Kael’s POV
The Pit was exactly where I needed to be.
Dark. Loud. Violent.
I pushed through the back entrance like a man possessed. My knuckles were still raw from earlier. Still stained with blood.
Good.
I wanted to hit sothing else. Wanted to feel bones crack under my fists. Wanted to lose myself in the chaos until I couldn’t think anymore.
Until I couldn’t see HER face every ti I closed my eyes.
The warm-up area was nearly empty. A few fighters stretching. A few more wrapping their hands.
They all froze when they saw .
Whispers started imdiately.
"Is that...?"
"Holy shit, the Alpha..."
"What’s wrong with his face?"
I ignored them. Found an empty punching bag. Started hitting.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Each impact sent shockwaves up my arms. Each thud echoed through the concrete space.
Not enough.
I hit harder.
Her face flashed in my mind. Those silver-gray eyes filled with fear. The way she’d stepped back from like I was a monster.
HARDER.
The way she’d looked at that man. That Cassius. With trust. With warmth. With everything she used to give .
The punching bag groaned under my assault.
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!"
A familiar voice cut through my rage.
I didn’t stop.
"Kael! HEY!"
Hands grabbed my shoulders. Yanked backward.
I spun around. Fist already raised.
Damon ducked.
"Moon Goddess!" He held up his hands. "It’s , you psycho!"
I froze. Blinked. Let my fist drop.
Damon.
My beta. My friend. The one person in this territory who could get away with calling a psycho.
He was staring at like I’d grown a second head.
"What the hell happened to YOU?" His eyes traveled over my face. My clothes. The blood on my knuckles. "You look like you lost a fight with a garbage truck. And the garbage truck won."
"Leave alone."
I turned back to the punching bag.
Damon grabbed my arm.
"Nope. Not happening." He planted himself between and the bag. Arms crossed. That stubborn expression I knew too well. "Talk to . What’s going on?"
"Nothing."
"Bullshit." He pointed at my face. "You’ve got a red mark on your cheek. Soone SLAPPED you. The Alpha. Got slapped. By soone who’s apparently still alive." His eyebrows shot up. "That’s not nothing. That’s SOTHING."
I clenched my jaw.
"Fine." I stalked past him. Found a bench. Dropped onto it. "Get a drink."
He rolled his eyes. But he went. Ca back a minute later with two bottles of whiskey.
"This better be good." He sat down beside . Cracked open his own bottle. "Start talking."
I took a long drink. Let the burn spread through my chest.
Where did I even begin?
"I found her."
Damon choked on his whiskey.
"WHAT?" He sputtered. Coughed. "You found Aria? When? How? Why didn’t you LEAD with that?"
"Tonight."
"And you’re HERE? Getting drunk? Looking like death?" His face scrunched up in confusion. "Shouldn’t you be... I don’t know... HAPPY? Celebrating? Doing literally anything other than THIS?"
I laughed.
The sound was bitter. Hollow.
"And I found her with another man."
The whiskey bottle slamd down on the bench.
"WHAT?"
The word tasted like poison. "Silver hair. Gray eyes. Standing outside her apartnt like he BELONGED there. Carrying shopping bags. Playing with her daughter."
Damon’s jaw dropped.
"Hold on. Back up." He held up his hand. "Aria has a DAUGHTER?"
"A little girl. Maybe three or four years old." The image burned in my mind. Dark hair. No scent.
"Holy shit."
"Yeah."
We sat in silence for a mont. The sounds of The Pit echoed around us. Distant cheers. Muffled music. The constant thrum of violence.
"So what did you do?" Damon asked carefully. "When you saw them together?"
I didn’t answer.
"Kael." His voice sharpened. "What did you do?"
"I beat him."
I touched my cheek. Where her hand had connected. Where the sting still lingered.
"She slapped ."
Damon stared at .
Then he burst out laughing.
"It’s not FUNNY."
"It’s HILARIOUS!" He was doubled over. Wheezing. "The big bad Alpha! Stopped by a SLAP! Oh my god, I wish I’d been there!"
