CHAPTER 5: THE ALPHA'S OBSESSION

As Leila turned toward the car, Adrian's hand shot out, gripping her wrist.

"Wait," he said, his voice desperate now. "Leila, we need to talk about this. You can't just…"

The stranger moved faster than Adrian could track. One moment he was standing beside the car, the next his fist connected with Adrian's jaw with brutal force.

Adrian crashed to the ground, the impact rattling his bones. Blood filled his mouth instantly, hot and metallic. He spat it out, staining the pavement red.

"You bastard!" the man snarled, looming over Adrian with fury blazing in his eyes. "Don't you ever come near her again!"

Adrian struggled to push himself up, his vision swimming. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

The stranger didn't answer. He simply turned his back on Adrian, the ultimate sign of disrespect, and guided Leila toward the car with a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Leila!" Adrian screamed, blood dripping from his mouth as he fought to stand. "LEILA!"

She paused for just a fraction of a second, her hand on the car door. For a moment, Adrian thought she might turn around, might look at him one last time.

But she didn't.

She slid into the car without a single glance back, and the door closed with a definitive click that echoed like a gunshot in Adrian's chest.

"NO!" Adrian roared, finally getting to his feet. He stumbled forward, but the car was already pulling away, its taillights disappearing into the distance.

"LEILA!" he screamed again, his voice breaking, raw with desperation.

But she was gone.

Adrian stood in the middle of the driveway, chest heaving, blood still flowing from his mouth. His legs trembled beneath him, threatening to give out.

"Son!" Zara's voice pierced through his haze. She ran out of the building, her heels clicking frantically against the pavement. "Son! What happened? Who was that?"

Adrian didn't answer. He just stared at the empty road where the car had disappeared.

Zara reached him, her hands immediately trying to assess the damage. "Your face, you're bleeding! We need to get you inside, call the doctor…"

"I told you!" Zara continued, her voice rising with vindication. "I told you that bitch was cheating on you! Now she's showing her true colors. Did you see how easily she left with that man? She's probably been sleeping with him this whole time!"

Adrian's jaw clenched, but he still said nothing. The mate bond burned in his chest like acid, the pain of her rejection mixing with the agony of watching her leave.

"Come on, let me help you inside," Zara said, reaching for his arm. "We need to…"

Adrian waved her hands away roughly. "Mom, please. I need to be alone."

"But son, you're hurt…"

"I said I need to be alone!" His voice cracked, raw with emotion he was struggling to contain.

Zara's mouth opened to protest, concern and frustration warring on her face.

"Now. Please. Just go," Adrian said, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

For a moment, Zara hesitated, her maternal instinct clearly battling with his command. But something in his eyes, something broken and dangerous, made her step back.

"Fine," she said stiffly. "But we're not done discussing this. That woman has made a fool of you for the last time."

Adrian didn't respond. He just turned and walked unsteadily toward the building.

Zara watched him go, her lips pursed in disapproval, before finally turning on her heel and leaving in the opposite direction.

Inside his office, Adrian collapsed against the wall, slowly sliding down until he sat on the cold floor. His hand pressed against his chest, trying to ease the burning pain that seemed to grow worse with every passing second.

Blood still dripped from his mouth, staining his expensive shirt, but he didn't care. The physical pain was nothing, nothing, compared to the agony tearing through the mate bond.

"How did everything happen so fast?" he whispered to the empty room.

His mind raced, replaying every moment. The way that man had touched her. The protective way he'd draped his jacket over her shoulders. The ease with which Leila had accepted his presence.

And worst of all, the way she hadn't looked back.

"Who was he?" Adrian growled, his fingers digging into the floor. "Who the hell was that bastard?"

His mother's words echoed in his mind, poisonous and insistent: She's been cheating on you. She's been sleeping around.

Adrian's wolf snarled, torn between rage and despair.

"She has no family," Adrian muttered, his voice taking on a darker edge. "She told me herself, she's an orphan. Alone. No one."

He pushed himself up slightly, his eyes narrowing as his mind worked through the possibilities.

"So where did he come from? Who is he?"

The more he thought about it, the more his mother's accusation seemed to make sense, the only sense in this chaos.

"A sugar daddy," Adrian spat, the words bitter on his tongue. "She found herself some rich bastard to take care of her, and now she thinks she can just walk away from me?"

His fist slammed against the floor, cracking the expensive marble.

"She belongs to me," he growled. "She signed a contract. She's mine."

The mate bond pulsed again, sending another wave of searing pain through his chest. Adrian gasped, doubling over.

But even through the agony, one thought burned brighter than all the rest:

"I need to find her. Leila can't just leave like this." His eyes flashed gold as his wolf surged forward. "And I need to deal with that idiot who took her away."

Adrian reached for his phone with trembling hands, his jaw set with grim determination.

"She's mine," he whispered darkly. "And I'm going to make sure she remembers that."

The office door suddenly burst open.

"Alpha!" Alex rushed in, his face pale. "I just got word from the gate, there was an incident. Are you…" He stopped short, taking in Adrian's bloodied face, his disheveled appearance. "Goddess, what happened?"

Adrian slowly raised his head, his eyes burning with possessive fury and desperate need.

"Find her," he commanded, his voice deadly calm. "Find my wife. I want every tracker, every contact, every resource we have. Find Leila."

Alex's eyes widened. "Your wife? But I thought…"

"I don't care what you thought!" Adrian roared, his Alpha aura exploding outward, filling the room with oppressive power. "Find her. NOW."

Alex immediately bowed his head in submission. "Yes, Alpha. What about the man who was with her?"

Adrian's lips curled into something between a smile and a snarl, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Find out who he is. Find out where he took her. And then..." his voice dropped to a lethal whisper, "prepare a strike team. Because when I find that bastard, I'm going to rip him apart with my bare hands."