The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

RYDER

THE

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Rejection?

Did I hear that right?

I look into her eyes and try once again to figure out what the hell is going on inside that brilliant head of hers. Deep down, I know she doesn’t mean anything she’s saying. She’s forcing herself to utter these words.

I even know why.

I’m the one who drove her to make this decision. I’ve been fighting this attraction I have to her from the very beginning, pushing her away with callousness as a way to protect myself from something that could very well destroy my life; but now? I’m tired of doing that. She’s my mate and I’d be a fool to throw all that away because of societal norms and pack politics.

I can’t get her out of my mind, and now, I have to find a way to convince her that things are going to be different this time.

“I know things between us haven’t been ideal, but you have nothing to

worry about, Aria.”

“They haven’t and never will,” she interjects coldly. “It’s how it is; it’s how it’ll always be. You’re the Alpha heir and I’m an Omega nobody.”

Why is she speaking about herself this way? She’s never referred to herself in such a way. “According to who? Everyone else? They don’t matter.”

Aria asks in a mocking tone, “Since when?”

“You know as well as I do that I don’t,” I say forcefully. “If you’re making this decision because you think I see myself as your superior, then you can go ahead and find another excuse because it’s simply not true and you know it!”

My words make her look away from me. I reach out and pinch her chin between my fingers, forcing her to face me again. “You know. You know as well as I do that there’s something undeniable between us. Yet, you’re saying all these things you don’t mean.”

Tears fill her eyes and the sight of them does something strange to me. I realize that I can’t stand the thought of her in pain. Her hand settles over my fingers and I feel a strong surge of energy that passes between us, from her to me.

But Aria’s only pushing my hand away. I let it drop to my side.

“We both know there’s no point to any of this. We’re completely different people and could never get along. Most of the time, we were fighting.”

“Only because you’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met in my life,” I claim. When she doesn’t retort, I add, “You’re difficult, and you drive me fucking nuts but I can never stay away from you for long, and now that you’re my mate, I can’t let you go.”

Aria shakes her head. “Once you reject me, you’ll feel differently You’ll be glad about it, and then you can go about your life, surrounding yourself by fame, prestige, and other girls who are more suitable for you.”

Her words anger me unexpectedly. “So, now you’re claiming to know what I want?”

“There’s no either way, can’t you see that!” she exclaims. “And anyway, I don’t want to be your mate. You’re so arrogant and self-centered that you didn’t even bother asking me what I want!

“I know what you want, and you do, too.”

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17 22 Sat, Feb 21

Chapter 49

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“No.” she remarks coldly. “You don’t know what I want. I could never have someone as spoiled and egotistical as you as my mate. We can’t get along because you can’t see past your own misery. I, Aria Murdock, reject you, Ryder Drexel, as my mate and-”

I place my hand over her mouth before she can finish the sentence. “What are you doing? How can you-”

“What are you doing here, young man?” says Coach aggressively behind me. I turn around to face him and watch him look back and forth between us roughly. “What the hell are you doing to my niece?”

“Uncle Barty, I can exp-”

“Stay out of this, Aria!” he barks. He doesn’t take his eyes off her for a second. “In the rink, I may be your coach, but out here, I’m her uncle and I don’t give a damn about who you are. What were you doing to my niece just now? What the hell is going on here?”

“I can explain,” I cut in before Aria has the chance to say anything else. “If you let me, I’ll explain everything.”

His face hardens. I walk past him, making my way out of the cubicle, and I don’t look back at Aria once. I didn’t think that I’d find her in this state. She wanted to reject me-I’d been so confident that she…

Was she right when she told me that I’m only thinking about myself? Did I get it all wrong?

I push this to the back of my mind and turn around to face Coach. He’s fuming, and I notice how tightly his fists are clenched. “First of all, I want you to know that I wasn’t trying to hurt her-”

“You were trying to keep her quiet! Why?”

I lower my eyes. Fuck, this is all so fucked up that I can hardly believe any of it’s happening. I feel like the biggest loser in the world just now. I lost the match and everyone’s respect. I nearly lost my mate.

“Mr. Murdock,” I begin, opting not to address him as Coach for now, “I want you to know that I love your niece. I should’ve brought this up with you a long time, and instead, I let you have a bad impression of me. What you saw in there was the perfect example of how we never get along, no matter how hard we try, but I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I’d never do that. If anything, she hurts me. Time and time again.”

I can’t tell what he’s thinking by his expression. His face is strangely blank. What he says to me after my confession is, “You got her expelled. I don’t care if you were directly involved or not

“I know, and I’m working on fixing things,” I assure him. “I’ll fix this. I’ll do anything.”

He steps closer to me. “The only way you can help her is by leaving her alone. Stay away from her because you’re going to complicate her life more than you already have. Do you have any idea what the pack would do to her? You know it isn’t allowed. You’re only going to hurt her. Stay. Away. From. Aria.”

I glance at the curtain, wondering if she can hear us. Probably not. His words sink in harder than I ever imagined they could. Maybe he’s right. She told me something similar. I don’t want her to get hurt-I’d rather push a knife into my own chest. “Then I’ll do that.

Coach nods, and then his expression softens. I reach out to shake his hand, sealing our deal, and he stares at it for a long time, then decides to shake it.

I leave the hospital feeling fucking empty on the inside. I’m more depressed about this situation with Aria than I am about the match we lost, but I don’t care. I’ve got bigger things to worry about now. I went from not wanting a mate to falling completely in love with her.

Perhaps I deserve it for all the girls I discarded back when nothing mattered to me.

Now, I’m the one who feels discarded.

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Chapter 49

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I go home. My father gives the order to one of our maids that he wants to see me as soon as I return. Good. I promised Coach that I’d fix Aria’s situation and that’s exactly what I intend to do.

He’s in his office, of course. Drinking again. “And just where were you?”

“I’ve got something to talk to you about, Dad, and it can’t wait.” I don’t even give him a chance to speak. “It’s either you revoke the decision to have Aria Murdock expelled, or I quit the fucking team. And if you’d like, you can disown me. I don’t give a shit.”

His eyes are wide as he looks at me and I’m sure that at this point, he’s lost all respect for me. I couldn’t care less. I only want one person’s respect, and I’ve already lost it, so fuck everything.

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