Page 32 of The Alpha's Forbidden Heir

“Bullshit!” His voice rises again, and I take a step back, feeling the wall press against my spine.

His chest heaves, and for a moment, I see the raw pain in his eyes. But then it’s gone, replaced by fury. “You had no right to keep this from me. No right to keep him from me.”

I cross my arms over my chest, desperate to hold myself together. “You rejected me, Bane. You sent me away like I was nothing. What did you expect me to do? Stay and grovel? Beg you to love me?”

His steps eat up the distance between us until he’s right in front of me, so close I can feel the heat radiating off him. “Don’t you dare twist this, Aria. Don’t you—” He cuts himself off, his eyes flashing with something wild. “You should’ve told me. He’s my son.”

“You don’t get to claim him now,” I hiss, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You don’t get to walk into my house and act like you’re the wounded party here.”

Bane grabs my wrist, not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to hold me still. His voice drops, low and guttural. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What have you taken from me?”

“I did what I had to do to protect him,” I spit back, yanking my arm free.

“And you think I wouldn’t have protected him?” He snarls.

I laugh bitterly, the sound cutting through the tension like a blade. “You couldn’t even protect me. How the hell would you have protected a child?”

His eyes darken even further, and I feel the weight of his fury like a physical force pressing down on me. “Careful, Aria,” he murmurs, his voice like gravel.

“Or what?” I challenge, my heart hammering in my chest. “You’ll huff and puff and blow my house down?”

The corner of his mouth twitches, but there’s no humor in it. He leans in closer, his hand braced against the wall beside my head, caging me in. His voice drops to a low, dangerous whisper. “Are you calling me a dog, princess?”

I swallow hard, the sarcastic retort dying on my tongue.

“That’s what I thought,” he says, his eyes burning into mine. “You don’t get to insult me, Aria. Not after what you’ve done.”

I can feel the heat radiating off him, the sheer power that’s always made him so terrifying. But it’s not fear that’s making my knees weak. It’s something else, something I hate myself for feeling.

“Bane…” I whisper, my voice shaky.

“What?” His voice is low, almost a growl.

“Leave,” I say, trying to sound firm, but it comes out as more of a plea.

“Not a chance,” he mutters, his fingers brushing along my jaw. “Not until I get answers.”

But before I can respond, a small voice cuts through the air again.

“Mom? I'm hungry.”

I freeze, my heart plummeting as Elias steps back into the room.

Bane turns slowly, his body going rigid as his gaze locks onto the boy.

And then, in a voice that’s barely more than a whisper, he says the words I’ve been dreading for five years.

“That’s my son.”

Bane’s stance is unyielding, his broad shoulders filling the space in my small kitchen like a storm cloud ready to strike. His eyes, still locked on Elias, flicker with a strange mix of anger and something far more dangerous: possession.

“We’re leaving,” he states flatly, as if his word is law.

I cross my arms, placing myself squarely between him and Elias. “The hell we are.”

His eyes snap to mine, sharp as a blade. “He’s my son, Aria. He needs to be with me.”

“Oh, so now you’re suddenly Father of the Year?” I snarl, my voice rising despite my efforts to stay calm. “You’ve been in his life for all of five minutes, Bane. You don’t get to swoop in and start making demands.”

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