Ayden's pov
I kept my head down, focusing on the food on my plate, trying to ignore the tension that seemed to fill every room in the castle. Kareen and Colton had taken to glaring at each other, Lewis had taken to glaring at me and Zander had taken to glaring at everyone. I stuffed a small bite of eggs into my mouth, but couldn't swallow, my nerves too messed up. Finally, unable to take anymore, I pushed my chair back and got to my feet.
"Where are you going, Ayden?"
Looking over at Alpha Dominic, who was the only one that seemed calm, I shook my head before turning away.
"I'm going to the nursery to check on my pups, please excuse me."
I ran out of the room before anyone could respond, making my way to the comfort that only my pups could bring me. I had only taken a few steps into the room, when I was grabbed and slammed against the wall.
"You have a lot of nerve to show your face in front of Kareen after what you did. How dare you pretend to be his friend after you stole his mate and had his pups?!"
Kicking out, I managed to catch Lewis between his legs and he released me, collapsing to the ground.
"I . . . I don't care if you hate me, but don't touch me in front of my babies."
"Y-You kicked me."
"I'm not as weak as you think I am . . . and neither is Kareen. I don't know what Alpha Dominic told you to get you to come here, but I'm not going to let you upset Kareen anymore."
"That's rich coming from you. Tell me, did you befriend him and then brag about screwing his mate behind his back?"
I had to force myself to hold back a smirk.
"Is that what he told you to get you to come here, that I was some big bad homewrecker? Did he happen to tell you that Zander forgot who I was the minute we returned here? That he's only seen his . . . our pups once or twice at the most and never acknowledged them either time? Did he happen to mention in your little discussion that I didn't know he even had a mate and that I plan to break our mate's bond because it's hurting Kareen or did he make you think you were running here to save the day like some kind of hero?"
He gaped at me for several seconds, his mouth opening and closing like a carp, before with an embarrassed grunt, he climbed to his feet.
"He just told me that Zander had mated the white wolf and that his name was Ayden. I guess I didn't think to question things further than that."
"He didn't mate me because I was the white wolf . . . he mated me because of who my true mate is . . . was. My mate, the one who threw me aside for another is the brother he seeks revenge against . . . it was never love between us, so I could never win against Kareen even if I wanted to. If you would have questioned a little further, you could have prevented a lot of awkwardness between us."
"I still don't understand, why did you agree to the mating? Did you do it for revenge too?"
I lowered my head as memories of that day came flooding back.
"I did it to end the pain. My mate decided to mark someone else while our mating bond was still intact and my body couldn't handle the pain, so in a moment of weakness I agreed to mate with Zander. Like I said it's not love and if I'd known about Kareen I would have let the pain kill me instead."
"I am glad you did not."
"Kareen."
Kareen smiled at me in acknowledgement, before turning to Lewis, his smiling falling away slightly.
