Page 19 of Star Crossed Delta

Xander reached beneath the bench and pulled out a bottle of aged Bourbon Black.

‘The one you gifted me last solstice. Figured I’d never get to open it with you.’

Mak took the offered tumbler.

Xander lit two synth cigars, handing one over.

Mak inhaled, letting the smoke roll and slow through him, a counterbalance to the storm behind his eyes.

They sauntered back to the outdoor sitting area and settled into the armchairs.

Mk sipped, sucked his cigar, and threw his head back, letting the wind shift through his hair.

Xander finally said, ‘Talk to me.’

Mak didn’t look at him. He kept his gaze across the lake like the answer might rise from the depths.

‘Wife problems?’ Xander guessed.

Mak took a jagged inhale. ‘What else? How do you manage being married?’

‘I need details, cabrón , to know how to help you,’ Xander mused, leaning forward, sensing the tension in Mak.

Mak leaned back in his chair, the flicker of frustration and pain still fresh in his eyes.

The silence between them stretched, thick and uncomfortable, until Mak finally broke it, his voice rough.

‘I can’t get over Saba’s stunt at the altar. It was a dagger in my soul. A wound that won’t heal because it brought to mind what that family did to me years ago.’

Xander’s gaze softened, his expression a mixture of understanding and concern. He set his drink down, leaning forward. ‘I have seen you play with a ring for many years now. Pray tell?’

Mak’s jaw clenched, his memories drifting back to the past, to the first time he’d set eyes on Suri.

His voice grew quieter, almost distant. ‘Fourteen years back, I agreed to Tewa’s invitation to meet with a young woman in a private garden on the Light Nautilus. When I saw her, I was taken by her beauty. I fell for her hard.’

Xander raised an eyebrow. ‘She’s the sister who -?’

‘ Naam . Suri Lisades,’ Mak interrupted, his hand running over his jaw. ‘I asked her family for permission to court her, thinking she was everything I’d ever wanted.’

Xander’s expression hardened. ‘But things went south?’

Mak nodded, bitterness seeping into his words. ‘She reciprocated, or so I thought. The little glances, the shy blushes, the kisses. Hell, I treated her with care and tenderness. She appreciated it. Even let me put an engagement ring on her finger.’

‘Sounds like a fairy tale,’ Xander murmured.

Mak snorted, a humorless laugh escaping him. ‘Yeah, until she gave the ring back and disappeared. Vanished, just like that.’

Xander shook his head. ‘That’s a lot to carry for a young man.’

Mak’s eyes darkened as the memories hit him like a physical blow. ‘I lost myself after that. Went on a rampage, drinking, hitting the clubs. I spent every night with different women, trying to forget, attempting to drown the pain, to numb the wound she left in me. It burned deep.’

Xander’s brow furrowed, his empathy clear. ‘I can imagine.’

Mak nodded, his eyes flashing with the memory of it all. ‘Then, after all the chaos, the Lisades came crawling back. Tewa, desperate for synth steel, begged me to consider Shiloh, Suri’s younger sister, whose holo image was even more beautiful.’

Mak exhaled. ‘I caved. I was weak. Shiloh resembled Suri, but more amped up in beauty, if you can believe it. But there was a catch. I had to wait seven more years before she could marry, so I arranged the deal in my favor.’

Xander raised an eyebrow, intrigued. ‘What kind of bargain did you make?’

Mak smirked, the memory of the power he’d wielded still fueling his pride.

‘I designed it so that the Sauvage clan was the only one allowed to sell synth steel to the Syndicate Commission that Tewa was a member of. Plus, all the hydrogen needed for the ark ships had to come through me. It made the Sauvage family the wealthiest and most influential in the flotilla.’

‘ Fokk , brother,’ Xander trailed off, knowing the rest. ‘You never said a word. You’re one secretive hermano .’

‘My clan is complex and messed up. Not shit you want to share.’

‘Damn.’

Mak’s eyes darkened again, the hurt resurfacing.

