The Rival Alpha
1161 Words
I should have walked away. The smart thing would have been to get into my car, drive home, and cry where nobody could see me. Instead, I stood there staring at Damien Blackwood while cold air pressed against my skin and music echoed from inside the pack house like my entire life hadn’t just fallen apart.
Damien glanced toward the entrance before looking back at me again. His dark eyes were sharp and unreadable, like he already knew exactly what happened without anyone telling him.
“That bad?” he asked calmly.
I wiped my face quickly and looked away. “I’m fine.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly like he didn’t believe me at all.
Honestly, he shouldn’t.
Before either of us could say anything else, the pack house doors opened behind me.
“Ava.”
The sound of Logan’s voice made my chest tighten painfully.
I turned around slowly while Damien faced him without expression. The tension between them hit instantly. Even the air felt heavier.
Logan stopped when he noticed Damien standing beside me. His jaw clenched immediately.
“What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.
Damien looked completely relaxed. “Business.”
Logan’s eyes flickered toward me briefly before returning to Damien. “You should leave.”
Damien ignored him. Instead, he looked at me again.
“Are you okay?”
That simple question almost destroyed me.
Because Logan hadn’t asked me that once tonight.
Not once.
I looked away before the tears filling my eyes could fall again.
“I said she’s fine,” Logan snapped.
Damien’s expression darkened slightly. “I wasn’t asking you.”
Silence followed immediately.
Heavy silence.
Logan walked down the steps slowly until he stood directly in front of me.
“Ava, we need to talk.”
I laughed softly in disbelief. “Now?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?” I asked. “Act like you didn’t just humiliate me?”
“Ava—”
“You told me to get rid of our baby.”
The words came out sharper this time.
Logan instantly looked uncomfortable while Damien’s expression changed completely beside me.
“Our baby?” Damien repeated quietly.
Logan shot him a dark look immediately. “Mind your business, Blackwood.”
Damien stayed calm. “You made it everyone’s business the second you said it loud enough for the entire hallway to hear.”
Logan stepped closer aggressively. “You looking for a fight?”
Honestly, I didn’t care anymore.
I was exhausted.
Emotionally drained.
And standing between two Alpha males measuring their egos against each other sounded like the last thing I needed tonight.
I shook my head before turning away. “I’m leaving.”
“Ava, wait.”
I ignored Logan completely and walked toward my car parked near the gate. My hands shook while searching through my purse for my keys.
God.
I hated this.
I hated crying over someone who clearly didn’t deserve it.
Most of all, I hated the tiny stupid part of me that still wanted Logan to come after me and apologize.
But deep down, I already knew he wouldn’t.
A shadow appeared beside me.
Damien.
Of course.
I unlocked the car quickly before looking at him tiredly. “What now?”
“You shouldn’t drive while upset.”
I stared at him blankly. “Are you seriously giving emotional advice right now?”
One side of his mouth lifted slightly. “Is it helping?”
Despite everything, a small laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it.
Actual laughter.
I immediately looked away, embarrassed.
Damien noticed anyway.
“You deserve better than him,” he said quietly.
My chest tightened painfully again. “I really don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity.”
“Then what is it?”
Damien studied me silently for a moment before answering.
“Curiosity.”
I frowned. “Curiosity?”
“You’re the first person I’ve seen look at Logan like he hung the moon,” he said calmly. “I never understood why.”
I rolled my eyes weakly. “Well, congratulations. Turns out you were right about him.”
Damien didn’t answer immediately. His gaze drifted back toward the pack house where loud music still played inside.
Probably celebrating Logan and Jessica.
The thought made me feel sick all over again.
I opened the car door quickly before the tears returned, but Damien spoke again.
“Does he know?”
I froze before slowly looking back at him. “Know what?”
“That you’re pregnant.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“And he still let you walk away alone?”
Something about the anger in Damien’s voice surprised me.
I looked down quickly. “He made his choice.”
Silence stretched between us for several seconds before Damien sighed quietly.
“Get in the car.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
“You’re shaking,” he said simply. “And if you keep standing out here crying, half the pack will be gossiping about it before morning.”
Unfortunately, he was probably right.
Pack gossip spread fast.
I hesitated.
Getting into Damien Blackwood’s car sounded like the beginning of a terrible decision. The man was dangerous, powerful, and completely unpredictable.
But right now?
Going home alone sounded worse.
Damien opened the passenger door calmly. “I’m not kidnapping you, Ava.”
I stared at him suspiciously. “Very comforting.”
That almost-smile appeared on his face again, and weirdly enough, it made me feel calmer.
After a long moment, I finally got into the car.
The leather seats smelled expensive. Everything about Damien screamed money, power, and danger.
He closed the door before walking around to the driver’s side. The moment he sat down, silence filled the car.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then Damien started the engine.
“Where are we going?” I asked carefully.
“To get you food.”
I frowned immediately. “What?”
“You look like you haven’t eaten all day.”
Honestly, I hadn’t.
Between the pregnancy test and discovering my boyfriend was trash, food stopped being important.
Damien shook his head slightly. “Pregnant women should eat properly.”
The reminder made my chest ache again.
Pregnant.
This was real.
Everything was real.
I quickly turned toward the window before the tears filling my eyes could fall again.
But Damien noticed anyway.
Of course he did.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then his voice came quietly through the silence.
“For what it’s worth…”
I looked at him slowly.
His expression remained focused on the road ahead.
“Any man who throws away his mate and child,” Damien said calmly, “doesn’t deserve either of them.”
And for the first time that entire night…
Someone finally made me feel like losing me was Logan’s mistake.
Not mine.
- Writer
