The Alpha's Regret

Chapter 3: Confrontation

ARIA'S POV

Aria's hands shook as she buckled Luna into her car seat. The hotel parking.

"Mama, you're hurting me," Luna whimpered.

Aria looked down. She'd pulled the seatbelt too tight. "Sorry, baby. Sorry."

She loosened it with trembling fingers, pressed a kiss to Luna's forehead, and stepped back. Derek was already in the driver's seat,They just needed to escape.

"Aria."

The voice came from behind her. Deep. Familiar. The voice that used to whisper her name in the dark, that used to promise forever.

She turned slowly. Jaxon stood ten feet away, hands raised like he was approaching a wild animal. Maybe he was.

"Don't," she said.

"I just want to talk."

"And I want you to disappear. Guess we're both disappointed."

Derek got out of the car. "She told you to leave, Steele."

Jaxon's eyes never left Aria's face. "This is between me and my—between Aria and me."

"Those are my kids in that car." Derek moved to stand beside Aria, his presence solid and protective. "Which makes it my business."

"They're not your kids."

"They're mine."

"Funny, I don't remember seeing your name on any birth certificates."

Jaxon's jaw clenched. "That can be fixed."

"Over my dead body," Aria said quietly.

Something flashed across his face. Pain, maybe. Good. She hoped it hurt.

"Aria, please. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking."

"You're asking?" She laughed

"You don't get to ask me for anything. You used up all your asking privileges three years ago when you asked me to sign divorce papers."

"I didn't know you were pregnant."

"Would it have mattered?" The question burst out of her before she could stop it. "If I'd told you that day in the courthouse—if I'd gotten on my knees and begged you to stay because I was carrying your children—would you have chosen differently?"

He opened his mouth. Closed it. The hesitation was answer enough.

"That's what I thought," Aria said.

"I made a mistake—"

"A mistake." She stepped toward him, fury overriding fear. "You want to call it a mistake? Fine. Let's talk about mistakes. You believed lies about my fertility without question. You let Celeste poison our marriage. You looked me in the eyes and told me I was worthless because I couldn't give you an heir fast enough. And then you threw me away like garbage."

Each word was a knife she'd been carrying for three years, finally finding their target.

"I was wrong," Jaxon said. "About all of it. I know that now."

"You know that now?" Aria's voice rose. "Now that you've seen the children I somehow magically produced despite being 'infertile'? Now that you realize you do have heirs after all? How convenient for you, Jaxon. Your mistakes suddenly matter now that they affect your precious bloodline."

"That's not—" He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I'm not explaining this right. Can we please just talk? Somewhere private?"

"No."

"Aria—"

"I said no!" She was shaking "I don't owe you explanations. I don't owe you conversation. I don't owe you a damn thing."

"You owe me the truth about my children!"

"Your children?"

"You don't have children, Jaxon. You have a mate you chose over me. You have a pack that cheered when you divorced the 'defective' Luna. You have everything you wanted. So take it and leave us alone."

Kai's voice came from inside the car, small and scared. "Mama?"

The sound broke something in Aria. Her babies. Her babies were hearing this. Watching their mother fall apart in a parking garage because of a man they didn't know.

She took a breath. Then another. When she spoke again"You need to leave."

"I can't." Jaxon took a step closer. "Those are my children. My son and daughter. I have a right—"

"You have no rights!"

"You signed those away when you broke our mate bond. When you decided Celeste was more important than the vows you made to me. You don't get to show up three years later and demand access to children you didn't want!"

"I didn't know about them!"

"Because I didn't tell you!" Aria's composure finally shattered. "Because you made it very clear what you thought of me. Of my worth. Of my ability to be a mother. Why would I come crawling back to tell you that you were wrong? So you could reject them the way you rejected me?"

"I would never—"

"You already did!" Tears were streaming down her face now. She hated them. Hated that he could still make her cry. "You rejected them when you divorced me. You rejected them every day for three years by building a life with another woman. You rejected them by never once wondering if maybe, just maybe, the fertility diagnosis was wrong."

"I didn't know."

"You didn't care." Aria wiped her face roughly. "And that's worse. You were so eager to move on with Celeste that you never questioned anything. Never fought for us. Never looked back."

"I looked back."

"Every day, Aria. Every single day I—"

"Stop." She held up a hand. "Just stop. I don't want to hear about your regrets or your pain or how hard it's been for you. Because I've spent three years building a life for my children. A life where they're loved and wanted and secure. And I will not let you destroy that."

