Chapter 4 Alexandru

I bite back a growl, fury radiating through me like wildfire. I stare at her, really stare, and all I see is a stranger. The Adele I knew is gone. She's not here anymore, and it breaks my heart in ways I can't even begin to explain.

"I am not your fucking mate, Alexandru!" she yells, and the sting of her rejection slams into me like a tidal wave.

She's furious. Her eyes flash with something that feels like hatred.

"I'm tired. I'm done, with this, with you. I'm not your mate. I've never been. Get it through your thick Lycan skull, I'm not yours. You're not mine. You never were."

"Ah," I murmur, a hollow sound.

The party falls into silence. All eyes are on us, on her. The room holds its breath.

I stretch out my hand. "Let's talk. Just you and me. Away from all this."

"No." Her voice slices through the air, sharp and final.

"Don't you get it? There's no you and me. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to be near you, be with you. I want nothing to do with you. I left for a reason, and I'm not coming back. I hate this fucking place, it always made me feel like the odd one out. And I hate the way you make me feel. I hate it."

She turns to her parents.

"This place is not my home. You are not my home. My home is in New York. That's where my family is." She breathes heavily. "I'm here because of you. But I'm never coming back. I don't have the energy or capacity for this. Please, don't ask me to."

Then she looks at me.

"You're deluding yourself. Trying to build me into something I'm not. I'm not yours. I'm not your mate, if such a thing even exists. Let me go. Leave me alone."

I stare at her, feeling a piece of me break. She's shattering my heart right in front of everyone.

"Adaline..." her mother whispers, sorrow in her voice.

But Adele just shakes her head.

I inhale sharply, clenching my fists, about to speak, when her phone rings.

The name lights up: Cyp🤍.

She looks relieved as she answers. "Excuse me," she says, a smile breaking across her face. "Hey, babe."

I growl.

"Don't, Luc," Elena says, gripping my arm.

Only then do I realize I'd taken a step toward Adele.

"Alex. Don't you dare. Leave the girl alone," Rick commands.

I freeze. I have to obey the Alpha.

"Are you sure, Alex?" Camille asks gently.

But I know what she's really asking.

Are you sure she's your mate?

"I... I don't know," I say quietly, blinking hard.

"Aurora's a big girl," Faye says. "Let her make her own choices. You can't force her to be yours. She's right."

"Alexandru," Pietro adds, "I believe you. Maybe she is your mate. Maybe she's in denial. But there's nothing you can do. She's my daughter, and she's stubborn. Selfish, sometimes. I hoped she'd stay. But it's out of my hands."

"She has a boyfriend," I say, my voice hoarse. "She doesn't feel at home here. She's the odd one out. She... she needs to leave."

The realization is brutal.

I'm in love with Adele.

And it's unrequited.

Maybe she's right. Maybe I've been living in a fantasy. But now it's time to face the truth.

It's time to let her go.

"You'll find someone," Elena says gently as I turn and walk away.

__

Unrequited love is brutal. Especially for a man raised to believe in strength, control, stoicism. I feel sadness, frustration, even shame. I question everything, what I did wrong, why she doesn't feel the same. I feel like I'm losing something I never even had.

I don't tell anyone. Why would I? It's just feelings. They'll fade.

__

"You have a boyfriend," I say, lighting a cigarette.

She's leaning against the wall, remnants of a smile fading. She stares at me, guarded, braced.

I raise a hand in surrender, puffing out smoke. "I'm not starting anything."

"Yes. I have a boyfriend," she says, chin lifted.

I nod. "Cool."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asks.

I've had girlfriends. One lasted two years. But no one's ever been Adele. I guess I'm part of the Mateless now. I could date anyone. But I don't want to.

"Do you want me to give up on you?" I blurt out, crushing the cigarette beneath my boot.

She falters. There's confusion in her eyes, but only for a moment.

"Yes," she says firmly. "You need to move on. I have a complete life. I'm in love, I have an amazing best friend, a fabulous career. What more could I want?"

