Chapter 725 She is disgusting. Stay away from her

Kael could not shake the ghost of Jasmine from his bones. She haunted every corner of his mind, every beat of his heart, every breath he took.

Cleopatra had gone to visit her parents, and he used the empty hours to bury himself in work, helping Corvine and Damon ensure the pack remained peaceful, that no one lingered where they should not.

It was better than sitting alone with his thoughts. Better than drowning in the memory of Jasmine’s tear-streaked face as she walked away from everything she had ever wanted.

He even waited in the shadows, hidden and silent, watching as Voren and Seraphine marked each other beneath the blood moon. He waited until they retired to bed, until the pack grounds fell quiet, before he finally allowed himself to move.

His feet carried him to Jasmine’s door before his mind could catch up, before reason could stop him.

Voren had warned him to stay away from her. The command had been clear, edged with steel, but something inside Kael could not simply give up. He had to make sure that she was okay.

He knocked, but there was no response. He tried the mindlink, but it would not connect. Her phone went straight to voicemail, the automated voice cutting through him like a blade.

Knowing that neither Voren, Seraphine, nor even Liah and Corvine would give him any information, he retreated to his room. That was when he felt it. A strange pain bloomed in his chest, sharp and twisting, like claws raking across his heart from the inside.

’What is going on?’ he asked his wolf, desperation creeping into his thoughts. But his wolf remained silent, withdrawn, leaving him alone with the ache that would not fade.

Kael went in search of Cleopatra. He knocked on her door, and when she emerged with a towel draped around her chest, her hair still damp and clinging to her shoulders, her eyes widened. “Beta Kael.”

“Call me Kael,” he ground out, enduring the pain that pulsed through him with every heartbeat. His jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

Cleopatra’s expression softened into something apologetic, her lips curving into a gentle smile. “I am sorry for not telling you. My mom usually has difficulty sleeping, so I go to give her soothing massages.”

’She is lying,’ Kael’s wolf, Razor suddenly growled, the sound reverberating through his skull. Kael frowned, confusion cutting through the fog of pain.

’Where have you been?’ he demanded.

’She is disgusting. Stay away from her,’ Razor responded heartlessly.

Kael felt conflicted, torn between the bond that had once felt so strong and the instinct that now screamed at him to run.

The bond had been powerful in the beginning, strong enough to make him choose Cleopatra over Jasmine, even when his heart had always belonged to Jasmine. He forced a smile and looked at his mate.

“That is fine. You do not have to stay here from now on. Share my room until I hand over affairs here.”

Cleopatra’s smile brightened. “Alright. I will move to your room tomorrow.”

“Why not now?” Kael asked, unable to understand the pain that gnawed at him. It had not been like this before. Something had changed. Something was wrong.

“It is my mom. She still needs me.”

Kael did not know much about his mate, so he let it slide. But on his way back to his room, the pain only intensified. It grew teeth, grew claws, tearing at him from the inside until he could barely breathe. In search of comfort, any comfort, he found himself pressing Damon’s doorbell.

The door swung open, and Damon’s face twisted with annoyance before confusion smoothed the sharp lines of his features.

“You have a mate. So what are you doing here looking like your heart is bleeding?”

Kael did not answer with words. He threw himself into Damon’s arms, his body crashing against him, and Damon caught him, his hands gripping Kael’s shoulders. “Kael, what is wrong? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“Whiskey,” Kael growled, the word scraping out of his throat like gravel.

Damon reached into his wine cabinet and poured a glass of whiskey. Kael snatched it and gulped it down in one burning swallow. He held out the glass.

“More.”

Damon poured another. Kael drank it just as fast.

“More.”

“No. That is enough.” Damon’s voice was firm, unyielding. “What is wrong with you? You chose your mate over the redhead. If I had known you’d do that, I would have hit on her and won her heart.”

Kael slumped onto the floor, his back against the wall, his head falling into his hands. “You like her too?”

Damon shrugged, his expression unreadable. “I am being reasonable here. Get a hold of yourself.” He crouched down and checked Kael’s neck, searching for a mark. There was none. “Hey, you did not mark each other under the blood moon?”

He received no response. Kael had fallen asleep, his body finally surrendering to exhaustion.

Damon slept too. By the time they woke, it was midnight the next day. The pack was asleep, the world wrapped in silence. Kael explained everything, the words spilling out of him in a rush of confusion and pain.

Damon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “From what I read about the mate bond, your mate is cheating on you.”

“With who?” Kael demanded, unwilling to believe it. There had been no strange presence in Cleopatra’s room when he arrived. No scent of another wolf. Nothing.

“We just have to find out. But duty calls. Some Alphas would be leaving this morning.” Damon clapped him on the shoulder. “You can shower here and choose any of my clothes.”

Kael did not refuse. By the time they were done, it was as if nothing had happened. The pain was still there, a constant companion, but he had grown numb to it, learned to carry it like a second skin.

As soon as they reached the pack ground, a she-wolf from another pack approached them. Her steps were hesitant, her eyes darting nervously between the two of them.

“Beta Kael, I have been wanting to see you, but no one would give me access to the leaders’ quarters.”

“Who are you? And why would you want to see me?” he asked, annoyance sharpening his tone.

The girl lowered her head. She could not have been more than twenty-five, her face pale, her hands twisting together in front of her. “Beta Kael, I am Bella. Cleopatra’s personal maid.”

Kael froze. The world around him seemed to stop, the air thinning in his lungs. “Is something wrong with her?”