The Wrong Mate (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

           

Kane stared at Mason from across the table. Mason had been staring at the menu for ten minutes. Kane hadn't even glanced at his own. He had just been waiting. He couldn't think of anything other than the fact that Mason was hiding something from him. It made him feel unsettled.

Kane glanced around the diner that they were in. It was small, with brightly coloured walls decorated by images of teenagers drinking pink milkshakes. It was too happy for how he was feeling. He had picked a table right in the corner so that they could talk privately. He had hoped that the truth wasn't going to be hard to pry from Mason, but his silence was worrying. 

"Are you ready to order?" Mason asked from behind his menu.

"Mason," Kane said. He hoped his deadpan tone would show Mason that he wasn't giving up in his search for the truth.

Mason lowered the menu. "Yeah?"

"Are you going to explain what happened?"

Mason shrugged. "Can we do this after dinner? I just want to enjoy a night with you."

Kane shook his head. "You're worrying me. Just tell me."

Mason placed the menu down on the table. He blinked a couple of times, his eyes cast down at it. "I don't want to have this conversation, Kane. You have to believe me."

Mason lifted his head, his eyes filled with sadness. Kane felt a wave of fear hit him. He reached his hand out over the table, willing Mason to take it. "Whatever's going on, just tell me. We can work it out together."

Mason gently clasped his hand in Kane's. "I believe Rita. She's the one who cast the spell to begin with, and if anyone would have been able to fix the bond then it would have been her. I believe what she said about the bond being unbreakable."

Kane shook his head slightly. "Mason-"

Mason cut him off, "Please just let me finish."

Kane nodded.

"If there's no way for the bond to be fixed, then me being around is only going to cause more pain and heartache. I'm a liability as it is. The rogues are hunting me, they might even know where we live. I'm not safe there anymore."

"You know that we will protect you. You don't have to leave Burlington. My father said on the phone that he and the Alpha want to protect you. They won't cast you out."

Mason only considered that for half a second. "For as long as I'm with your pack, I'm a liability. Me being there endangers everyone as long as those rogues are still out there. I need to leave."

Kane squeezed Mason's hand. He wasn't going to let Mason face that alone. If Mason truly believed that he wasn't safe at Burlington then he wasn't going to force him to stay there. An idea came to Kane's mind. "Then I'll go with you. We can run away together until the rogues aren't looking for you anymore."

Kane had expected Mason to be happy with his response, but Mason only looked more upset. "It's not just about that," Mason admitted.

"What is it about then?" Kane asked.

"Me being around every day causes Nora so much pain. I see it on her face. Every time we touch, I see the pain in her eyes. I can't live like this anymore, Kane. I am the reason that you and Nora aren't together. If you have your mate ceremony with her, then the bond would be fixed between you. Rita said that."

Kane couldn't fully comprehend what Mason was trying to say. "Rita said a lot of things to my mother eighteen years ago that weren't true either. We can fix the bond, Mason. I don't know why you're saying these things."