Kean mentally braced himself before he walked into the living room, where he had agreed to meet with his brother. Or rather, his brother had agreed to meet with him, because after that morning’s breakfast in the kitchen, Kean knew he had to take the next step. He wasn’t sure if it would go anywhere. But before he could even try, he had to follow the rules. 

Palani was already waiting for him, tapping away on the keyboard of his laptop, which perched on his lap as he sat cross-legged on the couch. He looked up when Kean walked in. “Hey bro, what’s up?”

It took one look at Kean’s face to put his laptop away and lean forward. “Okay, I can see something is going on. Talk to me.”

It was funny, the dynamic they had. Kean was older than him by a year, and yet it felt like Palani was his older brother. He was an old soul, somehow, mature and wise beyond his years. He always had been. Kean wasn’t exactly a party animal either, but Palani was in a whole other category.

Kean lowered himself on a chair across from his brother. He decided to skip the pleasantries and go straight for what he wanted. “I would like your permission to approach Ruari and see if he would be interested in more between us,” he said. 

Palani looked at him thoughtfully. “Enar told me he thought you two had a connection. It’s pretty fast.”

“I’m not saying I want to marry him,” Kean said defensively. “I’m asking for permission to approach him and see if he’s even open to the idea, so we can see if there’s something between us.”

“Kean, I understand. I hate to bring him up, but what about Bray?”

And that, right there, was the conversation Kean had hoped not to have with his brother. He had never told him about him and Bray hooking up. There had been no need as neither of them was an omega. But of course, Palani had found out anyway. There was little that escaped his attention. And it wasn’t that Kean was uncomfortable with his brother knowing who he slept with or hooked up with. It was more that he might be forced to explain something he couldn’t even explain himself, like his weird attraction to Bray.

“You know, huh?” he sighed.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Kean considered it. Out of everyone on the ranch, Palani might understand this better than anyone, considering his complicated relationship with Vieno, Lidon, and Enar before the four of them had figured out what they were to each other. Plus, Palani was a good listener and might shed some light. Then, of course, there was the whole fated mates thing that Kean was still conflicted about, especially after what Bray had said, and he knew for a fact Palani would have opinions on that.

“Do you believe in fated mates?” he asked.

Palani looked at him quizzically, but replied, “Yes, absolutely. I never knew something could hurt as much as being separated from Vieno after he married Lidon. That wasn’t mere heartbreak, you know? That was real pain, and he was feeling the same thing. He was withering without me, and if nothing else, that convinced me of the truth. The four of us, there’s no other way to explain how we function than that of us being fated mates.”

This was another thing Kean appreciated about his brother. Palani didn’t immediately fill a silence with more words, but gave you time to think. And Kean did a lot of thinking as he pondered Palani’s statement. “Bray doesn’t believe in fated mates,” he finally offered.

“But you do,” Palani said as a statement, not a question.

“I do, but I’m not sure how it works. Like, can one person feel he is meant for someone else, but that other person not feel it at all? Is that even possible?”

Palani sent him a sad smile. “I assume we’re still talking about Bray?”

It would be the first time Kean admitted his feelings to anyone else, maybe even including himself. But he was tired of lying to himself, and even more tired of pretending.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “Remember that first time Rhene and I visited here? When I saw Bray, it felt like being shocked with a taser. I was certain it had to mean something, and I’ll be honest that it was one of the reasons why I decided to move here. But I don’t think he felt that, back then, and whatever he feels for me right now is not on the same level. So I don’t know what to do with that, and with Ruari entering the picture, I’m even more confused.”

“Hmm,” Palani said. “And do you have any idea how Ruari feels about you? Do you think he’s open to you pursuing him?”

Kean shrugged, letting out a soft sigh. “He likes me, of that I’m sure. Other than that, I couldn’t tell you. That whole thing with Bray has me super confused and doubting my ability to interpret situations correctly.”

“Did Bray ever tell you he wanted more when you guys started seeing each other?”

Kean grimaced. “Hell no, he made it crystal clear that this was super casual. Hooking up, that’s it. Scratching a sexual itch, caused by the shifting.”

“You had hoped he’d develop more feelings for you,” Palani understood.

Kean shrugged again, unsure of what else to say. “I hoped, but I guess I was wrong.”

“So does that make Ruari second choice? Because that’s a hell of a wrong way to start a relationship, if I may be so frank.”

Kean’s first reaction was to get angry for even suggesting it, but then he realized Palani was right. Or rather, he wasn’t wrong. The attraction with Ruari was there, for sure, but could he really forget about Bray? He would have to if he wanted a shot with Ruari. He couldn’t start dating him, not even approach him, until he had broken things off with Bray. That thought saddened him, but he had no choice. If Bray didn’t want him, and all the signals pointed to that conclusion, then Kean had to walk away before his heart got even more involved.

“No, he’s not second choice. But I’ll admit it may take me a while to let go of the idea of me and Bray together. But I promise you, I will break things off with him. I have no intention of deceiving Ruari, and even if it turns out he’s not interested in me that way, I still need to end things with Bray. I’m too good to continue this. If he doesn’t want me, then I need to draw my conclusions and walk away.”

