Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 346

Aurora’s P.O.V

I stood stunned, the echo of Caleb’s raised voice still hanging in the air like smoke after a fire. I wasn’t used to him like this—tense, voice sharp with frustration, his fingers digging into his temple like he was trying to rub the chaos out of his mind. My brows knitted, a slight ache forming in my chest because the last thing I had wanted was this—a fight. Especially not with Caleb. Especially not when we had slowly been coming out of the horrors of Lucas and Harmona’s incident.

“I didn’t mean for us to start a fight,” I said quietly, the words catching a little on my tongue as I folded my arms, trying to steady myself. “That wasn’t my intention, Caleb. I just…” I shook my head, unable to finish the sentence without my voice trembling.

His eyes flicked up, and the edge in them softened, but only just. “Starting a fight with you is the last thing I want to do,” he muttered, stepping away from the wall he’d been practically leaning into for support. “You think I want to be the one standing here, telling you there’s nothing we can do? I hate this, Aurora. Every part of it.”

I stayed quiet, watching him pace like a man with fire at his heels. His voice was rough, low, not angry anymore…just tired. “But the situation is already out of hand. We can’t lock them up. We can’t tie them to chairs and force them to listen. Hell, we can’t even threaten them because it won’t make a damn difference. Jade and Maggie… they’re doing this of their own free will.”

He looked at me then, really looked, and I could see the wear in his face. The bags under his eyes. The strain around his mouth. “It’s not in our hands anymore. And believe me, if I could yank Jade out of this madness, I would. I’ve tried. Caroline’s tried.”

I blinked at the mention of her name, arms still crossed but tighter now, not in defiance but in an attempt to hold my heart together. “Caroline knew as well?” I asked, my voice just above a whisper.

Caleb nodded. “We both saw Jade and Maggie together at the same time. We tried to reason with him. Caroline begged him to understand, Aurora. She practically broke down, because she knew how important Ashton and Maggie are to you. And Jade…he just looked at us like we didn’t understand. Like we were the ones getting in the way of their epic love or some shit.”

My throat was dry. I hated feeling this helpless. I hated watching people I cared about walking into flames with their eyes wide open and smiling. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He sighed, stepping closer now, his voice gentler. “Because I didn’t want to dump this on you. Because I thought maybe—just maybe—they’d come to their senses without us pushing. And maybe… I didn’t want you to look at me like this. Like I failed.”

I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. All the words I wanted to say—the anger, the fear, the sadness—knotted up in my chest. I didn’t want to blame him. I didn’t want to blame anyone. But it was getting harder and harder not to.

“I don’t want it be like this, Caleb, but it hurts that you knew what was happening between Maggie and Jade and you…chose not to tell me.” My voice cracked despite the firm tone I’d tried to maintain. “I thought I was the only one who could see how wrong this was, how dangerous—how unreal—and all this time you were just sitting on it like it wasn’t going to blow up in our faces? Caleb…why didn’t you just tell me earlier?”

“I didn’t think it would get this far,” he said, and there was something in his voice—something tired and heavy, like he’d been carrying this guilt far longer than I knew. “I thought it was fixed, Aurora. Jade promised he would back off, that he understood.”

I nodded, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “This isn't like Jade at all, is it? I mean…he’s the most practical one of us all, the cool headed guy who always reads the room before any of us do…the guy we all turn to for reason. Seeing him break his own rules…behave like he doesn’t know what’s to come…it just isn't like Jade.”

He looked away for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck like the weight of this was just now settling on him. “I guess I wanted to believe Jade wasn’t acting like himself recent. I didn’t see the point in dragging up old wounds, not when I thought we had closure. But he—he’s more stubborn than I gave him credit for. I always knew that about him, but seeing him like this has me confused as well.”

I shook my head, worry eating up my insides still. After watching what had happened with Mia and Shane…I just couldn’t see Maggie go through the same…broken and hurt by her first love, while Jade would still be here, parading around with his mate, acting like nothing had happened between them. God…how painful that might be…

“I was trying to protect you,” he said, softer now, stepping closer. “I really thought I had handled it. I tried, Aurora. God knows I tried. Before it spun out of control again. But I failed. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I thought I was sparing you the pain.”

I didn’t say anything for a while. The storm in my chest had quieted, but the wreckage remained. His eyes searched mine, pleading, waiting. And the worst part? I believed him. I knew he’d tried. But believing didn’t make it hurt any less.

“So what now?” I asked, the words trembling as they left my lips. “We just… stand by? Let them be happy knowing it’s all going to come crashing down?”

Caleb sighed and reached for me, drawing me slowly into his arms. My body stiffened, then reluctantly gave in, because damn it, I needed to be held. I needed something real in a sea of deception.

“For now,” he whispered into my hair, “we let them have their happiness. Even if it’s borrowed time. Some lessons…” He paused, tightening his embrace. “Some lessons can’t be taught. They have to be lived. They need to feel the heartbreak. To learn the hard way that fate doesn’t bend just because we want it to.”

I closed my eyes, torn between anger and sorrow, between loyalty and helplessness. “It’s not fair,” I mumbled, my voice muffled against his chest.

“No,” he said softly. “It never is.”

And we just stood there, clinging to each other in the silence, as the weight of what we couldn't control hung heavy in the air.