The unwelcomed guest

Aria’s POV

Have you ever wondered what happens when the Moon Goddess pairs you with someone who eventually decides you aren’t worth keeping?

Do you lock yourself in your room and cry until you can barely breathe or you pretend you are ok with it because why was I was, standing in a hotel room wearing expensive lingerie and waiting for my mate with a bottle of his favorite wine on the table.

The wine alone had swallowed five months of my hard-earned salary. “Get yourself together, Aria,” I muttered, pulling my sheer robe closer around me.

Seducing my own mate couldn't be that difficult.

Kieran had always complained that I was too proud, that I never made enough effort to keep the spark alive between us.

Well, tonight, I intended to prove him wrong, we been together for years but I'm still not marke, pathetic wasn't it?

I grabbed my phone and checked the time again, he is running late as usual.

A nasty little thought crept into my mind. What if he had forgotten about tonight altogether?

I immediately pushed it away because Kieran was always running late to all our outings and I should get used to that by now.

I had learned to make excuses for him and being the second son of Alpha Blackwell meant his life was complicated.

He had responsibilities that I could barely comprehend and I understood that or perhaps I had simply spent too long convincing myself that understanding him was enough as long as he eventually showed up, I told myself it was fine but tonight was special.

After tonight, everything would change because once Kieran marked me, everyone would finally understand that I belonged beside him.

I would no longer be the girl people whispered about whenever I walked past them on campus.

My fingertips brushed the side of my neck, and a delicious shiver traveled down my spine at the thought of his mark resting there.

A knock sounded at the door, which I had deliberately left slightly ajar. “Aria?”

My heart practically leaped out of my chest. "He was here!"

I hurried to the bed and arranged myself against the pillows, turning onto my side and trying to imitate the seductive poses I had seen in movies.

One hand rested on my waist, too obvious?

I moved it then I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and took a deep breath. “Come in!” I called, silently praying my voice sounded confident.

The door swung open, Kieran stepped inside, and I was so relieved that I nearly burst into laughter. “You're finally....”

I stopped, when someone had entered behind him causing my smile to disappeared.

For several seconds, I could only stare at the woman standing in the doorway, Vanessa.

My eyes darted between them, desperately searching for an explanation that would make sense of what I was seeing. Why was she here?

Kieran wore a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves folded neatly to his elbows. Vanessa stood beside him in a fitted blue dress, her long blonde hair cascading over one shoulder in perfect waves.

Vanessa's eyes traveled over me, and her lips curved into a knowing smile.

"Oh, Goddess." I was practically naked.

When I noticed that, I scrambled upright, nearly tumbling off the mattress. I threw one arm across my chest and grabbed a pillow with the other, pressing it against my body as if it could somehow erase the entire situation.

A second later, Vanessa burst out laughing.

She laughed as if she had just witnessed the most entertaining thing in the world. “Oh, my God!” she exclaimed, bending forward. “This is unbelievable!”

Her laughter grew louder. “I seriously cannot believe what I'm seeing right now!”

My cheeks burned and I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

The lingerie I had spent weeks working up the courage to wear suddenly felt like a ridiculous costume. I turned toward Kieran, hoping and praying that he would tell her to stop but he said nothing.

Instead, he stood with both hands in his pockets, his jaw clenched and his eyes fixed somewhere near the floor. Was he embarrassed by me?

“When you told me we were coming here, I never imagined I'd be treated to a show like this.” Vanessa finally managed to speak between laughs.

She rested a hand on Kieran's shoulder, looking around the room with exaggerated interest and her eyes passed over the flowers and landed on the wine bottle then she looked directly at me. “Happy birthday, Aria.”

My heart sank, Kieran had brought her on my birthday to mock me in the hotel room I had booked for the two of us. Why would he do something like this?

I tried to speak, but my thoughts were tangled together and every question in my head seemed to fight for the chance to escape my mouth first.

Eventually, I managed to force out a few words.

“What's going on?” My voice sounded painfully small. “Why did you bring her here?”

Kieran finally looked at me like he hated me. “Maybe you should explain why you're dressed like that.”

For a moment, I couldn't believe what I had heard and I swallowed against the lump in my throat. “I thought...” My voice faltered, and I tightened my arms around the pillow. “I wanted to surprise you.”

My eyes shifted toward Vanessa before returning to him. “But why is she here? Why would you bring her of all people?”

Vanessa's smile widened. “Of all people?” she repeated, stepping closer. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

My body instinctively retreated and I hated that reaction.

I hated how easily she could make me feel small, even when I knew I had done nothing wrong. My wolf should have been there for me.

She should have offered some comfort, some reassurance, anything to stop the fear creeping through my chest.

Instead, I felt painfully alone.

I drew a shaky breath and looked directly at Kieran. “I wasn't talking to you, Vanessa.”

I turned back to my mate. “Kieran, please. Can you ask her to leave?”

I tried to communicate everything I couldn't bring myself to say aloud. “I just want to speak with you,” I whispered. “Alone.”

For one moment, I waited for him to understand. Instead, his face darkened. “What makes you think you're entitled to tell her what to do?”

His question struck deeper than I expected and I stared at him, struggling to understand how the man I had loved for years could look at me as if I were a complete stranger.

If it had been anyone else, perhaps I could have handled it but Vanessa?

He knew what she had done to me, how she had humiliated me and made my life miserable during the time I worked as a maid at her family's estate and yet, there he stood, defending her.

Before I could find a response, Vanessa stepped forward. “Don't worry, Kieran. I'll take care of it.”

She approached the bed with the confidence of someone who had never once been told no and I watched her carefully with that mischievous smile on her mouth because I had seen it before, usually seconds before she found a new way to make me regret existing.

I had encountered cruel people in my life, but Vanessa had a special talent for making cruelty look like entertainment.

She stopped in front of me and held out her hand toward Kieran. “Give me the bottle.”

My eyes snapped to the bedside table, I saved months just to buy that bottle.

“No!” I cried, clutching the pillow tighter. “Don't touch it!”