Kaden

Painful Proof

The king spluttered, angry that my brother claimed I loved Kit and I sneered. Bran's presence seemed to throw him for a loop though. I supposed he looked like his father as I was identical to mine. Hence, I couldn't sneak around. Everyone knew to hate me on sight. Often, I wondered if they had my picture posted somewhere so all werewolves knew what I looked like. If they did, and it was current, then I knew one of the tasks the king gave Marcus.

The king's expression darkened after a moment and Kit growled behind me. Before he could open his mouth, she stood in front of me, glowering. When shock overtook his features, she growled while widening her stance. It startled me to realize she was setting herself up for a fight. I stared at the top of my mate's head for several seconds, feeling lost, then glanced at her father. Our eyes met, and he softened for a moment, then seemed to remember who I was and sneered.

"Fine. If we leave now, no harm comes to this pack. I despise them for hiding you and keeping you prisoner but if you've grown soft towards them you can keep your rats," the king spat. I flinched, knowing his words hurt my pack. But I didn't growl. It was my fault. I gave him the ammo he used to cause them pain. At his words, the fight seemed to leave Kit and she slumped, but I understood. She didn't want to leave. However, if she stayed her father would rain his fury on our heads. He would raze our lands, and keep at it until all that remained of us were ashes. We would be the example he made for those who stood against him. All anyone would remember of us would be what they whispered in the dark corners the king ignored.

Still, it was hard to swallow my despair, but I had to because Kit needed me to be strong. If I wasn't, if I broke down, she would too. I couldn't do that to her. Especially now that I knew she was her father's strongest enforcer. I couldn't make her appear weak in their eyes. She had enough problems on her plate, enough pain to suffer. The last thing she needed was me adding to it. Especially since I was the source of all her suffering.

Kit trembled, not wanting to leave me and I shuddered when I realized I had to help her go. I didn't want to, I wanted to hug her so tight she never thought of leaving again. But I couldn't make her life harder than I already had, either. So, I lowered my head to kiss her cheek and my heart broke when she sniffled. "I won't break my promise, my heart," I murmured and she trembled again. "But I don't want to get you in trouble with your father. So, don't worry about us. We'll be miserable without you, but we'll manage." A slight smile curled her lips and I sighed. I worried I might have made things harder by mentioning our misery but I hoped she'd be happy to know how much she meant to all of us. Not that my pack didn't show her affection every chance they got. Sometimes I thought they loved her more than me, which pleased me.

After a shuddering breath, she left me. Each step hurt my heart, but I stood still and let her go. Her twin watched me with unwavering eyes, so he saw the tears I fought and how my fingers shook. I wanted to reach out for her, pull her back into my arms and beg her not to go. So many promises I could give her father raced through my mind, along with the desire to give him anything he asked if she could only stay. He could strip me of my pack, my land, and while I'd hate him for it, at least I would have my mate. But Kit would never be okay with that. She'd hate me for agreeing, she'd loathe him for demanding it, and she'd despise herself for causing it. I couldn't do that to her even though my heart begged it of me.

It felt like eternity, watching her approach her father who wrinkled his nose and told her she needed a shower before he'd hug her. Her twin's eyes burned with fury then he hugged her as tight as he could, glancing at me after raising his head. His expression was unreadable while I was sure mine was broken. Kit never glanced back, which I understood. If she did, if she saw our pain, she would lose the strength she needed to obey her father's demand. How could he be so cold to her, though? He searched for so long, but wouldn't hug her because she smelled like me? That didn't seem right. Hell, if I didn't think it impossible, I'd swear he was under some kind of spell.