Page 29 of The Alpha's Forbidden Heir

My jaw tightens, and I fight the urge to snap. “You don’t get it, do you? I didn’t have a choice. Your father—”

“Oh, here we go,” she interrupts, throwing up her hands. “Blame it on him. Like that excuses anything.”

“It does!” The words explode out of me before I can stop them, echoing through the small space like a gunshot.

Aria flinches, her fire dimming for a moment before she straightens.

I take another step forward, closing the distance between us. “You think you can just disappear and I’ll forget? That the bond we share just… goes away?”

“You made sure of that, remember?” she bites back, her voice trembling slightly. “You rejected me, Bane. You made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t good enough for you.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Then why are you here?” she cuts me off, her voice rising. “Why now? After all this time, why the hell did you come?”

I stare at her, the words caught in my throat. Because I couldn’t stay away. Because every second without her has been a goddamn nightmare. But I can’t say that. I can’t admit it—not when the anger in her eyes matches my own.

“I want answers,” I say instead, my voice hard. “And you’re going to give them to me.”

She laughs bitterly, shaking her head. “Of course you do. Because that’s all I’ve ever been to you, right? A means to an end. Well, guess what, Bane? I don’t owe you a damn thing.”

The silence between us is deafening, the tension thick enough to choke on. She’s breathing hard, her chest rising and falling with each sharp inhale, and I can feel my wolf pacing, claws scraping against the walls of my mind.

“Aria—”

“Get out,” she says again, her voice low and firm. “Leave, Bane. Before you make this worse.”

But I don’t move. I can’t. Because for all the fire and fury in her words, there’s something else in her eyes. Something raw and unguarded that cuts deeper than any insult she’s thrown at me tonight.

The moment stretches between us, taut as a wire ready to snap. She’s breathing hard, her chest heaving, and I can feel her anger radiating off her in waves. But there’s something else too—something darker, simmering beneath the surface.

“You don’t get it, do you?” she says suddenly, her voice dripping with venom. “You storm in here like some self-righteous brute, acting like I owe you something. Like the big, bad wolf can just throw his weight around and everyone’s supposed to cower.”

“Careful,” I growl, taking a step closer. My wolf stirs, hungry, and I can feel my restraint slipping.

Her lips curl into a cold, mocking smile. “What’s the matter, Bane? Don’t like being reminded you’re just a glorified dog?”

The words hit like a slap, and my wolf lunges, snarling, demanding I show her exactly who she’s talking to. My eyes darken, the shift barely restrained, and I close the remaining distance between us in one deliberate step.

“Are you speaking to me like that, princess?” My voice drops, low and dangerous, and I can see the flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

“Don’t call me that,” she snaps, but her voice wavers, betraying the cracks in her armor.

I move closer, backing her against the wall. The mate bond surges, wild and untamed, a tidal wave crashing through both of us after years of neglect. It’s raw, electric, pulling me toward her like a magnetic force I can’t fight—and I don’t want to.

Her defiance falters, and she presses her palms against my chest, trying to push me away. “You need to leave,” she says, but the words come out shaky, uncertain.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I murmur, my voice a rough growl. My hand comes up, gripping her jaw, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to make her focus. Her skin is warm beneath my fingers, soft, and I can feel her pulse hammering against my touch. “You think you can just insult me, throw my pack in my face, and walk away unscathed?”

Her eyes widen slightly, and for the first time tonight, I see it—the vulnerability she’s trying so desperately to hide. But she recovers quickly, lifting her chin in defiance even as her breath quickens.

“Let go of me,” she demands, her voice trembling.

I lean in closer, so close that her scent wraps around me, intoxicating and maddening all at once. “Why, Aria?” I whisper, my breath brushing against her skin. “Does it scare you? Being this close to me?”

Her lips part, but no sound comes out. Her hands are still on my chest, but instead of pushing me away, her fingers curl slightly into the fabric of my shirt. The mate bond flares again, scorching through every nerve, and I can feel her trembling beneath my grip.

“I said… let go,” she tries again, but the fight in her voice is fading.

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