Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 135: Dying Man’s secret.

When the call ends unanswered, another sharp buzz cuts through the tension.

Kieran answers without hesitation this time, and he puts it on speaker.

The voice that comes through is urgent, almost frantic. "Kieran. Where have you both gone? We can’t find any of you around here! Anyway, the way I told you the other day that Rehan was sick... it’s gotten worse. His sickness has gone too far. He might not last long. And you people need to be here."

A beat of silence.

Then...

"Why should we? Let him shine on his way," Rey snaps, his voice sharp, edged with years of hatred. His wolf bristles at the mere mention of Rehan’s name. Mixing with his current emotional problems. "No one gives a shit about that power-greedy man. All he ever did was dream of destruction!"

Marsel exhales heavily. "I understand how you feel people feel about him, but there’s something he insists he really needs to tell you. Especially you, Kieran. And Ace."

Ace’s brows furrow. "Me?" His pulse kicks up. His chest is still tight from the argument earlier, but now a different kind of unease coils in his stomach. "What the hell does Rehan have to do with me? Well am not going, I don’t like to watch people die. It’s not my thing."

Marsel hesitates. "Ace, son, I get it. I feel like what he wants to say has some importance, so come on before it’s too late. He is really insisting, it must be something you both need to hear in person."

Kieran’s fingers curl tighter around the phone. His eyes flick to Ace, then back to the screen.

Rehan is dying.

That alone doesn’t bother him.

The bastard deserves whatever fate is catching up with him. But Marsel... Marsel is not someone who calls over nothing. If he says it’s important, then it is.

Kieran exhales through his nose, rubbing his temple. "We should see what he wants, that won’t cost us anything."

Rey’s expression darkens. "You seriously want to give him attention after all that? Especially when he was a freak go yo..."

Kieran cuts him off with a sharp look. "If he’s about to die... then does it matter?!."

Silence.

Jun shifts awkwardly, still struggling with his own emotions, but he doesn’t say a thing.

Ace, however, his jaw tightening. "I don’t like him but I would listen to whatever he has to say, even if it’s just ’Sorry for being such a terrible member of your kind’."

Kieran meets his gaze, something unreadable flickering in his icy stare. "Well then, what are we waiting for?!"

Ace agrees to go, but is Rey still stiff with his stand. "So you guys will just ignore what’s important to talk about here and go to listen to that shitty man?!"

They both turn to Jun who is as quiet as never.

Kieran doesn’t respond. Instead, he ends the call with Marsel and pockets his phone.

"Jun, do you wanna come?" Ace asks, dreading.

"Maybe later," Jun answers simply.

With that, Kieran strides out the door, Ace following close, but Rey doesn’t follow, remains behind, with Jun standing there.

Both their hearts hammering against their ribs when they are just the two of them, alone.

Rey thinks, this how it should have been, just the two of them, talking, asking, confirming if what he thinks is true.

"Jun..." Rey starts but Jun cuts him.

"I don’t wanna talk about anything or anyone right Now, so maybe you can just leave." He says,

Rey doesn’t argue, but neither does he leave,

"Well, I get that you are mad, or you are feeling terrible inside, but I had a concrete reason to think what I was thinking, it hurt me- it hurt me so much because I love you and I can’t even breath properly when I find out that am not as important to you as you are to me!"

Jun relates the feeling, the feeling when he always thinks that he was never as important to Ace like Ace was to him.

He contemplates on telling Rey all his fears, and whatever else that has been going on in his mind.

--

Meaning, during the drive to the pack house, the drive is quiet, the kind of silence that weighs heavy.

Ace stares out the window, watching the blurred outlines of trees and houses pass by.

His mind is restless, jumping from thought to thought, unable to settle. He tries to focus on Rehan, on whatever nonsense he’s about to say, but his thoughts keep dragging him somewhere else.

To Jun.

Ace exhales sharply, resting his elbow against the window.

He can’t stop thinking about him. About the way Jun looked earlier, so lost, so vulnerable.

And Ace doesn’t know what to do about it.

Does Jun really still love him?

It’s a question he doesn’t want to ask himself, but it lingers in his mind like a shadow.

He thought they had both moved on. He thought Jun had found something real with Rey. But looking at him today, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Ace clenches his jaw. He doesn’t want to assume anything, but he knows one thing for sure, he needs to talk to Jun. Just the two of them. No Rey, no distractions.

But first, they have to deal with Rehan.

