The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 121

Athena's POV

"What... what are you doing here?" I stutter, my voice barely above a whisper. "How did you get here?"

My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. I thought I was being careful. I thought I was quiet enough that no one would hear me leave. But here he is, standing in the middle of the street like he's been waiting for me.

Like he knew exactly what I was planning to do.

He doesn't say anything. He just stares at me with this look that makes me want to disappear into the ground.

The intensity of his gaze forces me to lower mine. I can't look at him anymore. I can't stand to see what's written all over his face.

Disappointment. Hurt. Pain that I put there by trying to run away from them again.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, the words coming out all shaky and pathetic.

But he still doesn't say anything. He just turns his back to me and starts walking toward the house. Each step he takes away from me feels like a knife in my chest.

I stand there for what feels like forever, watching him walk away. My feet won't move. My brain can't process what just happened.

He caught me trying to leave and now he's walking away from me without saying a single word.

Maybe this is it. Maybe he's finally had enough of my running and my fear and my inability to trust him, myself or anyone else. Maybe he's decided I'm not worth the effort anymore.

The thought makes me want to throw up.

After a while, his steps slow down. He stops completely and looks back at me over his shoulder. There's something in his expression that I can't quite read.

I raise a confused brow. Why did he stop? What does he want?

But then I see the look on his face more clearly. It's expectation. He's waiting for something.

"Oh," I mutter in understanding. He's waiting for me.

He's not walking away from me forever. He's walking home and expecting me to follow him. The relief that floods through me is so strong it makes my knees weak.

I take hesitant steps toward him. He still doesn't say anything. When I finally reach him, close enough to touch if I wanted to, that's when he starts moving again.

Still silent. Still not looking at me.

The quiet between us is suffocating. I want to explain myself, to tell him why I tried to leave. But the words stick in my throat.

How do I explain that I was trying to protect him by abandoning him? How do I make him understand that running away felt like the only way to keep him safe, to keep them safe?

We walk back to the house in complete silence. My mind is racing with all the things I want to say, but none of them seem right. None of them seem like enough.

When we reach the guest room, I enter first. My hands are shaking as I listen to him follow me in. The moment he's inside, he locks the door and slides the key into his pocket before climbing onto the bed.

I stand there watching him, feeling surprised and amused despite everything. He's actually locking me in. He's making sure I can't sneak out again.

"Tristan," I say softly.

He doesn't respond. He just lies down with his back to me, like he's planning to go to sleep and pretend this whole thing never happened.

I walk toward the bed with a small smile on my face. I can't help it. I've never seen Tristan sulking before.

This strong, confident man is actually pouting because I tried to run away. It's almost cute in a heartbreaking sort of way.

I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at his back. His shoulders are tense, and I can tell he's not actually trying to sleep. He's just avoiding looking at me.

"I'm sorry," I try again.

Nothing. He doesn't even twitch.

"T, look at me." Still nothing.

"Won't you look at me?" My voice breaks on the last part, and that's what finally gets his attention.

He turns toward me immediately, and I'm surprised by what I see in his face.

There's no anger there. No frustration or irritation. Just pain and worry and something that looks like fear.

"Babe," he says, and his voice sounds pleading.

"I'm sorry," he continues, and now I'm the one who's confused.

"No, I'm sorry," I say quickly. "You're all trying your best for me, and what did I do? I tried to run away."

The sadness in my own voice surprises me, I didn't realize how much guilt I was carrying until the words came out.

"I just don't want to be the reason anyone gets hurt again."

That's the truth of it. That's the fear that's been eating me alive since this whole thing started. I can't stand the thought of being responsible for more pain, more death, more suffering.

He moves closer to me on the bed and cups my face with his hands. His touch is gentle, careful, like he's handling something precious that might break.

"Listen to me," he says, his eyes locked on mine. "You're not the reason all this happened." I raise my brow at that.

The look on his face breaks my heart. There's so much pain there, so much guilt that mirrors my own.

"It's all my fault," he says quietly.

"What are you saying? What's your fault?"

My stomach drops. Please don't tell me he's blaming himself for this too. Please don't tell me he's been carrying this guilt around while I've been drowning in my own.

"If I hadn't made you leave six years ago," he starts, and I can see the self-hatred in his eyes. "I keep seeing that night. Those hurtful things I said. They drove you away."

