Aidan.
I had always believed she needed us, that no matter how much she resisted, how much she tried to push us away, deep down, she craved the bond, our presence, our touch, she couldn't possibly do without us.
That was what I told myself.
What I held on to.
But the moment she shoved me…everything shattered, the thoughts I held into broke because It wasn't a weak push, nor was it hesitant. It was firm…decisive… real and in that instant, I understood.
She wasn't joking.
She wasn't playing hard to get.
She meant every word she had said.
My pride, well, it collapsed completely. All the confidence I had built over the years as Alpha, all the authority I carried, it felt meaningless now, slipping through my fingers like sand.
The pack was already unstable, everything around me was falling apart and yet, the one thing I couldn't fix… was the one thing I wanted the most in my life.
Maria.
