Kane awoke to a tap on the shoulder. He opened his eyes and was faced with a very confused five-year-old. Grace stood beside the bed with her head tilted towards him. "Why are you in Heath's bed?" she asked.

Kane rubbed his eyes. He had to think for a moment to remember why exactly he was in Heath's bed. The memories from the night before came barrelling to the forefront of his mind and his eyes shot open. He sat up quickly. He had kissed Mason. His lips had almost made their way into a smile until the vivid memories of Nora's screams filled his mind.

"Where's Heath?" Grace asked. She pulled on the edge of his covers.

Kane swung his legs down off the side of the bed. "He's asleep on the couch," he told her. "How about we go jump on him?"

Grace nodded in all seriousness. She was already running down the stairs by the time Kane made it to the door. He couldn't help but laugh when he heard Heath grunt. Serves him right, he thought. By the time he made it down the stairs, Heath was standing next to the couch, swinging around with Grace in his arms. Heath was laughing as he tickled her. "How dare you wake the tickle monster!"

Grace's laugh filled the room. "I'm sorry! It was Kane's idea!" she screamed.

Heath threw her gently on the couch before running towards Kane. Kane dodged him. "Slow down there, tickle monster! I'm sure you've got a headache to nurse."

Heath shrugged. "A little but it will be gone soon. Werewolf metabolism, hey?" he reached out to give Kane a hi-five, but Kane just laughed at him.

"Idiot metabolism, more like it," he responded.

"Oh, good one, that was a real burn," Heath joked. "I'm going to have a shower."

Heath ran up the stairs.

Kane turned to his sister. "Cartoons?"

Grace nodded undoubtedly. "Cartoons."

He grabbed the remote and nodded at her to sit down. He found some cartoon about dogs saving the world and ruffled her hair as he walked past. "I'll grab you some toast."

Kane made two extra pieces of toast and put them on another plate. He handed one to Grace as he walked past. "Are the parent's still asleep?" he asked her.

Grace nodded but her eyes didn't leave the screen. She bit into her toast.

Kane made his way up the stairs. His steps were slow. He paused for a moment before opening his door and took a deep breath. He didn't know if Nora would even be talking to him today, after the events of the night before. When he gained the courage, he turned the nob. He had expected Nora to still be asleep, but she was sitting on the edge of his bed with tears running down her face and something denim in her hands.

"Nora," he said, "Are you feeling okay?" He placed the plate on his desk and walked over to her. "Does your head still hurt?"

Nora shook her head. Tears continued to run down her face. He wanted to wipe them away, but there was a weird feeling that flowed through the bond that made him pause. He looked at what she held in her hands. It was Mason's jacket.

"He's the reason for all of this, isn't he?" Nora asked. Her voice was small.

Her pain ran through the bond. Kane spun the desk chair around and sat on the edge of it. He didn't want to lie to her. He meant what he had said the night before. He was tired of the lies. He couldn't pretend anymore. When he didn't say anything, Nora threw the jacket at him.

Kane caught it. He held the denim in his hands gently. "What do you want me to say?"

Nora shook her head at him. Her eyes narrowed. "You aren't even going to deny it?"

Kane shrugged. He fiddled with the jacket in his hands.

Nora sighed. "How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you been sleeping with him?" she asked.

"I haven't," he said, "we, uh, we aren't-"

Nora sighed again. "Kane, come on, stop lying to me."

"I'm not sleeping with him," he told her. Kane met her eyes. "I'm not lying."

Nora laughed. It was a cold sound. "You are really going to sit there and pretend like I'm an idiot. I know that you are with him. I hear you mumbling his name in your sleep. I see the way that you look at him. I knew for sure when you walked in with that stupid yellow rose in your hand. I know that you and that fake beta are up to something."

Kane knew it was wrong that the only thing he cared about in that sentence was that he must dream about Mason. "Don't say that about him."

"You are cheating on me, Kane. Were you ever even trying to make this bond work? Did you ever think that the reason the bond was so broken was because you were screwing someone else?" She blinked back more tears that threatened to leave her eyes. "I hope he was worth it."

Kane stood from the chair. He shook his head at her. She had it all wrong. "I tried my best to make this bond work, you know that I did." He needed her to believe him.

"I never wanted you to hang out with him," she muttered.

"Why?" Kane asked. "Was it because you were worried about me cheating or because he's half omega?"

Nora's eyes widened. "Why would that matter?"

"Maybe because of the fact that you think omega's are worthless?"

Nora laughed at that. "Are you being serious?"

"When we went to your pack, there wasn't a single omega at your party."

"That doesn't mean I think they are worth less than anyone else."

"I know what you said to Mason at the bonfire. I know that you called him a worthless omega."

Nora crossed her arms over her chest. "He is."

"You don't get to say that. You don't even know him."

"Maybe you know him too well. If you spent half as much time with me as you have with him these last few weeks then maybe last night would have turned out differently."

Kane couldn't accept that. He motioned between them. "This bond is broken, Nora. It's not something I did and it's not something that you did. It's just broken, plain and simple. At least I can admit that to myself. You said you wanted to be friend mates, but that was a lie, wasn't it?"