Palani’s eyes were filled with sympathy as he nodded. “I was hoping you would come to that conclusion. I like Bray, I really do, but there’s no denying the man has issues. All we can do is hope he’ll work through them, but it may be too late for you and him by then.”

A strange image filled Kean’s mind, a picture of Bray, him, and Ruari together. An alpha, a beta, and an omega. It had the potential to be the perfect combination, but he realized the futility of even considering it. Bray wanted an omega, not a beta. Even if, and that was the biggest “if” ever considering those two hadn’t even met, but even if Bray and Ruari connected by some miracle, Kean would always be the third wheel in that relationship. Bray would never accept him as a suitable mate, not when his heart was set on…how had he put it? At sweet, pliant omega. 

Kean scoffed. Those were three things he would and could never be. So no, he had to forget about Bray and focus on Ruari instead, hoping that the connection he’d felt with him was enough to convince the omega to give them a shot.

But first, he had bad news to deliver to a certain alpha. That should be fun.

Bray was surprised when Kean approached him while he was inspecting the new guardhouse near the main entrance. Jawon and his men had done a good job building it to Bray’s specifications, and he made a mental note to tell him so. He had just finished writing down the few improvements he wanted to suggest when Kean walked in.

“Hey,” the beta said, and something in his tone put Bray on edge. He wasn’t sure why Kean was here, but he was certain he wasn’t gonna like it.

“What brings you here?” he asked, skipping the niceties.

Kean dragged his hand through his hair, and that’s when Bray knew his suspicions were correct. This couldn’t be good.

“Can we talk?”

Bray sighed, that simple line giving him a good indication of where this conversation was headed. “Sure. I’m assuming you have something to tell me?”

For the first time since he walked in, Kean met his eyes head on. “Yes, I do. I wanted to tell you that I can’t see you anymore.”

Bray pushed down the flash of anger that rose at those words. “I didn’t realize we were serious enough to warrant an official break up,” he said.

Kean’s eyes sparked. “That’s exactly the problem,” he said.

Bray frowned. What was Kean referring to? “I’m not following.”

Kean rolled his eyes. “No, you’re not, and that’s the whole problem. Look, we agreed to keep things casual, and that may be working out for you quite well, but I have come to the conclusion that this is not providing me with what I need or want in the long term. It’s—” 

“Who said anything about long term?” Bray said, his frown intensifying.

“You’re interrupting me. Again,” Kean said quietly.

Oh my God, was he going on that tour again? Bray held up his hands. “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s not do the whole ‘you interrupted me’ drama again.”

“And that, right there, is the second reason I’m ending this,” Kean said, his voice louder than before. Bray opened his mouth to say something, but Kean lifted a finger and Bray shut it again. “No, you do not speak while I’m talking. You can at least have the decency to let me speak without interrupting when I’m ending things with you, you hear me?”

Bray could barely repress the urge to roll his eyes. Kean could be so super sensitive about things like this. Everybody interrupted others when they were in a conversation. It was the normal dynamic of any conversation. It had nothing to do with being rude or whatever, you just had to talk a little louder if you wanted to be heard. Once people realized you were serious with what you were saying, they would let you finish without interrupting. But apparently, this was something Kean had never learned, so Bray decided he could be magnanimous and let him talk. Maybe when Kean got all the drama off his chest, Bray could talk some sense into him.

“You said you wanted something casual, and I went along with that. The truth is that I am looking for a long-term relationship, but not with you,” Kean said.

Bray frowned. Not that he was interested in anything serious, but what was wrong with him that Kean didn’t see him as a suitable long-term partner? He could do worse than an alpha like Bray.

“You’ve made your wishes for a future partner crystal clear,” Kean continued. “And we both know that nothing on your list applies to me. I’m not an omega, I’m not sweet and submissive, and I sure as hell won’t take care of you or wipe your ass the rest of your life, as you seem to demand from your future mate. You’ve been honest about that, and while I think it’s ridiculous and you’re wrong, I can’t fault you for your honesty. But it does mean that this is where our ways part.”

For reasons Bray couldn’t explain, his frustration with this conversation was growing. Why did Kean make it sound like his vision for a future mate was ridiculous? Hell, his own father had done the same, stating that if Bray ever found someone like that, he would be bored out of his mind. Why did other people think they knew better than himself who suited him? And come to that, who the hell was Kean that he thought he could tell Bray anything anyway?

“Okay, so you’ve come to the same conclusion I have, that we’re not a good match in the long term. What the hell does that have to do with us hooking up? Why can’t we continue to have fun until you meet someone else?”

One look at Kean’s face, and Bray’s stomach dropped, taking his self-confidence with it. Kean had already met someone else, that truth was painted on his face. 

“You already have, haven’t you?” Bray asked, a lot more subdued now.

