The Billionaire Alpha’s Betrayal

Chapter 6. His Obsession

The gala continued in glitter and laughter, but the air still burned with the aftermath of what had just happened. Aria Vale’s cool dismissal of Lucien Blackwood spread like wildfire through the ballroom. Everywhere she walked, whispers followed.

“She humiliated him.”

“The Alpha? Rejected by the one he once cast aside?”

“She’s untouchable.”

Aria lifted her chin higher, her heels clicking against the marble floor as if each step announced her victory. She accepted polite greetings with a calm smile, conversed with business people as though nothing had happened, and sipped champagne with perfect composure.

But inside, her heart thundered. Her wrist still tingled where Lucien had grabbed her, the bond’s heat refusing to fade. No matter how she tried to bury it, the scar pulsed faintly beneath her skin, reminding her of the tether that had never fully broken.

Her wolf whispered, weak but insistent. He is ours. He always was.

Aria’s jaw clenched. No. He rejected us. He destroyed us.

She drowned the whisper beneath another sip of champagne and forced her lips into a polite curve.

Across the ballroom, Lucien Blackwood had not moved far from where she had left him. He stood stiff, his broad shoulders tense, his fists tight at his sides. His golden eyes followed her every movement, sharp, burning, unrelenting.

He had been humiliated, yes. But humiliation had only sharpened his hunger.

Lucien’s wolf raged inside him, claws tearing at his chest. Mate. Ours. Do not let her walk away.

He gritted his teeth, trying to hold himself together, but the sight of her, the woman he had thrown away three years ago, now radiant, powerful, untouchable, was unbearable. She was more than he remembered, more than his wolf could stand to lose again.

His allies whispered around him.

“Alpha, let it go. This is not the place.”

“You will only create more scandal.”

But Lucien ignored them. His eyes never left her. Every laugh she shared with another man was a dagger in his chest. Every smile that wasn’t meant for him set his wolf howling in fury.

She belongs to us. She should be by our side.

Lucien took a step forward, his aura darkening. The crowd sensed it, parting instinctively. Power radiated off him in waves, and heads turned, hushed voices rising.

Aria felt the shift in the air before she even looked up. The scent of smoke and pine hit her again, stronger, closer. Her pulse jumped against her will. She turned slowly, emerald eyes locking with molten gold.

Lucien was coming straight toward her.

Her grip tightened around her glass, but her face remained a mask of serenity. She would not falter. Not again.

Lucien stopped before her, towering, his shadow falling over her. For a long moment, he simply stared, his jaw clenched, his breathing uneven.

Then he spoke, his voice low, rough, meant only for her. “You cannot walk away from me.”

Aria arched a brow. “I just did.”

Murmurs rippled around them again. The crowd was captivated, every word between them hanging in the air like fire.

Lucien’s eyes blazed. “You think you’ve risen above me, Aria Vale." But the bond does not care about your gowns, your fortune, your pride. It is still there. Between us.”

Her heart stuttered, but she laughed softly, coldly. “The bond is nothing but a chain you once severed yourself. Do you remember, Lucien? You rejected me in front of everyone. You called me weak, unworthy. And now you claim me in a ballroom? How pitiful.”

Lucien flinched, rage flickering in his eyes. His wolf clawed inside him, furious at her defiance.

“Pitiful?” he echoed, his voice tightening. “No, Aria.” Obsession.

Her lips parted, startled by his bluntness, but before she could respond, Lucien moved.

He seized her arm, pulling her closer, his scent engulfing her. Gasps erupted around the room. Guests leaned forward, eyes wide, as the great Alpha Blackwood broke every rule of decorum.

“Lucien.” Aria hissed, her voice sharp, her composure cracking for the first time.

His eyes darkened, the golden fire flickering with something feral. “You can deny me with your words, Aria. But your wolf knows. You feel it. I will not let you go again.”

And then, before she could stop him, before the crowd could even comprehend it, Lucien’s lips crashed down on hers.

The ballroom erupted.

Shocked gasps, hushed exclamations, the clatter of glasses dropping. Chaos filled the air.

Aria’s body went rigid. Heat surged through her veins, the bond flaring like wildfire. For a heartbeat, she was back under the moon, eighteen and trembling, her heartbreaking and soaring all at once. Her wolf howled in recognition, clawing at her chest, desperate.

But then reality slammed back.

This was not love. This was possession. This was the same man who had shattered her under the Moon Goddess’s gaze.

Rage roared through her.

With all the strength she had, Aria shoved him back and raised her hand. The c***k of her palm against his cheek echoed through the ballroom.

Lucien staggered a step, his head snapping to the side. Silence fell, the crowd frozen in shock.

Aria’s emerald eyes blazed as she spat the words like venom. “Never touch me again.”

The hush deepened, every gaze flicking between the powerful Alpha and the heiress who had just struck him.

Lucien’s wolf roared inside, but his golden eyes… his golden eyes burned not with fury alone, but with something darker. Something dangerous.

Obsession.