Aria's POV
The guest house is smaller than I expected.
One room. One bed. One bathroom. Like a prison cell with nicer furniture.
"This is where you'll stay," Kade says, standing in the doorway. He won't come inside. Won't cross the threshold.
Like I'm contaminated.
"It's fine," I say, even though nothing is fine.
"Elena will bring clothes and food. There's a shower." He nods toward the bathroom. "Clean up."
"Yes, sir." The words come out bitter.
His jaw tightens. "Don't."
"Don't what? Follow orders? That's all I'm good for, right? Being managed and controlled."
"That's not what I—" He stops, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm trying here."
"Trying to what? Make me feel unwelcome? Mission accomplished." I drop my bag on the bed. "Anything else, Alpha?"
The title sounds like an insult coming from me.
Kade's silver eyes flash with anger. Or hurt. I can't tell anymore.
"The bond is affecting both of us," he says quietly. "Making us say things we don't mean."
"I mean every word." I turn away from him. "You don't want me here. You've made that clear. So just go. Leave me alone."
Silence stretches between us. The mate bond aches, pulling me toward him even as I push him away.
"I don't hate you," he finally says.
"Could've fooled me."
"Aria—"
"Just go, Kade." My voice breaks. "Please. Just... go."
I hear him take a step forward. Then stop. The bond screams at both of us to close the distance. To touch. To connect.
But he doesn't move.
Neither do I.
"Elena will be here soon," he says. Then his footsteps retreat, and the door closes softly.
I stand there, staring at the closed door. Alone again. Always alone.
The bathroom mirror shows a girl I barely recognize. My face is clean now, but the bones show too sharp beneath the skin. My eyes are hollow. Dead.
Ten years as a rogue carved away everything soft about me.
I strip off the borrowed clothes and step into the shower. The hot water should feel good, but it just makes my skin burn where the scars are thickest.
I count them like I always do. Twenty-three across my ribs. Fifteen on my back. Eight on my arms. Countless small ones everywhere else.
Each one tells a story of survival.
Each one reminds me I'm damaged.
What kind of mate gets someone like me? Broken. Scarred. Cursed.
Kade deserves better. He lost a mate he loved. Now he's stuck with me—the girl everyone thinks is a killer.
I turn off the water and wrap myself in a towel. My reflection mocks me. This is who I am. This is all I'll ever be.
A knock on the door startles me.
"Just a minute!" I call out, scrambling for the clean clothes on the bed.
The door opens anyway.
A woman walks in—not Elena. Someone younger, maybe twenty-five, with blonde hair and a sneer on her face.
"So you're the rogue." Her eyes rake over me with disgust. "Kade's mate."
I pull the clothes tighter around me. "Who are you?"
"Miranda. Kade's... friend." The way she says 'friend' implies more. "I wanted to see what all the fuss was about."
"Well, now you've seen. You can go."
"Not yet." She steps closer. "I need to make something clear. Kade is mine. We've been together for three years. Just because some bond says you're his mate doesn't change that."
My stomach drops. "Together?"
"Did you think he was celibate? Waiting for his true mate?" Miranda laughs. "He moved on from Sarah years ago. With me."
The words hit like punches. Kade has someone. Someone who isn't broken or scarred or exiled.
"If you're together, why did he bring me here?" I ask, hating how small my voice sounds.
"Duty." Miranda shrugs. "The mate bond is powerful. He has to acknowledge it, provide for you. But that doesn't mean he loves you. That doesn't mean he'll choose you."
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"I said get out!" My voice rises. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested. You want Kade? Take him. I don't want a mate who doesn't want me."
Miranda's eyes narrow. "You're lying. Everyone wants to be Luna. Everyone wants to be chosen."
"I'm not everyone." I point to the door. "Now leave before I make you."
She laughs. "You? Make me? You're a rogue. I'm a pack warrior. You wouldn't last five seconds against me."
She's probably right. But I'm so tired of being pushed around. So tired of being weak.
