Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Kael’s POV

The Pit had been brutal tonight.

I sat in the back of my car, watching blood drip from my knuckles onto the leather seat. The cut above my eyebrow stung. My ribs ached from a kick I’d been too slow to dodge.

Good.

Pain was good. Pain meant I could feel something other than this gnawing emptiness in my chest.

I’d taken three fights instead of one. Fenrir had been feral. Hungry for violence. I’d given him what he wanted.

It hadn’t helped.

*You know what would help,* my wolf growled. *Go to her.*

"Shut up."

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. I ignored him.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to the Blood Crown estate. The mansion loomed against the night sky like a mausoleum. Cold stone. Dark windows. Everything about this place felt dead.

I got out. Walked inside. Just wanted to get to my room. Shower. Sleep. Forget.

"Kael!"

Mother’s voice stopped me at the bottom of the stairs.

I turned. She stood in the doorway to the sitting room. Her silver hair caught the lamplight. She looked tired. More tired than usual.

"You’re hurt." She moved toward me. Her fingers reached for my face.

I stepped back. "It’s nothing."

"You’ve been fighting again." Not a question. She knew. She always knew.

"I’m fine."

"You’re bleeding."

"I said I’m fine."

She flinched. Just slightly. But I saw it.

Guilt twisted in my gut. I hated when I spoke to her like that. She didn’t deserve it. She was the only person in this family who actually gave a damn about me.

"Sorry." The word came out rough. "Long night."

Mother nodded slowly. Her eyes searched my face. Looking for something. I didn’t know what.

"Come sit with me," she said. "Just for a moment."

I wanted to say no. Wanted to escape to my room. But something in her expression made me follow her into the sitting room.

The fire crackled in the hearth. Warm light flickered across the walls. This was the one room in the house that didn’t feel like a tomb.

Mother settled onto the sofa. Patted the space beside her.

I sat. Kept my distance. Stared at the flames.

Silence stretched between us.

"I’ve been thinking," she finally said. Her voice was soft. Careful. "About your brother."

Lucian.

My jaw tightened.

"What about him?"

"He’s been... different lately." She folded her hands in her lap. "More present. More lucid. The doctors think he’s finally stabilizing."

I said nothing. Didn’t trust myself to speak.

Lucian had been "stabilizing" before. Multiple times. And every time, we’d let ourselves hope. Every time, he’d crashed back down.

"I was thinking," Mother continued, "maybe it’s time we helped him move forward. Find some purpose. Something to live for."

"Like what?"

She hesitated. Her fingers twisted together.

"A companion. A partner, maybe." She glanced at me. "Do you know anyone? Any young women who might be... suitable?"

The question hit me like a punch.

My mind went blank. Then filled with silver eyes. Moonflower scent. A broken smile in the darkness of a hotel room.

Aria.

Her face flashed through my thoughts before I could stop it. Her crying. Her laughing. Her looking at me like I was something worth believing in.

"Kael?"

I blinked. Realized Mother was staring at me.

"What?"

"I asked if you knew anyone. For Lucian."

"No." The word came out too fast. Too sharp. "I don’t know anyone suitable."

Mother’s brow furrowed. "Are you sure? There must be someone—"

"There’s no one."

Silence.

She studied me with those knowing eyes. The same eyes Lucian had inherited. The same eyes that saw too much.

"You seem distracted," she observed quietly. "Is something bothering you?"

Everything. Everything was bothering me.

But I couldn’t tell her that. Couldn’t explain that I’d spent three nights destroying myself in The Pit because I couldn’t stop thinking about a Shadow Moon Omega. Couldn’t admit that I’d touched her. Tasted her. Wanted her with an intensity that terrified me.

"I’m fine," I said. Again. The words felt hollow.

"Kael—"

Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway.

We both went still.

Father.

Magnus Blood Crown appeared in the doorway. His red-gold eyes swept over the room. Over Mother. Over me.

"Selene." His voice was cold. Commanding. "I need to speak with our son."

Mother rose immediately. Years of conditioning. Years of fear. She didn’t argue. Didn’t protest. Just nodded and slipped past him without a word.

I watched her go. Hatred burned in my chest.

One day. One day I’d be strong enough to protect her from him. One day I’d tear his throat out for every bruise he’d ever left on her skin.

But not yet.

Not yet.

Father closed the door. Turned to face me.

"You look like hell," he observed.

"Thanks."

"The Pit again?"

But my mind was elsewhere.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Aria. Heard her voice. Felt her hands on my skin.

The club was busy when I arrived.

Friday night. The place was packed with wolves trying to impress each other. Music pounded. Glasses clinked. The usual crowd of beta wannabes and desperate Omegas filled every corner.

I scanned the room.

Where was she?

My eyes moved from table to table. Server to server. Looking for that silver-grey hair. Those distinctive eyes.

There.

She stood near the bar. Tray balanced on her palm. Talking to another server—that friend of hers. Elara.

My heart stuttered.

Even from across the room, she looked... wrong. Hollow. Dark circles under her eyes. Movements mechanical. Like a puppet going through the motions.

Because of me.

I’d done that to her.

The realization hit harder than any punch I’d taken in The Pit.

"Aria."

I called her name. Not loud. But loud enough.

She froze.

Her whole body went rigid. I saw her knuckles whiten on the tray.

Then she turned away.

Deliberately. Obviously. She walked in the opposite direction without looking back.

Running from me.

Something dark twisted in my chest.

I started toward her. Pushed through the crowd.

"Aria."

She moved faster. Disappeared behind the bar. Through the staff door.

I stopped.

Couldn’t follow her there. Not without causing a scene. Not without everyone in this club knowing that the Blood Crown heir was chasing after Shadow Moon trash.

But I wasn’t leaving. Not until I saw her. Not until this was finished.

I found a booth near the back. Ordered a drink I didn’t want. Settled in to wait.

She’d have to come out eventually. Her shift would end. And when it did, I’d be here.

The hours crawled by.

I watched her work. Every time she emerged from the back, my eyes tracked her movements. She served tables on the opposite side of the room. Kept her back to me. Avoided eye contact completely.

She knew I was here. Knew I was watching.

And she was doing everything possible to pretend I didn’t exist.

*Serves you right,* Fenrir muttered.

Maybe it did.

But I wasn’t leaving.