My Alpha Mate Is A Jerk

Chapter 4

Broken Pieces

Three days of psychological warfare had left Aria hollow. Viktor's visits were unpredictable – sometimes cruel taunts, sometimes lingering touches that left her burning, always followed by cold dismissal. She hadn't slept more than an hour at a time, her wolf too agitated by their mate's proximity yet constant rejection.

When the door opened again, she didn't bother looking up from her curled position on the window seat.

"Still sulking, little wolf?" Viktor's footsteps approached, followed by the rustle of papers being set down. "And here I brought you a gift."

"More designer clothes I'm ordered to wear for your amusement?" Her voice was hoarse from crying.

"Your medical records, actually."

That got her attention. Aria's head snapped up, fear crawling up her spine. "How did you—"

"I told you, I own this city." He settled into an armchair, watching her with predatory focus. "Though I must admit, these make for fascinating reading. Care to explain why you never mentioned your... history?"

"That's private." She scrambled up, reaching for the papers, but he caught her wrist easily.

"Nothing about you is private anymore." His grip was firm but carefully controlled, as though he was conscious of the old fractures noted in those records. "Multiple broken bones at age sixteen. Suspicious falls. A particularly nasty concussion." His other hand caught her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Your stepfather was apparently quite thorough."

Aria jerked away, or tried to. "Stop."

"He was human, wasn't he? Had to be, for your Alpha father to be powerless to stop it. Human laws, human courts..." His lip curled. "Human weakness."

"Please..." Tears spilled over. "Don't..."

"Did he know what you were? Or did you have to hide that too, healing just slowly enough to avoid suspicion?"

Her legs gave out. Viktor moved faster than thought, catching her before she hit the ground. Despite her struggles, he pulled her into his lap in the armchair.

"Shhhh, little wolf." His tone was still clinical, but his hand stroked her back as she sobbed. "I'm not him. My cruelty has purpose. Limits."

"Why are you doing this to me?" She hiccups.

"Because you're mine now." He inhaled along her hairline, his wolf clearly struggling with her distress. "My mate. My responsibility. And I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with."

The door opened, making Aria tense.

"Sir." It was the doctor who'd been trying to examine her for days. "I have those additional records you requested, and some... concerns."

Viktor's arm tightened around her waist. "Speak."

"The pattern of injuries, combined with her current cortisol levels and signs of post-traumatic stress... she's not physically or emotionally equipped to handle continued isolation and psychological pressure. The mate bond rejection is already straining her system. If this continues—"

"Get out." Viktor's voice was deadly quiet.

"Alpha Volkov, as your medical advisor, I must insist—"

"OUT!"

The door slammed. Aria trembled in Viktor's lap, waiting for his rage. Instead, his thumb brushed away her tears with surprising gentleness.

"You've been refusing food," he said softly. "Barely sleeping. Fighting the bond so hard you're making yourself ill."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" She meant it to sound bitter, but it came out broken. "To break me?"

His wolf's eyes bled through, molten gold and anguished. "No, little mate. Not like this."

For the first time, he didn't immediately force the wolf back. His arms shifted, cradling rather than restraining.

"Your stepfather," he said carefully, "is he still alive?"

Aria stiffened. "Why?"

"Because if he is, he won't be for long." The casual way he said it, like commenting on the weather, made her shiver. "No one touches what's mine. Not even in the past."

"He's dead." She turned her face into his chest, inhaling his comforting scent despite herself. "Car accident. Two years ago."

Viktor made a sound of disappointment. "Pity. I would have made it much slower." His hand slid into her hair, massaging her scalp. "When was the last time you slept properly, little one?"

The unexpected gentleness broke something in her. "I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I feel the bond pulling and it hurts and I can't—" A sob caught in her throat. "I can't do this anymore."

"I know." He stood, lifting her easily. Instead of putting her down, he carried her to the massive bed. "Your wolf needs contact with its mate. Fighting it is only making things worse."

"But you don't want—"

"What I want is irrelevant right now." He sat against the headboard, settling her against his chest. "Sleep, little wolf. I'll wake you if you start to dream."

"Why?" She had to ask, even as her body melted into his warmth, her wolf finally quieting. "Why help me now?"

Viktor was quiet so long she thought he wouldn't answer. Finally: "Because some kinds of broken aren't meant to be played with." His arms tightened fractionally. "Sleep."

---

Viktor held his mate long after she succumbed to exhaustion, his wolf howling at the evidence of her past trauma. The medical records on his desk seemed to mock him – page after page of documented abuse, of a young wolf forced to heal at human speed to avoid detection.

His phone buzzed. Marcus.

"The Allied Alpha meeting—" his Beta started.

"Cancel it."

"Alpha?"

"Cancel everything." Viktor looked down at the small figure curled trustingly against him, her fingers clutched in his shirt. "And Marcus? Find out everything about her stepfather's accident. Something that clean... someone made it look that way."

He hung up before Marcus could reply. His little mate shifted in her sleep, whimpering. Viktor rumbled soothingly, letting his wolf's comfort wash over her through their bond.

He'd wanted to break her, yes. But only to remake her stronger. This... this was different. This was old wounds and deeper scars, the kind that made his wolf rage for blood already spilled. He wanted whoever hurt her this bad to scream in pain as they died by his claws. Her pain and fear was deep rooted and the fighting they both did against the bond needed to stop. The battle they fought was useless and he knew but the fighting was the fun kind.

The kind that made him wonder if perhaps they'd both been fighting the wrong battles all along.