"I'm not trying to destroy anything. I just want to know my children."

"Why?"

"So you can claim them as your heirs? So you can parade them in front of your pack and prove you weren't shooting blanks after all? So you can take credit for children you never wanted?"

"That's not fair."

"Fair?" Aria laughed bitterly. "You want to talk about fair? Was it fair when you divorced me without giving me a chance to fight? Was it fair when you let Celeste move into our home before I'd even packed my things? Was it fair when you severed our mate bond and left me bleeding on a courthouse floor?"

Jaxon flinched with every question. "No. None of it was fair. I was an asshole and a coward and I destroyed the best thing I ever had. But Aria, those are my children. Whatever happened between us, they're still mine."

"No."

"They're mine. I carried them while you were busy with Celeste. I gave birth to them alone, screaming for a mate who wasn't there. I walked the floor with them at 3 AM while you were sleeping peacefully in another woman's arms. I was there for every fever, every nightmare, every milestone. Me. Not you. They're mine."

"Legally—"

"Legally, you're nobody." Derek spoke up for the first time in minutes. "You're not on the birth certificates. You never filed for paternity. Aria was granted single mother status. Those kids are hers, full stop."

Jaxon's eyes finally left Aria to focus on Derek. "Stay out of this, Reed."

"Can't do that. Aria's my mate."

"She's not your mate. She's mine."

"Former mate," Derek corrected. "You broke that bond, remember? Aria's free to choose whoever she wants. And she chose me."

She hadn't actually said yes to his proposal yet. But Derek was staking his claim publicly, forcing her hand.

"Is that true?" Jaxon's eyes found hers again. "You're mating with him?"

She should say yes. Should close this door permanently. Derek was good to her. Good to the twins. He would protect them from Jaxon's chaos.

But the word stuck in her throat.

"That's none of your business," she said instead.

"The hell it's not! You're the mother of my children. Who you bring into their lives is absolutely my business."

"You don't get a say in their lives!"

"I'm their father!"

"You're a stranger!"

"They don't know you. They don't need you. We've been fine without you for three years. Better than fine. We're happy. So please, Jaxon. Please just leave us alone."

The please seemed to hit him harder than all the anger. His face went pale.

"I can't," he said quietly. "I can't walk away from them. Don't ask me to."

"Why not? You walked away from me easily enough."

"That was different."

"How?" She stepped closer, close enough to see the gold flecks in his eyes.

"How was it different? You didn't want me then. You don't want me now. You just want them because they're useful to you. Because they're heirs. Because they're—"

"Because they're mine!"

"Because I look at them and I see myself and you and everything I destroyed. Because my wolf is screaming at me that those are my pups and I need to protect them. Because the thought of another male raising my children makes me want to rip the world apart."

"That's not good enough," Aria said finally. "Your wolf's instincts don't erase three years of absence. Your sudden need to 'protect' them doesn't undo the fact that you didn't protect me when I needed you. You feel bad now? Good. You should. But that doesn't mean you get to upend their lives."

"I'm not trying to upend anything. I just want to meet them properly. Talk to them. Let them know who I am."

"They know who you are." Kai's voice came from behind them.

They all turned. Kai had climbed out of the car and was standing with his arms crossed.

"Kai, baby, get back in the car," Aria said.

"No." He didn't move. "I heard everything. You're our biological father. The one who didn't want us."

Jaxon dropped to his knees like he'd been shot. "That's not—I didn't know about you. If I'd known—"

"You would have what?" Kai's voice was hard. Too hard for a three-year-old. "You would have stayed with Mama? You would have not divorced her?"

"Yes."

"You're lying." Kai's eyes—so blue, so cold—pinned Jaxon in place. "Mama cried every night for months after you left. She thought I didn't hear, but I did. She cried because you picked someone else. And now you want to come back because you found out about us? That's not fair."

"Kai—" Aria moved toward her son, but he held up a hand.

"I'm not a baby, Mama. I understand." He looked back at Jaxon. "You hurt my mama. You made her cry. And now you want to be our dad? Well, we already have a dad. Uncle Derek takes care of us. He reads us stories and plays with us and makes Mama smile. We don't need you."

Each word was a precision strike. Jaxon's face went white.

"I know I don't deserve a chance," he said

"But I'm asking for one anyway. I can't change the past. I can't undo the pain I caused your mother. But I'm your father, Kai. That has to mean something."

