CHAPTER 162: WE ALL NEED TO HAVE THAT TALK

Andria’s POV

Macy gave me a look. "You kissed him back, Ari."

I froze, staring at her. "I..." I started, then stopped. There was no point denying it. She had seen me, I mean, everyone had seen me.

"I didn’t exactly plan it," I said, lowering my voice. "He kissed me in front of everyone, Macy. What was I supposed to do? Punch him? Bite him? Create a scene?"

She raised a brow. "You could have not kissed him back. But anyway, he is your mate, there’s nothing to be so worked up about."

"Right," I muttered, slumping further into the chair. "Because my body always listens to logic when it comes to my mates."

She chuckled. "You really have no idea how much chaos you just caused, do you?"

"Oh, I do." I dragged my hands down my face. "I can already imagine the whispers in tomorrow’s headlines. "Aria wasn’t there for her friend’s performance, because she was preparing for a kiss on the stage. I mean, I didn’t intentionally disappear on my friends, but I guess no one knows that."

Macy snorted. "At least you would look good in the papers."

I gave her a flat look, "As if."

She lifted her hands defensively. "Fine, fine. I’ll stop teasing. But Ari, it was so evident that you had a fallout with your friends. The moment you stepped on that stage, they left. Aven was also visibly angry.

I guess you might have put a misunderstanding between the Alpha successors, and that doesn’t sound good; they have been inseparable until you came along. I mean, he didn’t even wait for the results."

"I noticed," I said, sighing. "They walked out. And I don’t blame them. I would’ve done the same thing."

"Yeah, but still," she leaned closer, lowering her voice, "it’s not like you meant to humiliate him. You’re stuck in the middle of three ridiculously powerful guys who all think they can handle sharing a mate, but clearly they can’t.

Regarding your friends, I think you need to have a long talk with them —it’s necessary. Becca performed beautifully, and she expected you to be there to cheer her up like she does for you, but you were nowhere to be found."

"Exactly," I muttered. "They all talk like they can handle it, but the second one of them gets attention, the others lose their minds. It’s exhausting, and I didn’t expect that reaction from Aven."

Macy smirked. "And yet, you keep making out with them. I think you should give your mates a break, they should sort themselves out and decide if they are willing to share."

"I see what you are saying, but it sounds so easy until you have got a mate." I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one overheard.

Macy was quiet, knowing she must have crossed the line; otherwise, I wouldn’t have thrown her mateless situation at her.

Jason, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. "For what it’s worth, I think Damon crossed a line tonight."

I looked up at him. "You think? I think he didn’t, Aven actually did, and Damon just returned the favor."

"Yeah. That wasn’t a ’spur of the moment’ kind of kiss. He planned it. The song, the callout, everything. He knew exactly what he was doing."

I swallowed. "You sound like Aven."

Jason shrugged. "Maybe because he is right."

That stung, even though I knew he wasn’t wrong. Damon had planned it, at least part of it. But what Jason didn’t understand was that it might have come from jealousy or possessiveness. That was the terrifying part.

Allison’s voice echoed through the hall, announcing the winners. I clapped absently when names were called, though I barely registered them. My mind was too busy replaying every second of today.

The kiss, my friends abandoning me, Aven’s touch on my skin. In just one day, I had ended up kissing two of them, how slutty.

I could still feel his look on my skin, and the way his back was turned against me as he left the hall.

When the event finally ended, I stayed back to help the council pack up the decorations, partly because it was my duty, and mostly because I wasn’t ready to face anyone outside.

The hall was almost empty now, except for a few stragglers and volunteers stacking chairs. There was a little bit of chatter about how the event was.

That was when I saw Damon slip in from the side door.

Oh, great, perfect timing.

He looked way too calm for someone who had just detonated a social bomb. His sleeves were rolled up, hair still slightly tousled from his performance, and that same infuriating smirk tugged at his lips when he spotted me.

