"So, when are you going to tell him?" Claudia asked without preamble, and a frown tugged at Kay's brow as she tried to figure out what this was about. "Marcus, that you love him?" she clarified. "Do not deny it. He was the last image in your head when you were drowning, and you were filled with a vast regret that almost tore my heart from me. We all were privy to it."
Kay flushed. "Cat is right; this shit is creepy," she muttered, and Claudia grimaced.
"Do you think I do not know how having a mate and loving him feels? Marcus is not my true mate, and although I love him, I don't love him like you do. When I was young, there was this boy, we only met a few times, but he was it. We would have married when I turned eighteen, and it was all settled and done. Happiness filled my perfect world, and then Carlos died in a stupid car accident. He was unconscious, the car caught fire, and he burned."
"I am so sorry," she said, and Claudia shrugged, looking unexpectedly vulnerable.
"Marcus was aware of this when we were engaged, just as he realized there was a possibility that he could find his mate, but he also knew that sometimes, we must do our duty at whatever cost to ourselves. I knew the moment you walked into our lives, but you were too damaged to admit your attraction to him, even to yourself."
"He shut himself off, ignoring it because he didn't want the complications, for my sake, I guess. This will not be easy. Marcus is responsible for both of us and with our bonds complete, death is the only way to break them. I am too young to die, and despite my upbringing, it is not werewolf nature to share our mate. So can you deal with this?' Claudia insisted, and she frowned at her.
"Can you?" she challenged.
The werewolf smiled ruefully. "I guess we will find out."
Kay nodded. "You could have chosen for me to be returned to Azera instead of doing your duty," she reminded, and the werewolf's forehead crinkled.
"And where would we be then? You helped us figure all of this out. What you knew brought us here, and you saved Thane's life. Because of you, our world does not lie in ruins while Azera invades humanity."
"You didn't know that when we met, and without Akira, I would not exist. Not to mention that Thane almost died saving me."
"No, I didn't, but you were the first part of our victory plan. If not for you, we would have failed. Paying this price for your freedom when it ended up ripping Azera from power was worth it. Not even Akira could have imagined what you'd do for us."
Kay wasn't comfortable with so much being credited to her, not when so many paid for their freedom.
"Will it still be worth it in a hundred years?"
"Yes, Kay. For two thousand years, our people suffered, and now we have a chance to make it right." Claudia started to walk away but pivoted on her heel. "Tell him. The whole pack already knows; isn't it time he did?"
Kay stared at her. "Well, there hasn't exactly been a right moment, has there?" she countered, and Claudia lifted a brow.
"If your bond remained incomplete, would you have ever told him?" she asked.
Kay shook her head. "No, it was not my place."
Claudia sighed. "So, it was all because of me. You would have died with your secret trapped in your heart, just not to hurt me?"
Kay avoided her gaze.
"Noble, but stupid," the werewolf murmured, shaking her head. "Are you coming? Akira needs you," she prompted, and they walked down the hallway together.
"Here you are; I have been looking for you," Marcus called out to them just as they reached the conference room.
"We were looking for you, too. Kay has something to tell you in private; I'll assist Akira," Claudia said in passing.
***
Marcus frowned at the look Kay gave Claudia as if she would love to wring her neck. Yet his wife's eyes sparkled with laughter while sad all at the same time. What happened between them, and how did it involve him?
"We can speak in my room; at least we will have some privacy," he invited.
She looked uneasy at entering his bed-chamber, and his frown deepened.
Kay turned to face him, looking a little pale, nervous even, and he had never seen her this uneasy.
"What is it?" he prompted when she couldn't find the words.
She locked eyes with him, and for a moment, he was lost in the turmoil of her gaze.
"There is no easy way to say this. I love you... No. I am in love with you, Claudia knows, she... They saw into my head when I was drowning," it all came out in a rush, and he just blinked.
***
Kay's stomach contracted, and nausea pooled in her throat again. He blinked again. Was he replaying her words in his head?
Her confession caught him off guard; she sensed that from the way he blocked his awareness of her. It was the last words on earth he expected her to say, and he needed a moment to process it.
"Sorry, this was a bad idea." She was halfway to the door when his hand locked around her wrist, and he pulled her back. "Just forget about it."
Her entire body trembled with reaction as it had earlier when she watched herself being tortured, but this was almost worse, but he pulled her into his arms, and although she resisted, he didn't allow it.
"The hell I will," he said, claiming her mouth in a kiss that rocked her world off its axis.
Her succubus surged forward, clawing at the barrier of clothes between them, and it took a moment for her rational mind to realize he was not gentle with her clothing either.
Something ripped, and she growled in approval. Marcus laughed against her mouth, and happiness bubbled through her like a fountain, but the shadow of Claudia tugged at the edge of her consciousness, stealing something from the moment.
She remembered to shield her mind from the pack, but even so, she could imagine Claudia smirking somewhere in the back of her thoughts. Her mental shield was a dead giveaway, as telling as an open broadcast, and even as she got lost in their passion, she blushed, feeling uncomfortable.
The whole pack would guess exactly what they were doing. Yes, it was creepy, but she would never trade in the comfort of their constant presence for the empty loneliness of the life she had before. Yet the bonds niggled at her. This was unfair to her and Claudia and didn't feel right. The wolf deserved to have a mate to call her own and to love, as she did Marcus.
Then she realized something else; she said she loved him, but he never said it back.
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