I Let Her Go

I should’ve killed him.

The moment Kael dragged Aria out of my ballroom, I should’ve shifted and ripped his throat out in front of everyone.

But I didn’t.

Because if I did, the council would declare me unfit to rule. And if I’m not Alpha, I can’t protect her.

So I stood there. I watched my twin steal the only woman I’ve ever loved.

And I let him.

The worst part? She didn’t fight him.

Not really.

When Kael said _“You’re mine now,”_ her eyes didn’t fill with fear. They filled with something worse.

Hope.

I’ve been pacing my office for six hours.

The council meeting is in three days. They’re calling it a “parley.” What it really is, is a trial. Kael will claim he took her to protect her from my father’s debt. He’ll paint me as the cruel Alpha who rejected his mate and let her be sold to rogues.

And he won’t be wrong.

Because I did reject her.

---

*[Flashback – One Year Ago, Before the Ceremony]*

The council chamber smelled like old blood and politics.

My father sat at the head of the table, his eyes cold.

“You will reject her, Kade,” he said. No greeting. No fatherly advice. Just orders.

“I won’t.”

“Then the pack will fall.”

I clenched my fists. “Aria is strong. She’s—”

“She’s an Omega,” my father cut me off. “The Red Moon Pack has never had an Omega Luna. The other packs will see it as weakness. They’ll challenge us. They’ll take our territory. Your mother’s death will mean nothing.”

My mother died protecting the border from rogues. If I chose Aria, their deaths would be in vain.

“Kaia is a pureblood Alpha,” my father continued. “Her father will ally with us. Our borders will be secure. Our people will be safe.”

“And Aria?”

“She’ll live. She’ll find another mate. Omegas always do.”

Liar.

I knew what rejection did to a wolf. I’d seen it before. It didn’t just break the bond. It broke the soul.

But I was Alpha.

And Alphas don’t choose love over duty.

Not if they want their people to survive.

So I walked into that circle and I said the words that killed a part of me.

_“I reject you, Aria Blackwood.”_

I didn’t look at her when she fell. I couldn’t.

But I heard it.

The sound her wolf made when it realized it had been abandoned.

It haunts me every night.

---

***_[Present]

My Beta, Rhys, knocked twice before entering.

“She’s alive,” he said without preamble. “Kael posted a photo on the Dark Ridge private network. Aria’s eating breakfast. No injuries.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Where?”

“His mansion. Heavy guards. He’s expecting us.”

I slammed my fist on the desk. “Of course he is. He wants a war.”

“He wants you to fight for her,” Rhys said carefully. “That’s different.”

I glared at him. “Don’t defend him.”

“I’m not. But Kade… you need to see it. Kael’s been obsessed with her since the rejection. He thinks you threw away the strongest mate you’ll ever have.”

“She’s an Omega.”

“She’s the only wolf I’ve seen walk out of a rejection ceremony without begging,” Rhys said flatly. “That’s not weakness. That’s strength.”

I didn’t answer.

Because he was right.

Aria didn’t beg. She didn’t cry in public. She stood up, blood on her dress, and walked out with her head high.

I’d never seen anyone do that before.

Including me.

“Prepare the delegation,” I said finally. “We go to Dark Ridge in three days.”

Rhys hesitated. “And if she refuses to come back?”

Then I lose her.

For real this time.

“Then I let her go,” I said. The words tasted like ash. “But I won’t let Kael have her without a fight.”

Rhys nodded and left.

I sank into my chair and dropped my head into my hands.

Aria.

God, Aria.

Do you hate me now?

Do you miss me?

Do you want him?

---

I didn’t sleep that night.

Instead, I pulled out the old box under my bed.

Inside were things I never threw away.

A scarf she knitted for me when we were seventeen. It still smelled like her - vanilla and rain.

A drawing she made of me as a wolf. Her handwriting on the back: _“To my future Alpha. Don’t forget to smile.”_

A small vial of my blood. She’d asked for it during our first rut, when the bond was strong and we thought we had forever.

I unscrewed the cap and inhaled.

