Your bestfriend is my mate

MIKE

I’ve seen my uncle angry.

I’ve seen him ruthless, strategic and untouchable.

However, I have never seen him shaken.

Until tonight.

The celebration roars behind us, I should be out there with them. Instead, I’m following Kane into the darker edge of the clearing , away from listening ears.

He doesn’t look at me when I stop in front of him.

“Explain,” I say.

“You walked away from my coronation. You nearly caused a scene.”

Silence.The howls of the wind filling the empty space between us.

“You’ve never lost control,” I continue. “Not once. So tell me why you did tonight.”

His jaw flexes. “Lower your tone.”

A sharp breath leaves me. “I’m Alpha.”

His eyes snap to mine.

“You’re Alpha because I allowed you to become one.”

For a second, I’m sixteen again, standing in front of the only authority I’ve ever known.

I hold his stare. “Whatever this is, it ends before it affects my pack.”

“It already has.”

I step closer. “Then say it.”

The moon hangs high above us. The light cuts across his face, exposing emotions I’ve never seen there before.

“Shawn,” I say.

“You were watching him,” I continue. “You moved towards him during my vows.”

“You weren’t meant to notice.”

The air thickens.

“Kane.”

He inhales slowly.

“The Moon Goddess revealed my mate.”

I stare at him. “What?”

“It happened when the moon reached its peak.” His voice is tight. “During your vow.”

Disbelief hits hard. “No. That’s not possible.”

“It is.”

“Who?”

I already know. I just need to hear it.

His jaw tightens.

“Shawn.”

The name detonates between us.

“He’s human,” I say immediately.

“I’m aware.”

“That’s not how bonds work.”

“Don’t lecture me on bonds.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“I know exactly who he is.”

“Then you know this can’t happen.”

“It already has.”

I step back, running a hand through my hair. “You avoided mating your entire life. You rejected alliances. You refused every suitable match. And now—now—it’s him?”

“You think I chose this?”

He steps closer.

“I felt the bond lock into place,” he says. “I felt my wolf recognize him. There was no confusion. No doubt.”

“He didn’t react.”

“He’s human.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that this is a disaster.”

“For who?”

“For him.” My voice sharpens. “He didn’t ask for this. He doesn’t even know what he’d be stepping into.”

“I would never harm him.”

“I’m not worried about harm. I’m worried about the pack.”

“You think I’d put this pack at risk?” he asks quietly.

The music plays behind us, unaware of the crack that had formed in our world.

“You can’t claim him,” I say firmly.

“I haven’t.”

“But you want to.”

"I'm not sure of that. "

The honesty is brutal.

“You’re my uncle.”

“And you’re my Alpha.”

“Then hear me as Alpha.” I continued. “If this bond is real, we handle it quietly. You do nothing. You say nothing. You don’t corner him. You don’t pressure him. And you do not let the pack see even a hint of it.”

“My wolf won’t be patient forever.”

“Then you control it.”

His eyes flash. “You think I don’t know how?”

“Tonight proved otherwise.”

He looks towards the clearing. Towards Shawn.

Even from here, I can see him near the fire, laughing, unaware of the weight now circling his life.

“He doesn’t know,” I say.

“No.”

“And you plan to tell him?”

“Yes.”

My stomach drops. “When?”

“When I can say it without losing control.”

“You realize,” I say slowly, “if this goes wrong, it fractures everything.”

“I know.”

“And if he rejects you?”

I could see the hesitation on his face.The thoughts most probably swamping in his mind.

“Then I live with it.”

“But he is mine,” Kane says quietly. “Whether he understands it yet or not.”

“My best friend,” I say.

“My mate,” he replies.

The words clash between us.

From the clearing, Shawn’s laughter carries across the night.

I look back at my uncle.

“If you hurt him,” I say evenly, “I won’t care that you’re blood.”

A faint, humourless smile touches his mouth.

“If I hurt him, I won’t deserve to lead beside you.”

Then, his gaze shifts over my shoulder.

I turn.

Shawn is walking toward us. And he has no idea he’s about to step between an Alpha and a wolf who has just found his mate.