Chapter 1 - Empty Space

I slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind me with a soft click.  

The room was heavy with Aiden’s scent—soap, heat, and the faint saltiness of skin that had only recently cooled from a long day.

Sitting on the empty space on the bed, I drank in the sight of his bare back, rising and falling with shallow breaths. 

I knew Aiden was awake—he had heard me come in. I was in heat and I believe he could sense it, that I need him, I need my mate, my husband. 

My hand slid over his shoulder, slow and deliberate. His skin was warm under my touch, smooth and familiar. I let my hand linger, tracing slow circles, savoring the nearness of him. 

Softly touching him as he turned over, I leaned in, my lips finding his bare shoulder first—a soft, testing kiss—before trailing upward to the nape of his neck, letting the moment stretch, hoping he’d get the hint.

He didn’t pull away! 

Relieved, I pressed a little further, letting my mouth find his.

The kiss was rougher than I expected, but he kissed me back. His hand found my neck, sliding up and gripping the side firmly, tilting my head back to deepen the kiss.  

But then his grip tightened. A little too tight. 

I shifted slightly, trying to ease the pressure, but his hand just clamped harder. He rolled me onto my back with a force that knocked the air out of my lungs.

I blinked up at him, breathless, confused—but there was no time to think. He was on me, his weight pressing down, hands pushing and positioning with a single-minded roughness we had never shared before.

Still, I opened my legs for him, willing myself to match his urgency. Maybe this was what he needed…  

But when his hand tightened again, harder this time—cutting off my breath altogether—panic started to creep in.

“A-Aiden,” I choked out, trying to keep my voice calm. “Can... can we just slow down? Please?” 

He exhaled sharply. The room wasn’t lit but I could tell he had gone cold. “What’s wrong with you?” he muttered, his voice a low snarl. “You’re the one who came in here begging for it.” 

“No. I-I’m sorry.” I said, I didn’t want to mess up the moment. “I just don’t like choking. I mean…we never did this before and I’m not used to it…” 

Aiden froze. Then, slowly, he pulled back.

“Okay. Forget it.” He rolled onto his side, turning his back to me. “I’m not in the mood anymore. Get out.”

“Wait… what?” 

I sat up, my intent to try again. I reached out, placing a tentative hand on his back, trying to find him again, trying to fix whatever had broken. I waited for him to turn towards me. 

Instead, Aiden flinched. 

He slightly recoiled as though there was a fire beneath my palm and it irritated his skin. 

I paused, my hand hovered just an inch away from his back. 

“Can we... can we just try?” I whispered. “Please, Aiden. I’ll do better. I promise.”

He turned over, his eyes met mine. The light in the room was off, there was just moonlight coming in through the open window but I didn’t even need the light to know the look on his face. 

It was the kind of look you gave something pathetic. Something you were too disgusted to pity.

He laughed, low and cold. “Don't embarrass yourself more, Mara. You want to try?” He echoed, his voice flat. “With that figure?” 

I stiffened. I knew my body was no longer the same as when I was a teenager growing perky breasts. Time, stress and the crushing weight of his responsibilities had taken its toll on me, but there was nothing really wrong with my figure. I wasn’t overweight, I was lean and fit, and I still had my curves even though I used to be curvier but hard labor would do that to you. 

Despite the eyebags, I still had my natural beauty. I was still beautiful. 

I was still a beta, still strong and still his mate, his chosen mate, his wife. 

Why did he have to say that?

He didn’t stop there. He sat up and looked at me like I was a clown repeating the same dumb joke. “Why do you keep doing this, Mara? Why do you keep pushing it? Can’t we just sleep like normal people?” 

“Normal?” My voice cracked. “Like pretending we’re strangers in the same house? Separate beds, separate lives? We’re mates—You are my husband! Or did you already forget that? And there’s nothing normal about what’s happening between us.” 

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t start.” 

“What do you mean don’t start?” 

“I didn’t forget!” he snapped. “But you keep dragging up stuff like…” 

I gritted my teeth. “By stuff, do you mean her? That’s not even what I was talking about but you always seem to bring everything back to that woman.” 

He looked away. 

“What does Talia have that I—” 

His face darkened as he cut me off. “Don’t say her name.” 

“Why not?” I bit out. “Are you scared you’re going to be honest with me for once?” 

He pushed his hands through his hair. “I told you,” he said, his jaw tightened. “I cut things off, all contacts completely. What else do you want from me? Can you stop with the tantrums and scenes? Do I really need to remind you what happened last time you blew up over nothing?” 

He didn't say it, but I knew we were both thinking about the same thing. The memory that night came fast like it had been waiting for me to see it. 

It was three months ago. 

He had told me he was going for a work event, necessary socializing. I knew he was lying before he even finished the sentence, he couldn’t bring his eyes to meet mine that night. He was nervous so I checked his phone. 

I had never stooped that low before, never degraded myself in that manner but I had to. 

The moment I saw her name Talia, I knew. 

She was an omega from another pack whom he rescued from a mission. She had been a rogue and later joined our pack.

I found their messages, their love letters to each other, there were paragraphs upon paragraphs. I never even knew Aiden could write poems, and the pictures of her on his phone. She was smiling, constantly glowing with her slim figure and bright eyes. In some of those pictures they were holding hands like a real couple. 

I remembered staring at my reflection in the mirror that night. I was in my mid thirties, constantly tired from work with dark bags under my eyes. I didn’t look fragile, with my curves, callused hands and stiff shoulders. 

My life was devoid of that feminine energy ever since I took on the role of Aiden’s wife, I was no longer soft or shy. I was simply a hard worker neglecting makeup, exchanging cute dresses for different uniforms. 

I went to the venue I had seen in their texts, I didn’t have a confrontation in mind when I left but when I passed through the lobby and found her. 

Young, delicate with long legs, she was prettier in person. Aiden’s colleagues hovered around her, laughing like schoolboys.

Then one of them said it—

“You and Aiden look made for each other.”

She laughed—a soft, tinkling sound that seemed to light up the room.

 “Oh, come on," she said, with shyness. "If Aydie Bear hears you guys teasing like that, he’ll get mad again.”

Aydie Bear.

The name she used in their love letters. She sounded like she was his wife.

I went red with rage, by the goddess. I had no idea when I grabbed the glass, but all I did was splash her with the water and she screamed.