Her scent hit me like a punch to the gut.

Faint now. Overpowered by Kael’s.

He’d marked her. Not a mating mark. Just a claiming scent. A warning to other wolves: _She’s under my protection.*

It made me sick.

It made me hard.

Fuck.

I’m pathetic.

I rejected her. I let her bleed alone. And now I’m jealous because my brother touched her.

But I can’t help it.

Aria was mine first.

The moon chose us.

Kael can’t change that.

---

Three days passed in a blur of meetings, strategy, and sleepless nights.

On the morning of the parley, I stood at the edge of Dark Ridge territory with twenty of my best warriors behind me.

Kael was waiting at the gates.

Alone.

He looked different. Stronger. More dangerous.

And when he saw me, he smiled.

Not a nice smile.

“You came,” he said.

“You knew I would.”

“Yeah.” He tilted his head. “But I wasn’t sure if you came for her… or for me.”

“Both.”

Kael laughed. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

The gates opened behind him.

Aria stepped out.

She looked different.

Stronger. Her shoulders were back. Her eyes were clear. No more fear.

She was wearing black, her hair pulled back tight, and there was a faint scar on her jaw that hadn’t been there before.

Kael had been training her.

My wolf snarled at the thought.

Aria’s eyes met mine.

For a second, everything else disappeared.

The bond flared to life, weak but there. Like a dying ember refusing to go out.

“Kade,” she said quietly.

“Aria,” I replied.

I wanted to run to her. To pull her into my arms and never let go.

But Kael stepped between us.

“Remember the rules,” he said calmly. “She chooses. No force. No threats. No pack law.”

I wanted to tear his throat out.

Instead, I nodded.

Aria looked between us, conflict clear on her face.

“Kade,” she said again. “Why did you really reject me?”

The question hit me like a physical blow.

Because if I told her the truth now, I’d lose her forever.

But if I lied, I’d lose her respect.

I chose the truth.

“Because my father threatened to kill your father if I didn’t,” I said. “Because he said the pack would fall if I chose an Omega. Because I was a coward, Aria. I chose my pack over you.”

Silence.

Aria’s face didn’t change.

But her eyes did.

“You let me think I wasn’t enough,” she said softly. “You let me bleed alone.”

“I know,” I said. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it right if you let me.”

Aria glanced at Kael.

Then back at me.

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” she said. “Not yet.”

My heart dropped.

“But,” she continued, “I’m not leaving with either of you today.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

Mine did too.

“I need time,” Aria said. “Time to decide who I am without either of you deciding for me.”

Kael stepped forward. “Aria—”

“No,” she said firmly. “I said no force. That includes you, Kael.”

For a second, I thought he’d ignore her.

But he didn’t.

He stepped back, fury and respect warring on his face.

“Fine,” he said. “You have a week.”

“A week,” Aria agreed.

She looked at me one last time.

“I’m not the same girl you rejected, Kade. If you want me back, you’ll have to earn me.”

Then she turned and walked back inside the gates.

Alone.

---

Kael and I stood there in silence.

For the first time in years, we weren’t fighting.

Because we both lost.

“She’s stronger than you remember,” Kael said quietly.

“I know.”

“She’s stronger than both of us.”

I nodded.

Kael looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time since we were kids.

“You still love her,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“So do I.”

I tensed, ready for a fight.

But Kael just sighed.

“If she chooses you, I’ll let her go,” he said. “But if she chooses me… you stay away, Kade. For good.”

I wanted to say no.

But I couldn’t.

Because Aria deserved a choice.

Even if it broke me.

“Deal,” I said.

Kael nodded once, then turned and walked back inside.

Leaving me alone with my regret.

---

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

I kept seeing Aria’s face. The way she looked at me - not with love, not with hate.

With doubt.

I deserved it.

I pulled out her scarf again and wrapped it around my hand.

Her scent was almost gone.

“Come back to me, Aria,” I whispered to the empty room. “Please.”

But deep down, I knew.

If she chose Kael, I’d let her go.

Because that’s what love is.

Letting go.

Even when it kills you.