The Wrong Mate (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Six

Kane breathed out as the water cascaded down his back. He pressed his side against the wall of the shower, his legs no longer feeling strong enough to hold him up. He watched as the water fell over him, warm and comforting, on a night that had been anything but. Kane didn't want to close his eyes. He knew what, or better yet, who, he would see if he did. Her name was at the edge of his every thought. Nora.

He reached out and twisted the knob. The water came over him stronger. He took a deep breath and pushed his face under the stream. His closed eyes revealed one face. Her piercing blue eyes haunted him. He pushed the image away from his mind, but what replaced it was just as unwelcome. What was he now? What was his label?

He pulled his face from the water and took a gasping breath. He sat down, his legs crossed and the water falling over his back. He didn't know who he was now. He had known, from as long as he could remember, that he was gay. He liked boys. Boys liked him. He didn't want to kiss girls, but he wanted to kiss Nora. It made him shiver, even under the warmth of the water. He wanted to kiss her.

Kane's whole world was shaking and crumbling around him, and it was all because of her. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to be upset with the girl. It wasn't her doing. She was innocent in all of this, just a girl looking for her prince. He placed his head in his hands. She was going to be so disappointed. He already knew that.

A tear fell down his cheek, rapidly mixing in with the water. He didn't know who he was crying for, Nora or himself. In that moment, he knew that she was crying too. He didn't know how, but he felt it. He thought of her, held up in one of the huge rooms of the Alpha's house, crying into her pillow, thinking of him. Was his name wrapped around every one of her thoughts too? What did she think of him, her strange, avoidant mate?

He was out of the shower before he even knew what he was doing. He threw his shirt over his head and yanked his boxers and jeans up his legs. Then he walked as quietly as he could through the hallway. His wet feet made sounds against the wooden floors as he moved gently.

"Kane?" a voice said, it came from behind him.

Kane turned. The voice was coming from the end of the dark hallway. The person stepped forward and Kane could just see his brother's face in the moonlight from the window. If he had to, however, he could have forced his eyes to see more clearly, but he didn't need to. He could see his brother's confused expression clearly.

"Go back to bed, Heath."

Heath crossed the distance between them. "You're dripping wet, ever think of using a towel?"

Kane sighed. "I need to go somewhere, I'll be back."

Heath grabbed his arm quickly. His grip was loose, and Kane was suddenly and acutely aware of the force it would take to yank his arm back.

"You don't get off that easy," Heath said. "What happened at the ball?"

Kane gently unpeeled his brother's fingers. It was an uncomfortable feeling being restrained by another wolf, even if it was his brother. "I don't want to talk about it right now. I'll explain tomorrow."

Kane tried to walk towards the stairs but his brother stopped him. He blocked his path. "This isn't like you, Kane. What happened?"

Kane tried to walk past him. "I don't have time to explain it to you, Heath."

Heath blocked his path again, stepping right where Kane was trying to. The concern in his features had grown. "I'm your brother. If you're in trouble, you can tell me."

Kane stood still. "I did something tonight, I hurt someone, and I have to make it right."

Kane watched as Heath's expression hardened. "It wasn't a human, was it?"