CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4: Shattered Bonds

CIA’S POV

The moment I stepped into the house, the scent hit me, rich, savory, mouthwatering. But beneath it, something else, something primal…his scent, laced with sandalwood and rain. It coiled around me, burrowing into my senses, claiming me silently. 

My wolf, Aria, stirred immediately, restless, prowling beneath my skin. Mate. The word burned through me, an ache, a need, a storm waiting to break.

I paused in the hallway, my heart pounding wildly as my gaze landed on Ale. He was casually setting the table, sleeves rolled up, his muscles flexing with each graceful move. His focus, his care, it wasn’t just a dinner for me. 

“You cook now?” I teased, my voice barely steady.

He looked up, and the pull hit me hard. His gaze locked onto mine, not just seeing me, but claiming me. The air thickened around us.

Our mate, Aria purred, pacing with growing urgency. The bond is awakening.

Ale’s steps toward me were slow, deliberate, his energy radiating a commanding presence, his Alpha aura pressing against mine, testing, teasing me. He cupped my face with calloused yet gentle hands, his thumb grazing my cheek, sending a shiver down to my core. When he kissed my forehead, the heat of his lips seared a promise into my skin. I really wished it was my lips. 

“I know you’re tired, my luna,” he whispered, his voice deep. “Go freshen up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

The term ‘luna’ struck me deep. My wolf howled in response, clawing against the fragile wall I was desperately trying to maintain.

I nodded, retreating upstairs, but his words clung to me.

“Which room is mine?” I asked, needing to say something to steady me.

“This is your home, my love. You’ll find it,” he said, his lips curling into a smirk. “But to make it easier, I left you a little gift.”

I found the room. His scent soaked the air, his territory, yet it beckoned me like my own. Laid out on the bed was a silk nightgown. White. My favorite.

He remembers everything about you, Aria whispered. Stop fighting this. The bond is inevitable.

I shook my head, but my hands trembled as I changed into the gown.

Descending the stairs, my breath caught. The dining area glowed under flickering candles. Soft notes of Andrea Bocelli swirled around us. Rose petals paved the floor, leading to a table that looked like something out of a dream. Heart shaped balloons hovered above, with golden inscriptions reading:

"Happy Three Months of Friendship, My Love."

Friendship? After all this? I thought to myself sadly. 

No, this is not friendship, Aria snarled. This is destiny.

Emotion surged in my throat. I pressed a hand to my lips, grounding myself.

Ale appeared behind me, pulling out my chair, his fingers brushing mine, sparking electricity up my arm. The air thickened with the unspoken. The unacknowledged.

We dined slowly, bruschetta, fettuccine Alfredo, tiramisu, but I barely tasted any of it. My wolf paced, my body restless, caught between wanting him and running from him.

And then he said it.

“Marry me.”

I spat out the wine I had in my mouth out of shock. The glass slipped from my hand, shattering to pieces. His eyes bore into mine, serious, sincere, concerned as he lifted me up, away from the shattered glass.

I blinked, breathless. 

Mate. Ours. Aria’s growl deafened me.

Without thinking, I lunged across the table, wrapping myself around him. “Yes!” My voice cracked, soaked in raw emotion. “Yes, Ale. What took you so long?”

His smile caused electricity through me, but his grip, his scent, he was trembling too.

“I was afraid,” he confessed, his lips grazing my temple. “Afraid to lose you.”

“Ale,” I whispered, brushing my fingers over his jaw, “do you even realize the power you hold over me?”

His gaze darkened, his wolf surfacing, barely contained. “I do now.”

When he kissed me, the bond pulsed between us, growing, tightening. Every nerve ending lit up.

That night, wrapped in his arms, I felt his restraint like iron chains. His heartbeat beneath my ear was thunderous, erratic, his skin hot against mine.

When I kissed his neck, he groaned, his grip crushing me to him.

“Cia,” he growled, his voice frayed, his wolf snapping at the edges of control.

I felt his fangs graze my skin, not breaking, but claiming. My wolf whimpered, desperate to be marked.

“Do it,” Aria urged. Let him mark us. Let him claim us.

But I wasn’t ready.

He pulled back, shaking, his breath ragged, his Alpha’s dominance suffocating yet protective. His hand cupped my jaw as he pressed his forehead to mine.

“I would wait forever for you,” he vowed. “But my wolf… he already knows you’re ours.”

And I knew then, this wasn’t just desire. It was inevitable, fated and final.

ALE’S POV

The next morning, I could barely keep the grin off my face as I drove to the Rossi villa. After years of betrayal, after Elisabetta, after the scars my father left, I finally found her. My luna. My mate.

I burst into the house. “Mamma!” I embraced her tightly, my wolf practically howling with pride. “I’ve found her. The one. I’m getting married.”

Her joy was instant. “Bring her to the end of year gala. I must meet the woman who tamed my wild Alpha son.”

I agreed, eager to show Cia off to the world.

But when I told Cia about the gala, and about meeting her family, she became hesitant. She wouldn't even tell me her father's name. But I didn't push. I waited for her to be comfortable enough to reveal her family to me. 

Slowly but gradually she opened up a few things to me and asked me about the gala date.

“The twentieth.” I said 

Her smile faltered. “I… I have a family event.”

Something tightened in my chest, but she decided she would go with me.

She apologized for being hesitant about letting me know her family and also getting to know my family. She promised to tell me everything after we got back from the gala.

Yet as we approached the hotel the evening of the gala, her unease was palpable. She clutched my hand, her pulse racing, her wolf coiled tightly beneath her skin.

In the lobby, she practically hid behind me.

“Cia… are you ashamed of me?” The question clawed out of me, raw, insecure.

“No! Never,” she gasped, tugging me closer. “My family… they wouldn’t understand. Gabrielle warned me early on, to keep them out of our relationship. She thought you were just some guy chasing a wealthy girl.”

I wanted to laugh it off, but something in her scent showed fear, and sincerity. 

“I’ll tell them everything. After tonight, I promise,” she whispered, kissing me as though it would seal the vow.

I believed her.

Until the universe unraveled.

The elevator doors opened to the grand ballroom, the lights soft and golden. My mother approached, radiant, pulling me into a warm embrace.

“Alejandro, come. I want you to meet someone.”

Her words didn’t register until she turned to Cia.

“Crystal, you’ve finally arrived.”

Cia’s body went rigid.

The bond between us, suddenly strained.

Her voice trembled. “Mother… is this Alejandro?”

My wolf stilled. Everything around me froze.

“My brother?”

My heart severely hurt.

My mother’s gentle voice echoed in the abyss that swallowed me whole. “Yes, dear. Your brother.”

The mate bond, our bond violently destroyed, a deep, ripping wound.

Cia stumbled back, her eyes wide, her wolf clawing beneath her skin, desperate to escape.

“No… no, this can’t…” her voice broke, shattering what was left of me.

I reached for her, but she recoiled as though my touch burned.

The weight of forbidden love, of a mate bond we could never consummate, crashed over us.

My wolf howled in agony, clawing at the cage of my chest, rage and devastation tearing through me.

Because fate, in its cruel twist, had made me her mate and her brother.

How do you walk away from the one person the moon destined for you, when they carry your blood?