I immediately turned away, pretending to rearrange the ticket box.

"Ari," he drawled.

"Busy," I said curtly.

He chuckled, closing the distance between us. "You know, most people would at least congratulate me. I did win the crowd over."

"Congratulations," I said dryly. "You also won yourself a front-row seat to my murder. Aven might kill you."

"Ah, come off it," he said, lowering his voice. "So he is angry."

"Of course he’s angry! You kissed his mate right in front of him, Damon!"

He leaned closer, his tone turning low and deliberate. "Our mate, Aria."

I stiffened. "Don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"That tone," I snapped. "That smug, I-just-won-something tone."

He smiled faintly. "You didn’t look like you hated it. Besides, I know Aria what had gone on behind my back, and I should be the one pissed at him and not the other way round."

My mouth went dry. I looked up at him, trying to hold onto the anger, but the warmth of his voice made my pulse jump. "You ambushed me," I said instead.

"Maybe," he admitted, a half-grin tugging at his lips. "But I had to. You’ve been spending all your time with him lately. I needed to remind both of you that you are mine, too."

I let out a breathless laugh, part disbelief, part frustration. "That’s not how reminding works, Damon. You don’t just claim someone by kissing them in public."

"Worked, didn’t it? I feel like I’ll do it over and over again, if you fail to understand," he voiced out, his voice slightly raised.

"Worked?" I glared at him. "Well, I felt very embarrassed. If you were to do a thing like this, you could have done it elsewhere, probably somewhere private"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he studied me, his expression softening for a moment. "I didn’t mean to make it worse," he said quietly. "I just saw you with him. Laughing and looking happy. And I snapped.

Besides, Aven would have done the same if he were in my shoes. Why does he pretend he doesn’t claim what’s his publicly, Aria, you know there’s a truth in what I’m saying."

I blinked at him. That wasn’t the Damon most people knew, the cocky, sharp-tongued one who never admitted fault.

But here he was, looking almost vulnerable. Aven was also very petty; he might even do worse than Damon did.

"Damon..." I started, but he stepped closer again, until there was barely an inch between us.

"Tell me you didn’t feel it," he murmured. "When I kissed you."

My heart lurched. "That’s not the point, Damon."

"Maybe not to you," he said. "But to me, it is. Stop pushing it with me, you are just unbelievable."

I hated that his scent was messing with my brain. Hated that my body leaned toward him even as my mind screamed, ’don’t’.

"I don’t know what I felt," I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. "Confused, maybe. It’s always like that when it comes to you three."

He smiled faintly, eyes glinting. "That’s because you have refused to accept it. You are struggling with some insecurities that I can’t describe; perhaps someday you will overcome them."

"Exactly," I said, stepping back. "And that’s the problem."

For a second, neither of us spoke. The tension between us buzzed like static. Then he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I’ll fix things with Aven. Aria, you mated with him. I still feel hurt. While I was busy preparing for my performance, I felt it. But that’s by the way," he said.

I arched a brow. "Yes, I did, but I wasn’t doing it behind your back either. Maybe we need to talk this out, since you all are involved with me. You all can’t keep pretending like you feel alright sharing me, while you fight you. We have to get things straight."

He smirked. "Not a bad idea."

"Damon."

"Alright, alright," he said, holding his hands up. "I’ll talk to him. Eventually, and maybe Tristan, and maybe we could have that talk."

I stared at him. "You mean never."

He grinned. "Probably."

I groaned and walked away, muttering something about how impossible he was.

By the time I made it back to the dorm, the adrenaline had worn off, replaced by a heavy ache in my chest. The corridors were quiet, the night air still humming faintly with leftover excitement from the show.

But all I could think about was the mess I had made.

"You are back, Aria. Well, welcome. I thought that we might have to be planning a wedding already, but I guess not," Mel remarked sarcastically and angrily.

I mean, this was Becca’s show; I missed not Mel’s or Michaela’s either.