Chapter 2

That was fine to throw in his face. He did reject the female after all. In fact, it became the thing he was known for. Many took on Zane’s challenge, trying to please him, but all would fail. They just weren’t what he was looking for. None of them were, and it ticked Zane off, apparently. 

“How does that matter?” Derek forced out as the music’s pulse began to build up again. 

Zane threw up his hand signaling for two drinks to be served and he was fixed with them immediately. The amber liquid shown in the soft golden hue of the bar soon drowned in the dark as if it were never there and the faintest glint off of the ice promised it was safe to think that he was in trouble. No one, not even Zane’s mother, got a drink so easily. 

“It matters,” Zane replied evenly, as if he should already know. 

“How?” 

“It says plenty about our pack that you won’t take a she-wolf,” Zane cleared his throat in a disapproving way. 

“It isn’t up to anyone else who I take,” Derek pointed out as he received his drink. 

“I agree,” the other man assured him. “But it looks bad for me when you reject females I line you up with."

“I doubt that.”

“It does though. My time as Alpha of myself is one thing. Being Alpha of the pack brings on an entirely new list of responsibilities.”

“I guarantee getting me mated is not one of them,” Derek replied as he brought the glass to his lips. 

“It’s not about who you lay, Derek. It’s about being overridden. It tells everyone else here that I’m not the Alpha in charge.”

Derek sipped his drink, pulling in the rich flavor, allowing it to burn his tongue to subdue the answer that threatened to escape him. As it slid down his throat Derek found a better return. 

“You’re out of line, you know,” he replied.

Zane quirked his brow at the response. No one told him he was out of line it seemed. 

“You feel it because you’re an Alpha, Zane. Don’t make it about everyone else,” Derek paused, waiting for Zane’s response. 

The best the other man could muster was a cold, hard look from his dark grey eyes. While they were focused, they also seemed distant with his reply. 

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Zane grumbled. “I can’t be seen as the Alpha if my Beta can’t get his head on straight!” he glowered at Derek then. “These people only know me for what I’m supposed to be after I’ve cared for all of my pack. I can’t take a mate or even start my hunt until yours is over.”

Derek downed the rest of his drink in one painful gulp before delivering his own devastating reply. 

“You’re going to have to go on without me then,” Derek answered as he forced himself not to cough. 

“What?” Zane asked incredulously. “Pack mates stay together. We’re family! Deeper than whatever’s going on around us.”

“If that was the case, why would it matter who I took to bed?”

“The pack has to remain strong…”

“It won’t be with a weak female determined to be good for you. Don’t you get it Zane? These women don’t want me because of what I look like. They want you and will play along for the opportunity to fuck you instead.”

What Derek wished he could stop still rolled off of his tongue anyway. 

“I don’t share, Zane. What might be fine for you, isn’t for me…”

“… And you’re willing to leave because I’ve offered a soft body to fuck? Is that it? You need more than that?”

“Yes,” Derek replied evenly. “You can’t provide that for me. The longer you tell yourself you can, the more you’ll push me out,” Derek said, leaving his emptied glass on the counter behind them. “It’s not like it’s the first time for that either.”

He’s not given the silence to think about their past even though he can feel the tug that would eventually pull him down into his memories. Truly he wanted to remember the freedom it gave him and the moments with his friend but even those were painful. 

“Wow, D… that’s low, even for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what. This lone wolf thing you’re trying for…”

“Don’t, Zane. Just…”

“Just what? Let my brother beat himself up for what he isn’t? To let him go his own way? You don’t think that you’re not hurting us by doing it?”

Derek could only shake his head in response.

“You’re not leaving,” Zane continued. “There’s no pack house to go back to for a few weeks. Nigel has earned that right by pleasing his mate, and you’re needed here to fulfill your role as a Beta to the rest of the pack while we’re out in the open.”

That asshole, Derek sneered at Zane. He knew that he’d use some bullshit to keep his Beta grounded. The truth was that while he was older, there were still younger packmates to look after, which included the mutt that was flat out banging the dancer on the couch in front of them. 

“So long as they keep their wolves hidden, I’ll know you’ve earned your keep.”

It seemed so simple. Walking out would change things again, and Derek wanted it more than responsibility to the pack. Being their bodyguard had its perks but still freedom from it called. 

Zane’s message left a lasting impression on him, long enough to watch the Alpha be pulled away by slender figures, urging him to dance. He scoffed at the scene unfolding between them and could only apply Zane’s input as exactly that. It was a quiet threat but even then, it was directed at him with guilt. The younger boys that were with them had been out before but not like this. This was the best they’d get until they were out on the prowl for their own mates. Unlike himself, Zane and the rest had less control over themselves and their actions.