Chapter 10 - His Resolve

Connor’s POV

I took a sharp breath, my wolf clawing beneath my skin, begging me to reach for her. Ivy’s voice was a weapon, slicing through the armor I’d spent years building. But her words—they weren’t just meant to wound. They carried something more, something dangerous. A challenge.

“Aria,” I said softly, taking a deliberate step forward, my voice low and steady despite the storm inside me. “You can pretend this doesn’t affect you, but we both know it’s a lie.”

Her lips curved, a faint smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. “You think you still know me?” She tilted her head, her gaze sharp enough to cut. “You don’t. That girl you left behind? She’s dead, Connor.”

“I don’t believe that,” I growled, the words slipping out before I could stop them. My wolf surged forward, wanting to close the distance, to remind her of what we were. “You can hide behind the name, the suits, the cold indifference, but I see you. I feel you.”

Her laugh was soft but bitter, like shattered glass. “Feel me?” she echoed, stepping closer until there was barely a breath of space between us. “You felt nothing when you rejected me and left me to die. You didn’t feel me breaking.”

The accusation hit harder than any blow. “I didn’t have a choice back then, Aria. I did it to protect you,” I said, my voice rough. “You don’t understand what I—”

“No!” she snapped, her eyes blazing now, the mask slipping just enough to reveal the raw anger beneath. “Don’t you dare justify it. Don’t you dare stand here and act like it was for my benefit. You rejected me, Alpha Connor. And I picked up the pieces.”

I clenched my jaw, every word slicing through my resolve. She was right—I’d left her. But what she didn’t know, what I couldn’t tell her, was the truth behind my decision. The threat that had loomed over her, over us being together.

“Aria, you think I didn’t suffer?” I asked, my voice low, trembling with restraint. “You think it didn’t kill me to leave you? To know that every day I woke up I wasn’t sure if you were dead or alive?”

Her breath hitched, a flicker of vulnerability crossing her face before she buried it. “That doesn’t change what happened.”

“No,” I admitted, stepping closer still, until I could feel the heat radiating from her. “But it doesn’t change this either. Us.”

She swallowed hard, and for a moment, her gaze softened, the walls she’d built cracking just enough to reveal the pain underneath. But just as quickly, they went back up, her expression hardening.

“There is no us, Connor,” she said coldly. “Whatever we were meant to be, died the day you walked away from me.”

The words were a dagger to my chest, but I refused to back down. “You can tell yourself that all you want,” I said, my voice a growl now, “but we both know it’s not true. The bond doesn’t just disappear, Aria. It’s still there. I feel it, and so do you.”

Her eyes flashed with fury, but I caught the faintest flicker of doubt before she turned away, pacing to the window. The city lights framed her like a halo, but there was nothing angelic about the fire burning in her.

“You don’t get to do this,” she said, her back to me. “You don’t get to come back into my life and act like you have a claim on me.”

I moved before I could think, crossing the space between us and grabbing her wrist gently but firmly. She froze, the contact sending a shock through both of us.

“I never stopped having a claim on you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “And you never stopped being mine.”

She turned then, her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. “Don’t,” she said, her voice trembling, but it wasn’t a command—it was almost like a plea.

“I can’t,” I said, my wolf growling in agreement. “Not anymore.”

Before she could respond, the door burst open, and Daniel’s voice broke the moment like a hammer to glass. “Apologies for the interruption, but—” He stopped short, his sharp gaze bouncing between us, his expression flickering with suspicion.

“Ivy?” Daniel’s voice was wary, but she stepped back from me quickly, regaining her composure like a mask sliding back into place.

“Everything’s fine,” she said smoothly, her voice steady again. “Mr. Thompson and I were just…finishing up.”

“Right,” Daniel said, clearly unconvinced but too polite to press the issue. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m waiting right outside.”

He backed out of the room, and the tension between us was unbearable now. Aria turned back to me, her expression unreadable.

“This doesn’t change anything,” she said quietly, her voice cold and firm.

I stepped closer, leaning in until my breath fanned across her cheek. “It changes everything,” I murmured, my voice filled with the promise of a battle I refused to lose.

And as her scent wrapped around me, intoxicating and familiar, I knew one thing with absolute certainty—this time, I wouldn’t walk away.

Her lips twisted into a bitter smirk. “You don’t know anything. I’ll say this for the last time, Connor. That girl you rejected? She’s gone.”

“No,” I said, stepping closer, the pull of her impossible to resist. “She’s standing right here. And you feel this just as much as I do.”

Aria stiffened, her breath hitching for just a moment before she squared her shoulders. “You’re wrong,” she whispered, her tone hard and unforgiving. “There’s nothing left to feel.”

Her words were a lie, and we both knew it. I moved before I could stop myself, my wolf acting faster than my human instinct. I reached for her, my fingers brushing against her wrist, her pulse hammering beneath my touch.

“Aria,” I murmured, my voice rough, as I leaned in closer. “You’ll always be mine.”

She gasped, but not in fear. Her lips parted slightly, her scent filling the air between us, intoxicating and maddening. My wolf surged forward, and before I could stop him, I closed the space between us, my lips grazing hers.

The contact was electric, a spark that ignited everything between us. But before I could deepen the kiss, her palm connected with my cheek, the slap reverberating through the room.

“How dare you?” she seethed, her eyes blazing with fury. “You don’t get to do this, Connor. You don’t get to act like you have a claim on me!”

I opened my mouth to respond, but a sharp knock on the door interrupted us. The sound shattered the tension like glass hitting the floor.

She turned toward the door, her breathing ragged as she saw the figure standing there.