Kean slowly nodded. “Yes, there’s a new omega who arrived yesterday and who may be staying for a while. His name is Ruari. I already met him a few weeks ago in the clinic, and we connected. He has a baby, a three-month-old, and it has made me realize that is what I want. I don’t want to hook up and be casual, Bray. I want a mate, a family.”

Bray inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the strange way his heart behaved. “Well, if that’s what you want… I mean, you’re pretty damn young to settle down, but whatever.”

Kean raised his head, his chin tilting up in that stubborn way that alerted more trouble was coming. “There’s one more thing I want to say,” Kean said. “I’m not sure I could’ve continued with you even if I hadn’t met Ruari.”

“Why? I thought we were good together in bed. You certainly seem to appreciate the way I fuck you,” Bray said.

“I do, but I want more than just a good fuck, even for a casual relationship. I want someone who sees me as his equal, and the truth is that you don’t. Not in bed, not in conversations, not in any social situation. You are the alpha, and you always let me feel that. And I’ve decided that I’m worth more than that. I’m looking at my brother, and I can see what I could achieve in a relationship where I am taken seriously, where I am an equal partner. And I want that for myself. I deserve that. And I can’t bring myself to settle any longer for someone who only sees me as a good fuck.”

Kean looked him right in the eyes, until Bray averted his own. There was something in the beta’s eyes that pierced straight through his armor, that came dangerously close to wounding him. It was bullshit, of course, what he was saying, the ramblings of an oversensitive beta who probably secretly yearned to be an alpha. And yet, as Kean’s words sank in, Bray felt a shiver inch down his spine. 

It couldn’t be true, right? People respected him, they respected his position. That wouldn’t be the case if he treated them the way Kean just described. There needed to be some kind of hierarchy, even in a pack. Hell, especially in a pack. Wasn’t that why there was a pack alpha, whose command everyone was supposed to follow?

But there was also a second-in-command, he thought with a confusing clarity. A second-in-command who was a beta, and who was still in charge, even of Bray and the other alphas. He’d been uneasy with that decision from the start, even though he could acknowledge no alpha would’ve done a better job than Palani. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a tad uncomfortable with a beta being placed in a position over him.

But that was different. That was pack business, not a relationship or as Kean had put it, social situations. The fact that Bray might be a tad old-fashioned in some aspects didn’t mean you couldn’t treat people equally. He did. It was just that some people, and all evidence pointed toward Kean being one of them, were overly sensitive about this.

“Look, I don’t know where you got the impression I only think of you as a good fuck, because I genuinely like you. But you’re a tad oversensitive here. You’re seeing things that are not true, though I am sorry you experienced it that way. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, so if you think that everything’s been handed to me just because I’m an alpha, you’re wrong. I struggled when I started this business, because older alphas wouldn’t give me a fair chance. But I learned to adapt and become the kind of alpha and business owner people take seriously. So I understand what it’s like to be overlooked, but you have to position yourself better, to be more dominant and present, and then people will respond to you in a different way.”

Kean stared at him for what had to be close to ten seconds before he slowly shook his head. “That has to be the biggest load of alpha-privileged crap I have ever heard in my life. You haven’t listened to a word I said, Bray. But I am done explaining this to you. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m hoping to have a shot with Ruari. I’ve already asked Palani for permission to pursue him, and he’s granted me that.”

A wave of anger rolled through Bray at that dismissal. “Well, of course, you’ve gotten permission. He is your brother after all,” he snapped.

Kean’s eyes narrowed. “If you think that’s why he gave permission, you don’t know Palani at all. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t owe any explanation to you, and neither does he.”

He turned to walk away, and for some reason, that enraged Bray even more. To be dumped was one thing, especially when it was a casual relationship in the first place, but to be dismissed like that, like his voice and opinion didn’t matter at all, that would not stand.

“You’d better hope that omega is satisfied with just one child, because you’ll never be able to give him more.”

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, a cheap and low shot that he should’ve never made.

Kean turned around, and the look of devastation on his face hit Bray deep. If there had been any chance of them ever hooking up again, he had just ruined it. 

“Not everyone prioritizes the way you do, Bray,” Kean said, and much to Bray’s surprise, his voice sounded sad rather than angry. “Love really does conquer all. But I guess you don’t believe in that either. I feel sorry for you, Bray, because with that attitude, I doubt you’ll ever find that kind of love in the first place.”

Bray watched as Kean walked away without looking back again. He had deserved that last parting shot, he admitted to himself. He’d gone for a kill shot, and he’d hit his target, but it had been a low blow. He was better than that, even if the thought had crossed his mind that the omega might be better off with an alpha if he ever wanted more children. Then again, if he had a child now, someone must have sired it, so maybe he could ask that same alpha to be a sperm donor.

As he leaned against the wall, contemplating that whole conversation with Kean, a heaviness settled in his heart. He wasn’t sure why, but this break up felt like a massive failure, much more than its casual status should've warranted. Why was that? Why were Kean’s words still playing in his head, like some kind of bad but catchy ear worm?

It was a long time before he stepped outside, and when he did, his mood hadn’t improved.