Chapter 215 - 0215

Kaelen POV

It took a few seconds for the weight of what he was saying to actually sink in, and when it finally did, I felt the blood drain from my face.

My fist clenched so tightly that my knuckles turned white, reopening the healing cuts across my palm. I barely noticed the fresh sting as blood began to seep through them again. My veins stood out along my arms, my entire body wound so tight with fury that it felt like I could barely breathe.

BANG!

My fist came down against the mahogany desk with enough force to make the wood groan beneath it, and I shoved myself to my feet.

"They can’t fucking do that!" I snarled, my voice echoing through the office. "I won’t allow that bastard on my territory!"

Darius didn’t even flinch.

"Actually, they can," he said calmly, cutting straight through my rage. "And they’ve done it plenty of times before."

"That is different!" I roared, already pacing behind my desk again, unable to stay still with the anger clawing through me. "This is my pack! I can’t just sit back and let them bring him here!"

"How exactly is this any different, Kaelen?"

Darius stepped directly into my line of sight, forcing me to stop and look at him. His expression remained frustratingly calm, especially considering the state I was in.

"Stop letting your emotions cloud your judgment," he said. "You were the one who created that damn law in the first place. Remember?"

Fuck.

He was right.

And I fucking hated that he was right.

I had created that law years ago, back when I’d only just taken the crown as Alpha King and was fighting tooth and nail to secure my position. Back then, I needed a way to keep my enemies close enough to watch without making them suspicious, and the Council had been the biggest problem of them all.

So I came up with a solution.

Under the pretense of strengthening my relationship with the Council, I had drafted a protection law that allowed Council Elders to bring any person they classified as an "honored guest" into their private estate quarters without interference from the crown.

It had been a calculated move.

And it had worked.

Because that law had eventually given me the perfect opportunity to keep tabs on the Council from the inside. Through the access it created, I uncovered a massive network of treasonous lords working behind my back and managed to neutralize them before they ever got the chance to strike.

Back then, I had considered the law one of my smartest moves.

Right now, I fucking hated it.

And this was completely fucking different.

Jaxen was no political threat. And he was also Lorelei’s former mate. The man who had traumatized her, discarded her, and broken something inside her that I was still trying to help put back together.

The last thing I wanted was that bastard anywhere near her. I didn’t want his presence anywhere around her, threatening the small sense of peace she’d finally started to build here.

But if I was being honest with myself, that wasn’t the only reason I wanted him gone.

I was fucking terrified.

I was too insecure to even entertain the possibility of Lorelei running into him again. I didn’t care that she had rejected him. I didn’t care that their bond had been severed.

They had most likely shared a bed. He had touched her. He had claimed her. Those memories didn’t simply disappear because the magic connecting them was gone.

Lorelei had told me she hated him, and I believed her. But hatred and passion had always lived on the same thin fucking line. Years of sharing a life with someone couldn’t just be erased overnight. There would always be memories, old feelings, familiar touches, things the mind remembered even when the heart wanted nothing to do with them.

I should know.

If anyone understood how deeply the past could haunt you, it was me.

And that was exactly why I couldn’t stand the thought of that bastard breathing the same air as her.

I shook my head, refusing to let Darius talk me out of it, and turned away from him. "No. I’m going down there. I’m throwing them off the estate myself."

Darius let out a long, frustrated sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Goodness, you’re so fucking exhausting when you refuse to think logically."

He stepped closer, planting one hand against the edge of my desk as if he could physically force some sense into my thick skull.

"Think about it, Kaelen. You created that law nearly a decade ago. The Council Elders aren’t stupid. They probably figured out your real intentions years ago, which is exactly why they stopped using that privilege... until now." His eyes narrowed as he held my stare. "If you storm down there right now and start demanding that they send that bastard off your land, what do you think happens?"

I opened my mouth, but he didn’t give me the chance to answer.

"They’ll throw your own law right back in your face. And that’s not even the worst part." His voice hardened. "You won’t look like an Alpha King protecting his territory. You’ll look like an insecure fool throwing a tantrum because his wife’s ex is on Council grounds. And worse, you’ll hand them the exact ammunition they’ve probably been waiting years to get."

His words sank in, and my anger faltered for the first time.

"They could use this to paint you as an unstable, unreasonable tyrant in front of the other packs because of another woman," Darius continued. "And once that narrative starts spreading, good luck convincing anyone that you’re acting out of concern for Lorelei instead of personal jealousy."

I wanted to remind Darius that I didn’t care. He, of all people, should know better than anyone how little of a fuck I gave about what the Council or the other packs thought of me.

"I..."

"I know," Darius cut me off immediately.

For the first time that morning, the cool, composed mask my Beta always wore completely shattered. His face twisted with frustration, his eyes burning with an anger that had nothing to do with Jaxen and everything to do with me.

"I fucking know you don’t give a shit if the entire universe decides to paint you as the villain," he snapped, his chest rising and falling heavily. But then his voice cracked slightly, and beneath all that anger, I caught something else.

Fear.

"But you’ve fought way too damn hard to get where you are, Kaelen! And what about Lorelei? You’ve already stood in front of the entire Council and claimed her as your future wife and Queen Luna. What happens if another war breaks out because you couldn’t control your temper? What happens if you lose your position the same way your father did and end up having to crawl your way back from the ashes?"

Darius stepped right up to me, jabbing a tense finger against my chest.

"I know you can handle that kind of hell. I know you’d survive it. You’ve survived worse." His voice dropped. "But what about her? If you really love her, yet you keep acting this recklessly every time jealousy gets the better of you, then how the fuck are you going to protect her when the world comes crashing down around her?"

My jaw clenched so hard my teeth practically ground together.

I opened my mouth to fire back, but nothing came out.

I had nothing.

I just stared at him as the harsh reality of his words settled over me, each one hitting harder than the last. It wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about whether I could survive losing the crown or being dragged through another political war. I’d survived hell before, and if I had to, I’d do it again.

But Lorelei?

The thought of putting her through political exile, another war, or even taking away the safe haven I’d promised her sent a cold shiver of pure terror straight down my spine.

I couldn’t do that to her.

Not after everything she’d already been through.

A frustrated growl tore from my throat as I finally turned away from him. I dragged my bloodied hand violently through my hair, smearing fresh blood across my forehead before kicking the heavy chair behind my desk hard enough to send it skidding across the floor.

Fuck.

Darius was right.

Goddess, I fucking hated when he was right.