"I told you that I still wanted to work on our bond. You knew that."

Kane sat back down. He felt defeated. "It can't be fixed."

"Why are you so sure of that?" Nora asked. She pushed herself to the edge of the bed so that she was closer to him. "Why?"

"I'm gay."

As he said it, Kane knew the truth behind it. He had spent every moment since he had met Nora questioning himself. He had known since he was a kid that he was gay, and yet he had been so sure that Nora had changed him, but she hadn't. He was still the same person he was before he met her. He was gay and it was about time that he accepted that wasn't going to change.

"Get out," Nora screamed. She pointed at the door.

Kane felt his jaw drop in shock. "What?"

Nora stood from the bed. Tears fell down her face. "Leave me alone," she told him.

Kane walked slowly towards the door. As he opened it, he turned back. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be what you wanted me to be."

Nora turned away from him.

Kane closed the door behind him and leant against it. He fought back tears. It was never supposed to be like this. He sunk to the floor and let his head rest against the door. He thought of that first moment he had seen Nora, the happy girl in the diner with her baby blue dress and ocean blue eyes that were so filled with happiness. She had gone out that night in search of her one true love, and somehow got stuck with him. He didn't fight the tears anymore, he just let them fall.

He didn't know how long he sat there but eventually his eyes dried and he was able to pull himself together. He was about to stand when he heard footsteps.

"Kane," his mother was suddenly kneeling beside him. Her worried eyes filled his vision. "What happened?"

Kane tried to smile, but he couldn't. Instead, he stood up and wrapped his mother in a hug. He held onto her. Scarlett wrapped her arms around him in a hug that only a mother can give. Kane tried not to cry. He didn't want her to know how broken he really was.

"Darling, what's going on?"

"I think Nora's going to move out," he mumbled into the shoulder of her fluffy robe.

Scarlett pulled back. "Why?" she asked hurriedly. "Did something happen?"

"I'll explain later," he told her. He looked down at the ground. If he had to try and explain it right then and there he was sure that he would break down in tears.

"How about I make you some breakfast and we can talk about it?" she offered.

Kane nodded. "Yeah, uh, that would be good."

Scarlett pressed a kiss to his forehead. She looked like she was going to say something but she stopped herself.

Kane followed her downstairs and silently sat next to Grace as she watched cartoons. He had only been sitting with her for a few minutes when the there was a knock at the door.

"Can you get that, Kane?" Scarlett called out from the kitchen.

Kane sighed. Before he got up, he glanced over at the window and was surprised to see Mason's car in the driveway. He quickly made his way to the door and opened it.

Mason stood on the porch. He smiled slightly as their eyes met. "Hi."

"Hey there," Kane replied. He wasn't sure how things were between them. Mason hadn't replied to his text the night before.

"Can we talk?" Mason asked.

Kane glanced at his sister over his shoulder. He thought for a moment. "Yeah, uh, follow me."

He led Mason down the hallway and into his father's office. With this many people in the house, it seemed like the only place he could think of that would be private. His father's office was quite a big room, with an oversized wooden desk right in the middle. The walls surrounding them were covered by bookshelves, which just so happened to make the room a little more sound proof.

Kane stood awkwardly to the side of the room. He didn't know what to say. As he looked at Mason, he noticed the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. He guessed the boy hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"I meant what I said," Kane told him, "just so you know."

"Which part?"

"I don't regret kissing you."

Mason's eyes turned softer for a moment. "Oh. I thought maybe you meant the part where you said it couldn't happen again."

Kane sighed. "Yeah, I meant that too."

"Too bad," Mason whispered. "I kind of liked kissing you."

Kane smiled. "I kind of liked kissing you, too."

They stood in silence for a few moments, their eyes on each other. Kane thought back to the two of them upstairs, in his bed. He wished that he could be back there, in that moment, before their world crashed down around them. It had seemed so simple when they kissed. It wasn't so simple anymore.

"I like you, Mason," Kane told him. He crossed the distance between them and reached for Mason's hand. Their fingers linked. "I like you but we can't-"

"Stop," Mason whispered. He squeezed Kane's hand. "Can we just pretend like we aren't in this messed up situation, just for a moment?"

Kane reached up and cupped the side of Mason's face. He wanted to kiss him, more than anything. He wanted to, but the memory of Nora's screams were the only thing keeping them apart. He looked into his grey eyes and it was almost as if the world stopped spinning for a split second. This is what having a mate should feel like, Kane thought.

Kane was so lost in Mason's eyes that it took him a second to realise that the door to the office was being opened. He let go of Mason and jumped back. As he did, he looked over and saw his mother standing in the doorway. Her mouth was open in shock, confusion written all over her face.

"We, uh-" he started to explain, but his mother had already started to walk away. Kane didn't waste a second. He ran after her. "Stop," he called out to her. "Please."

When he caught up with her, Scarlett's eyes were glassy. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What?" Kane asked in confusion. "No, it's not-"

His mother interrupted him. "There's something I need to tell you."

What did you think of this chapter? What do you think she has to say?