I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 24

**I Left Before He Learned My Worth**
**Chapter 24**

**KAEL**

I stood at the threshold of the packhouse, my gaze fixed on Aria as she walked away, her posture rigid and tense, a silent testament to the turmoil raging within her. Each step she took felt like a thunderclap in my chest, sending ripples of conflicting emotions through our bond, a tempest that I was powerless to quell.

My wolf was a restless beast, howling in fury at the very thought that she still harbored feelings for Damon Cross. It was a visceral rejection, a primal urge to deny the truth that lingered in the air like a bitter fog.

She had loved him once, fiercely and completely.

And in that love, he had shattered her.

I could still feel the echoes of her heart’s betrayal coursing through our connection during that agonizing confrontation—the way her heart had stuttered at the sight of him, the flicker of hope she had desperately tried to suppress, and the instinct of her wolf, yearning to run to him despite the scars he had left behind.

Then came the crushing weight of disappointment when he had mentioned their dreams of pups, tossing their shared aspirations back at her like daggers.

Watching her slap him had been a moment of satisfaction, but it hadn’t wiped away the raw emotions I had sensed from her just moments before—the longing, the haunting what-ifs, the flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, he could change.

“Alpha?” Nina’s voice sliced through the chaos of my thoughts. She had moved closer, her hand resting gently on my fur, a grounding presence amidst the storm. “Are you alright?”

The truth was a heavy weight on my tongue. No, I wasn’t alright. I was consumed by a fear that the woman I was meant to bond with in just two days still carried a torch for another, that she might go through with the ceremony out of spite, to wound Damon, rather than from a genuine desire to be with me.

I was terrified of setting myself up for the same heartbreak that had become the foundation of my curse—yearning for someone who could never truly be mine.

But I couldn’t voice those fears. Not aloud, and not even through the mindlink where Aria might overhear.

So, I projected a sense of calm through our connection. *“I’m fine. Just worried about Aria. That was… hard for her.”*

Nina’s eyes held a knowing glimmer. She had been my Beta long enough to decipher my unspoken thoughts, to grasp the weight of what I wasn’t saying.

“She chose you,” Nina said softly, her voice steady. “She chose Shadowmere. That has to count for something.”

*“Does it?”* I couldn’t mask the bitterness that seeped into my mental voice.

“Or did she simply choose anywhere but him? I felt her emotions, Nina. The way her heart shattered when he spoke of their future together, of pups and dreams. She still cares for him. Perhaps she still loves him.”

“Love doesn’t vanish overnight,” Nina agreed. “Especially not after years of it. But Aria is stronger than you realize. She walked away from him just now. She slapped him when he tried to manipulate her. She told him she was falling in love with you.”

*“She said that to hurt him. To make him feel the pain she has carried all these years.”*

“Maybe,” Nina conceded thoughtfully. “Or maybe she meant it. Have you considered that both could be true? That she can still harbor feelings for her past while forging something new with you?”

I hadn’t. I couldn’t see beyond my own fears to entertain that possibility.

The harsh truth gnawed at me, a relentless reminder that I was only getting a chance with Aria because Damon had stumbled so spectacularly. If he had been even a fraction decent to her, if he had chosen her over Sera, if he had cherished what she had offered—then I would have never crossed paths with her. She would be bonded to him, thriving in Blackwood pack, living the life she had always envisioned.

I was merely the backup plan. The consolation prize. The cursed Alpha she had agreed to bond with because remaining in Blackwood was too painful.

And that realization consumed me like acid, corroding my insides.

“I need to speak with her,” I said, my voice firm as I turned toward the direction she had vanished into the depths of the forest. “I need to know if she truly desires this, or if she’s merely using me to strike back at him.”

Nina’s grip on my fur tightened. “Don’t. Not right now. She asked for space—mumbled something about needing time alone before she left. Give her that. Allow her to process what just transpired without you hovering, demanding answers she may not have yet.”

She was right. I forced myself to remain still, my gaze fixed on the trees where she had disappeared, hoping she would return. Trusting that she would uphold her commitment to the ceremony, to the pack, to me.

“Come on,” Nina urged gently, tugging at my fur. “Let’s head back. We need to brief the council about Alpha Cross’s visit and determine what his presence means for our pack’s security. He seemed… unstable.”

“He’s desperate,” I corrected, my tone sharp.

I hoped my voice sounded more assured than I felt inside.

“Alpha Cross had no right to come here,” one of the elders—Marcus, who had no ties to Damon’s head warrior—interjected sharply.

“Demanding an audience, trying to interfere with our Luna’s bonding ceremony. It’s a breach of protocol.”

“He claimed it was urgent pack business,” Nina explained, her tone steady. “But it was evident he was here for personal reasons. To persuade Aria to return to Blackwood with him.”

“And?” Eliza’s gaze sharpened, her interest piqued. “What did our Luna say?”

“She refused him,” Nina stated, and I felt a swell of gratitude toward her for framing it as definitive, final. “She told him she’s committed to Shadowmere, to Alpha Kael. That she’s moving forward with the ceremony.”

The elders nodded in approval, yet I could see the same worry reflected in their eyes that gnawed at my core. Words were easy, but following through when emotions were tangled was a different beast altogether.

“We need to discuss security for the blood moon ceremony,” I said, forcing myself to focus on the practicalities instead of my spiraling anxiety. “I don’t trust Alpha Cross to accept Aria’s rejection gracefully. He might try to disrupt the ceremony, issue a challenge. We must be prepared.”

The next hour was consumed with strategizing security protocols. We arranged for extra guards at every entry point to our pack lands, doubled patrols along our borders, and assigned a dedicated security team to watch over Aria, ensuring no one could reach her before the ceremony concluded.

This should have brought me solace, but instead, it only underscored how precarious everything was. How easily things could unravel in the next two days.

When the meeting finally adjourned, I found myself wandering the packhouse instead of retreating to my den. My wounds from the nightwalker attack had healed almost completely, leaving only faint scars beneath my fur. The moonbeam plants were still coursing through my system, keeping the curse at bay, allowing me clarity of thought and communication.

Yet they hadn’t broken the curse entirely. I remained trapped in this form, unable to shift back to human, forced to watch the woman I was meant to bond with through wolf’s eyes, unable to hold her, comfort her, or truly be with her.

The frustration hit me like a physical blow. How could I compete with Damon when I couldn’t even speak to Aria in my own voice? When every interaction was filtered through a mindlink, when I couldn’t wrap her in my arms and promise her that everything would be alright?

I found Nina in her office, poring over security rosters. She looked up as I padded in, her expression unsurprised.

“Couldn’t stay away?” she asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.