"Kyle wasn't killed," Tanner says, like it's the most irrelevant thing in the world. His voice is calm, almost too calm, as if the weight of those words doesn't mean anything.
"What?!" Jess turns to him instantly, eyes wide, disbelief hitting him hard. "He wasn't?" Relief washes over his face in real time, softening the panic that was just there. His shoulders ease a little, and something flickers in his eyes,,, hope, maybe.
But Tanner looks away, his jaw tightening.
"You know… this is the very reason I didn't want to tell you." His voice is quieter now, strained. "Because I knew you'd be happy about it. I knew you'd be relieved. And what if that relief makes you go looking for him? What if you leave just to find him?" He laughs, but there's no humor in it. "But I... I can't bear the thought of you looking at me like I'm a murderer."
He turns back to face Jess fully this time. "I want you to answer me honestly, Jess. Did you love him? Do you still love him even now?"
Jess blinks at him. His mouth opens, but no words come. He brushes of his Questions, then asks, "What do you mean by he wasn't killed? You… they… I mean… we were supposed to… He..." He chokes on the words. Not sure what he really wants to say. "Hugh." A heavy sigh escapes him as he closes his eyes, trying to breathe, to calm the storm suddenly brewing in his chest.
Watching Jess struggle to find words makes Tanner's chest tighten with guilt. The sight of Jess's relief, genuine, raw, stabs at him deeper than he expected. He swallows hard.
"It had already been decided," Tanner begins slowly, voice thick. "There was really going to be an execution. Everything was set. But then I thought… if he really dies, that blood would be on me. And if someday I told you that I wanted to be with you… how would you see me?" He pauses, his throat bobbing. "You'd look at me like I was a killer. That thought... it haunted me. The fear in your eyes... I couldn't even imagine it."
"So I begged my father. I literally fell to my knees and cried, begged him to change his mind. But he wouldn't listen, he never does. I cried until even my mother joined to help me, and together we pleaded until he finally gave in."
Tanner shifts on the bed, eyes clouded with memory. "While they were out looking for you, they were also trying to decide another punishment that would still serve as a warning to the whole pack. Then Kyle's father came forward and said he wanted his son sold away. Somewhere far. Somewhere he'd never see him again. Said Kyle was a disgrace."
He exhales. "I'm not sure where they sent him. But I remember hearing whispers… something about slavery. I don't know."
Jess listens in silence.
The words settle over him like a storm cloud_ cold, heavy, and suffocating.
He still doesn't know what to feel, or how to react to all of this. But one thing is clear in his mind: Tanner is lying.
He knows exactly where Kyle was taken. He sees it in the way Tanner's gaze flickers, the way he hesitates. But he doesn't push it, not now.
This much is enough for tonight. At least Kyle didn't die. Even if he's out there somewhere, struggling, maybe… maybe there's a chance he's free now. Or will be, one day.
"You're lost in thought," Tanner says gently, his voice barely above a whisper. He brushes hair out of Jess's face. "Are you thinking about him?"
"No," Jess answers quickly, maybe too quickly.
Jess says "no" so quickly because he was actually thinking about Kyle, and he doesn't want Tanner to know.
It's a defensive, instinctive denial, like he's trying to shut the door on a painful subject before it opens too far.
Deep down, he feels guilty for still caring about Kyle's fate, especially while being so close to Tanner in that moment.
He knows Tanner would crack if he finds out he's thinking about Kyle's fate. But to him, thinking about Kyle doesn't mean he wants Kyle more than he wants Tanner, though Tanner would probably see it that way.
They lay there in silence, just staring at each other. The air between them is thick with everything unspoken, everything unresolved. Then, without a word, Jess pulls Tanner down into a kiss.
There's so much left unsaid, so many things tangled up inside Jess's heart and head.
Like the fact that they're married now, both men, and the pack doesn't know. When they eventually do, Jess has no idea what that fallout will look like. Or how Tanner is even planning to face it.
Even now, after Tanner has confessed, after all the chaos and silence between them, he still hasn't explained what their future will look like. What is he planning? How is he going to deal with it all? The uncertainty hangs heavy over Jess's chest.
But tonight has already been overwhelming, too much to process at once. So for now, maybe, he just needs to stop thinking. Just for a little while. Just long enough to feel Tanner.
His wolf has been restless the entire time, reacting to every single shift, every truth. But also, it hasn't stopped urging him to be marked_ claimed by Tanner.
And after everything he's heard tonight, even though he still doesn't know everything about Tanner's plans or their fate, he's already made one decision: He will fight beside him if he's willing to accept him this way.
The kiss had started off soft, just lips brushing. But now that they're connected, it's like Tanner has been waiting for this permission. Like he's been holding back, and now the permission has been granted.
And Jess is so wrapped in everything, everything Tanner is, everything this moment holds, that he doesn't even realize how much Tanner is changing with the touch. Something inside him is being unleashed.