Chapter 187: What You Fear, Not What You Feel.
Alessandro’s POV
I scanned the tree line, my senses sharpening.
A scent. Not rogue. Not familiar either. It was... wrong. Tainted. Like burnt herbs and metal.
Aurora pressed closer behind me, silent but tense.
A low rustle sounded far too deliberate to be a fox or wandering animal.
I reached into my belt, fingers brushing the hilt of my blade. I didn’t bring it for show tonight. Not after the letter.
Then… a whisper.
Faint. Barely audible.
Like breath against the trees.
I growled low in my throat. “Show yourself.”
Nothing.
Then—
Whizz!
I moved in a flash, pulling Aurora behind me as I scanned the shadows with sharp, narrowed eyes.
The bushes rustled.
My muscles tensed, ready to strike.
And then—
A squirrel.
A fat, obnoxious little thing scurried out and darted across the trail like it had no idea it had almost caused a full-scale Alpha attack.
Aurora blinked, then burst into laughter. Loud, sweet, and unrestrained.
“I can’t believe I nearly had a heart attack over that!” she wheezed, gripping her sides.
I exhaled, half-relieved, half-annoyed. “It moved like a dart.”
“Alessandro,” she giggled, “it was a squirrel.”
I smirked reluctantly. “A suspicious squirrel.”
She bumped her shoulder lightly into mine, and we resumed walking, our steps falling in quiet sync.
The night was cooler now. The air, calmer. But the question burning in my chest had no such ease.
I didn’t want to ask it.
I shouldn’t have asked it.
But the words tumbled out anyway, rough and awkward.
“…Do you still have feelings for him?”
Aurora stopped mid-step.
I froze beside her, instantly regretting everything.
She turned slowly, her expression unreadable. “What?”
“I mean Leonardo,” I added quickly, my voice low, almost a whisper. “Do you…? I just after everything, I—”
“Are you seriously asking me this right now?” Her eyes narrowed, voice tight with disbelief.
My throat went dry. “I didn’t mean it like—”
“You think I would still want him? After what he did?” Her voice rose just a fraction, but I felt every inch of her hurt.
She stepped back, arms crossing.
The lightness from earlier disappeared like fog under sunlight.
“I think I want to go back,” she said flatly.
“Aurora—”
“Goodnight, Alessandro.”
I stood frozen as she turned and walked away, her back straight, her pace sharp.
Each step echoed with the question I never should’ve asked.
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, running a hand through my hair before smacking the back of my head with my palm.
“What the hell is wrong with me?”
I turned away and paced in the opposite direction, fists clenched, the sting of her silence ringing louder than any slap.
“You had one job,” I hissed to myself. “Be present. Be calm. Trust her.”
I stopped and stared blankly at the trees, chest tightening.
“But no, you had to go and ask if she still loves Leonardo.
Really, Alessandro?” I sneered at myself, shoving a hand against my temple.
“Why not just ask if she regrets choosing you too while you’re at it?”
My throat felt tight. Her face hurt, angry, shocked kept replaying in my mind like a punishment loop.
“She opened up to you,” I whispered, guilt thick in my voice.
“She let you in. And what did I do?”
I kicked a nearby rock hard enough it skidded into the bushes.
“Good going, Alpha. Real smooth.”
I stayed there for a while, letting the guilt settle in my chest like stones.
Eventually, I turned and headed toward the main house, needing a distraction from someone to talk to.
I stopped at Rafael’s door, but just as I raised my hand to knock—
Moaning.
Loud. Dramatic.
I winced as I heard his very enthusiastic and very public exploits with another unlucky beta girl.
I turned right back around.
Not Rafael.
Not tonight.
I walked down the hall and found myself outside Gabriel’s room. I hesitated, then knocked twice.
After a few long seconds, the door cracked open.
Gabriel peeked out, book in one hand, brow raised in surprise. “Alessandro?”
“Can I come in?”
He opened the door fully, stepping aside to let me through.
“Sure. You okay?”
I entered, glancing around the calm, minimalist room that smelled faintly of pine and old pages.
He shut the door behind us.
“You don’t usually come to my room,” he added.
I sat down slowly on the edge of the small couch, raking a hand through my hair.
“I know.”
Gabriel watched me a bit. “What happened?”
I looked up at him.
“…I think I messed up.”
Gabriel didn’t sit. He just stood there with that unreadable expression he wore whenever he was thinking too fast and judging too hard.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “Mess up how?”
I exhaled and leaned forward, elbows on my knees, hands clasped.
“I asked Aurora if she still has feelings for Leonardo.”
There was a pause.
Then a scoff. “You what?”
I looked up.
Gabriel blinked at me. “Alessandro, did you hit your head or are you just, what the hell possessed you to ask her that?”
“I don’t know!” I snapped, instantly defensive.
“It just…it came out. The letter, the stress, everything happening at once. I…I got in my own head.”
Gabriel furrowed his eyes, the way he always did when he smelled bullshit.
“Don’t pull that emotional-overload excuse on me. You’re not seventeen, and she's not seventeen as well.
She’s your mate. You don’t get to interrogate her like she’s guilty of something unless she actually does something wrong.”
“I wasn’t interrogating her.”
“You made her feel like she needed to defend her love for you. That’s worse.”
That shut me up.
He finally walked over and dropped into the chair across from me, tossing the book aside.
“You really think Aurora’s the type to fake a bond? After everything she’s risked for you?”
I swallowed. “No.”
Gabriel raised a brow. “Then why the hell did you make her feel like she had to prove it?”
Silence fell for a long moment.
Then I said quietly, “I guess I just... I saw how she used to look at him. There was a time he was her whole world.”
“And now?” Gabriel asked sharply.
“She’s mine.”
“Exactly. So act like it.” His voice was hard but not unkind.
“Look, I get it. You’ve been through a warzone of betrayal lately, and Leonardo isn’t exactly the easiest person to forget.
But she chose you. And if you keep doubting her, you’re going to drive her away without any help from Leonardo.”
I closed my eyes, the weight of his words sinking deep into my ribs.
“I hate that you’re right,” I muttered.
Gabriel smirked. “It’s a curse I live with daily.”
I chuckled lightly, but it faded fast.
“What do I do now?”
Gabriel leaned back and tapped the side of his book like it was a lectern.
“You apologize. Again. Properly. None of that ‘sorry you’re mad’ crap. And then you do something that shows her what you feel instead of what you fear.”
I nodded, slowly.
“I think I’ll go see her in the morning.”
“You should. Before she decides to throw you off a ba
lcony.”
I snorted.
Gabriel got up and stretched. “Now if you’re done being emotionally unstable, I’d like to finish my book before the sun rises.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I stood and headed for the door.
But just as I opened it—
Boom.
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