Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 117: "He’s All Yours Mr. Alpha"

Ace raises an eyebrow at Jun’s words. "You do realize you just barged in, ready for war, and now you’re eyeing their food?"

Jun doesn’t even hesitate. "And?" He grabs a plate and starts piling food onto it.

The witches, at first unsure, hesitate. But when Ace waves a hand in encouragement, they relax, sitting back down.

One by one, Kieran’s warriors lower their weapons, uncertainty flickering in their eyes.

Marsel exchanges a look with Elira before they shamelessly, too, step forward, slowly approaching the table.

Before the warriors join too. The witches can’t help but happily make more food.

Soon, the tension that had hung so heavily in the room fades entirely.

Kieran, however, doesn’t move. He’s still watching Ace, his expression unreadable.

Ace notices.

He walks to him, stopping just a foot away.

Kieran doesn’t speak. He doesn’t know what to say.

Ace tilts his head, studying him. Then, in a voice barely above an amused whisper, he says, "Why do I feel like you’re about to cry?"

Kieran’s breath catches. He stiffens, but Ace only smirks.

"Come on," Ace murmurs, reaching for his hand. His fingers wrap around Kieran’s, warm and steady. "Don’t cry in front of your children."

Kieran exhales sharply. His warriors aren’t really his children, or maybe he means the pack are his children. The way Ace says it, teasing yet affectionate, makes something inside him crack.

He lets Ace pull him forward, guiding him to the feast, the laughter, the warmth that Jun is making sure to keep alive.

The food is really nothing like they have every had, really delicious.

...The warmth of the feast spreads like an unspoken spell, softening the air, melting away the sharp edges of tension that had threatened to suffocate the room earlier.

The clatter of dishes and the murmur of conversation blend together, forming something oddly peaceful.

Jun, as expected, has fully embraced the moment. He leans forward, his chopsticks pinched between his fingers as he eyes one of the witches suspiciously. "So let me get this straight," he says, gesturing at his plate. "This isn’t just food, it’s enhanced with magic?"

The witch he’s addressing, a young man with sharp green eyes and a smug expression, nods. "That’s right."

Jun narrows his eyes, chewing slowly. "Enhanced how?"

The witch smirks. "Wouldn’t you like to know? I mean, it’s complicated especially if you don’t know about magic."

Jun freezes mid-bite, his gaze flicking toward Ace. "I swear, if I start floating, you’re paying for my therapy. Wait can you teach a person magic?!"

"No, you are not learning any magic!" Marsel interjects.

"Wait! Can I actually?!" Jun asks as he he didn’t just hear Marsel’s warning.

"No you can’t actually." Elira disagrees too. "I mean, technically, you can , but we’re not allowing you to learn it." She adds.

"But..." Jun starts but Elira cuts her.

"No buts...Jun.."

He whispers to the girl sitting next to him. "You will teach me anyway, won’t you?"

The girl giggle.

Ace snorts. "Relax. He’s messing with you."

The witches giggle at Jun’s exaggerated caution, clearly entertained.

Even Kieran’s warriors, usually stiff and formal, have begun to ease into the moment. The lines between sides blur as laughter and conversation flow freely, the remnants of hostility fading like a forgotten nightmare.

But Kieran?

Kieran isn’t laughing. Usually, he never laughs around, but this is not the same.

He’s watching.

His gaze, sharp and unyielding, follows Ace’s every movement.

Ace, completely unaware, or maybe pretending to be, focuses on the food in front of him. Or at least, he tries to.

Rika has other plans.

She stands beside him, subtly sliding another portion onto his plate.

Ace notices immediately. His gaze lifts, unimpressed. "You’re doing it again."

Rika crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow. "And? You said you were angry, didn’t you?"

Ace exhales through his nose. "Rika."

"Yes." she responds with a very beautiful smile, as she is herself.

The witches nearby giggle. Ace shakes his head, his lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "I can serve myself, you know."

"You could," Rika agrees. "But you haven’t. And we started all this because of you, for you."

Ace gives her a flat look, but she remains unfazed. With a final huff, he picks it up and taking a bite.

The witches exchange knowing glances, clearly pleased.

The moment is small. Simple.

But Kieran feels it like a strike to the chest.

Ace looks happy here, he looks like he has already fitted here. Too well.

The way the witches look at him, like he belongs. The way Rika fusses over him like he’s one of their own.

