Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Kael’s POV

Rebecca’s nails dug into my arm.

"Come on, Kael. It’ll be fun."

Fun. Right.

I let her drag me through the entrance of the bar. The same goddamn place where everything had started.

Where the mating ceremony had been held. Where I’d first called Aria my mate in front of hundreds of witnesses. Where my whole world had tilted on its axis.

Why did Rebecca have to choose this place?

"I reserved the VIP section," she said, her voice bright. Too bright. "Just like old times."

Old times. When I didn’t have silver eyes haunting my every waking moment.

We climbed the stairs to the elevated platform. The same seats. The same view. The same everything.

I dropped onto the leather couch. Grabbed the menu without looking at it.

"Whiskey. Neat."

Rebecca settled beside me. Her hand found my thigh. Squeezed.

"You’ve been so distant lately," she murmured. Her voice was honey and poison. "What’s going on with you?"

Nothing.

Everything.

"Work," I said. The lie came easily. "Father’s been on my case about the succession."

"Mmm." She didn’t believe me. I could tell by the way her eyes narrowed. "Is that all?"

I flagged down a server. Ordered my drink. Avoided her gaze.

The truth was, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Aria.

The way she’d looked at me when I’d shoved that envelope into her hands. The devastation in those silver eyes. The trembling of her fingers.

*Stay away from me after this.*

My own words echoed in my skull. Cold. Cruel. Final.

I’d meant them to be. I’d meant to cut her out of my life completely. To cauterize the wound before it spread.

But the wound wasn’t healing.

It was festering.

Every night, I saw her face. Every morning, I reached for someone who wasn’t there. Every goddamn second, I wondered what she was doing. If she was okay. If she hated me as much as I hated myself.

*She should hate you,* Fenrir growled. *We deserve it.*

I didn’t argue.

"Kael."

Rebecca’s voice cut through my thoughts. Sharp. Impatient.

"What?"

"I’ve been talking for five minutes. You haven’t heard a word I said."

I looked at her. Really looked at her.

Golden hair. Green eyes. Perfect face. Perfect body. Everything an Alpha heir should want.

I felt nothing.

"Sorry," I said. Not meaning it. "What were you saying?"

Her jaw tightened. "I was saying that we should set a date. For the mating ceremony. Our ceremony."

The words made my stomach turn.

"We talked about this," I said carefully. "I need more time."

"More time?" Her voice rose. A few heads turned in our direction. "It’s been weeks, Kael. Months. How much more time do you need?"

Forever. Never. I didn’t know anymore.

"Let’s not do this here."

"Then where?" She leaned closer. Her perfume was suffocating. Rose and something sharp. Nothing like moonflowers. "You won’t talk to me at home. You won’t talk to me at events. You barely look at me anymore."

"Rebecca—"

"Is it her?"

The question hit like a punch.

My whole body went still.

"What?"

"That Omega." Rebecca’s eyes blazed with jealousy. "That Shadow Moon trash. Is she why you’ve been acting like this?"

"Don’t be ridiculous." The denial came automatically. "She means nothing to me."

"Then why can’t you look at me when you say that?"

Because she was right.

Because Aria meant something. Meant everything. And I was too much of a coward to admit it.

"This conversation is over," I said flatly. "I’m not discussing her."

"Fine." Rebecca’s voice turned ice cold. "Fine. If you won’t give me attention, I’ll get it elsewhere."

She stood up. Smoothed her dress. Looked around the VIP section with deliberate intent.

I knew what she was going to do before she did it.

A man sat at the next table. Some Beta in an expensive suit. He’d been eyeing Rebecca since we arrived.

She walked over. Sat beside him. Leaned close.

And kissed him.

Hard. Deep. Making sure I could see every second.

I watched.

Felt nothing.

No jealousy. No anger. No urge to tear that man apart for touching what was supposed to be mine.

Just... emptiness.

What did it say about me that I couldn’t bring myself to care?

Rebecca pulled back. Her eyes found mine immediately. Searching for a reaction.

I looked away.

Let my gaze drift across the bar. The dance floor below. The couples moving together under the lights.

This place. This goddamn place.

I remembered everything. The way Aria’s hand had felt in mine. The way she’d trembled beside me. The way everyone had stared when we walked in together.

*"Mate,"* Fenrir had roared. *"Mine."*

And I’d pushed her away anyway.

Told myself it was because of her family. Because of Cain. Because Shadow Moon blood was poison.

But that wasn’t the real reason.

The real reason was fear.

Fear of feeling something. Fear of needing someone. Fear of being the kind of Alpha who lost himself in a woman’s eyes.

I’d watched my father destroy my mother for years. Watched him use love as a weapon. Watched him twist everything good into something ugly.

I’d sworn I’d never be like him.

So instead, I’d become something worse.

A coward who hurt people before they could hurt him.

My drink arrived. I downed it in one gulp. Let the whiskey burn down my throat.

The music shifted. Something slower. More intimate.

She’d taken something I’d given her and turned it into something beautiful. Something that had nothing to do with me.

The realization hit harder than it should have.

The man leaned closer to Aria. Whispered something. She laughed again.

Then he reached down.

Took her hand.

Started leading her somewhere. Toward the exit? Toward a darker corner?

His other hand slid to her waist. Lower than before. Possessive.

*No.*

The word exploded in my head. Fenrir’s fury merged with my own.

*That’s OURS. That’s our mate. He’s touching what’s OURS.*

I took a step forward.

Then another.

"Kael!" Rebecca grabbed my arm. "Where are you going?"

I shook her off.

My whole body was vibrating with barely contained rage. Every muscle coiled tight. Every instinct screaming at me to cross that dance floor and tear that man’s hands off her body.

He had no right.

NO right to touch her like that.

She wasn’t his.

She was—

What?

Mine?

I’d thrown her away. Paid her like a whore. Told her to disappear from my life.

What right did I have to feel this way?

None. Absolutely none.

But logic didn’t matter. Reason didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the white-hot jealousy burning through my veins.

Aria glanced back.

Our eyes met.

For one frozen moment, the whole world stopped.

She saw me. Recognition flickered across her face. Then something harder. Colder.

Challenge.

She lifted her chin. Held my gaze. And then—deliberately, pointedly—she reached down and grabbed the man’s hand tighter.

Pulled him closer.

Let him lead her away.

Her message was clear.

*You don’t own me. You never did.*

They disappeared into the crowd.

The man’s hand still on her waist. Still touching what I’d claimed. What I’d destroyed.

Rebecca was saying something. I couldn’t hear her over the roaring in my ears.

Aria. With another man. Wearing my dress. Looking like a goddess.

Moving on.

Without me.

My hands clenched into fists. My jaw locked so tight I felt my teeth grinding against each other.