Chapter 130: Chapter 130

/Aiden's POV/

"Can I see?" I asked while coming to stand in front of her.

Once I slipped out of my omega, we showered in a dreamy haze, soaping Rose up before she recovered her usual energy enough to get soap in my eyes. I had held her up against the cold wall of the shower until she had to plea for mercy, giggling.

Rose was wearing one of my black hoodies, which fell to her knees, and soft white leggings with fleece on the inside. It was something that made her move easy.

She tipped forward onto her toes, leaning into my embrace. I took that as a chance to pull the hoodie away from her neck and shoulders before running my warm fingertips over the bruising.

I found the deepest bruise, the one low down on her neck where I had bit first, the cutting bite that had ricocheted Rose out of the drop and back into the safety. When I touched it, she almost jumped in the spot, her cheeks going pink.

"Aiden!" She hissed.

"I'll be careful." I slowly leaned in, giving her time to withdraw if she wanted to but she did not. I licked up her neck carefully, gingerly, tenderly. The bruise flickered, and my mate squirmed at the closure wash through her muscles. It would be gone in the next hour, but for a while, I was never going to forget it.

"All good now, baby," I said, taking a step back, rattling the stand before pulling out a skillet and a cutting board. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Rose still frozen in place on the tile floor.

"Everything all right?" I raised my brow.

She blinked and took in a breath before nodding her head, hands falling to her sides. My eyes narrowed into slits as I slowly turned towards her, making the omega sit on the stool nearby.

"You sit down," I said firmly, "I'll put water on for tea. Alright?"

"Okay..." She rolled her lips in between her teeth, the tip of her toes gliding across the floor in hesitation. Looking up, the omega dropped her clasped hands in her lap, meeting my eyes. "Can I ask you something, Aiden?"

"Sure!"

"What happened after I came back with my mother? Did you find anything?"

I looked at the worry lines marring her face, my breath fogging the air as I huffed out in fatigue. "Liam is still there I think, and he's fine, yet there's no sign of that killer. We asked the guards to bring the body discreetly. As of now the murder is kept on the down-low, so the pack members don’t panic, only her family knows as of now."

She listened intently as I began chopping the vegetables, my back turned to her.

"So what now?"

"We wait," I shrugged before earning a questionable gaze from her side.

"For?"

"For the killer to slip up. I mean, the murderer is bound to do something stupid," I looked off into the distance, my eyes squinting towards the window in front of me, my grip tightening around the knife. "I'll be doing sweeps tomorrow around the pack and borders to see if I can catch the scent—it's very difficult with the blood everywhere, but let's see. Jade might know a way to help me out with this."

"Still, if we cannot find the killer, we'll figure out a different way to get him or her before they strike again."

Rose rolled her head along with the frail bird-like shoulders as she brought her arms to wrap around her chest. "Well, I hope we catch the killer before they kill again. Or does something equally horrifying."

Abandoning the task in my hand, I sat on my knees in front of my mate. The only sound between us was the rattling of windows due to the wind gusting, boiling sound of the water and our shallow breaths. I turned my head slightly to take in her appearance.

Rose wrapped her tiny arms around her body tightly, almost as if she was close to freezing. The omega also looked to be in some kind of a complicated thought as she kept on biting her bottom lip while staring at the ground without glancing upwards.

“Do you have something to say?”

More silence followed.

“I know you do, baby."

She exhaled loudly, body reclining in the chair as the omega met my eyes. "I don't feel comfortable knowing that the killer is still out there. Especially now that I am pregnant with a pup."

I tightened my hand around hers, fiercely looking into her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to both of you. I will make sure of that."

***

On the way to the pack boundary, I saw Slyvie waiting outside, hesitating about something. As expected, the security was tight around the entrance of our Pack, the guards monitoring each and everyone before sending them inside. She was standing on the other side of the usual line, leaning against the nearby tree.

My hackles rose at the sight of the omega, immediately thinking back to our last encounter. Slyvie changed a lot, I thought to myself, watching as she shifted on her feet, clicking her tongue.

"Luna, what are you doing here?" I voiced out, taking a step further in her direction, chin raised high. The guards took a step back, making way for me.

"Aiden!" She squealed, placing a hand on the left side of her chest, a loud breath huffing out. "I didn't see you there." Her nervous giggle rang around as she slowly approached me, a huge fence and marking separating both of us. "Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"Aiden." She said in a resigned voice. "Please. It's my last request. For old times sake."

Staring at those eyes, I let out a huge sigh,  looking at the guard behind and signalling him to open gates.

***

"Thank you again for seeing me." She said as soon as we settled in the corner of a cafe. The place was deserted, save for a few of the omegas working.