The way Ace doesn’t pull away from it, no, he leans into it, accepting their care as if it’s always been his to take.

Kieran’s grip on his fork tightens.

This was never a problem before.

Ace has always been easy with people. He draws them in without even trying, makes them feel seen, understood, important. Kieran knows this. He’s seen it firsthand.

But this?

This is different.

It isn’t just gratitude in the witches’ eyes.

It’s something deeper.

And Ace?

He’s letting them in.

Kieran clenches his jaw, fighting back the unfamiliar sensation curling in his gut. It isn’t jealousy. It isn’t.

It can’t be.

Ace finally looks up, as if he has just remembered something. "By the way, where’s your partner in crime, Jun?" he asks, referring to Rey.

"He escorted the people earlier, the captive you saved. Alpha Kieran wanted him to be there to make sure they are safe." Jun answers, eying Kieran who he has just noticed he seems uneasy.

And when Kieran is not looking, Jun signals Ace to look at Kieran, then in a secrete way, he asks what his problem is, but Ace answers saying he has no idea.

Then, as if the moment hadn’t just cracked something inside Kieran, Ace turns back to his meal, his lips quirking in amusement as Rika, yet again, sneaks another portion onto his plate.

Kieran barely hears the chatter around him now.

The warmth of the room presses against his skin, thick and suffocating.

And for the first time in a long time, he feels like an outsider looking in.

_

Bit by bit, the feast settles into a comfortable lull, plates emptied, conversation slowing.

The warmth still linger in the air, thick with a sense of reluctant peace, like a storm had passed but left behind the scent of rain.

Kieran had spent the last few minutes quietly observing, his gaze never straying too far from Ace.

The way the witches surrounded him. The way his warriors, his warriors, seemed to accept it without question.

And Ace...

Ace wasn’t just accepted here.

He looks like he belongs with them.

Kieran had always known Ace had a way of fitting into places, slipping into people’s hearts like he had always been meant to be there.

But seeing it now, here, among those who were supposed to be their enemies, it unsettled him.

So he stands.

The room quiets.

Kieran’s voice is calm, but there’s an underlying firmness in it. "I think it’s time. It’s time we head back."

He watches.

Ace’s reaction is immediate, small, but there. A slight pause in the way he leans back, a flicker of something in his expression before it smooths over. He doesn’t protest, but Kieran sees it.

The warriors move on instinct, disciplined and obedient, standing the moment Kieran gives the order.

The shift in energy is palpable, the easy camaraderie dissipating as duty calls them back to reality.

But before anyone can fully act on it, a voice cuts through the tension.

"Solace Ace, can I please talk to you for a minute? Just a minute please."

Rika.

Kieran’s eyes snap to her.

Ace chuckles, "Solace? You flatter me, but seriously, I meant it when I said just call me Ace."

Elira and Marsel look at each other, many conversations going through their eye... ’That’s our son, he brings peace. Without fights, without murder of the innocent.’

"Okay Ace," Rika says, trying to look and sound serious like she has always been, but she can’t help a chuckle escaping her mouth.

She stands near the entrance, fingers twisting together, hesitation and determination warring in her expression.

She glances at Kieran briefly, swallowing hard before repeating again, "Just a second, please." this time it feels like he is telling Kieran that.

Ace stands, nodding. "Yeah, of course."

Kieran watches them go.

A muscle in his jaw ticks.

And for reasons he doesn’t want to analyze, his grip tightens at his sides.

The witches begin murmuring amongst themselves again, their attention flickering toward Rika and Ace’s retreating figures. Even Kieran’s warriors seem momentarily uncertain, shifting on their feet.

Jun changes his sitting position and goes near Kieran, he leans near him with a lazy smirk. "You okay there, Alpha?" he asks almost in a whisper.

Kieran doesn’t answer.

"Dude? What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you happy that we found Ace alive, comfortable here. Or are you being jealous again?!"

"Not funny." Kieran growls.

"Okay," Jun raises his hands in surrender, but the smirk doesn’t leave his lips. "I’ll leave you to Ace, he knows how to deal with you." He adds.

"I don’t think he will have time to deal with me since he seems so consumed here." Kieran says in a very low voice, but Jun hears. And he doesn’t try to stop a laugh.

"So you are actually jealous. You are jealous everywhere... even in serious situations like these. He is all yours, okay?" Jun says as if trying to coax him with that fact, but he is just doing it playfully.