The Alpha's Chubby Obsession. novel Chapter 151

Side Story 7

Aria

Clair

The days passed smoothly-almost too smoothly, until Owen told me the news of his returning. The moment I heard it, excitement bloomed in my chest. I was finally going to see my friend/again after what felt like forever. We had kept in touch through calls, sometimes late into the night, talking about everything and nothing.

After my shift, he had been desperate to know the color of my wolf, almost annoyingly persistent, but I refused to tell him. I wanted to see the look on his face when he finally saw her himself, that tiny secret made me feel close to him in a strange way.

But alongside the excitement, there was something else. Something I could no longer ignore.

Every time he called, every single time-Dee would become overly excited, her energy bursting through me until I had to physically bite back a smile or hide the way my heartbeat changed. It made no sense. I had told her countless times not to act that way. Not for him.

“Owen is not our mate,” I would remind her again and again.

And every single time, she would respond with the same maddening calmness:

“You’ll see.”

And it wasn’t just that. Whenever another male wolf got too close to me-even innocently, Dee would recoil sharply, pulling me with her, making my body tense up like she wanted to snap at them. It was embarrassing. Annoying. Irritating.

It felt like she was guarding a promise I made to Owen, a promise I barely remembered but she refused to let go of.

So the day I finally got to see him after months… my nerves were all over the place. I was excited, yes, but Dee was practically dancing within me, cheering like her favorite person was about to

arrive.

“Stop doing that,” I muttered under my breath as we stood with our friends at our usual hangout

spot.

She only purred in response.

Benson wasn’t there yet, he had gone to pick Owen up, so they were both arriving together. I tried to focus on my breathing, on my friends’ conversations, but Dee’s excitement infected me no matter how much I tried to push her down.

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And then their car finally pulled up.

The moment the door opened, Dee let out a burst of joy so strong that it shook through me, making my chest warm. And then-

As soon as Owen stepped out…

As my eyes found him across the distance…

Dee whispered the one word I prayed she wouldn’t.

“Mate.”

My eyes widened, and my smile froze. I snapped my gaze away immediately, heat flooding my

face.

“You must be joking,” I muttered through clenched teeth. But Dee didn’t reply. She was too busy jumping around inside me, howling happily like she had been waiting for this all her life.

My thoughts raced-sharp, chaotic, painful.

If he was my mate… did that mean he had known?

From the very beginning?

Was that why he got angry when I got close to another male?

Why he reacted the way he did?

No.

No, no, no.

This couldn’t be happening.

He was betrothed.

Promised to someone else.

This was the worst kind of fate the Moon Goddess could play with.

Clar

The sooner we rejected each other, the better. That was what I told myself even though my chest

ached.

I didn’t even hear him approach. One moment I was drowning in panic, the next his voice was right

beside me.

“Why do you have a frown?”

I jerked slightly and turned, surprised to find him standing so close that I could smell him-warm,

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Clair

earthy, familiar and Dee practically melted.

I looked past him for relief and saw Benson a short distance away. He waved. I waved back stiffly.

“Who says I was frowning?” I asked, my voice clipped, controlled.

Owen studied me for a moment, guilt flickering in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

Our friends exchanged confused looks. They had no idea what he meant, after all, I was the one

who told them Owen was back.

But we knew.

He wasn’t apologizing for hiding his return.

He was apologizing for not telling me I was his mate.

I swallowed down the frustration, the fear, the disappointment.

“Then let’s get this over with,” I said quietly, forcing each word out.

His expression hardened instantly-offended, hurt, angry all at once.

He didn’t take my words lightly.

“No.”

Just that. One word. Firm and final.

Then he turned his head abruptly and greeted the others as if the conversation between us hadn’t happened at all.

But I knew.

We both knew.

Everything had changed.

Benson walked over to me, brushing past with that familiar grin. “At least try to put a little smile on your face,” he teased. He knew how excited I’d been when I first heard that Owen was coming, so he must have been surprised to see the expression I wore now.

Without even thinking, I grabbed his hand and pulled him aside to a secluded corner where no one else could overhear us. “You knew too, didn’t you?” I asked quietly. He swallowed and gave a small

nod.

“I figured,” he said with a casual shrug.

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