Silence settled over us like a blanket, my feet awkwardly shifting as I stirred the sugar into my coffee, spoon clanking against the brim of the cup. I took a silent but deep breath, staring at the ceiling for a stretched-out second before regaining my composure.

"What do you want, Luna?" I asked, glad that my voice did not waver, continuing to stare at the trembling surface of the coffee.

She took a moment to answer. "Please don't call me that. I want to apologise for my behaviour last night and also make things right..."

"I don't care about your damn apology, Luna." I cut her off, lips setting in a thin line. At her hurt expression, I only narrowed my eyes at the omega.

She looked stunned for a few beats, lips parted and blinking at me like she didn't expect that response. "Aiden—can you not talk like I mean nothing? We were together for moon's sake!"

My nostrils flared as I took a deep breath and gripped my cup so hard that it was seconds away from breaking. I set my jaw firmly, clenching with tension, genuinely distressed at those words.

"Do you hear yourself now? You left me! There is nothing between us now."

"I had a reason." She matched my intensity, almost cursing under her breath. "Aiden! Hear me out, and then maybe you can let go of your anger towards me." The omega continued, her forehead drawing deep lines emphasised by the shadows thrown across her face. "Please."

"No. You can go back to where you came from, Slyvie." I hissed as the coffee cup finally crushed in my hand. "Go away."

I started to pick up the shards, uttering one curse after the other, because it seemed as if everything was set against me, not even granting me a single cup of coffee. It's an impulse – balling my fists with all the tension that has a firm hold of my body.

I gasped when the pieces sliced right across my palm. The shard fell to the floor, rattling, as pain shot up my arm, but before I could cradle my hand to my chest instinctively, wanting to shield it from view, the omega reached for my wrist.

"Here, let me..."

"No!" I abruptly stood up, blood gushing out of the wound and on the floor. "You have done enough. Please leave me alone." With that, I turned on my feet, ready to clean the wound when her voice echoed loudly.

"It was Ria!" Slyvie made a wounded sound in the back of her throat, making me freeze in the spot.

I slowly turned on the balls of my feet, lips parting upon seeing the tears brimming in her eyes. The omega swallowed nervously before taking a step in my direction.

Suddenly I couldn't breathe anymore, my vision blurring for a few seconds before landing on her. Those words sunk in a little late, squeezing at my lungs. "W-What?"

A lone tear slid down her cheeks, the omega dumbly nodding her head. "It was your best friend. I know it's hard for you to believe me right now..."

“No, it’s not….” I couldn’t help but echo numbly as my heart started pounding loudly in my chest. Ria had tried to do the same thing with Rose, but she did not succeed in her attempts.

“Huh?” Slyvie blinked, opening and closing her mouth, brows furrowed together. “Wait…you believe me?”

“For now,” I emphasised, pulling the chair from behind and plopping in front of her. “Why don’t you tell me everything that went down between the two of you?”

Her lips twitched as she hurriedly sat down, resting her elbows on the table and blinking at me. “Are you two not friends anymore?”

I winced at the question. Ever since Ria went along with her mate, my friend also did not try to contact me. Something I was happy for. The beta had betrayed me in the worst way possible, and there was nothing left to talk about now.

“Something like that.”

“Oh!” The omega made a soft noise. “I am sure you had a pretty solid reason to stop talking with her.”

“Slyvie.” I cut her off, my tone sharp and calculating. The last thing I wanted was to cry about the person who betrayed me in front of my ex girlfriend. She didn’t need to know anything. “Can you get to the point?”

“Right.” She breathed, cheeks turning pink, slightly looking away from my intense stare. “When we started dating, Ria turned horrible towards me. I wanted to tell you, but you both were close. She saw me holding hands with Ricky while he confessed about his feelings.”

My brows furrowed at that, mouth twisting. I had no idea that he confessed to my then girlfriend behind my back.

“Nothing happened, believe me, Aiden.” Slyvie said, trying to hold my folded hands, but I quickly pulled away. Flinching at the rejection, she continued with a slight hiccup, “I was scared to tell you about it, and she used that opportunity to threaten me. Ria tormented me until I finally could not take it anymore and gave up on you.”

My face was blank, watching her as she dabbed on her tears, sniffling. “Ria gave me no choice! I am sorry for being a coward and taking an easy way out, but at that time, I was young and scared.”

“Thank you for telling me, Sylvie, but…..” I paused to take a sharp breath. “you are too late. Ria did the same things with my mate, but she fought through it. I am not trying to offend you in any way but tell you that there’s a difference here.” With that, I stood up. “Rose trusted me enough to confide and stay back. You did not.”

“I—”

“The coffee is on me, Luna,” I said and, with that, walked out of there.

***