Chapter 130 CHAPTER 131: Questions in the Dark

Chapter 130 CHAPTER 131: Questions in the Dark
ARIA’S POV

I slammed my water bottle down onto the gym bench so hard the plastic cap popped off and rolled across the floor. I was sick of it. Absolutely sick of it.

Aria was confused by the way the brothers started behaving after the championship. They had always been protective, but now it felt completely different. Before, it was usually because Bianca had done something or because she was in immediate danger. This time, it felt constant. Someone was always checking where she was. Someone was always texting her. Someone was always offering to take her home.

My phone buzzed in my sports bag again. I pulled it out, glaring at the screen. Another text message. This time it was from Reed: Are you done at the gym? I am pulling into the parking lot. Wait for me outside.

I groaned out loud, running both hands through my damp hair. At first, I assumed they were simply worried because of everything that happened recently, but after several days, I started getting annoyed.

I had been training hard for a while because I was tired of being weak and helpless. Every single day, I pushed my body to the limit with self-defense drills and hockey practice. I was finally improving and becoming more confident, yet everyone was acting like she was made of glass.

The more attention they gave me, the more frustrated she became because it felt like nobody trusted her to take care of herself.

"Looking good, Aria, but your footwork is still a little sloppy on the turns," a deep voice said from the doorway.

I whipped around to find Kai leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing a dark grey hoodie, his hands shoved deep into his front pockets, watching me with those intense, brooding eyes.

"I do not need your critique, Kai," I snapped, picking up my water bottle and screwing the cap back on tightly. "And I certainly do not need a babysitter."

The frustration finally exploded during one of her training sessions. I was already in a bad mood after struggling with a difficult exercise and feeling exhausted from training. When Kai showed up afterward and immediately started asking questions about her schedule, I lost patience.

"I was just asking a normal question," Kai said, walking further into the gym. His eyes swept over me, checking to make sure I wasn't hurt. "Where are you going next? Reed said he is picking you up, right?"

I confronted him directly and demanded to know why everyone was acting so strangely.

"Why does it matter, Kai?" I shouted, stepping right up to him. I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring straight into his face. "Every single minute of the day, one of you is texting me, calling me, or showing up out of nowhere. What is going on with you guys?"

Kai tried brushing it off at first, saying they were simply worried about her.

"We are just worried about you, Aria," Kai sighed, looking away for a split second before meeting my eyes again. "After the championship and everything with Bianca..."

"Do not use Bianca as an excuse!" I interrupted, my voice cracking with anger. That answer only made me more suspicious.

I pointed out everything I had noticed lately and refused to let him avoid the conversation. "Reed has checked my schedule three times today. Cole insists on walking me to every single class. And now you are here interrogating me in the gym. You guys never act like this unless something is seriously wrong."

The discussion quickly turned into an argument because Aria hated being treated like a child.

"You are blowing this out of proportion," Kai said, his jaw tightening.

"No, I am not!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air. "I reminded Kai that I was the one constantly being targeted, so I deserved to know what was going on instead of being kept in the dark. I am the one who gets attacked, I am the one who gets kidnapped, and yet nobody tells me anything! Why am I always the last to know?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck, looking deeply uncomfortable. He paced back and forth across the gym floor, avoiding my burning gaze.

After arguing for a while, Kai finally admitted that they were worried because new people seemed interested in her.

"Look," Kai muttered, stopping his pacing and looking right at me. His voice dropped to a low, serious register. "There are… new people asking questions. People we do not know."

"What kind of people?" I demanded, stepping closer to him.

He hesitated, his shoulders tensing up. He refused to tell her everything because they still didn't know enough themselves and didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"We don't have all the details yet, Aria," Kai said, holding his hands up defensively. "We are looking into it. We just don't want to freak you out until we know for sure."

Instead of making me feel better, that answer only made me more frustrated.

"You think keeping me in the dark does not freak me out?" I scoffed, letting out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. "I cannot understand why anyone would be interested in me at all!"

I threw my hands down, shaking my head as the sheer absurdity of it hit me.

"I reminded Kai that I was an omega with no wolf, no status, and no powerful family connections," I said, my voice dropping into a bitter whisper. "There is nothing special about me. I am a nobody from a cramped apartment. Why would strangers be interested in me? It makes zero sense!"

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous the entire situation sounded.

Kai looked like he wanted to say more several times during the conversation, but he stopped himself every time, which only made Aria feel like something important was being hidden from her.

"Just… trust us, Aria," Kai said softly, taking a step toward me. He reached out like he wanted to touch my shoulder, but I pulled away. "Please. Just let us protect you."

"I don't need protection, Kai," I whispered, my voice trembling with exhaustion. "I need the truth."

I grabbed my sports bag, pushed past him without another word, and stormed out of the gym into the cool evening air. Reed was waiting by his black car in the parking lot, but I barely looked at him as I slid into the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window the entire ride home.

In the night, Aria couldn't stop thinking about the conversation.

I lay wide awake in my bed, staring up at the dark ceiling as the digital clock glowed 3:14 AM. The house was completely silent, but my mind was spinning out of control.

For the first time in a long while, I started questioning things I usually avoided thinking about.

Her thoughts drifted toward her missing wolf and everything she had been told growing up.

I remembered all the times people called her defective or unlucky. The kids at school, the pack members in our old neighborhood, even distant relatives who looked at me with pity or disgust. No wolf, they would whisper. A broken omega.

I started wondering if there were details about her life that nobody had ever explained properly.

My mother had always been so eager to move into small, hidden places whenever anyone asked too many questions about our family history. She never talked about my father. She never talked about her own pack before she married my stepfather.

The idea made her uncomfortable because it opened up too many questions.

Why were strangers suddenly interested in me? Why were the brothers acting so nervous? Why did it feel like everyone knew something except her?

I pulled the blankets tightly around my shoulders, shivering despite the warmth of the room. The more I thought about it, the harder it became to ignore the feeling that something about her past didn't make sense.