Ch. 9 So Many Lies

Liam 

I shouldn't have followed them.

It was a violation of privacy, an act beneath my position as Glass Lake Beta. But when I saw Parker leading Finley away from the path toward the lake, something in me snapped. Storm surged forward with such force that I found myself trailing them before I could think better of it.

Now, crouched behind the trees at the edge of the clearing, I listen to Parker tell Finley everything she wants to hear. Everything I never gave her.

"I can't reject you, Finley Bennett. Not when every cell in my body is screaming that you're mine."

Storm growls, the sound vibrating in my chest. She was ours first, he reminds me. We rejected her.

As if I could forget. Two years of pretending I don't feel the bond tugging at me across territories. Two years of telling myself I made the right choice. Two years of watching the light in Ryleigh's eyes slowly dim as she realizes something fundamental changed between us that night.

When the blonde woman appears, interrupting their moment with her perfectly timed arrival, I feel a savage satisfaction that immediately morphs into rage as she introduces herself as Parker's fiancée. Not just promised. Fiancée.

The pain that crosses Finley's face hits me like a physical blow. She deserves better than this. Better than Parker's lies. Better than my rejection.

The thought brings me up short. Since when do I care what Finley deserves? I made my choice. I chose Ryleigh. I chose Glass Lake. I chose my future.

But as I watch Finley walk away, head high despite the hurt I can feel echoing through our dormant bond, I can't silence the voice that whispers I chose wrong.

The formal meeting is excruciating. I sit beside Kaden as Glass Lake's Beta, watching the drama unfold with forced neutrality. My brother keeps shooting me concerned glances, sensing my tension but misinterpreting its cause.

"You don't have to be here," he murmurs as Mountain Ridge's Alpha drones on about his expectations and pack alliances. "This isn't strictly Glass Lake business."

"I'm fine," I lie, keeping my eyes fixed on the table.

The truth is, I can't stop looking at Finley. She sits beside her father, straight-backed and proud despite the indignity of having her personal life dissected in front of three packs' leadership. Her face is a careful mask, betraying nothing as Mountain Ridge's Alpha all but calls her unworthy of his son.

"The traditions of mate selection have served our pack for generations," he says, his voice oily with false diplomacy. "But we must also recognize that wolf instinct and pack duty don't always align. My son acknowledges the... attraction between himself and Alpha Bennett's daughter, but his prior commitment to Silver Creek must take precedence."

Beside him, Parker sits stone-faced, not confirming his father's words but not contradicting them either. His fiancée—Aria—clings to his arm with a smile that doesn't reach her calculating eyes.

Coward. The word burns in my mind as I watch him sit there, letting his father dismiss Finley like she's some passing fancy rather than his Moon-chosen mate.

"So you're suggesting my daughter simply accept your son's rejection?" Damien Bennett's voice is dangerously calm. "After he marked her without permission on my territory?"

"A regrettable lapse in control," Mountain Ridge's Alpha says smoothly. "For which we sincerely apologize. But surely you understand the political realities. The alliance between Mountain Ridge and Silver Creek has been years in development."

"And my daughter's dignity is collateral damage?" Damien's eyes flash gold. "Convenient for you, perhaps. Less so for us."

I grip the edge of the table as Parker finally speaks. "I have not rejected the bond." His words silence the room. "Nor do I intend to without further consideration."

His father's face darkens with barely controlled fury. "Dane—"

"I've requested time," Parker continues, ignoring his father's warning tone. "To consider all implications. For all parties."

"How generous of you," Finley says, breaking her silence. Her voice drips with sarcasm. "To consider whether I'm worth upending your carefully arranged life."

Aria's grip on Parker's arm tightens visibly. "Darling, you know how these instinctual attractions can be. Powerful but fleeting." She turns a sympathetic smile toward Finley. "I'm sure once the initial shock passes, you'll both recognize this for what it is—a momentary biological response, nothing more."

I nearly growl at her dismissive tone. She has no idea what a mate bond feels like. How it pulls at you even years later, even after rejection, even across miles.

"Like you would know," I say before I can stop myself.

Every head turns toward me. Kaden's eyes widen in shock at my outburst.

"Excuse me?" Aria's perfect composure cracks slightly.

"Have you ever experienced a mate bond?" I ask, ignoring Kaden's warning touch on my arm. "Felt it form? Felt it pull at you until you can't think straight?"

Her lips thin. "That's hardly relevant—"

"It's the only thing that's relevant." I lean forward, unable to contain Storm's influence any longer. "You're talking about something you don't understand. Can't understand. A mate bond isn't some 'momentary biological response.' It's sacred."

The irony of my words isn't lost on me. Two years ago, I dismissed the bond with Finley as exactly that—biology over choice. Yet here I am, defending its sanctity.

Finley stares at me, confusion and something like hope flickering across her face before she shutters her expression.

"This is neither the time nor place for such discussions," Mountain Ridge's Alpha says coldly. "Glass Lake has no standing in this matter."

"Actually," Kaden interjects smoothly, "as my Beta was once bound to Finley Bennett, I'd say we have considerable interest in how this situation resolves."

The revelation sends murmurs through the room. Silver Creek's delegation exchanges concerned glances while Mountain Ridge's Alpha's face turns thunderous.

"A prior rejection changes nothing," he snaps.

"But an uncompleted rejection changes everything," Kaden counters. "From what I understand, Finley never formally accepted my brother's rejection. Which means their bond, while dormant, still exists."

All eyes turn to Finley, whose face has gone pale. "I didn't think it mattered," she says quietly. "He made his choice clear."

Did I? The question rattles through me. I spoke the words of rejection, but she never spoke the words of acceptance. The magic wasn't completed. Which means...

"This meeting is adjourned," Damien Bennett declares, standing abruptly. "Until all parties have had time to consider their positions more carefully."

The dismissal is clear. One by one, the delegates file out, whispers already spreading. But I don’t move. Can’t move.

No. I just sit there, paralyzed by the thought that everything I believed about my bond with Finley Bennet for the last two years has been a lie.