Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Axel POV
“Well, that went fantastically,” Kane slumps into a mahogany brown leather couch in our office, laying his head back, looking at the ceiling.
“Are you sure you should have let her run off like that?” I ask, scratching my neck. That scene was heartbreaking and will haunt me for days.
“What the hell else could I have done?” He scrubs a hand up and down his face. “She’ll be back. Plus, if I let the guards go after her, it would have looked like she was doing something wrong. And she wasn’t. She just wanted to get out of there, and can you blame her?”
“Nope,” I drop onto the couch beside Kane and mirror his position, looking up at the vaulted ceiling and focusing on a wooden beam running across it. “I would have wanted to get as far away as possible ... and never return.”
We sigh in unison, not needing to verbalise how shitty we feel. She did not deserve to be humiliated like that, but there is no other way to claim Alice. We tried reasoning with Anton at the ceremony, our only option was to find an answer in the bylaws. I did what we thought was right, but what the fuck is this guilt and pain all about?
Elara’s dim eyes...They’re nothing like the glowing ones from last night when we made love. We seem to have screwed up.
“Did you see Alice’s face when you mentioned that we consummated the mating?” I chuckle humorlessly, and we even screwed up with Alice.
“I didn’t need to see it,” Kane groans, pulling a face as if he is in pain. “I felt the daggers coming from her eyes. I’m not sure who she was more upset with - us or Elara.”
“Yeah, we’re going to have to make it up to her big time tonight,” I laugh, stretching out lazily. “Hopefully, the whole mating bit will gain us some brownie points.”
“You would think,” Kane rolls his eyes. “But we all know Alice likes to hold a grudge.”
There is a side to Alice that no one else has seen. She seems meek and mild to most, but there is a different side to her that she only reveals when you get close to her. She can be manipulative and petty, but never over anything major. In fact, it can be almost cute at times.
The tips of her ears would start to get red when she got upset if you weren’t playing into her hand, and Kane and I often made a game out of getting a rise out of her.
Of course, we always gave in to her. We always planned on giving in. It was just amusing sometimes to see the lengths she would go to in order to get what she wanted.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Elder Anton bursts through the study door, not bothering to knock.
Kane sighed out loud, and there is no doubt Anton heard the annoyance in it.
Fuck, I cannot wait to be rid of this guy.
Kane does not even bother to move from his place on the couch. Instead, he turns his head slightly to the right to look at Anton.
“I’ve secured the mate we wanted in the first place,” Kane sneers. “That’s what I’ve done.”
“Oh, that’s all?” Anton scoffs. “You’ve now pointed out a loophole in the mating assignments that anyone can use. You’ve undermined decades of ritual planning, procedures and ...”
“And what?” Kane cuts him off. “If the High Council didn’t want people to have a way out, why write the footnote in the first place? I’ve done nothing wrong and followed the law to the letter. You should be pleased.”
“The footnote is specifically for ...” Anton clamps his mouth shut, exhales deeply and wipes his hand over his face.
“Specifically, for what?” Kane sits up straight and narrows his eyes.
“Specifically for dire situations,” Anton sighs.
“Which would entail?” Kane folds his arms, glaring at Anton.
“Unforeseen events,” Anton replies stiffly, the muscle in his jaw ticking.
“He’s hiding something,” I mind-link Kane.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Kane replies.
“Well, good then,” Kane leans back nonchalantly, clasping his hands over his stomach, and closes his eyes dismissively. “I’ve used it properly. Last night was an unforeseen and unfortunate event.”
“Are you smelling toast, Anton?” I ask, keeping my eyes on him. I am quite sure his face cannot get any redder; his eyes are practically about to bug out of his head. “Shall we get you a healer?”
“What?” he barks, frowning.
“You look like you’re about to have a stroke,” I shrug nonchalantly. “I only want to make sure we get you medical attention in time. It would be a shame if you lost any of your motor skills ... like the ability to speak.”
“Nice one,” Kane snorts before he can stop himself, but quickly recovers and schools his face again. I am usually the one telling him to tread carefully, so no one is more shocked by comments than I. Apparently, the last twenty-four hours are getting to me.
Kane stands up, and I follow him, my damn sixth sense when it comes to him telling me that he was about to leave the room.
“Elder Anton, I have not broken any laws,” Kane says firmly. “I’m sorry you are upset regarding our taking of a second mate and our inability to complete a claim with Miss Montgomery. I’m happy to speak to the High Council about this.”
Kane strides forward, and I follow. When we are at the door, he looks back at Anton, who is standing there, seething.
“Perhaps if the High Council is displeased that I have exercised this option, they should consider making some amendments,” Kane suggests. “In the meantime, it’s time for my brother and me to claim our new mate.”