"Damon—"
"Did she wind up?" He demonstrated with his own hand. "Or was it more of a snap? Quick and efficient?"
"I’m going to kill you."
"Worth it!" He wiped tears from his eyes. "Absolutely worth it. Best story I’ve heard in YEARS."
I took another long drink. Let him get it out of his system.
Eventually, his laughter died down.
"Okay. Okay." He took a breath. Composed himself. "Let get this straight. You found Aria. Chased her to her ho. Saw her with another man. Beat the crap out of said man. And got slapped for your troubles."
"That’s about right."
"And now she probably hates you."
I flinched. "How do you know she hates ?"
"Bro." Damon gave a look. The kind of look you give soone who just asked if water is wet. "You showed up at her ho uninvited. Attacked an innocent man in front of her CHILD. Made her daughter CRY."
My chest tightened.
Damon sighed. Long and heavy.
"Kael. I’m going to say sothing. And you’re not going to like it."
"When has that ever stopped you?"
"Fair point." He shifted on the bench. Faced directly. "Your emotional intelligence is absolutely TERRIBLE."
"Excuse ?"
"You heard ." He didn’t back down. "Three years. You’ve been searching for this woman for three years. And when you finally find her, what do you do? You grab her. Force a kiss on her. Chase her like prey. Then beat up soone she clearly cares about."
I opened my mouth to argue.
"I’M NOT DONE." He held up a finger. "Did you ask her why she left? Did you ask about her life? Her daughter? Did you have an actual CONVERSATION? Or did you just... alpha your way through everything?"
I closed my mouth.
Thought about it.
Really thought about it.
"That’s what I thought." Damon shook his head. "No wonder she ran. You probably scared the hell out of her."
"I wasn’t trying to scare her."
"Doesn’t matter what you were TRYING to do." He grabbed my bottle. Took a swig. "What matters is what you DID. And what you did was terrifying."
The words hit harder than any punch.
Because he was right.
I’d been so consud by my own emotions. My own need. My own desperate relief at finally finding her. That I hadn’t stopped to think about how SHE was feeling.
About what she’d been through.
About why she’d run in the first place.
"What am I supposed to do?" The question ca out broken. "I can’t lose her again, Damon. I can’t. Three years of nothing. Three years of not knowing if she was alive or dead. I can’t go through that again."
"Then stop acting like a possessive maniac."
"I don’t know HOW."
Damon was quiet for a mont.
Then he pulled out his phone. Typed sothing. Showed the screen.
"What’s this?"
"Aria’s employee file." He pointed at a specific line. "Look. Marital status."
My eyes found the word.
UNMARRIED.
"She’s not married." Damon pulled the phone back. "That man? He’s not her husband. Which ans you still have a chance."
"A chance at what? She won’t even look at ."
"Because you haven’t given her a reason to!" He threw his hands up. "You keep showing up and demanding things. Forcing things. Taking what you want without asking."
"That’s not—"
"That’s EXACTLY what you did." His voice softened slightly. "Look. I get it. You love her. You’ve been going crazy without her. But Kael... you can’t FORCE soone to love you back. That’s not how it works."
"Then how DOES it work?"
Damon looked at . Really looked at .
"You need to actually listen to her." He spoke slowly. Like he was explaining sothing to a child. "Ask her questions. Let her talk. Find out what happened during those three years. Why she left. What she’s been through."
"And if she won’t tell ?"
"Then you give her ti. Space. You show her that you’ve changed. That you’re not the sa man who drove her away."
I stared at the floor. At the blood still staining my knuckles.
"Rebecca likes your aggression. Your dominance. She gets off on it." He shrugged. "But Aria’s different. You can’t win her the sa way. You need to actually be... I don’t know... tender? Patient? Like a normal person?"
Damon was watching . Waiting.
"You’re thinking," he observed. "That’s good. Thinking is better than hitting."
"Shut up."
"There he is." He grinned. "The charming Alpha we all know and love."
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