Chapter 108: Chapter 108

From the corner of my eyes, I saw a tall, muscular man dressed in all black barrelling toward us, presumably a bouncer, but it was not the one Aiden spoke earlier that afternoon. I rushed towards the Alpha and grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt, nudging him. He saw the line of my vision, letting out a curse.

"This is not over!" The Alpha warned, narrowing his eyes into slits at the Ricky guy standing in front of us.

Was he for real? I thought under my breath. After punching the guy, which he deserved, Aiden also gave him a warning. My head spun around as two more bouncers started racing towards our direction, scowls plastered on them.

I stumbled behind Aiden, heart pummelling quick and fast against my ribs as I threw a glance behind us.

"Hey, you two!" They started yelling behind us, but Aiden didn't stop, and soon we were almost running through the throng of people, who made no effort to help the bouncer out. My neck felt hot, and for a couple of minutes, I could only process the various scents of smoke and perfumes, and subsequently, the elbows jutting out, almost squishing us.

"Get him!" Someone yelled, followed by, "I hate you, Aiden!"

The Alpha stopped in his tracks for a moment, just long enough to flip him off.

We fell out on the pavement outside the bar from what seemed like a back door behind the queue, and Aiden began to shake his head the second we were at a safe distance from the building.

I stood as though paralysed, mouth opening to say something, but nothing came out. Everything that had happened from the moment Aiden bumped into the angry stranger was a blur. It wasn't until the Alpha tugged on my wrist and turned into an alley, I regained the ability to speak.

"Aiden!" I called, blinking rapidly. My voice was painfully loud and matched the scorching heat, hearing muffled after being exposed to the noise inside the diner for the last couple of hours. "What was that?!"

"Ricky had it coming!" Aiden twisted his mouth, wiping a hand over his forehead. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, a few strands sticking to damp skin. "Besides, he was being a prick to you!"

"I don't need you to defend my honour!"

"I am your Alpha, Rose! Of course, I need to do that."

That was enough to silence me. My cheeks bloomed into pink colour, the flush spreading down my neck. Hearing him openly admit it made my knees weak, a white-hot heat spreading inside.

"Let me see!" Shaking my head, I took his hand in mine and carefully ran a finger over his knuckles, able to feel the swelling under my skin. The Alpha's skin was warm and soft but had chips at several spots, creating tiny red cracks in the surface. He didn't bleed, but it looked bruised and damaged and had to hurt.

I flipped his hand over, and the Alpha hummed out a groan as I pressed my thumb to the heel of the palm. I rubbed in slow motion, feeling his eyes boring into my skull.

His thumb twitched under my touch. "So what's the verdict, healer?"

"You are impossible," I concluded but kept my hands around him, my lips folding. "And you need ice."

Despite everything, I noticed a tiny grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Eventful lunch, eh?"

I shook my head, raising my head, and our eyes clashed, "Think I preferred it when you weren't punching people."

His hand twisted in my grasp, and the bruised hand tangled warm fingers between mine. The Alpha started walking, tilting to the side; his voice was a bare hum. "I'll be sure to remember that next time, baby."

The fresh air hit my cheeks as I matched his strides. He had freakishly long legs, so it was almost impossible to walk in sync, but I tried. Far from the diner, everything suddenly appeared quieter than usual. The specks of rays barely lighted the alley due to the line of trees on either side, and there was scarcely a breathing life around us. I shifted on my feet, sinking my teeth on the bottom lip as I suddenly recalled the mall incident. A shiver ran down my spine as that alley almost appeared similar, only not shadier.

Aiden's brows furrowed at my silence as he pulled me closer. His free hand rubbed his jaw for a second, eyes half-lidded as he stared back at me. "Did you have a good time today? Answer without lying."

I stared at him, and at that moment, his hand came to rest at the small of my back. I nearly jumped at the touch, feeling the warmth of his palm at the lowest part of my back, putting just the slightest of pressure. It was dauntingly intimate, but my omega felt alright, even as I stared back with tension crawling my sides.

My skin prickled as I slowly nodded. "Yes."

“Good. I don’t want that one incident to define the day for us.”

***

Before going to the hotel, we stopped at the abandoned park. I got an ice pack and some milk for Aiden while he sat on the swing. He patted the sliver of space next to him where I collapsed, making sure to press the pack against his wound. As much as I wanted to use my ability and heal him in an instant, it did not work like that. I had a long way to go before trying to heal others.

“Thank you, baby.”

I hummed. “Can I ask you something?”

The swing was moving steadily in small motions beneath us, his thigh pressed along my side. Moments of personal contact weren’t rare all of a sudden, and I was gradually becoming used to it.

He leered at me from the corner of his eye. “Since when do you hesitate?”

I shrugged the action causing my shoulder to rub against his. “It’s a different sort of question,” I warned cautiously, biting on my lower lip.

“Okay.”

My eyes slowly fell to my knees, thoughts hesitantly beginning to strum into life. I blinked, and everything abruptly tangled into knots and simultaneously ran wild through my brain. What if I ruin the mood? I sensed Aiden’s shoulder near my temple but didn’t bother moving away, too wrapped up in my head.

I almost jerked in surprise when I felt the Alpha squeeze my hand almost too firmly and glanced down at where they were clutched solidly atop my thigh.

“What is it?”

“Earlier…Ricky talked about Sylvie. I am guessing that relationship did not end well?”

His jaw hardened at that. I opened my mouth, ready to apologise, when he turned to face me. “It did not.”

“Uh…you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

The Alpha shook my head, “You told me about Zain, so it’s fair I share my story. Besides, if we are going to start all over, then we should not have any secrets between us.”

My eyes almost widened, comically at those words sinking in. Aiden was ready to open up about his past relationship.

“Sylvie and Raven came to stay with our pack during summer break. They were Ria’s friends, so naturally, we all hung out. I met Ricky in college, and he had nothing better to do all summer, so I asked him to join us. We all quickly became friends.” A sigh escaped his lips, head tilting up.

“We came to this island for a short vacation when Sylvie confessed that she likes me. She was a sweet girl, kind and took joy in smaller things, so it was hard not to like her back. Ricky proposed to her, but she rejected him, so our friendship has been on the rocks since then. I courted her all summer, and we quickly became a thing. Everything was going well until one day she packed her bag, promised she would come back and left.”

I sucked a sharp breath. That must have been traumatic for him after knowing his mother abandoned their Pack.

Aiden shook his head. “I felt like a fool trying to obsessively reach out to her, message her and send letters of apology. It was not even my fault! She cut off all contact, and I did not see her after that.”

“I am so sorry….” I softly whispered, my lips twisting. That was all I could say. How could anyone have the heart to abandon Aiden?

The Alpha mustered a smile, his eyes crinkling around the corners. It was a genuine one as he took my hand in between his. “She is my past, Rose, and I am sorry for letting that affect us. Sylvie made me hate omegas even more, so I was unfair towards you. I am sorry for everything. Can you please forgive me?!”

***