Kane took off on his motorcycle toward City Hall, where the Council was having an open meeting. So Lia was related to some of the human scum responsible for killing his wife. And not only that, but they had nearly ruined their chances of liberating Stonybrooke from this accursed hybrid infestation. It was chilling just how close he’d come to destroying everything for her. He might even be disqualified because of what had happened to Max. It would depend on what Franklin said.
“Kane Desmond, what a surprise,” the elder, Thern Harold, said with a low bow. The other elders followed suit, and then Kane, as was custom.
“Good afternoon, Council,” Kane said, sniffing the air deeply. The hybrids did smell more like wolves, Lia was right. But they also had a sort of after-scent. Maybe he would be able to tell if there was anybody infiltrating the council without actually saying anything.
“What can we do for you, my boy?” the elder asked, sitting creakily down in a chair that was even older than he was.
“I’ve come to learn more about the new reform,” Kane said quickly. This was true enough, they wouldn’t sense a lie from him. But the truth was much deeper than he intended to let on.
“Ah yes,” the elder said dismissively. “What do you need to know?”
“Well, as you know, I am a university professor at SU, and I thought it might be pertinent to my class to understand all of the nuances of the bill that is being proposed.”
“Well, there’s a copy available to all who ask,” the elder said, gesturing to the lobby. “You can make copies and hand them out to the students.”
Kane smiled, hoping the elders wouldn’t see it falter, and bowed.
“Thank you, elder,” Kane said.
But he could say no more about the hybrids, because it suddenly became clear to him that, sitting on the council, at least half of the men had the shocking, mysterious secret that Max had. The corruption had gone deeper than Kane ever would have thought. And he wouldn’t have even realized it if Lia hadn’t pointed it out. She was a smart girl. It had felt so natural to talk to her about the shifter politics. He hadn’t been able to speak with anyone like this since Ava had been killed.
Kane saw himself out, grabbing a few copies of the new reform laws. He would scour over them all night, and wouldn’t rest until he knew for sure that he was going to lead the wolf shifters of Stonybrooke to victory.
***
Kane spent the next few weeks avoiding Lia like the plague. Every time he saw her, he felt crippling guilt and fear. Anger at himself for coming so close to the edge of his self-control, and fury that he had allowed himself to touch another woman, and meaningfully, no less, after the loss of his wife. He wouldn’t forgive himself this time, and every time he saw Lia, he simply acted like a piece of shit toward her. He couldn’t help himself. It was as if all the bad feelings about the situation just bubbled up out of him at once.
To make matters worse, Franklin had rescheduled the meeting to the week before the ceremony was to commence, putting Kane even more on edge than he had been already. It wasn’t until late Friday afternoon that Franklin managed to get everybody together for a meeting, coughing heavily into his handkerchief.
“So a great tragedy has befallen the university,” Franklin said. “Max Fredrickson was found deceased.”
Kane opened his mouth to interject, but found, suddenly, that speaking seemed impossible. If he spoke now and was found guilty of murdering his competition, he would be disqualified. Nobody knew what had happened. If he was honest, he might as well be handing the advantage over to Max’s cronies.
“A startling discovery was made, however, upon the examination of his corpse,” Franklin continued. “Max was not…one of us.”
Kane’s entire body seemed to deflate at the words, so profound was his relief.
“Sir, if I may interject…” Kane said, finally finding his voice. “I am responsible for the murder of Max Fredrickson. He abducted my fiancé and intended to sacrifice her to Malishk.”
The room grew silent, and all eyes turned to Kane.
“I discovered that he is a hybrid. Half bear, half wolf. But it is a dark magic that binds these two halves together, and it corrupted him down to his very soul. I had to save my fiancé. She is…she is a student here.”
Every shameful thing about the situation seemed to be summarized by his statement, and Kane waited with his chest tight, for Franklin to speak. Finally, after another round of coughing, he did.
“Kane,” he said, his voice low and serious. “There were guidelines to this candidacy that I outlined exclusively, expecting whoever succeeded me to abide by them.”
Kane grimaced. He was going to be disqualified. He should have just kept his damn mouth shut.
“But,” Franklin continued. “I respect the great courage it must have taken, not only to face this monster for the return of your fiancé, but to face the council, and myself, with the truth.”
Kane bowed his head. “I am worried about the Council, actually. I only asked them for details about the reform.”
“Kane,” Franklin said, walking slowly around the conference table to face Kane and place his hand firmly on his shoulder. “There isn’t a more worthy man to take my place in this school. Our way of life is under siege. But by stopping Max from taking over the school, you have undoubtedly saved Stonybrooke from another massacre. You are hereby deemed my successor, and will be honored at a celebration with your virgin fiancé present.”
“Thank you,” Kane said, bowing deeply to Franklin. Everybody in the conference room applauded, but for some reason, instead of feeling relieved, Kane simply felt heavy. His virgin fiancé. His farce. As much as he cared about her, and fuck, did he care, it just couldn’t happen. He had gotten far more than he had bargained for, and now he was going to have to face up to his mistakes one last time before getting rid of Lia once and for all.