They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 06

They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 06

Kyle placed the wooden box on the table.

He opened the lid and examined every item inside, one by one.

Everything was perfectly intact. Nothing was broken.

His brow furrowed as the unease inside him continued to grow.

At last, he closed the box and made up his mind.

That night, once Kane came back and it was Kyle’s turn to go out, he would find Ella and confess everything.

He would tell her that he had fallen for her long ago.

He was even grateful that Kane did not want to seal the mate bond with her.

If Kane did not want her, Kyle would be the one to make a life with her.

Once he told her the truth, he would never have to be with her under Kane’s name again.

From then on, the man standing in front of her would be Kyle.

He would finally be himself.

He could hold her hand openly.

He could stand before the entire pack and declare that she was his mate.

Lola could call him Dad.

The thought alone made Kyle’s breathing quicken.

He stared anxiously out the window.

The sun had already set, but there was not a single figure on the path outside.

He waited and waited.

As the night deepened and Kane still did not return, Kyle pressed his lips into a tight line, his expression

turning cold.

He suddenly rose and strode outside.

Elsewhere, Kane was walking along one of the pack’s paths when he slowly came to a stop.

With his eyes lowered, he found himself regretting what he had done.

He regretted the vicious things he had said that afternoon and the way he had made Ella cry.

He also regretted deliberately kissing another she-wolf in front of her just to provoke her.

He must have lost his mind.

Why had he picked a fight with her in the first place?

He had only made himself miserable.

Kane crouched down, dug both hands into his hair, and raked them back hard.

He remembered the blankness in Ella’s eyes, and his chest tightened painfully.

Panic slowly rose inside him until he could barely breathe.

He shot to his feet and turned in the opposite direction.

Fine.

He would go apologize to Ella.

He had to make things right with her.

After all, he had originally gone to her house that afternoon to talk about the bonding ceremony.

He had hesitated over it for far too long.

He could never bring himself to admit his intentions in front of the other males.

He was afraid they would laugh at him if he said he wanted to seal the mate bond with a widowed she-wolf.

Every time the words reached his lips, his pathetic pride forced them back down.

Even when Kyle brought it up the night before, Kane had continued pretending he did not care.

But he had spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Ella had filled his every thought.

At first, he had believed he was only amusing himself.

She was a widowed she-wolf with a pup. Helping her now and then had seemed like an easy way to pass the

time.

He had never expected to fall so hard.

Now he regretted it every moment of every day.

He regretted agreeing to that twisted game with his twin brother.

At the time, it had seemed exciting and fun.

Now, whenever he imagined Kyle lying in that bed and kissing the she-wolf Kane wanted to seal the mate bond with, jealousy burned through him like wildfire.

Idiot

Kane walked faster and faster until he was almost running.

It felt as though something unseen were urging him onward.

He had to move faster, then faster still.

But when he reached Ella’s house, he stopped short.

A male werewolf stood with his back to him outside the house.

His jaw was clenched as he stared blankly inside.

“Kyle?”

Kane slowed to a stop and called his brother’s name uncertainly.

Kyle turned at the sound of his voice.

His expression was difficult to make out in the darkness, but his normally bright amber eyes had gone frighteningly dark.

Kane frowned at him.

“What are you doing here?”

Kyle’s mouth curved slightly, his tone edged with mockery.

“Tonight was supposed to be my turn to go out.”

“You were the one who stayed away too long.”

“So I should be the one asking what you’re doing here.”

The brothers stared at each other through the darkness.

The wind swept between them as the hostility in the air steadily thickened.