The Wrong Mate (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twenty-Three

            

Kane pulled the sheets back on Adam's bed. "Hop in," he told him.

Adam practically fell into the bed. His eyes closed before his head even hit the pillow. Kane pulled up the sheets and sat on the bed next to him. "You've got to pull yourself together," he whispered, more to himself than to Adam.

He thought Adam was asleep already, but his eyes flickered open. "I'm a mess," he whispered.

"Yeah," Kane laughed softly. "You kind of are."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow," Kane said. He wanted desperately to know what was going on inside Adam's head but he also didn't want to betray his trust. Drunk Adam was still an alpha. He was still his best friend.

"The pack's broke."

Kane knew this already, but a part of him hadn't believed it until now. He didn't say anything, he wasn't sure if he could. There was nothing he could say or ask of Adam that would make sense of it all. The pack that he grew up in, that was always so stable and sure, was suddenly not. It felt like the ground was breaking under his feet and he placed his hand on the bed next to him to stable himself.

"We are in serious debt," Adam said softly. "The kind of debt that you just don't get out of, Kane."

No wonder Adam was a complete and utter mess. This wasn't just a pack he lived in, it was his pack to protect. It was everything his family had worked for their entire lives. Kane probably would be the same in his situation. He thought about their futures for a quiet moment. He had always envisioned he and Adam together, side by side, improving the pack. Yet, now he thought about the cloud of debt and problems that would hang low over their heads, a weight heavy on their shoulders. It wasn't the future he wanted, but just like Adam, he had to face the truth.

Kane had an idea. "When, well, if Nora and I have a mating ceremony, wont her pack help us out?"

Adam looked up at him. "They are already helping us. They've been sending us money since Nora moved here, but it's nowhere near enough."

"Oh." Kane hadn't realised that Nora's family was already sending them money. If the richest pack in the country wasn't making a dint in the debt, Kane wondered how much debt they really were in.

Adams face dropped. He looked up at Kane with guilty eyes. "Once you two have your mate ceremony, then they will give us more."

Guilt took the breath from his lungs. If they didn't have a mate ceremony, would Nora's pack still be willing to give the pack money? He wasn't sure. He didn't want to think of the pressure that question held. He leant closer to Adam, but as he did, Adam's eyes closed and he rolled over.

"Let's talk tomorrow, okay?" Adam mumbled out.

Kane sighed, he knew that he wouldn't get any more information out of Adam tonight. Right now, he had to make sure Mason was okay back at the party. He turned the light off in Adam's room as he left and made his way out of the house. He was thankful that his parents weren't home, he didn't want to have to explain the mess of a son he left upstairs.

Kane drove back to the party with music blaring from the speakers. He hoped that music would calm him down and drown out his thoughts, but somehow, his thoughts were louder.

The party was past its peak when Kane arrived. He realised that when he entered the clearing and almost tripped over an omega who was puking pure beer onto the grass. Kane laughed softly to himself. He remembered those days. He grabbed a bottled water from a nearby table and handed it to the boy, who he recognised as one of Heath's friends. "Drink this," he told him. The boy nodded in appreciation, probably not able to speak just yet.