Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Aria’s POV

The cheering was deafening.

Bodies pressed against me from every direction. The noise crashed over me in waves. Louder. Softer. Louder again.

Something was very, very wrong.

I blinked hard. Tried to focus on the platform where Kael had been standing moments ago. But the lights blurred together. Smeared across my vision like wet paint.

Where was he?

I took a step forward. My heel caught on something. Nothing. There was nothing there.

My body swayed. The ground tilted beneath me like a ship in a storm.

"Kael," I whispered. Or tried to. The word came out thick. Garbled.

The arena spun around me. Faces melted into each other. Colors bled together into one nauseating swirl.

That drink.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.

That bartender. That friendly smile. That glass of whiskey "on the house."

I’d been drugged.

I spun around—too fast. The world lurched. I grabbed onto a stranger’s arm to keep from falling.

"Hey!" The man shook me off. "What the hell?"

"Sorry—" The word barely formed. "I need—"

My eyes searched for the bar. For that dark-haired bartender with her warm smile and her poisoned gift.

The station was empty.

No one behind the counter. No trace of her anywhere.

Of course.

Of course she was gone.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Each beat sent another wave of dizziness crashing through me. My skin felt too hot. Too tight. Like I was burning from the inside out.

I stumbled toward the platform. Each step took enormous effort. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else. Heavy. Uncooperative.

The crowd pressed closer. Too close. Bodies everywhere. Blocking my path. Blocking my view.

"Excuse me—" My voice came out wrong. Slurred. "Please—I need to—"

No one listened. No one cared. They were too busy celebrating. Too busy collecting their winnings and drinking their own drinks and living their normal lives.

While I was drowning.

My vision doubled. Tripled. The platform multiplied into three identical stages, then merged back into one, then split apart again.

I couldn’t see Kael anywhere.

Where had he gone? He said he’d come back. He said he’d put on a good show. He said—

Heat pooled low in my stomach. Different from the feverish burning across my skin. This was deeper. More insistent.

No.

No, no, no.

I knew what this was. Every Omega knew what this was.

They hadn’t just drugged me. They’d given me something to trigger a heat.

Panic clawed at my throat.

I needed to find Kael. Needed to find anyone I could trust. Needed to get out of here before the drug took full effect.

But my body wouldn’t cooperate. My legs buckled. I grabbed onto a railing. Clung to it like a lifeline.

The metal was cold against my burning palms.

Everything was too hot. Too loud. Too much.

"Kael," I tried again. Louder this time. Or I thought it was louder. I couldn’t tell anymore. "KAEL!"

The word disappeared into the roar of the crowd.

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