The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 103

Chapter 103

RYDER

Driving away from Aria’s house feels…wrong, regardless of how angry I am right now.

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I just can’t help the way I feel. I thought that I gave her the impression that she could always trust me, but she kept something so serious from me.

What does that mean for us if she can’t trust me enough? Hell, it had known, I would have known how to handle the situation with my father better.

I wouldn’t have panicked the way I did.

I drive around town, no destination in mind. Aria being a Nocturn… I always imagined them as mythical creatures, or something that my father and other leaders spent time worrying about for no good reason. It was immature, of course, but our packs had been eliminating them for so long that I never thought they were cause for concern.

Now, I’m face-to-face with a matter involving one, and that person isn’t just anyone.

She’s the woman I love. My mate.

I bring to mind everything I know about Nocturns. They’re meant to be stronger than Alphas, and they pose a threat to us because our authority has no power over them. I’ve never experienced that with Aria before. She’s normal. Hardheaded as hell,

yes, but normal.

I don’t know what to make of this.

I wish she had told me. This is part of who she is, yet she didn’t trust me enough. It hurts. Did she think I would ever report her? Stop loving her? What kind of impression did I give her to make her feel this way about me?

Fuck, I haven’t felt this terrible in a long time.

I know I was harsh on her. I didn’t handle that situation as maturely as I could’ve. All I could focus on was the pain I felt, and how, at the moment, it felt like I didn’t know anything about her

But I regret walking out on her the way I did. Now that I’m calming down, I kind of feel shitty. She tried to explain things to me and I focused on myself and how I felt.

That was wrong.

I run a hand down my face, deciding that I need to go to her and tell her that we have to find a way to fix this together. Not all is lost. My father could’ve believed my lie, and anyway, this doesn’t change anything. Not between us, at least.

I still love her. I’ll always love her.

I find myself driving toward her place again. I didn’t mean to las out. I should’ve focused more on what I was going to say. It was wrong.

But there’s no reason why I can’t try to fix things with her. We’ll have to come up with another plan. Right now, though, my priority is holding her and kissing away her worries. I step on the gas, speeding down the empty residential road.

1 park my car right behind her uncle’s. His being here complicates things a little, but it won’t stop me from seeing her. My heart’s racing as I make my way to the front door, and my step filters when I see their front door wide open.

What’s going on?

I approach slowly, hearing loud voices coming from within. I panic, and so does my wolf. What the fuck is going on?

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Chapter 103

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I stop in front of the front door and see Coach and his girlfriend in the living room, arguing about something. She sees me first; then he notices her staring and turns around to look at me.

His face is red. His eyes are wet.

“What happened?” I ask right away, unable to keep the panic out of my voice. I step further into the living room. “Where’s Aria?”

Coach curls his lip and storms toward me. “Where is she? What did you do to her?”

Behind him, his girlfriend exclaims, “Barty, please! For the love of the goddess!”

He reaches me and fists my shirt in his hands. He’s fuming. “What did you do to her? What did you say to her!?”

Panic washes over me. I can’t even fucking breathe. “What happened to her? Where is she? Aria? Aria!”

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“She’s not here!” his girlfriend exclaims as she succeeds in stepping between us. He pulls away from me and heads to the other side of the living room.

I say to her, “Please, tell me where she is. What happened to her

“She left a note,” she briefly explains before heading to the kitchen. I follow her. Coach doesn’t even glance at me but I don’t have time for him now.

“Here.”

I take the note from her and read it. My heart sinks with every word. Aria doesn’t say a single thing about me, she just says that they’ll all be better off without her in their lives because she won’t stand by and watch everyone get hurt because of her, and she’s asking them not to follow her or try to find her.

“What?” I whisper, looking over at her. “When did this…I was here not an hour ago!”

She shakes her head. “We don’t know. We thought maybe you had the answer to our questions. What happened? Did the two of you have an argument? Aria’s a sensible young woman. She wouldn’t have left if it weren’t something serious.”

Guilt hits me like a punch in the gut. I run a hand down my face and shake my head. “I found out about her. About who she is.”

She sucks in a breath. “How?”

“My father.”

This time, the sound that leaves her throat is one of pure horror I explain briefly what happened, emphasizing the fact that I didn’t let my father believe Aria was a Nocturn.

“I made sure to explain that to him,” I conclude. “I told her we found out before her birthday.”

“That’s why she left,” she claims, looking over at Coach, who’s glaring at me.

“And what’s your fault in all this?” he asks, stepping closer to me. Why did you come back if you were already here?”

I sigh, defeated. “We argued. I felt betrayed that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me. I guess I left here on a bad note, but I came back because…” I look over at his girlfriend. “I love Aria. I love her regardless. I was hurt, but not enough to stay away from her. That’s what I came here to tell her. I didn’t think she’d do this.”

“It’s okay,” she assures me. “This isn’t your fault. I understand her motivations, and she has every reason to be scared, but she won’t survive out there alone.”

“I’ll find her,” I declare. “I’ll bring her back home and-”

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Chapter 103

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“No,” Coach says. “I’ll go. You’ve already made a mess of things. You walked into my house and frightened my niece into running away.”

“Barty-”

“That’s enough, Cassandra!” he yells. “I don’t want this bit around here again! You’re causing nothing but trouble!”

“I won’t sit back and do nothing,” I argue, not caring that he’s already angry as it is. “Aria is my mate. It’s my job to bring her home.”

He points a finger at me. “You’re not getting anywhere near her!

“Barty, please!” Cassandra exclaims. “Aria needs all of us! We cant be against each other. We’re the only ones here who truly care about her.”

I don’t wait for instructions. I storm right past him and head outside. To find her, I’ll have to shift. Her scent is engraved in my DNA. I’d find her anywhere.

She couldn’t have gone far.

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