"Try me," I say.
Something in my voice makes her pause. Maybe she sees the ten years of hell in my eyes. Maybe she realizes I have nothing left to lose.
"This isn't over," Miranda says, backing toward the door. "Kade is mine. Remember that."
She leaves, slamming the door.
I sink onto the bed, shaking. First Kade rejects me. Now some other woman claims him.
The mate bond in my chest feels like it's tearing apart.
A softer knock comes at the door.
"Go away!" I shout.
"It's Elena, dear. May I come in?"
Elena. The kind one. I hesitate, then say, "Yes."
She enters with a bag of clothes and a medical kit. Her face is gentle, concerned.
"I heard shouting. Miranda was here, wasn't she?"
"She says she's with Kade."
Elena sighs. "Miranda wishes she was with Kade. She's been trying to become his chosen mate for years. But he's never committed to her."
"Why?"
"Because he's been waiting. Whether he admits it or not, some part of him knew his true mate was out there." Elena sits beside me on the bed. "Miranda is jealous. Ignore her."
"She's beautiful. Strong. Part of the pack." I look down at my scarred hands. "I'm nothing compared to her."
"You're his mate. That's everything." Elena gently touches my shoulder. "May I check your wounds? Kade mentioned you were injured."
I nod, too tired to argue.
Elena helps me remove the shirt. Her sharp intake of breath tells me she sees the scars.
"Oh, child." Her voice trembles. "What happened to you?"
"Ten years as a rogue." I keep my voice flat. Emotionless. "This is what survival looks like."
Her fingers trace the scars gently. "These are from beatings. Burns. Cuts." She pauses at a particularly bad one on my shoulder. "This almost killed you."
"But it didn't." I pull away. "I'm still here. Still breathing. Still cursed to destroy everything I touch."
"Don't say that."
"Why not? It's true." The dam inside me starts to crack. "My sister died because of me. My mother killed herself because of me. My father became a drunk because of me. Now I'm here, ruining Kade's life too. I'm poison, Elena. Everything I touch dies."
"Aria—"
"I should've died in that river!" The words explode out of me. "I should've drowned instead of Lily. Then everyone would be happy. Everyone would be safe from me."
"That's not true—"
"Yes, it is!" Tears stream down my face. "I'm a curse! The Moon Goddess made a mistake with me. I shouldn't exist!"
Elena pulls me into her arms. I try to fight it, but she holds firm.
"Listen to me," she says fiercely. "You are not a curse. You're a survivor. You're strong. You're here against impossible odds."
"I killed my sister," I sob into her shoulder. "I killed my mother. I destroy everything I touch."
"No." Elena holds me tighter. "You were a child at a river. Your sister had an accident. That's not murder. That's tragedy."
"Everyone thinks—"
"Everyone is wrong." She pulls back to look at me. "And someday, you'll prove it. Someday, the truth will come out."
I want to believe her. Want to think there's hope.
But hope died ten years ago in a river with my sister.
"Why does he hate me?" I whisper. "Kade. Why does my own mate look at me like I'm poison?"
Elena's face saddens. "He doesn't hate you. He's scared of you."
"Scared? Of me?"
"Of losing you. Of caring and having it ripped away again." Elena wipes my tears. "Give him time. The bond is strong. It'll break through his walls."
"What if it doesn't?"
"Then you'll have to decide if you can live with half a bond. If you can love someone who won't love you back." Elena stands. "But I have faith. Kade is stubborn, but he's not cruel. Not really."
She leaves me with clean clothes and bandages for my wounds.
I sit alone in the small guest house, the mate bond aching in my chest.
Through the window, I see Kade standing outside. Just standing there. Staring at my door.
Our eyes meet through the glass.
For one second—just one—I see pain in his face. Real, raw pain.
Then his walls slam back up. His face goes cold.
He turns and walks away.
I press my hand against the window, the mate bond screaming at me to follow.
But I don't.
Because he made his choice.
And I have to live with it.