Chapter 4

Aiden's POV

The restaurant buzzed around me, but I sat there frozen, staring at the empty seat across the table after Lila. Lila’s perfume still lingered in the air. I wouldn't lie, she wore a sweet scent. My lips tingled from the kiss I had forced earlier, the one that didn’t mean a damn thing.

And now, she was gone. Just like that. My mate had left, confused, hurt, and I couldn’t even give her a reason. Not one that made sense.

The waitress came by, probably wondering why the table looked the way it did. I waved her off before she even opened her mouth. I wasn’t in the mood for pity or free dessert.

I should’ve left, but my body refused to move. My wolf was wide awake, pacing inside me like it had unfinished business. I knew what it wanted. It wanted Jake.

I slammed my palm on the table, earning a few stares. I ignored them, got up and left cash on the table without counting it. I just walked out into the night air.

The second I stepped outside, I caught his scent. It was clean, sweet, and that damn pull. He was still here so I followed it.

He stood by his car, leaning against the driver’s side like he didn’t just blow my whole world open five minutes ago. His arms were crossed, but his eyes met mine instantly. No hesitation. That was what pissed me off the most. He had no right to look that sure. That calm.

“You always watch people kiss their mates like a damn stalker?” I asked, walking up.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t watching you. Just trying to get dinner.”

“Right. Coincidence.”

“You kissed her because of me.”

I stopped in front of him. “You think too highly of yourself.”

“You kissed her,” he repeated, “and she looked like you’d never done it before.”

“Don’t do that,” I warned.

“Do what?”

“Dig.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay. Then let’s talk about something else. Like why you told me you liked me, and I told you to move on, and then you vanished for years.”

“I didn’t vanish. I left. There’s a difference.”

“You ran.”

“You pushed me.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. He looked away. “You were a kid.”

“I was sixteen.”

“Exactly.”

“I knew what I felt.”

“I was your teacher,” he snapped, finally losing his calm. “I had a kid of my own. A pack I left behind. A whole life I buried. I wasn’t going to—”

“Admit you felt something?”

“I couldn’t act on it.”

“You didn’t have to be cruel.”

“I thought cruelty would make you forget me.”

“Well,” I said, stepping closer, “newsflash—it didn’t.”

He looked at me then, really looked. The years fell away in that moment, the night I told him I liked him and he shattered my heart. Only now, it was worse. I have a mate and he is my professor.

“I’m mated,” I said, barely above a whisper.

Jake nodded. “But you’re not in love.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to.

He straightened. “Walk with me.”

“No.”

“Aiden—”

“I said no.”

We stood in silence for a second. Then Jake reached for his car door.

“Do you ever shift around her?” he asked without looking back.

I froze. “What?”

He looked over his shoulder. “Does she know what you are? Does she know that you are gay?”

I clenched my jaw. “That’s none of your business.”

“She’s your mate. It is.”

I didn’t respond. Jake sighed and slid into his car.

“She deserves the truth,” he said through the open window.

“Yeah?” I snapped. “And so did I. But you didn’t care back then.”

His car started. The rumble of the engine filled the quiet street.

“Maybe I didn’t,” he said softly. “But I do now.”

Then he pulled away, his break lights glowed red.

When I got home, the house was quiet. Lila’s things were still there. Her shoes were by the door. Her jacket was on the chair. But she wasn’t anywhere in sight.

I dropped my keys on the counter and headed straight to the kitchen. Poured myself a drink I didn’t want. I didn’t drink much. It made my wolf sluggish. But tonight, I needed something to shut him up.

The first sip burned while the second numbed.

“You’re spiraling,” I told my reflection in the window.

My wolf growled back.

A knock hit the door. I sighed and dragged myself to answer it.

Taylor stood there, holding a fast-food bag and a milkshake.

“Figured you forgot to eat,” he said, brushing past me like he owned the place.

“You’re supposed to be on campus.”

“I graduated last week. You didn’t show.”

Guilt hit like a punch to the gut. “I was—”

“Busy. Yeah. With your fake relationship.”

I slammed the door. “Don’t start.”

Taylor set the bag down and faced me. “You okay?”

“No.”

“Good. Because you looked like crap at the restaurant.”

“You were there?”

He smirked. “You didn’t see me, but I saw everything. The kiss, her face, Jake.”

I groaned. “Are you stalking me now?”

“Just trying to make sure you don’t implode in public.”

I slumped into a chair. Taylor pulled out food and slid a burger toward me.

“Eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Eat anyway.”

We sat in silence for a bit, chewing and not looking at each other.

Finally, I asked, “You knew Jake was back?”

Taylor nodded. “Saw him last week. Didn’t think he’d hit you this hard.”

“He didn’t hit me.”

“You’re drinking vodka and snapping at your mate. Feels like a hit.”

I shoved fries into my mouth.

“She’s not your mate,” Taylor said. “Not really.”

“I know.”

“Then why keep pretending?”

“Because I don’t know how to stop.”

Taylor leaned back. “Then figure it out. Before it kills you.”

And that was the thing. It was already killing me.

Later that night, I sat outside on the porch. The sky was cloudless, the stars were beautiful and endless. My wolf stirred under my skin, restless and alert.

I reached for my phone, scrolled through my contacts, and hesitated. Then I found his name—Jake. My thumb hovered over the call button. But, I didn’t press it.

Instead, I typed out a message> “We need to talk.” I hit send before I could second-guess myself.

The reply came almost instantly> “Name the place.” I stared at the screen, the wolf inside me howling for something it wasn’t sure it could ever truly have.

“Tomorrow. Midnight. The ridge.” I typed back.

I closed my eyes and let the night swallow me whole. Because tomorrow… everything might change.