chapter 16
1250 Words
Chapter 16
Aria POV
I didn’t cry, I don't see reason to cry over an alpha that doesn't care about my feeling all he want is a child.
I rinsed my mouth, wiped the tears that had welled up from sorrow, this time I felt the anger of my sales, my anger began from the sickness, the suffocating weight pressing against my lungs like the world wanted to crawl inside me and stay.
I just hope I wasn't Pregnant.
No, I can't be pregnant, I kept thinking about what to do. The trauma kept crawling inside of me.
I turned to Daniel, jaw clenched. “Thank you,” I murmured, voice thin, brittle, breaking in places he couldn’t see. “You can go now.”
He didn’t argue. Didn’t offer pity. Just nodded once and slipped away, the click of the door behind him barely audible beneath the roaring in my ears.
I stayed on the bathroom floor longer than necessary. Breathing heavily, pacing back and forth, Reminding myself that I still had control over my legs, over my thoughts, over the body that suddenly felt foreign.
Eventually, I stood. Stripped off the silk robe that felt like someone else’s skin and tugged on the first things I found: a sleeveless shirt that clung to the shape of me, and a pair of short cotton shorts. I didn’t care how it looked. I wasn’t dressing for dignity.
I was going to the clinic.
The hall was dim, quiet, but never still. The packhouse was alive in the way a beast slept, I peeped through the shallowly corridor, with an open eyes. My footsteps were soft, but my heart thudded like thunder in my ears. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this and of course, that’s exactly when trouble found me.
Elena's door opened like it had been waiting for me.
“Elena,” I muttered under my breath, stopping short.
She stepped out slowly, barefoot, hair perfectly tousled in that way only practiced hands could achieve. Her silk robe was open at the top, her lips curled like she was bored of the world already.
And then she stumbled Purposely, her knee gave out just enough to draw attention, just enough to make me reach out to her but I didn't because she wouldn't do it if it's about me.
She straightened almost too quickly, her smirk venomous. “Oops.”
“Elena,” I said, already turning to walk past.
But she moved with me, blocking my path. Her gaze dragged down my body, slow, deliberate.
“Where are you running off to in that?” she asked, voice sugar-laced and loud enough to echo down the corridor. “Forgot your shoes? Or is that the new uniform for whores in heat?”
I stopped walking, My fingers curled up and my throat burned in anger.
“Elena,” I said, not even looking at her, “move.”
“Oh, I will. Just as soon as you tell me, are you out to seduce someone, or just desperate for another mark to fail at claiming?”
I took a breath instead. “You don’t matter enough to hurt me,” I said quietly and I stepped past her.
Because her fingers latched around my wrist. “Don’t walk away from me when I’m speaking to you—” She didn't finish it because someone interrupted.
“Let go of her.” I heard the commanding voice that froze us both.
“Damn!”
Elena’s hand jerked back like she’d been burned. Her eyes widened, mouth parting slightly as Kael emerged from the dark end of the corridor like he’d been watching.
He wasn’t dressed like the Alpha the world saw. Just a shirt clinging to the strength of his shoulders, and pants that made him look more man than monster.
They burned with a fury I hadn’t seen before.
“Elena,” he said, not even blinking as he stared her down, “is there a reason you thought manhandling Aria was acceptable behavior?”
Elena stammered. “I—I was just concerned. She looked like she was sneaking around—”
“Concerned?” he echoed, voice dipping into something dangerous. “You stumbled out of your room in a robe, grabbed her wrist, and called her a w***e. That doesn’t sound like concern, Elena.”
“I—” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t mean—”
“You meant every word,” he snapped. “And I’ve tolerated your pettiness for too long.”
The silence that followed was sharper than any scream.
Elena’s lip trembled, her façade cracking at the edges. “She’s just a breeder. We all know it.”
I flinched.
But Kael stepped forward Slowly.
“She’s mine,” he said, every word like a brand pressed into skin. “And I will not tolerate anyone treating her as anything less.”
Elena took a step back. Then another. But her pride wouldn’t let her crumble fully.
“Then maybe you should act like she’s yours,” she hissed. “Instead of letting the whole pack watch while she rots waiting for you to choose her.”
My breath caught.
“You’re dismissed, Elena. I don't want to have this conversation with you again”
She blinked. “What?”
“Your role here is to be my friend. Pack or not, you don’t get to humiliate the people under my protection. Aria is more than you’ll ever be. And if you can’t understand that—leave.”
“No, you don’t mean that,” she whispered, panic seeping in. “I—I’ve been with you. I’ve—”
Kael turned his back on her.
I watched her mouth move soundlessly, watched the realization claw across her face. But I didn’t flinch. Didn’t look away.
She stormed off eventually, retreating into her room and slamming the door behind her.
Kael turned to me. His gaze softened when it landed on my face.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“No,” I whispered honestly. “But I will be.”
His hand reached for mine. “Where were you going?”
“The clinic,” I admitted, not quite meeting his eyes. “I didn’t want to assume. But… I needed to know.”
Something in his jaw twitched. “You’re sick?”
“No,” I whispered, barely breathing. “I don’t think I’m sick.”
He understood. I saw it in the way his eyes darkened. In the way his fingers tightened just slightly on mine.
“You don’t have to go alone,” he said.
I shook my head. “I need to, For now.”
He nodded. “Then I’ll walk you.”
“Don't think you own me.”
“I own you because I bought you, don't feel special” I said coldly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I quickly turned to look at him.
“Fine,” I uttered, my eyes were willing up tears but I sniffed it in.
“There's no need going to the clinic, I am pregnant and after this whole thing, I will leave your pack for good. Don't come looking for me.”
He chuckled and moved close to me. “You won't dare leave my pack without my permission, Aria!” he sneered, then turned to leave but stopped halfway.
“Come to my room tonight.”
- Writer
