Chapter 106: A Meeting
"Why are we here? Lance, you know I don’t like all these official meeting styles." Zen asked as he threw himself into the chair with an ungraceful slouch, his posture careless while both his brothers sat straight-backed, shoulders squared as though carrying the weight of the world.
He glanced at them and his lips twisted into a smirk before he let out a long loud sigh, "I am the one who doesn’t even have anyone to blow my load into, and yet, it is the two of you who look all frustrated, like the world itself has wronged you."
He tilted his head and continued. "Lance... you are hopeless since your desires are locked away so tightly even you can’t find the key anymore. But you, Kael!" Zen leaned forward, pointing lazily, as though the accusation amused him "You disappoint me the most, with that beauty sleeping under your roof every night, a temptation within reach. You should not have been so uptight for this long. Even a saint would have broken by now."
Lance’s jaw tightened as he shook his head at his brother’s hopeless and cut in, before Kael could respond, "Zen. That is enough. I have called you for an important meeting. Three years ago, it was you who insisted on leaving, dragging Kael away with you. Now you’ve returned, yet you refuse to stay. And now you are treating the entire mate bond like a joke. Zen. What is going on in your head?"
Even as he asked, one could hear the frustration in Lance’s voice. Because he knew that even if he asked a hundred times, he would not get an answer. Zen was too stubborn.
His voice grew heavier, and he continued, "Already you have wronged Ramona more than once. Do you not see it? The fear and disgust Ramona feels toward Kael is not something she can simply control or push aside. Just like she cannot control the hurt that tears her apart every time she sees you doting on someone else, someone who is not her. Every glance, every smile you give another woman burns her. And you- you act as if it is nothing."
Zen lifted a shoulder in an indifferent shrug, his expression unreadable. "Well," he drawled, "if not being able to control something is an excuse, then I suppose I have my own. I am unable to stop myself from being with someone else. That is the truth. And if truth hurts, then let it hurt. I will not apologize for it."
Lance banged his hand on the table, as the sound snapped in the room before biting out angrily,"Zen! Kael is already willing to accept the bond with Ramona. And she too has agreed-despite everything-that she would let him mark her. They are both hoping that once the final link is in place, things will change. But you-" his voice hardened, "you are unwilling. For the future of this pack, we need to stabilize our bond quickly. The longer we wait, the worse it will get."
The easy smile on Zen’s face faded with each word. By the time Lance finished, it was gone, replaced by a resolute look that told Lance what Zen’s answer would be even before he opened his mouth to speak.
Zen slammed his hand down on the table, mirroring him and bit out, "I don’t care what Kael has agreed to! You think I do this because of him? Kael is Kael, and I am me. I will not agree to be mated until I am satisfied. And I will not give in for the so-called ’greater good,’ based only on a flimsy hope that things will magically fix themselves."
He pushed back his chair and stood. "If you summoned me here for this, then I have nothing to say. I’ve already received word of Omegas missing in the East where rogues were sighted. I’ll be leaving in a few days. If Kael wants to join me, fine. If not, he can stay here and enjoy our ’mate.’"
With that, Zen turned to leave and would have walked straight out, when- "Stop right there, Zen."
Lance’s voice cut across the room, low but commanding, and even though every part of him wanted to ignore it, Zen did not. He stopped. Slowly, with a reluctant turn, he faced his brother again. His eyes narrowed. "What?"
But the moment his gaze met Lance’s grim expression, the certainty that washed over him was unmistakable- whatever came next would not be good. His instinct was already screaming for him to run out of here.
"If you don’t agree," Lance said, his tone steady and heavy with authority, "then you leave me no choice but to order you as your Alpha."
Zen froze. His entire body stilled as tension creeped into his stance. "You wouldn’t."
Lance shook his head, and met Zen’s eyes with an unflinching look, letting him see his own resolve. "I would, Zen."
"Don’t be a fool, Lance," Zen snapped. His voice was sharp, but there was something unsettled beneath it. "Commanding something like this... it will only bring trouble."
But Lance didn’t waver. He shook his head again, decisive and final. "Send the others to investigate the missing omegas. And think carefully. I will give you one week. If, by then, you haven’t convinced yourself, then I will make it a command. You will have no choice. And the only way to resist it will be to challenge me to a duel... to take my place as Alpha."
"Lance!" Zen’s voice rose, anger biting through the words. "This is not fair!"
Lance only shrugged, his face unreadable. "Since when have I ever been fair, Zen? It’s never been about fairness. It’s about balance. And the scales are... unfortunately not tipped in your favour."
Eyes flashing with fury, without another word, Zen spun on his heel and stormed out of the office, the door rattling in its frame as it slammed behind him.
The silence that followed was heavy. Kael sat unmoving, his gaze lingering on the closed door, then slowly shifting toward Lance. For a long moment, he said nothing and then asked, "What is it that you are hiding that has made you so desperate, Lance? What is it you fear enough to threaten your own brother with a command?"