9. A Heated Moment.

 I stood frozen, my eyes locked on the familiar stranger before me. The name echoed in my mind and clung to me like an undying curse. Five years had passed since he shattered my world, yet the wound still throbbed like an open sore. 

 I gulped down hard, consumed by his potent scent. My eyes faltered, and I blinked severally, trying to calm myself down. Anya, my wolf, was beginning to get upset, wanting to come off. She was as hurt by his betrayal as I had been.

  His eyes, once bright with warmth, now seemed to hold a mixture of surprise, written off with guilt. My hands tightened on its palm as the feeling of anxiety mixed with resentment snaked through me. 

  The surrounding air thickened with tension, and the movement of everyone seemed to pass like a blur as my eyes locked in an intense moment with Adrian.

 He moved a step closer, and I broke the moment, rolling my eyes away as I turned around to leave, when his husky and miserable voice called my name. 

“Au-Aurora?” He called, with a shaky tone.

 I forced Anya to calm down, whispering to my wolf who wanted to eat this man alive. She had been sick for several weeks, hurt and heart bleeding from Adrian's betrayal and rejection. 

 As he approached me, the air thickened with tension. I could feel my heart racing, my palms growing slick with sweat. The memories came flooding back–the laughter, the tears, the lies. My mind screamed at me to go away, but my legs refused to move.

"Aurora," he whispered my name again, his voice low and hesitant.

 I couldn't respond. My voice was trapped in my throat, suffocated by the emotions swirling inside me.

 I spun around again. His eyes searched mine, as if seeking forgiveness or redemption. But I had none to give.

 The silence between us grew heavier, a breathing entity that threatened to consume me. I felt like I was drowning in the depths of his gaze, unable to escape the pain he had inflicted upon me.

  Alessandro had not moved, watching the moment. I had no idea what could have been going through his own head, but I had to make my way from here as quickly as possible.

 Like a spark igniting a flame, my anger erupted. "Adrian," I spat, my voice venomous. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes faltered, but he took another step closer. "I—"

I raised a hand, halting him. "Don't. Just don't."

 The words hung in the air, a challenge, a warning. The past and present collided in that moment, leaving me seething with rage. Whenever I thought about it, it made me want to kill him, have revenge on him in the cruelest way possible.

“Mommy, who is this?” Kieran asked, raising his eyes to look at Adrian. 

 His eyes reverted to my child, and my heart thudded in an instant. Adrian's eyes narrowed, looking closely at my boy beneath me. I prayed in my mind that he would say nothing about it, but from the inquisitive look on his face, I guessed he had suspected. 

“Aurora, who–”

“Let's go,” I turned to Alessandro, pressing my lips into a thin line as a cloud of thoughts hung over my head. My forehead was creasing with sweat from the intense pressure I felt within me.

“Aurora, you–”

  Andro stepped in front of me, blocking him from reaching out to me, marching into the challenge. Their eyes locked in a pulse-pounding moment, their striking aura bursting in the atmosphere.

“What the hell are you doing?” Adrian asked, gnashing his teeth. His eyes were lit with rage. 

“She already told you to leave. I'm guessing you don't have ears,” Andro challenged with strong words. The tension was palpable, and my hands tightened around Kieran, who was staring at the face-off.

“You seem to be a hero, don't you? Who are you to step into my way? I just want to speak to my–”

“Kieran, l-let’s go inside,” I said, leaning downward towards my child. I grabbed him in my arms, and Alessandro stared at me.

“Please, I will be inside.”

“Aurora, I–” Adrian attempted to come forward, but Alessandro wouldn't let him, pressing his shoulders backward with his hands. 

“I told you to stay away. To deter your nuisance, I am ready to trounce you right here, Adrian. You better step back,” Andro said. His eyes were burning with resentment for Adrian. I'm sure he must have thought about the past and must have been hurt as deeply as I was. 

“You can't stop me from seeing Aurora, Alessandro. I want to–”

“Just go away, Adrian. I don't want to see you,” I said, swallowing my detest for him down my throat. How he shoved hurtful words at me in the past, while rejecting me, leaving me to suffer the inevitable fate of getting banished, humiliated, and being homeless, left to carry his child. All these, I won't forget. 

 He doesn't deserve sympathy, and I wasn't going to spare him any. 

 Andro’s eyes locked on him as he turned to me. 

“Let's go, Aurora,” Alessandro said in a low tone. A glare of anger glued in his eyes. I'm sure he was trying to stop his wolf from coming forward. He curls his arm, and I lock mine in his, while holding Kieran firmly with my other hand, as we walked into the building. 

 I could sense that Adrian was looking, definitely in shock that I was with someone better than him. Perhaps, he imagined that I would be banned and be a whore and rogue, left to suffer shame and disgrace, but his plans have now backfired. 

 The love I bore for him a long time ago had now been replaced by resentment and disdain for him, and there was no going back. I have a new family now, and I won't sacrifice them for anything; definitely not for him.

 He was now a past, one that I want to forget forever.