‘Yet for all my troubles, all I have to show for it is a stranger for a wife, and a lifetime of lies. The betrayal stings, Xander. She knew what she was doing the whole time. Knew I was stuck in a deal I couldn’t get out of, and she still went along with it and deceived me. ’

Xander leaned back in his chair, studying Mak with the quiet intensity that only a close friend could offer. ‘You’ve been carrying that for a long time, huh?’

‘I have,’ Mak’s voice was thick with frustration.

Xander let the silence settle between them, his tone steady when he spoke again. ‘You’re not alone in this, Mak. You’ve got us, your pack, who care, but you’ve gotta take your time to heal. You’re not gonna fix this all in one go. Don’t allow it to eat you alive.’

Mak met his gaze, his shoulders heavy with the burden of years of emotional turmoil. ‘I don’t know, Xander. It feels like it’s all crashing down. The family, the legacy, and now this. I don’t know how to move forward.’

Xander gave him a long, measured look. ‘You don’t have to do it alone, my friend. You’ve got time. Don’t permit the pain to define you. Heal, in your own time. But don’t keep punishing yourself for what’s been done. You’re more than the mistakes of the past.’

Mak sat for a moment as Xander’s words settled in.

It wasn’t easy to hear Xander’s wisdom. Nor did he feel ready to heed it yet.

‘One more thing,’ Xander rasped, arms folded, the wind off the lake ruffling his hair. ‘Is Saba your prisoner, Mak? You’ve kept her in that lodge and we’ve not seen her since the wedding.’

Mak stilled. The moonlight cast long shadows across his face, carving the lines of his jaw into a darker sculpted ridge.

‘ Nada ,’ he said, voice low. ‘She’s not my prisoner. She’s my wife. And I’m keeping her close, per Akkadian rite.’

Xander’s brow twitched. ‘Close? That’s what we’re calling confinement now?’

Mak’s eyes cut to his Alpha. ‘From the get-go, when I explained about my culture, you agreed not to interfere when it came to our traditions.’

‘I agreed,’ Xander growled, settling back into his chair, ‘not to question what didn’t endanger the fleet or violate consent. Are you crossing that line?’

Mak set his tumbler down on a side table with a thunk. His posture locked, his lycan aura bristling.

‘I’d never harm Saba,’ he growled. ‘But betrayal demands recompense. Where I come from, it’s an eye for an eye. You take something, you give something back.’

Xander leaned closer, his timbre clipped. ‘You think she hasn’t paid enough? Do you want obedience or love? Because you won’t get both through fear.’

Mak’s jaw flexed. His shoulders were still, like a wolf deciding whether to lunge or relent.

‘She knew what she did,’ he said. ‘I’m not punishing her. I’m making sure she understands what she cost me.’

Xander didn’t flinch. ‘What if clinging to pride costs you everything?’

Mak’s lip curled into a stubborn line, but he said nothing.

‘Get over your revenge,’ Xander said. ‘Lean into the heart. Therein is the path to the love you seek.’

For a moment, neither spoke. Tension crackled between them.

Mak sliced his gaze away first, eyes drifting out over the lake.

After a little more brooding in silence, he slugged back the rest of his drink and rose.

‘I’ll think on it, brother. Sante .’

With a jerk of his chin to Xander, Mak prowled back into the night.

He walked along the lake, still lost in thought.

If self-flagellation was not an option, perhaps the answer lay in letting Saba go, giving her the diamonds, her bride price, and sending her away.

But he couldn’t. The consequences of separation, the scandal for the Sauvage lineage, the endless questions from the Syndicate and their elders, none of it was worth it.

Once again, he had to sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the Seat of the ?ar , pushing aside love for duty and family.

He was exhausted by the honor he had clung to, the ideals painted for him, which had led to fourteen years of loneliness.

He felt desperate for connection, for the devotion he had always sought but never found. His heart yearned for a true mate, but that hope was fading, eroded by the betrayal of the woman he had married.

He decided that to keep her from escaping, he’d increase security around his property, install more cameras, and hire more guards.

He’d get Koda watching her even more closely, despite the frustration and despair she wore in every movement.

He was unyielding. She would never leave, no matter how frustrated she became. She was his now, and he would never let her go.

It was the punishment she had to endure for her family’s deceit.

Just like they had held his heart hostage for fourteen years, he vowed to do the same to her.