chapter 3

The mirror shakes when Aiden punches it.

Cracks spider across the glass, splitting his reflection into broken fragments. He stands there, chest heaving, hand bleeding, but the pain feels cleaner than what burns inside him.

He still smells the Enigma’s scent on his skin. No matter how many showers, how much soap, it’s there — faint, mocking. He scrubs at his neck until it stings, until red replaces the mark, but it doesn’t change anything.

He’s a dominant Alpha. He isn’t supposed to feel small.

Anger rolls through him in waves. He knocks the chair over, curses under his breath. When the noise dies, silence fills the apartment — heavy, accusing. His heart won’t slow down, and every beat whispers the same truth he doesn’t want to face.

He lost control.

---

By nightfall, he’s outside, hood pulled low, city lights painting him in gold and blue. The streets buzz, but he walks fast, hands shoved in his pockets, trying to outrun his own scent.

He ends up where he always does when the world is too loud — Noah’s bar.

A dim place tucked behind an alley, the smell of coffee and spice spilling out with the smoke.

Noah spots him the second he walks in. “You look like hell,” he says, sliding a glass of water instead of whiskey.

“Thanks,” Aiden mutters, dropping onto a stool. “You always know how to flatter me.”

Noah leans on the counter, eyes scanning Aiden’s face. “What happened?”

Aiden laughs once, but it’s hollow. “You ever feel like your body just… betrayed you?”

“That’s a loaded question.”

“I’m serious.”

He drags a hand through his hair, eyes glassy. “At the masquerade… something happened. With Luzian Vale.”

The name itself tightens the air between them.

Noah straightens. “The Enigma king?”

Aiden nods once. His throat feels dry. “He lost control. I didn’t walk away. And now—” he stops, voice breaking. “Now I can’t stop remembering how it felt. I was— I couldn’t—”

Noah doesn’t interrupt. He just lets the words fall, quiet and heavy.

“I’m an Alpha, Noah,” Aiden says, barely above a whisper. “We’re built to lead, to dominate. Not to yield. But that night I did. I let it happen. And I hate myself for it.”

For a moment, the only sound is the hum of the neon sign outside. Then Noah sighs softly.

“Aiden… instincts don’t care about titles. You got caught in something bigger than pride. That doesn’t erase who you are.”

Aiden shakes his head. “Feels like it does.”

“Then let it hurt,” Noah says gently. “Let it break you a little, but don’t stay there. You’re still you. One night doesn’t change that.”

Aiden stares at him, eyes tired but flickering with the smallest spark of relief. “You always talk like you’ve got everything figured out.”

“Please,” Noah says with a faint smile, “I’m just good at sounding wise.”

Aiden huffs a weak laugh. The tension in his shoulders eases, just barely. “You think I’ll forget it someday?”

“Maybe not forget,” Noah says, “but you’ll learn to breathe around it.”

---

The city hums outside, and Aiden finally exhales.

The shame doesn’t vanish, but it loosens its grip. For tonight, that’s enough.

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