Ace sighs, running a hand through his hair. What could Rehan possibly have to say that’s so important? Why insist on speaking to him and Kieran specifically?

The uncertainty gnaws at him, but beside him, Kieran is lost in his own thoughts too.

And unlike Ace, Kieran isn’t thinking about Rehan or other many things.

He’s only thinking about one thing.

Ace.

His grip on the steering wheel tightens, his knuckles going white. His mind replays every moment between them- every reason that proves Ace loves him, that Ace won’t leave him.

The way Ace forgave him, and accepted to be with him despite everything.

The way Ace confessed his feelings, even when it wasn’t easy.

The way Ace still looks at him, like he’s the only person that matters.

And yet...

Kieran’s jaw clenches.

What if Ace finds out how Jun feels?

What if Ace chooses him over him- again?

It’s a poisonous thought, but it won’t leave him. Kieran knows he’s not the same man he used to be.

He knows he’s changed. But deep down, there’s still a fear- a fear that one day, Ace might look at him and realize he was happier with someone else.

The fear tightens in his chest until he can’t take it anymore.

The words slip out before he can stop them.

"Ace, I really love you."

Ace blinks, startled by the sudden confession. He turns his head, his eyes searching Kieran’s face. "What?"

Kieran doesn’t take his eyes off the road, but his hands grip the wheel harder.

Ace studies him for a moment, then his lips part slightly. "Well, I know."

Kieran exhales, but it doesn’t ease the weight pressing down on him. His voice is quieter this time, but the desperation lingers beneath it. "Then promise me that you will stay with me, no matter what. You’ll never leave."

Ace stiffens.

Something about the way Kieran says it, the quiet urgency, the almost pleading tone, makes his chest tighten.

Why is he talking like this?

Then it clicks.

This is about Jun, isn’t it?

Ace’s eyes darken with frustration. "You seriously still doubt my love for you? You still think I have any intention of leaving with whoever else claims to love me?"

His voice is sharp, laced with disappointment.

Kieran’s head snaps toward him, his expression tightening. "No, no... that’s not what I think." He shakes his head quickly, his voice raw. "It’s just that..."

He exhales sharply, gripping the wheel like it’s the only thing keeping him grounded. "I know I’ve not been a great person to you, and..." he stops going to another direction, "I know how much Jun means to you. I just..." His voice drops, barely above a whisper. "I don’t want to lose you."

Ace’s breath catches.

Kieran is always feeling insecure, even when Ace has assured him several times that he will always be the one.

Silence fills the car for a moment before Ace speaks again. His voice is softer this time. "Kieran, I don’t know how many times I should tell you this, you’re not going to lose me."

Kieran swallows, his throat tight. "Then tell me." His grip on the wheel loosens slightly, but his voice is still edged with desperation. "Tell me that you don’t love Jun that way anymore. That it’s me you love. That you’ll stay with me."

Ace hesitates.

Not because he doesn’t know the answer frёewebnoѵēl.com

-but because, for the first time in a while, he realizes just how much Kieran fears losing him.

Ace looks down at his hands. "I won’t lie to you. Sometimes, I still feel bad about what I did to Jun. Even when we laugh, even when we joke, there’s still a part of me that wonders if I hurt him too much."

Kieran stays silent, listening.

Ace exhales. "Maybe a part of Jun is still there too- in the past, where we left each other." He looks up, meeting Kieran’s gaze. "But I don’t think I love him like that anymore. And neither does he, I think he loves Rey. So maybe we’re just still holding to what happened to us in the past.

Just like you are, that’s why you always feel insecure , because you know you did something unreasonable in the past, so you are always wondering if I really forgave you, if you are worth being with me, if I’ll remember the past and decide to leave you. But I already told you. I won’t. So let’s not talk about it anymore, let’s move on."

Kieran watches him, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he nods. "Okay."

Silence.

The road stretches ahead, but the weight between them feels lighter.

When they finally pull up in front of the pack house, Kieran turns off the engine, but neither of them moves to get out.

Instead, Ace leans in, brushing his lips softly against Kieran’s.

It’s not rushed. It’s not desperate.

It’s slow. Steady. A quiet promise sealed between them. Kieran pulls him closer, holding onto the kiss a little bit longer.

When they finally pull away, Ace smiles faintly. "We should go."

Kieran nods, his lips still tingling. "Yeah."

With that, they step out of the car together- ready to face whatever awaits inside.