Semua Bab The Apex's hidden mate: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Thane’s POV The room was quiet. Caspian was leaning back with his feet on the table, but his usual grin was gone. Ryker’s arms were crossed tight, jaw set in a rare show of real tension. Kaid stood at the far end, near the window, silent as ever but stiff as steel. And Aria… sat in the chair across from us, looking tired but stern. I watched her quietly, letting the others stew in the silence while I studied her. I thought back to earlier—many hours ago now, though it felt like much longer. The pain had ripped through me like a knife to the soul. It wasn’t physical, not really. It was worse. It came from the bond. Each of us—me, Kaid, Caspian, Ryker—we’d all doubled over at the same moment, feeling something deep and ancient scream inside us. The bond… it was being ripped apart. Someone was trying to sever it, pull my mate’s wolf from her. I could feel her soul screaming, her wolf fighting to hold on. But they couldn’t do it. Because we were pulling back. I don’t know how

Aria’s POV The wind whipped through my hair as I rode down the campus road, the tires of my bike humming against the pavement. Mornings like this gave me the illusion of peace—like everything was normal. Like I hadn’t spent the weekend surviving a nightmare wrapped in skull masks and silver restraints. I parked my bike, and stepped off just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. My fingers moved quickly to pull it out. Thane: She’s awake. But she doesn’t remember anything. I’ll update you when I know more. I exhaled, relief and dread tangling in my chest. Me: Thanks for letting me know. Of course, Thane was the only one who would text me. Kaid? He’d rather be stabbed with silver than type a message. Caspian? Probably forgot I existed the moment I left. And Ryker... well, he’d likely send me a nude. Still, I didn’t have time to care about their egos. I had more important things to worry about—like figuring out who the hell those skull-mask freaks were and give them a piece of my mind

Aria’s POV I sat on the edge of the ridiculous bed—fluffy, oversized, probably worth more than my entire dorm building—and stared at the sleek walls like they were mocking me. This was happening. I was in the Apex brothers’ penthouse. The room was too quiet. Too perfect. soft luxury, sleek furniture, and a giant window framing a view of the school grounds like I’d been relocated to a royal tower. I let out a slow breath and dropped back onto the mattress, letting it swallow me up. How the hell did this happen? Flashback to earlier— I laughed like they’d just told the funniest joke in the universe. Staying with the Apex brothers at their penthouse? That had to be a joke. But it wasn’t. I stopped laughing the second I realized they were dead serious. And naturally, my first instinct was to shut that idea down with the force of a thousand suns. Absolutely not. I refused. Loudly. Proudly. Until Kaid opened his mouth. He didn’t argue. He just said, with that cold edge of his,

Aria’s POV Two girls were clawing at each other like feral wolves in heat. Nails scratching, hair pulling, teeth bared. One of them had a gash on her cheek, and the other was screaming so loud it echoed off the courtyard walls. I blinked, stunned, as a few professors tried to intervene—unsuccessfully. It was chaos. Actual, physical chaos. A few students shouted for help while others pulled out their phones to record the whole thing. “She slept with her friend’s mate,” someone muttered beside me. “What?” Sheila gasped, pulling closer. Another voice chimed in from behind, “I heard the guy was an Alpha. The girl just found out this morning.” “Ohhh,” someone else said knowingly. “That explains the bloodshed. An Alpha mate? That’s like a golden fated ticket. No wonder she’s losing it.” I stood there, unmoving, while the rest of the crowd kept pushing forward for a better view. The two girls were definitely from Beta families—well-dressed, sharp features. One of them sobbed as the o

Thane’s POV I walked through the hospital doors first, my hands tucked into the pockets of my coat as the cool air of the building met my skin. The scent of antiseptic and muted anxiety hung in the air. I hated hospitals. I’d already messaged Aria earlier—told her Quin had finally woken up. This was our one real shot at getting information. If Quin remembered anything about the Skulls Syndicate, we could finally gain some ground. A clue, a name, a base of operation—something. But even as I tried to keep my thoughts focused on the mission, I could feel the shift in the air between my brothers. Especially when Ryker broke the silence. “So… are we going to keep pretending or what?” I turned toward him, brows lifting slightly. “Pretending?” “That we all didn’t have the most erotic dream last night? No one wants to say anything.” “Since we all had the dream, does it mean she also had it?” Caspian asked. It wasn’t farfetched, since recalling my encounter with Aria made me believe s