[BL] Alpha, You've Got the Wrong Mate!

Chapter 369 — Would That Excuse Betrayal?

"I told my brother I don’t wish to meet anyone!" Zayden’s voice came out harsher than intended like a wounded animal baring its fangs before anyone could notice it was bleeding.

Enzo remained silent for a moment, studying his old friend carefully.

The dishevelled hair. The dark circles beneath his eyes. The exhausted expression. The half-empty bottles scattered around the room.

Gods.

He looked awful.

"You look terrible," Enzo finally said.

The comment only deepened Zayden’s glare.

"I didn’t invite you here to judge my appearance."

"Good, because I wasn’t asking for permission to do so."

A vein twitched on Zayden’s forehead. Under normal circumstances, he might have laughed. Today, however, he lacked both the energy and the patience.

"If you’ve come to defend him, save your breath."

The room instantly grew heavier. Even speaking about Ren seemed to cost him effort.

"I don’t know what lies he told you, but—"

"He never told me anything."

The interruption caught Zayden off guard.

Enzo tightened his grip on his cane.

"That’s exactly the problem." Enzo’s gaze hardened. "Ren never tells anyone anything. But I know the truth. I have known all of this since the beginning. I thought you—"

"You knew?..." Zayden’s voice came out so quietly that Enzo almost failed to hear him.

"—I thought you knew," Enzo repeated. Only after saying those words did he realize something was wrong.

His brows furrowed.

"You didn’t know?" he asked, freezing where he stood.

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

Before Enzo could process what was happening, a sharp blow struck his cheek, causing his head to snap to the side. A dull ache spread across his face, and he let out a low groan, instinctively bringing a hand to the spot Zayden had hit.

The alpha stood before him, breathing heavily. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his blood-red eyes burning with emotions Enzo couldn’t immediately decipher.

Anger, pain, betrayal. Perhaps all three at once. They flickered in his gaze like burning flames.

"You knew?" Zayden repeated, his voice trembling. "You knew all this time and said nothing?!"

Enzo slowly straightened himself, still rubbing his cheek.

"I was certain you were aware of his identity. How can anyone escape your sharp eyes? And... I didn’t think it mattered because you cherish him so much."

A bitter laugh escaped Zayden’s lips.

"Didn’t matter?" he repeated, staring at him as if he had just heard the most absurd thing imaginable. "The entire empire is calling him a traitor. The ministers are demanding his execution. My father is being pressured to sentence him, and you stand there telling me it didn’t matter?! If I knew I could have—" His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"You knew who he was. You knew where he came from. You knew the truth, yet you watched me walk blindly into all of this without saying a word."

Enzo opened his mouth, only to close it again. Because he understood what had wounded Zayden so deeply. It wasn’t merely Ren’s identity. It wasn’t even the lies.

It was the fact that people he trusted hid the truth from him.

Ren did it.

And so did Enzo.

And all this time, Zayden had remained completely unaware.

The man who loved Ren more than anyone else.

Zayden dragged a trembling hand through his hair before letting out a shaky breath.

"I loved him, Enzo," he admitted, his voice lowering. "Do you understand that? I loved him enough to trust him with everything, and now you’re telling me that you knew the truth and didn’t tell me." His lips twisted into a self-mocking smile.

"I truly am the biggest fool in the empire, just as everyone is saying now. I let a traitor fool me. Play with me and my emotions." The bitterness in Zayden’s voice could not be hidden.

Every word sounded as though it had been ripped straight from his chest.

"Zayden..." Enzo whispered, worry flashing across his face.

He had expected anger, accusations, and perhaps even violence. But he had never expected this— to find his friend tearing himself apart more viciously than anyone else could.

Enzo had assumed everything would somehow work itself out. After all, Zayden had always stood by Ren’s side regardless of the circumstances. Whenever someone criticized the omega, Zayden would be the first to defend him. Whenever rumours surfaced, he would dismiss them without a second thought.

He had truly believed that if anyone could remain on Ren’s side after learning the truth, it would be Zayden. Yet standing before him now, Enzo realized how mistaken he had been.

The alpha looked exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. As though the past few days had drained every ounce of strength from him.

"You are being unfair to yourself," Enzo finally said, choosing his words carefully. "Trusting someone doesn’t make you a fool."

Zayden let out a hollow laugh.

"Is that so?" His gaze drifted toward the window.

The curtains remained closed, leaving the room dim despite the daylight outside.

"I trusted him enough to bring him into my home. I trusted him enough to let him near Eiran. I trusted him enough to tell him things I have never told another soul." His throat tightened. "And what did I receive in return?"

The question lingered between them. Neither of the two men answered. Because Enzo didn’t know how to. And Zayden already believed he knew the answer.

"I keep asking myself what was real," the alpha continued quietly. "Every smile. Every conversation. Every moment we spent together. Was any of it genuine, or was I simply too blind to see what was happening right in front of me?"

Enzo lowered his gaze. He finally found himself understanding Ren’s silence.

How could Ren ever explain years of secrets in a few simple words?

How could he convince someone to trust him again after allowing those lies to grow for so long?

"You are wrong about one thing," Enzo said after a long pause.

Zayden frowned.

"And what would that be?"

"Ren never played with your emotions." The answer came without hesitation. With certainty.

"I don’t know what happened between the two of you. I don’t know why he chose to hide his identity. But if there is one thing I am willing to stake my life on, it is that Ren’s feelings for you were real."

Zayden froze.

His fingers tightened involuntarily. Those were the very words he had been trying desperately not to hear. The confirmation he had been waiting for.

But... Would that excuse the betrayal?