Aria had spent her entire life swallowing her pain, burying her past, and pretending she didn't care.
But now, sitting across from Kael in the dim glow of his chamber, she felt the weight of those buried memories crushing her.
He was waiting.
He hadn't forced her to speak, hadn't demanded answers. He simply stood there, watching her, waiting.
And for the first time in her life, someone was willing to listen.
She inhaled sharply. "I don't even know where to start."
Kael's voice was steady. "Start from the beginning."
She closed her eyes. And then, she did.
---
The Burden of Being Unwanted
"I was never supposed to be born," she whispered.
Kael didn't interrupt.
"My father wanted a son," she continued, her voice barely above a breath. "When my mother gave birth to me instead, he never forgave her. And he never forgave me either."
She stared down at her hands, as if she could still see the bruises from years of training, of failure, of punishment.
"I tried to prove myself," she said, bitterness lacing her words. "I trained harder than anyone else, fought to be noticed, to be loved. But no matter what I did, my father would only look at me with… disappointment."
She let out a dry laugh. "He told me I was weak. That I would never be anything more than a burden."
Kael's jaw clenched, but he stayed silent, letting her continue.
"My brother Damon made sure I never forgot it," she added, the memory of his cruel smirk flashing in her mind. "He liked to remind me that I wasn't wanted. That I was nothing."
Her fingers curled into fists. "And my mother? She never once defended me. She never even looked at me like I was her child."
The silence in the room felt heavy. Kael was listening, truly listening.
And that terrified her.
Because if he saw her pain, if he understood how broken she was—would he push her away too?
---
The Mate Who Shattered Her
Aria took a shaky breath. "Then came Caleb."
Kael's expression darkened instantly, but he said nothing.
She swallowed hard. "I thought… I thought maybe the Moon Goddess had finally given me something good. That maybe, just maybe, someone was meant to love me."
Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. "But when Caleb realized I was his mate, he looked at me like I was a joke. Like I was… disgusting."
Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to go on.
"He rejected me in front of the whole pack. Laughed at the idea of being tied to me. He told me I wasn't worth his time."
She exhaled slowly. "And my father? He was proud of Caleb for rejecting me. He told me I should be grateful that Caleb spared himself the shame of being my mate."
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away before Kael could see it, but she knew he had noticed.
She felt his presence closer now, his warmth, his steady breath. But he still didn't speak.
Because this wasn't about him.
This was about her finally saying the words she had never been allowed to say.
---
Kael's Reaction
When she finally looked up, she expected Kael to be distant, cold.
But his silver eyes were burning with rage.
Not at her.
For her.
He was gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles were white, as if he were fighting to hold himself back. His entire body was tense, his jaw clenched.
Finally, he exhaled, his voice low, dangerous. "They treated you like that… and you still tried to prove yourself to them?"
Aria swallowed hard. "I didn't know anything else."
Kael let out a sharp breath and turned away, running a hand through his hair.
"Say something," she whispered.
He turned back to her, his gaze intense, unreadable. "I'm trying not to destroy everything in this room."
Her breath caught.
Kael was furious. Not at her. But at everyone who had hurt her.
And for some reason, that made her chest ache.
She had spent her life surrounded by people who didn't care if she was in pain. And now, Kael—**the cold, untouchable alpha—**was barely holding himself together because of her suffering.
"Aria," he said quietly.
She met his gaze.
"You are not weak," he said, his voice low, steady. "You are not worthless."
She opened her mouth to argue, but he stepped closer, cutting her off.
"You survived them." His silver eyes burned into hers. "You survived a father who hated you, a brother who tormented you, a mother who abandoned you, and a mate who never deserved you."
His fingers brushed against her wrist, barely a touch, but enough to send a shiver down her spine.
"You are stronger than any of them will ever be," he murmured.
Aria's heart pounded. Why did his words affect her so much?
Why did she suddenly feel like she could believe him?
Kael let out a slow breath, stepping back as if he needed to put distance between them. "They didn't deserve you, Aria. But I—"
He stopped himself. His expression closed off, his jaw tightening.
For a moment, she thought he might say something else. Something she wasn't ready to hear.
But instead, he turned away. "Get some rest."
He moved toward the door, but before he could leave, Aria spoke.
"Kael."
He paused.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Kael didn't turn around. But she saw the way his shoulders tensed, the way his hand clenched into a fist before he slowly relaxed it.
And then, without another word, he walked out.
Leaving her standing there, heart pounding, breath shaking.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't alone in her pain.
And that scared her more than anything else.