Aiden POV
The Blackwood Annual Gala was a torture chamber disguised as a celebration. The Great Hall was suffocating, filled with the cloying scents of roasted venison, expensive perfume, and the underlying musk of hundreds of wolves posturing for status. But cutting through it all, sharp as a blade, was her scent.
Vanilla and night-blooming jasmine. Emery.
My wolf paced restlessly in the back of my mind, scratching at the mental walls I had erected. Mate. Hurt. Protect.
I gripped my champagne flute until the crystal threatened to snap. I had rejected her. I had done what was necessary for the alliance, for the pack. So why did it feel like I had torn out my own heart and left it beating on the floor?
Across the room, near the head table, the crowd parted. The air soured with the metallic tang of aggression.
I saw her then. Emery stood by the seating chart, her spine straight, her face a mask of professional detachment that I wanted to shatter. Looming over her was Gisele Donovan.
Gisele looked every inch the movie star in her crimson gown, but her face was twisted in an ugly snarl.
"Is this a joke?" Gisele's voice carried over the low hum of conversation, shrill and demanding. She pointed a manicured finger at the empty chair beside mine. "I am the Alpha's guest. I am the future of this Pack. Why am I seated three chairs away?"
Emery didn't flinch. "Protocol, Miss Donovan," she replied, her voice cool and steady, though I could hear the faint tremor of her heartbeat from here. "Until an Alpha is marked and mated, the seat to his right remains empty. It is a sign of respect to the Moon Goddess."
"Respect?" Gisele laughed, a harsh, brittle sound. "You're doing this on purpose. You think because you're some rejected little Omega, you can humiliate me?"
The room went silent. The insult hung heavy in the air. My wolf roared, a sound of pure, primal fury that vibrated in my chest.
Gisele stepped closer, invading Emery's personal space. "Fix it. Now. Or I will teach you your place." She raised her hand, her fingers curling into claws, aiming for Emery's shoulder.
The world turned red.
Before my conscious mind could process the decision, I was moving. I crossed the distance with supernatural speed, my aura exploding outward like a shockwave, forcing the surrounding wolves to bow their heads in submission.
Just as Gisele's hand began its descent, I caught her wrist.
"Enough."
The command wasn't spoken; it was thundered. It was the Alpha's Voice, laced with power that compelled absolute obedience. Gisele froze instantly, her eyes widening in shock as the compulsion locked her muscles.
I released her wrist with a shove that sent her stumbling back in her high heels. I didn't look at her. I placed myself between her and Emery, a living shield.
"In my territory," I growled, my voice low and vibrating with a lethal promise, "attacking a member of my Pack is an act of war. Do you wish to declare war on me, Gisele?"
Gisele paled, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Aiden, I... she disrespected me! She—"
"She followed protocol," I cut her off, my gaze finally snapping to her, cold as the grave. "If the customs of the Blackwood Pack are too difficult for you to understand, the exit is behind you."
Humiliation flushed Gisele's neck a mottled red. She looked around at the hundreds of eyes staring at her, then cast a look of pure venom at Emery before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
I turned slowly to face Emery.
She was looking at me with wide, confused eyes. Her scent spiked with shock and... wariness. She didn't look at me like a savior. She looked at me like I was a bomb that hadn't finished exploding.
"Alpha," she whispered, dipping her head in a stiff, formal nod.
The formality felt like a slap. I wanted to reach out, to touch her, to soothe the distress rolling off her in waves. But I couldn't. I had forfeited that right.
"Get back to work, Miss Travis," I said, my voice harsher than I intended.
I turned on my heel and stormed toward the balcony, needing to escape the intoxicating pull of her presence before I did something unforgivable—like begging her to forgive me.
The night air on the balcony was crisp, smelling of pine and damp earth, but it did nothing to cool the fire in my blood. I gripped the stone railing, breathing hard.
That was quite a show, Alpha.
The mind-link was intrusive, amused. Bentley.
I didn't turn as my Gamma stepped out of the shadows, leaning casually against the archway. He held two glasses of whiskey, offering one to me.
"I've never seen you lose control like that for a... Pack member," Bentley said, testing the waters. "You nearly took Gisele's head off."
I snatched the glass from him and downed the amber liquid in one burn. "She was causing a scene. I handled it."
"Right." Bentley swirled his drink, his eyes sharp. "You know, you promised to introduce us to your Mate tonight. But watching you down there..." He paused, tilting his head toward the Great Hall where Emery was still working. "You look less like a man who rejected his mate, and more like a man who just realized he made the biggest mistake of his life. Do you love her, Aiden?"
My head snapped toward him. A growl ripped from my throat, involuntary and defensive. "Watch yourself, Gamma."
"I'm just saying," Bentley pressed, his tone dropping the humor. "You protected her with a possessiveness that rivals your mother's. If you regret the rejection—"
"The Rejection stands."
The words tasted like ash in my mouth. I slammed the empty glass onto the stone railing, the sound cracking through the silence. "This matter is finished. Do not bring it up again."
I pushed past him, heading back into the suffocating noise of the party.
Bentley stayed behind, silent. He didn't know. He couldn't know.
I hadn't protected her because I regretted my decision. I protected her because my soul was a liar. I could reject her with my voice, I could reject her with my mind, but my wolf... my wolf was still screaming Mine.
