Aria’s POV
"Can you please let go?"
The words hung in the air between us.
Kael’s hands were still on my face. Still warm. Still impossibly gentle.
For a long mont, he didn’t move.
Just stared at with those black-gold eyes. Searching. Desperate. Like he was trying to find so way through the walls I’d built around my heart.
"Aria..." His voice was rough. Broken. "I can’t."
His thumb brushed across my cheek. Wiping away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.
The touch sent electricity shooting through my veins.
No.
NO.
I needed to pull away. Needed to run. Needed to get as far from this man as possible.
But my body wouldn’t obey.
His scent was everywhere. Black cedar and winter frost. Wrapping around like chains. Pulling closer when I needed to be pushing him away.
"Three years." His forehead pressed against mine. Our breath mingled in the space between us. "Three years I’ve been looking for you. Do you have any idea what that was like?"
I closed my eyes. Tried to block him out.
It didn’t work.
His presence was overwhelming. His warmth. His voice. Everything about him called to sothing deep inside that I thought I’d killed years ago.
My heart was pounding. Too fast. Too hard.
This wasn’t fair.
None of this was fair.
"Kael—"
He kissed .
Not hard like before. Not desperate and claiming.
This kiss was soft. Gentle. A question instead of a demand.
And God help , I answered it.
My lips parted beneath his. My hands that should have been pushing him away grabbed the front of his shirt instead. Pulled him closer.
The world disappeared.
There was nothing except this. Him. Us.
His mouth moved against mine. Slow and thorough. Like he was trying to morize the taste of . Like he was afraid I might vanish if he stopped.
Heat flooded through my body. Starting where our lips t and spreading outward until every nerve ending was on fire.
I was burning.
Actually burning.
His hands slid from my face to my waist. Pulled against him until there was no space between us. Until I could feel the hard planes of his chest against my body. Until his heartbeat thundered against my own.
A sound escaped my throat. Half moan, half sob.
I’d forgotten.
I’d tried so hard to forget how this felt. How HE felt. The way his touch set my entire being ablaze.
But my body rembered.
Every cell. Every nerve. Every inch of skin he touched ca alive with mories I’d buried deep.
His tongue traced my bottom lip. I opened for him without thinking. Let him deepen the kiss until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.
More.
I wanted more.
Wanted to drown in this feeling forever. Wanted to forget everything except the way his arms felt around . The way his mouth tasted. The way he held like I was sothing precious.
Then the mories hit.
Sharp. Brutal. Unavoidable.
His voice, cold and distant: *"We went on a few dates. I understand that might have created certain... expectations."*
The envelope of cash.
His back as he walked away.
The look in his eyes like I was nothing. Less than nothing.
Pain sliced through my chest. So sharp it stole my breath.
I tore my mouth from his. Gasped for air.
"Aria?" His voice was concerned. His hands still on my waist. "What’s wrong?"
Everything.
Everything was wrong.
I was kissing the man who had destroyed . The man who had paid off like a prostitute. The man who had made feel worthless.
What was I DOING?
"I can’t." The words ca out broken. "I can’t do this."
He was still the Alpha. Still the most powerful wolf in the territory. Still so far above that I might as well be an ant trying to reach the stars.
I was nobody.
A wolf without a wolf. A mother of a child he didn’t know existed. An Oga from a disgraced bloodline working as his assistant.
There was no world where we could be together.
There never had been.
"I can’t be part of your world, Kael." The words ca out flat. Dead. "I never could."
I pushed against his chest.
This ti, I put everything into it. All my pain. All my fear. All the desperate need to escape before I fell apart completely.
He stumbled back.
Just one step. But it was enough.
I ran.
My heels clicked against the marble floor. Fast. Frantic. The sound echoed through the empty office like gunshots.
"ARIA!"
His voice behind . Already moving. Already chasing.
I didn’t stop.
The door burst open. The hallway stretched out before . Endless. Impossible.
The elevator was too slow. I found the stairwell. Slamd through the door.
Twenty-five floors.
Twenty-five floors between and freedom.
I took the stairs as fast as my legs would carry . My lungs burned. My eyes blurred with tears. My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest with every step.
"ARIA, WAIT!"
His footsteps echoed above . Faster than mine. Gaining.
I ran harder.
Floor after floor disappeared beneath my feet. My body scread in protest. My mind scread louder.
Keep going.
Don’t stop.
Don’t look back.
If I looked back, I would break. If I saw his face one more ti, I would crumble. All my resolve would shatter into a million pieces and I would fall right back into his arms.
I couldn’t let that happen.
The ground floor appeared. I burst through the door.
The lobby was crowded. People everywhere. Heads turning at the sight of a woman running like her life depended on it.
I didn’t care.
Let them stare. Let them whisper. Let them think whatever they wanted.
I just needed to get out.
The front doors lood ahead. Glass and steel. The evening light beyond calling to like salvation.
I shoved through them. Out into the cold air.
The wind hit my tear-streaked face. Sharp. Biting. A slap that almost cleared my head.
Almost.
I kept running.
My heels weren’t made for this. One caught on a crack in the sidewalk. I stumbled. Caught myself against a lamppost. Kept going.
Behind , the doors burst open again.
"ARIA!"
His voice. Desperate. Anguished.
The tears were falling so fast I could barely see. The city blurred into streaks of light and shadow. People beca obstacles to dodge. Streets beca distances to cross.
I didn’t know where I was going.
Didn’t care.
Just needed to get away. Far away. Sowhere he couldn’t find .
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I would co back to this building. Walk up to Director Black’s office. Hand in my resignation.
I’d tell her it was personal reasons. Family ergency. Anything except the truth.
And then I would leave this job.
A voice.
Female. Sharp. Cutting through the night air.
"KAEL!"
The footsteps behind faltered.
I heard him stop.
Heard voices. His and hers. Words I couldn’t make out over the pounding of my own heart.
I didn’t turn around.
Didn’t slow down.
Just kept running. Faster. Harder. My breath coming in ragged sobs that tore at my throat.
He wasn’t following anymore.
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