"It doesn't," Kai said"Being a father means being there. You weren't. So you're not."

Luna appeared then, climbing out of the car despite the adults' attempts to keep her inside. She walked straight to Kai and took his hand.

"Kai's right," she said, her voice wobbling slightly. "You made Mama sad. That makes you bad."

Two children. His children. Looking at him like he was the monster in their closet.

Jaxon's face crumpled. For a moment, Aria saw past the Alpha, past the ex-husband, to the man underneath. The man who'd just had his heart broken by his own children.

Part of her, the part that had loved him once, wanted to comfort him. The rest of her—the part that had survived his rejection—stayed silent.

"I'm sorry," Jaxon whispered. "To all of you. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything," Kai said. Then he tugged Luna back toward the car. "Come on, Luna. Let's go home."

They climbed in together, and Derek closed the door gently behind them.

"You need to go," Derek said to Jaxon. "You've upset them enough for one night."

"This isn't over," Jaxon said

"Yes, it is." Aria found her voice again. "Whatever you're planning—don't. Don't file for custody. Don't try to force your way into their lives. Let them go, Jaxon. It's the one decent thing you can still do."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because they're my children." He looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. "And because you're—" He stopped. "Because I destroyed everything good in my life, and this is my only chance to fix even a piece of it."

"You can't fix this."

"Maybe not. But I have to try."

He turned and walked away

Aria watched him go and felt nothing but emptiness.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked softly.

"No." She leaned against him, suddenly exhausted. "But I will be."

"He's not going to give up."

"I know."

"This is going to get messy."

"I know that too."

Derek was quiet for a moment. Then, "Marry me."

Aria pulled back to look at him. "What?"

"Marry me. Tomorrow. Next week. As soon as possible." His eyes were intense. "If we're mated, if I legally adopt the twins, Jaxon won't have a leg to stand on."

"Derek—"

"I know it's not romantic. I know this isn't how you wanted to be proposed to. But Aria, I love you. I love those kids. And I will not let him take you from me."

She should say yes. Should marry this good man who'd been nothing but kind to her and her children. Should protect her family from Jaxon's chaos.

But all she could think about was ice-blue eyes and the word "sorry" broken on lips that used to kiss away her tears.

"I need time," she said.

Derek's face fell. "Time for what? To see if he's serious? To give him a chance to—"

"Time to think!" Aria pulled away. "Derek,My ex-husband found out about our children in the worst possible way. My kids just rejected their biological father in a parking garage. I need time to process before I make any more life-altering decisions."

"And while you're processing, he's going to be filing for custody."

"Then let him file. We'll fight it."

"Or we could make this simple. Marry me. Adopt the kids. End this before it starts."

Aria looked at him—really looked at him. There was something in his eyes she'd never seen before. Desperation? Possessiveness?

"Why are you pushing this so hard?" she asked quietly.

"Because I'm losing you."

see the way you looked at him. Even hating him, even after everything, there's still something there."

"That's not—"

"Don't lie to me, Aria. Not about this." Derek's voice gentled. "I know you don't love me the way you loved him. Maybe you never will. But I can make you happy. I can be a good father to those kids. All I'm asking is for a chance to prove it."

She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she'd moved on, that Jaxon meant nothing to her anymore.

But the words wouldn't come.

"I need to get the kids home," she said instead. "We'll talk about this later."

"When's later? Because Aria, I need to know where we stand. I need to know if I'm wasting my time."

"You're not wasting your time."

"Then marry me."

"Derek—"

"Just think about it." He cupped her face gently. "I'm not trying to pressure you. But that man in there? He's going to come at you with everything he has. And I want to be there to protect you. As your mate. As your husband. As the father of your children."

Aria closed her eyes. When had her life become so complicated?

Three years ago, when you fell in love with the wrong man.

"I'll think about it," she said finally.

It wasn't the answer Derek wanted. But it was all she had.

They got in the car. Aria twisted around to look at her children. Kai was staring out the window, his small face too serious. Luna was crying quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It's okay, babies," Aria said softly. "Everything's going to be okay."

But as Derek pulled out of the parking garage and drove them home, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that nothing was going to be okay ever again.

Because Jaxon Steele had found out about his children.

And she knew her ex-husband well enough to know that he never gave up on something he wanted.

The only question was—did he want the children?

Or did he want her too?

And which answer terrified her more?