Chapter 122: Chapter 122

“Aiden”, I called out his name, sitting on my knees in front, taking a step close. Hot tears brimmed in my eyes, a hand squeezing my lungs tightly, making it impossible to breathe. Why was he not saying anything? The silence was grating against my skin, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

“P-Please say something. Talk to me.”

A menacing growl tore through the entire room, enough to silence me in an instant. Cringing, I didn’t try to stop the fat tears from spilling down my cheeks, head bent down. His eyes narrowed into slits, dangerously boring into me.

“You knew?!”

“Yes…I'm s-s-sorry.” I choked on my breath, wrapping both my arms around my upper body in an attempt to save my fragile heart from its inevitable collapse.

“How long have you known Rose?”

A lone tear slid past my cheek; my eyes clenched tight as I had expected him to ask me. My heart started thudding loudly in my chest, my tongue feeling heavy in my mouth. I cringed as the Alpha slapped a hand on his thigh and repeated the same question.

“Rose!”

“For a while now….”

He let out a delirious snort, hands coming to cross against his chest, raising his brow. Aiden’s previous cheerful smile was gone, only to be replaced by a scowl. “So you knew all this time and still did not bother telling me? Please tell me you found this after our trip.”

I meekly shook my head, eyes staring at the sheets on the bed instead of his eyes.

“I am so sorry.”

“Fuck you, Rose!” His words were harsh, devoid of emotion, the bed creaking as he suddenly stood up. I cringed, realising that he did not even use an endearment and also cursed me.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw that his lips were stretched into a thin line, and it's hard to imagine that just minutes ago, they were slotted against mine. A shiver ran down my spine as I smelled the anger lacing his pheromones, stance going rigid.

Lifting my head, I met his stare, my hackles rising at the insensitive tone. “I think you have already done that.”

“Don't fucking mouth me,” He said with a huff, jaw set tight and looking down at me.

As a nervous habit, I stared to stroke circles into my tummy, my tone faltering. "Why change the habit now?"

“Is this how it’s going to be then?” The Alpha snarled, his tone dangerously low. “Are you going to keep on retorting instead of trying to explain yourself, Rose?”

He raked a hand through the mop of his curls, angrily carding his fingers through them and tugging. The Alpha started pacing from one corner to the other, his spine straight and feet dragging. “I can’t believe you! You had so many fucking chances to tell me about…How could you do this Rose?”

“No…Aiden,” I let out a breath I had been holding for a while, fumbling for a way to make him understand, to change the Alpha’s mind. The warmth that enveloped my whole body just minutes ago has completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but the cold air nipping at my skin, making me shudder. “I wanted to tell you, but….”

“But what?!”

Tears started flowing down my cheeks, unable to explain and put into words the mental agony. All this time, I was scared of telling the Alpha about my pups and anticipating the worse reaction, but seeing him so red in the face and snarling, my fears came alive.

“This was a mistake…I need some air.” With that, Aiden sucked a sharp breath and turned on his feet, hands falling to his side as he started walking towards the door. My eyes widened, mouth falling apart because he did turn on the knob of the door and took a step out of the room, his back muscles tensed and head held high. I couldn’t peel my eyes off him, hoping for him to turn around, but he never did.

Every pulse of my heart felt like it was in pain, an ache fostering between my ribs and spreading like wildfire, clogging my entire throat. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me. The very next moment, I was crumpling, crashing down to my feet, a sob wracking through my entire body. I muffled it into my knees, tears dripping from my eyes and staining my dress, burning against my skin.

Aiden will come back. I knew it from the bottom of my heart. I repeated it to myself over and over; arms curled tightly around the middle as I laid flat on my back. With my eyes on the ceiling, I slapped a hand on my mouth, trying to stop the sounds of my tears but failing. They tore through my lips no matter how hard I tried.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to go to sleep.

My eyes fluttered open a while later, head pounding as I tried to sit up in my bed. It was getting difficult to breathe, snuffling my fingers curled into the thick duvet and looking to my side. The spot was empty.

I squinted as the harsh rays fell into my face, almost blinding me in the process. Turning my head, I saw the blaring red numbers on the nightstand.

It’s two in the afternoon.

That was enough to startle me into the motion, immediately getting on my feet.

The air in the room was still cold, my exposed arms and legs prickled with goosebumps. I dragged myself from the tangle of sheets to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

Standing in front of it, I took a close look. I looked like a pure mess, hair askew and curls tangled unmanageably while falling over my shoulder. My skin looked puffy, cheeks flushed, the tip of my nose red along with my eyes. I pulled on a hoodie from the Alpha’s clothes, wanting to have his scent close to my pup. After that, I started running my fingers through my hair in a vain attempt to tame the disarray atop my head.

Wiping the crusts off the corner of my eyes, I stumbled downstairs in normal slacks, rumpled and plausibly smelling like Aiden. A gasp escaped my lips as soon as my eyes landed on the familiar Alpha in the living room. I clutched onto my chest, trying to catch on my breathing while my eyes followed his every movement. My nerves were strumming inside, utterly unsure of anything from the fight meant or what was to be expected.

I thought he left, maybe taking shelter in the packhouse or Council office. Was he sitting in the same spot all this while? I wondered.

“Aiden.” I audibly gulped, taking a step in his direction, coming to stand a few inches away from him. The Alpha almost sunk in the cushion, his loose strands of hair falling over his shoulder, the lamp on the side casting a soft glow on his face.

“Hi!” I breathed, all of a sudden self-conscious about my messy appearance. I never, not for a moment, in the Alpha’s presence even considered how I looked or dressed.

“Hey," He croaked, running a hand over his face, tilting his head.

“Y-You came back?” I whispered timidly, unsure of how to behave, my chest clenching tightly.

“I never left.” The Alpha proceeded to stand up, taking a step in my direction, his lips twitching. “I am angry at you for hiding about the—our pup.” He corrected himself before continuing, “Besides, I don’t want to be like my mother and abandon an innocent pup.”

“B-But…”

“I came back to talk, but you were sleeping, so I did not have the heart to disturb you.”

That explained the duvet on my body. He must have done that while I was sleeping. Something akin to warmth settled in my heart at that. Even after we left off things, Aiden chose to stay and maturely handle the matter.

Gentle, an unbearably large hand cupped the right side of my face, the warmth of the Alphas fingers startling me. Under the force of his touch, I came apart at the seams, aware that I did not deserve to be comforted because this was entirely my fault. Desperate, I bought my hands up to his wrist, clinging to him as my body trembled uncontrollably with the regret railing through me.

“It breaks my heart when you cry, baby.” He leaned forward, letting out a sharp exhale, the pad of his thumb stroking the plump of my cheek. The action was so tender that it tugged on the strings of my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut as those words washed over me, scalding tears oozing past my lashes. “Please forgive me, Aiden. I was scared and terrified of going through it all on my own….”

“What made you so scared?”

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