternoon. He had not expected company, especially not Flora’s.

The Luna’s scent reached him first, sharp, dominant, and threaded with the clean anger of someone who had already decided the shape of the conversation.

"Explain," she said the moment she was within earshot of him.

Kai turned to meet her gaze. She stood just inside the threshold, He didn’t know what had happened to her nor did he know what sort of explanation she was looking for. However, one thing was clear to Kai from the look on Flora’s face, she was not happy. Anger felt little compared to what he was looking at. What happened? Has she found out already?

"Flora—"

"Explain to me," she repeated, each word precise, "why Levi Hill has three claim marks on his throat."

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut. Kai felt the last of the hope he had carried from the study drain away. He had not expected her to find out so soon. He had calculated days, perhaps a week, before the scent and the rumors reached the guest suites. He had not accounted for the fact that she had already seen the marks with her own eyes.

There was no running from it now, he couldn’t even if he wanted to. It would not take long before other people noticed, and it would not take long before the truth came out fully. Better to tell her himself than let the story reach her through servants and northern aides who might have heard him yelling at Aaron earlier.

He drew a slow breath, unsure of how to start or where. After a while, he decided there was no need for long stories.

"I marked him," Kai said.

The words left him quietly, without ornament, and he watched as Flora completely froze up.

For a long moment she only stared, as if the sentence itself had not been uttered. It wasn’t real, no Kai had to be joking with her, right?

But she had seen the marks, and she knew better than anyone that Kai would not play with something this serious. She doubted she had ever seen him play about anything before. Which meant that it was true, Kai had actually claimed Levi Hill.

"You’re lying," she said. The words were thin. She remained quiet after them, as if speaking further would make the truth settle more firmly into the room.

Kai did not move. He watched the controlled stillness on her face crack further, the same way his own had cracked in the corridor when he first saw the third bite.

Flora’s voice came again, lower this time, edged with something that was no longer only denial.

"What about the wedding?" she asked. "Am I supposed to play second mate to an omega? Is that what you want me to do?"

"Flora—"

"Don’t." She stepped farther into the room, the green of her dress shifting with the motion. "Don’t stand there and try to calm me down while the evidence is still on his throat. I saw the marks. I know what a completed claim looks like. You marked him, you claimed him, and now you expect me to stand beside you in eight days as if none of it happened?"

Kai tried again. "The bond—"

"I am not listening to another explanation about bonds and the Goddess and natural order." Her voice rose. She reached the nearest side table, swept the papers from it in one sharp motion. They scattered across the floor. "I will not buy this. I am not buying any of it. You better find a way to fix this, Kai, or things will get ugly for everyone. Do you understand me?"

She did not wait for an answer.

She turned, crossed the room in the same controlled violence Aaron had used, and left. The door closed hard enough that the frame rattled. Her footsteps moved away at speed, and Kai could only stand still and listen until he couldn’t hear them anymore.

Kai remained alone. He stood in the center of the now disordered room and felt the last of his structure collapse. Everything felt like a sad nightmare, like he wasn’t even living anymore.

He did not know what to do, he did not know who to talk to, and worst of all, he did not know how his father would react when the third claim reached him. It would definitely reach their father, Kai knew it was only a matter of time before that happened, and at that moment he had no idea how he was going to face the old Alpha.

Kai walked to the chair by the window and sat down. He rested his elbows on his knees and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. The tremor in his fingers had not gone, if anything it seemed to get worse as the seconds passed.

He was in real trouble, it was time he accepted that, and nobody was coming to save him this time. Perhaps that was fine. Perhaps it was time he dealt with his own mistakes and the consequences that came with them. Perhaps it was time he accepted that he was not perfect—that he had not stopped thinking about Levi since the night the full moon rose and the Goddess tied a mate pull to all three of them and pointed it at the one omega who was never supposed to be more than collateral.

He lowered his hands and stared out at the formal gardens. It looked beautiful, nothing like his life was at the moment. What was he supposed to do next? How on earth was he supposed to handle this? And who was he supposed to choose, Levi or Flora?