The hidden heir of the Alpha

Chapter 4

Aria’s POV:

It’s been two days since the kiss.

I’ve skipped training both days. Couldn’t face him—not with the way that kiss still lingers in my mind like it belongs there. Like it’s carved into me. Every time I close my eyes, I feel it again, slow, careful and completely earth-shattering.

And yeah, Luca noticed something was off. Kids always do. But he’s been too busy running circles around my already-frayed nerves to care that I’ve turned into a walking mess of feelings I can’t even name.

So when Kellan showed up at my door on the third morning, I almost didn’t answer.

But of course, I did.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, voice low, leaning against the doorframe like he wasn’t the reason my whole nervous system short-circuits now.

I looked away too fast. “No. You didn’t. I just feel a little off, mostly tired. And Luca’s been a little hurricane lately.”

Right on cue, Luca barreled past us barefoot, holding a wooden spoon like a sword. “I’m the dragon slayer!” he shouted like he meant it.

Kellan laughed, deep and warm. “He’s got the energy of three pups.”

“Try living with him,” I muttered, brushing my hair behind my ear, trying not to smile too hard.

Kellan’s grin softened. “Let me take him for a few hours. You need rest.”

I started to argue, out of habit. But the truth was written all over my face—I was exhausted. Not just physically. I needed quiet. I needed a break from pretending I was fine.

“He’ll actually listen to you?” I asked, raising a brow.

“He better. I’m still his favorite training partner.”

That made me smile. A real one. I knelt, kissed Luca’s curls, and passed him off with a sigh that felt like it came from my soul. “If he throws a tantrum about cookies, that’s all on you.”

“I’ll survive,” Kellan said, then paused, his eyes flicking up to meet mine. “You should have some rest.”

I nodded and stepped back inside. But just as I was about to close the door, he hesitated.

“Aria… about the other night—”

“I really need to lie down,” I said, cutting in softly.

His eyes shifted—regret? Confusion? Something deeper? I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know.

He left with Luca, and the house was too quiet.

I tried to nap, tried cleaning, I even tried scrolling through old recipe books like that would fix anything. But the memory of that kiss stayed, just like the faint mark on my shoulder—Darius’s mate mark which was still there. A reminder that no matter how far I’ve run, I’m not free.

That evening, I asked Kellan to stop by because Luca needed a ride home.

But I knew better. We both did.

Mira, Kael’s mate, ended up taking Luca off to play with the others. He adored her—she was the only one who could keep up with him, honestly—and knowing he was with her gave me just enough peace to do the stupid, terrifying thing I’d been thinking about all day.

When Kellan stepped into the house, the air shifted. Heavy, tense and quiet in a way that felt too loud.

We didn’t talk. There was nothing to say, really.

He stood near the couch while I stood by the window. My arms were crossed, but my heart felt wide open and stupidly loud.

Then I turned and he moved one step. Then another.

And then he was right in front of me—hands on my face, my fingers clutching his shirt like it was the only thing keeping me upright—and we kissed like we’d been starving for it.

Desperate, raw and messy in the best way.

Clothes were gone before I had time to think. Touches everywhere—frantic but careful and reverent. Like he didn’t just want my body; he wanted the pieces I didn’t know how to give.

The bed felt different that night. Less like a place to hide and more like something sacred.

He started gentle, like he was asking permission with every kiss, every slow glide of his hands across my skin. I couldn’t breathe. I didn't want to.

When he finally pushed inside me, I gasped his name—not from pain, but from the relief of finally being seen. Of being held like I was something worth protecting, not something to use or break.

He moved slowly and deeply. Letting me feel all of him. Every thrust dragged soft moans from my lips until I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. And just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, when I was unraveling from the inside out—he gave me more.

Rougher and deeper. But still not careless. Never careless.

I held on like I was falling. Nails digging into his back. My name spilling from his mouth like a promise. It wasn’t just intimacy—it was a claim.

Of trust, of something I hadn’t dared to hope for in a long, long time.

When it ended, when we collapsed into each other, tangled and sweaty and shaking, I thought that was it. That he’d roll away or put up a wall or pretend it hadn’t meant anything.

But he didn’t, instead he pulled me close.

His hand threaded through my hair, gentle like he was scared to wake me.

And just before I slipped into that warm, heavy place between sleep and dreams, I heard him whisper.

“I’ll protect you, Aria. You and Luca. Even if Darius comes back. Even if the whole damn world tries to take you. I won’t let them.”

My heart stuttered.

Then he said, barely above a breath, “I’d claim you in a heartbeat… if you ever let me.”

I wanted to answer, I wanted to say something, anything, but sleep was already pulling me under, and for the first time in years, I let it go.

Because after so many years … I felt safe and maybe even loved—if only in a whisper.