Chapter 16

Hade’s Pov

Immediately, Anita push me off her body and struggled up quickly, making way to run out but then, I reached out, grabbing her arm before she could escape.

“Wait! Why are you leaving?” I said with an agonizing tone.

She tried pulling her hands away slightly, but I held on, confused by her sudden urge to run. Her eyes were wide and I could see her heart thumping loudly against her chest as if she couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

“I shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice trembling. “What if your mate shows up? I don’t want to be misunderstood.”

Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water, sobering me up just a little. My mate?

Although her concerns were real, and in that moment, I realized how all of this must have looked from her perspective.

I scoffed, releasing her arm, but not moving away from her. “She’s not coming here,” I muttered, bitterness seeping into my voice. “She wouldn’t. Not now. Not ever.”

Anita’s brow furrowed, clearly not understanding the weight behind my words. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t she?”

I turned away, trying to mask the pain that surged up every time I thought about Anita. My mate.

“Because she’s with someone else. She doesn’t care about me. She never did.” The words felt raw in my throat, but they were the truth, “She wouldn’t care enough to come looking for me.”

Anita opened her mouth, probably to protest or offer some kind of sympathy, but before she could say anything, another knock echoed through the room, cutting through the tension like a knife.

Both of us turned to look at the door at once.

"Alpha Hades, it's me. I'm here now." Damien's voice blared out.

I swore under my breath and quickly straightened my clothes, wiping my hand across my face to push away any lingering signs of what had just happened.

I couldn’t let him see me like this. Drunk, disordered, and emotionally compromised. He’d have questions. Questions I wasn’t ready to answer.

He'd think I was here having fun with Anita. Not the usual fun though. Those exciting ones, ones that couples usually have.

Yes. I mean them.

I shot Anita a quick glance. She was standing stiffly near the couch, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if she were bracing for something. She didn’t want to be here any more than I did, but we had no choice. Damian wasn’t the type to leave without answers.

With a sigh, I walked to the door and opened it. Damian stood there, his sharp gaze flicking between me and Anita with a disguised suspicion.

Although he didn’t say anything at first,he'd just took in the scene. I could see his eyes moving from the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the table, the faint scent of alcohol in the air, and the way both Anita and I looked like we’d just been caught in something we couldn’t explain.

“Alpha,” Damian greeted with a bow, his voice stiff but respectful, though I could hear the undercurrent of concern in it.

He stepped inside, his eyes lingering on Anita for a brief moment before focusing back on me.

“Damian,” I responded, nodding, trying to maintain some semblance of control.

The silence that followed was thick and uncomfortable. I could feel Damian’s unspoken questions hanging in the air.

He wasn’t stupid. He could sense the tension between Anita and me, but he was too professional to address it directly. Not yet, at least.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Damian cleared his throat and pulled out a stack of papers from his coat. “The annulment papers, as you requested.” He said, stretching his hand to me.

I reached for them, my hand steady but my insides in turmoil. Holding those papers felt like the final nail in the coffin, the end of whatever hope I had once clung to. I glanced at them briefly, then folded them under my arm.

“Thank you,” I said in a harsh tone, my voice harsher than I intended.

Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly, and for a second, I thought he might push the issue, but he didn’t. Instead, he glanced at the whiskey bottle on the table again and then back at me. Then, the concern in his eyes deepened.

“You’ve been drinking?” he stated, not as a normal question, but with a quiet observation of me.

I stiffened, not wanting to admit how much I’d had, but there was no point denying it. The evidence was right there. Right here, in front of me.

“It’s nothing,” I said dismissively, turning away from him and walking back toward the couch. “Just clearing my head.”

But Damian didn’t let it go.

His expression darkened, and his voice lowered, just enough to convey the seriousness of what he was about to say. “Alpha, you know that alcohol slows down your healing process. Your wolf is still recovering from that injury, and drinking won’t help. You’re putting yourself at risk.”

I froze instantly, my chest tightening. Of course, he was right. I had completely forgotten about my wolf’s injury in the haze of the evening. The whiskey had dulled not just my senses but my whole being as well.

Damian’s eyes darted to Anita again, as if suddenly realizing he had overstepped in front of her.

He cleared his throat, lowering his gaze slightly. “I apologize, Alpha. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

I rubbed a hand over my face, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me. The embarrassment of being caught like this, drunk, injured, and emotionally compromised, was almost too much to bear.

“It’s fine,” I muttered, waving off his apology. “You’re right. I’ve been reckless.” I admitted.

Damian said nothing, but I could see the worry etched in his face. He had always been my most loyal Beta, and seeing me like this wasn’t easy for him. But he wasn’t here to babysit me. I wouldn't let him do that either.