The words hit me like a blow. I had no idea Tristan was blaming himself for what happened. I had no idea he was replaying that night over and over in his head, torturing himself with memories of the things he said.

It makes me wonder if Orion is doing the same thing, If they're all blaming themselves for different parts of this mess.

We're all carrying guilt that belongs to someone else.

"That's not your fault," I say desperately. "Meeting Daxon was my fault. I was the one who was too blind to realize that what I thought was love wasn't love at all."

But I can tell my words are falling on deaf ears, he's not hearing me any more than I heard him when he told me none of this was my fault.

What he says next completely destroys me.

"If I hadn't left that night I got a call too, I'd left you alone and that was why they were able to kidnap you. That was why Daxon and Seraphine were able to take you."

My heart bleeds for the man sitting across from me. I can see his pain through his eyes and feel it through our bond. It's overwhelming, this guilt he's been carrying. This belief that he's responsible for everything that went wrong.

"I made all this happen," he continues, his voice getting quieter with each word. "I was the reason you left six years ago, and I'm the reason you're trying to leave now."

I shake my head frantically, tears pouring down my face. "No, that's not true. None of this is your fault."

He reaches toward me to wipe my tears, but I move back immediately. The hurt that flashes across his face when I pull away from his touch makes me want to die.

But I can't let him touch me again, not when I'm this emotional that it might trigger whatever is inside me. Not when the power under my skin is humming with all the pain and fear and guilt swirling around inside me.

"I don't want to hurt you," I explain, wiping my own tears away with shaking hands.

"I trust you, Ath," he says softly. "I trust you with my life."

The simple words hit me harder than any argument or explanation could have. He trusts me. Even after everything that's happened, even knowing what I'm capable of, he still trusts me completely.

I nod and move toward him, wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. His body tenses, but not from fear. From surprise. Like he didn't expect me to actually touch him.

"I'll do it," I say into his shoulder. "I'll try to heal you today."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll control whatever is inside of me and teach it to be good. I'll teach it to save lives instead of taking them."

The words feel strange coming out of my mouth. For days, I've thought of this power as nothing but a curse.

As something evil that needs to be contained or destroyed. But maybe Tristan is right, maybe it doesn't have to be that way.

Maybe I can change what it is. Maybe I can turn it into something good.

Tristan hugs me tighter, and I can feel some of the tension leaving his body.

"You're going to change the world," he says when we pull away from each other. "You're a cure, not a curse."

Those words break something open inside me. I move toward him again and hug him harder, letting the tears fall freely now. But these are different tears. They're not tears of fear or guilt or despair.

They're tears of gratitude. Gratitude for the family I have, for friends who care about me enough to risk everything.

Gratitude for a mate who believes in me even when I don't believe in myself.

When Tristan pulls away and looks at me, I think he's going to kiss me. I can see it in his eyes, the want and the love and the need to be close to me.

But he doesn't.

"I want to kiss you," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "I want to show you how much I love you."

My breath hitches at the intensity in his voice.

"But I won't. Not now. When everything is over."

I nod, understanding what he means. When the danger is past. When I have control of this power. When we can touch each other without fear.

"Let's get this done with immediately," I say, making him laugh.

It's one of the first genuine laughs I've heard from him in days. It's light and warm and like medicine for my broken heart.

We walk out of the room holding hands. I'm still wearing the protective gloves, but it's something. It's a connection.

Orion and Sarah are surprised when they see us holding hands. I can tell they want to ask what changed, but they don't. They just give us small smiles and nod like they understand.

We eat breakfast together, and for a few minutes it almost feels normal. Like we're just a family having a quiet morning meal together.

Derek arrives while we're finishing up. He's carrying a bag that I don't want to think too hard about. The bag with the silver knife and whatever else they think they'll need for this insane plan.

We all sit together in the living room to go over the details one more time. Where we'll do it. How long to wait before trying to heal him. What to do if something goes wrong.

Each detail makes this feel more real. More terrifying.

"Are you ready?" Derek asks me.

I look around the room at all these people who love me. Who are willing to risk everything for me. Who believe in me even when I don't believe in myself.

"It's time," I say.

And somehow, despite everything, I actually mean it.

The fear is still there. The doubt is still there. But underneath all of that, there's something new.

Hope.

Maybe I really can do this. Maybe I really can turn this curse into something good. Maybe Tristan is right and I really can change the world.

There's only one way to find out.

"Let's do this," I say, standing up from my chair.