Chapter 132: Chapter 132
Kane POV
The moment I saw Mason’s face while he was holding the twins, I knew it was over. Axel looks at me with this accusatory, I-told-you-so expression. Now, Mason knows our secret, and we are going to pay for it.
I look at Elara, her eyes are wide, and her jaw is nearly on the floor as she stares at the twins.
“You two are despicable,” Mason sneers, looking at us with disgust. “You freak out when I touch Stella, but you’re hiding them from me.”
“That’s not what happened,” I finally snapped out of my trance. “We didn’t know Alice was cheating on us. Not in the beginning, anyway. For fuck’s sake, the first time we heard your name was when the babies were born. We realised there was a possibility, but we didn’t know for sure.”
“And remember how you bonded with Stella even though you weren’t her father?” Axel steps in. “The same thing happened with us and the twins.”
Axel sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. This is a weak argument. He knows it, and I know it. All we can hope for is that Mason buys it, because it is all we have. Even though it is the truth, we knew Mason was their father, and we did not say anything.
Mason’s face is a cold, stony mask as he stands up and gently lays the twins back down. When he turns to face us again, his wolf is dancing dangerously close to the surface, and his chest is heaving with the effort of holding him back.
“I always resented you,” Mason says, glaring at me. “And Elara did her best to help me see that I shouldn’t blame you, but the bastard who gave us life. But I never pegged you for cruelty, Kane. You let me hold Lanie, let me reminisce about how much she looks like Alice. And in all that time, you didn’t even consider telling me the truth.”
“I was desperate,” I sigh. “Whether or not these twins were ours, we bonded with them immediately. The idea of you finding out and running back off to rogue territory with these perfect little pups that we’d already fallen in love with ... it was devastating.”
“So, what? You were just going to keep this a secret forever?” Mason demands.
“I loved Alice.” His voice breaks, and he clears his throat. “And these babies are all I have left of her. They’re mine, and I won’t let you take what’s mine again.”
I knew it. I fucking knew he would go there.
“This isn’t about some vendetta against you,” I sneer, my entire body shaking. “I love those babies, and I couldn’t give them up to a wolf I didn’t trust. Even if that wolf’s their father. How am I supposed to know if you want the babies to hurt us, or if you actually want to be a father? You should know better than anyone what it is to grow up unwanted.”
“That’s low,” Mason growls, his wolf flashing in his eyes.
“Okay, let’s take a step back,” Axel steps in, trying to be the voice of reason. “You want to stay with Stella; we want to stay with the twins. We all bonded with each other’s babies. I’m sure we can work something out.”
“Correction,” Mason snarls. “We could have worked something out. If you hadn’t fucking lied to me. But that ship has sailed.”
Elara POV
Mason storms out of the cabin, and life returns to my loins.
“I’ll talk to him,” I say, following Mason.
I did not expect this, even though I should have. For fuck’s sake, I knew she was cheating, and I did not say a word. I am as much at fault as Kane and Axel. I should have told him, and they should have told Mason.
But this is not black and white. They fell in love with those kids. How can anyone expect them to give it up? Hell, if somebody tells me that Stella was switched at birth, I will not be able to switch back. I would want Stella and the other (hypothetical) child.
“Mason, please wait!” I shout as I run towards him, and I sigh relieved when he does.
“I can’t fucking believe them,” he says, his voice shaking with anger and hurt. “My own fucking pups ... they kept them away from me this whole time.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, cautiously reaching out and touching his arm. I have never seen him this upset. “This is a bad situation all around. They didn’t mean to hurt or deceive you. They didn’t do it out of hate or anger. They did it out of love for the twins.”
“How can you cover for them?” He bellows, his eyes dark with pain.
“Because they’re as much of a victim as you are,” I reply firmly. “They didn’t know until it was too late. For fuck’s sake, if Alice didn’t call out your name, they still would’ve have known. Alice never had the intention of telling you. If she survived childbirth, she would’ve raised those kids as their babies, and you would have been none the wiser. If you want to blame someone, blame her, not them. All they’d done wrong was love your children as their own. Loving them so profoundly that they’re not willing to give them up.”
“They’re selfish, and we can’t trust these people, Elara,” he says, looking at me with renewed fierceness in his eyes. “I can’t stay here ... and neither should you.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked incredulously. “They’re my mates, and Stella’s fathers. I’m not leaving them.”
“You’re sticking with them after everything they did to you?” His voice climbs an octave. “They don’t love you; they love the idea of you. To them you are nothing more than a mother to the children and a good fuck.”
The sound of my fist slamming against his jaw echoes around us.
“If you ever ...”
“What?” He snaps, cutting me off. “Speak the truth? You’re not a stupid girl, Elara. Think. They didn’t want you until you went into heat and your hybrid blood drove them insane with lust. They claimed Alice, not you. Do you honestly believe that they would want you if you weren’t Stella’s mother and a hybrid?”
Numb and speechless, I stare at him. I do not believe him. Kane and Axel are not like that. They are not using me. Well, at least not anymore. Things in the beginning were rough, but that is in the past. We love each other now. It is different.
But if I am so certain, then why do his words bother me?
“I have mistakes, and yes, I’m jealous and possessive,” he continues. “But since you and I reconnected, I never treated you with anything but respect, and you were.”
“Mason, I ...”
“We take the babies,” Mason says urgently, interrupting me. “And we run back to Stillwood.”
