Aiden’s POV
I leaned back against the heavy wood, dragging a hand down my face. Irina’s words—her fury, her pain, the absolute, gut-wrenching truth in them—replayed in my mind on a vicious loop.
‘You hated me. I never understood why, but you hated me.’
“She’s right,” Arlo snarled, his voice a torment in my head. “You’ve been a colossal, prideful fool. And now she thinks you brought another female to torment her. She thinks you want Debbie.”
“I had to!” I growled back, pushing off the door and pacing the room like a caged animal. “I didn’t want the Elders to keep pestering me about taking Julie as a fated mate.”
“You could have told her the truth.”
“Yeah, right, like she would f*****g let me.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, a jarring intrusion. I yanked it out, ready to snap at wh