"You love your life?" I ask, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

"Yes. And I can't say the same about you," she snaps.

"Excuse me?"

"You feel fulfilled? Here? In New Orleans? You could be anywhere, yet you settle for this place. You're not happy here. You've got this obsession with duty and family and community. You could be more."

I laugh, bitter. "More?"

She crosses her arms. "You could."

"You've got some nerve," I say. "Where do you get that audacity from?"

I take another drag. "This is my home. It has witches, werewolves, and humans. I am exactly who I want to be. I don't pretend. I don't lie to myself. I'd die for this place. Don't talk about us. You're not part of us. Remember?"

There's fire in her eyes. Good.

"You're killing yourself," she mutters.

"I'm a Lycan," I say flatly.

She exhales, her eyes dimming.

"We're both happy," I say, trying not to grimace.

She nods. Her eyes are bright. Mine are dead.

"This is me saying goodbye, properly." She smiles and extends her hand.

I take it. Her skin is soft. I hate how good it feels.

"Goodbye, Aurora," I say.

But then I explode.

"You're running away!" I snap.

Her brows arch.

"You're impossible," she says, shaking her head.

"Oh, fuck you. You're the one running, from yourself. How fast can you run from your shadow?"

She bristles. "Is it so hard to believe I can be happy without you? I am happy, Alex. I might get married soon. Might become Dean. Zoe's about to be Head Chef. My life is complete."

I stare at her, trying to understand.

"I'll move to a condo. Honeymoon in Paris. Maybe France. Kids in a few years. I have a plan. A life. And I won't let you ruin it. Who do you think you are? You don't even know me anymore. You want to tear apart everything I built because it doesn't fit your idea of 'family.' I worked hard to get here. Alone. Without you. So how dare you?"

She's heaving, angry, trembling.

"You want to build a life away from us? From your real family?" I ask, voice rough.

She laughs bitterly. "You are not my family. Cyp and Zoe are my family!"

I step back, looking at the sky.

"Tell me if this sounds familiar," I begin.

She watches, wary.

"You have everything, a full life, a plan, success. But there's a void. An emptiness. Sometimes you feel sad for no reason. Lonely in crowds. It hits you in waves, grief that doesn't belong to anyone. A quiet sadness that lives in your chest. You push it down, keep going. But it never really leaves."

She says nothing.

"You want to be loved. But you think you're unlovable. You want to be enough for yourself. But you barely like yourself. You cried watching Little Women because you saw Jo March, saw yourself, and it broke you. You want to be known for greatness, not love. And yet... you're still so lonely."

I step closer.

"Does that sound familiar?"

She stares at me.

And I wait.

I lean back against the wall, watching her as she processes my words. She's different now, grown, but still stubborn, annoyingly so.

"No." She whispers, and I can't hide the sting of disappointment.

"Okay. I hope you find what you're looking for. Goodbye, Aurora." I say, turning away.

"You're an asshole!" she yells after me, but I don't look back. I walk away, knowing full well she lied, and so did I.

__

"She's gone." Camille says quietly, sipping her tea.

It's past midnight. None of us have been able to sleep.

"I'm sorry." I say, sitting down beside her.

We sit under the pale moonlight, each lost in our own thoughts.

"I did everything I could." I add, as if that alone could ease the ache inside me.

"I know, son," Pietro says with a sad chuckle.

"Adaline's always been stubborn."

"She wasn't right about us." I say, but it sounds more like a question than a statement.

"Alex, this isn't a military operation," Rick says gently.

"We're not running a totalitarian regime. We all have choices, just like she did. No one is forced to stay in the family. You could leave if you wanted. Aurora's made a life for herself, and I respect her for standing by it. Sure, she could have everything here, but it's not enough for her. We'd be cowards and hypocrites to shame her for sticking to her choice. It's a bold move, painful as it may be."

"I'm fine. Painful? Absolutely not. I haven't seen her in years. I don't even know her anymore." I say, voice flat.

"She'll come back to us, to me." Camille says hopefully.

I want to believe her, but deep down, I doubt it. Adele is gone.