The Alpha Behind The Mask-Chapter 90: Kill Raymond
Oliver’s POV
Of course I was angry. I was furious at her, at the situation, but mostly at myself. I wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight; I had a mountain of pack business sitting on my desk, and my father’s warnings were still echoing in the back of my mind. But I had been restless. Knowing Aurora was stubbornly working in this club, surrounded by hawks and predators, I couldn’t sit still. I feared exactly what had just happened.
I had tried to stop her. I’d offered to pay her three times what she made here just so she’d stay at the palace where I could keep her safe, but she had refused, claiming she didn’t want to be dependent on me. I admired that.
But in a place like this... it terrified me.
What if I hadn’t shown up? She would have been raped.
Yes, I was angry, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t let her know that Oliver and Raymond were the same person—that the man who had just saved her was the same one who had confessed his love to her yesterday. I was getting tired of this game, but I was scared. I had just gotten her back. If I told her the truth now, she would never speak to me again.
I turned back to her, my expression masked in Raymond’s cold, sharp intensity. "Why do you think I’m angry?"
She stood up quickly, her movements panicked as she started defending herself. The spell was clearly wearing off, but the panic in her eyes was real. "I was spelled, Raymond! I swear... it’s not what you saw. I didn’t want to go with him. I couldn’t move my own legs."
She thinks I’m angry because I caught her going into a private room with another Dom. She thinks I believe she was being unfaithful or reckless, when in reality, My blood boiled because she put herself in harm’s way just to be near "Raymond."
I walked toward her, my shadow looming over her as I trapped her between the desk and my body. "You think I’m angry because you were with him?" I let out a dark, jagged laugh. "Aurora, I’m angry because you’re a fool. You gamble with your safety like it’s worth nothing. Do you have any idea what that man would have done to you if I hadn’t walked through that door?"
I reached out, my thumb brushing roughly against her lower lip—the lip I had kissed as Oliver just forty-eight hours ago. The duality of it was making my head spin.
"You’re lucky I was here," I rasped, my voice dropping into an angry growl. "But I won’t always be around..."
She looked up at me, her brow furrowing. I watched her face crumble, the confusion in her eyes turning into panic. I knew this lie wouldn’t sit well with her, but it was the only way. If Raymond "left" the country, Aurora would have no reason to risk her life in this club anymore. She would stay at the palace. She would stay with Oliver. And I would finally let go of this pretense.
"You won’t always be around?" she whispered, her voice trembling as she searched my face. "Are you going somewhere?"
I looked away, hardening my features into the cold, detached mask of the man she knew as Raymond. "Yes," I said, the lie slipping off my lips. "I’m relocating to France. Permanently."
Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating in a way that made my wolf howl in protest. She looked like I had just struck her. "How? Why so suddenly?"
"Business, Aurora," I lied, my voice dropping to a flat, professional tone. "I’ve stayed in this city far longer than I should. The deal in Paris is too large to ignore, and frankly, there is nothing left for me here but distractions."
Her face fell. "But... what about us?" she breathed, her hand reaching out as if to grab the lapel of my jacket, but she stopped herself, her fingers fluttering uselessly in the air. "After everything..."
"There is no us," I snapped, the Raymond persona taking over with a cruelty that Oliver would never possess. "And what happened in your apartment was a moment of weakness. You have a life, Aurora. You have a job with the Alpha King. You should be focusing on that."
I saw a single tear spill over her lashes, tracing a path down her pale cheek. It took every ounce of my restraint not to reach out and wipe it away, to pull her into my arms and tell her I was right there—that I was the King she saw every morning.
"I leave in two days," I added, turning my back to her so she wouldn’t see the guilt fracturing my expression. "Tonight was the last time I’m saving you. If you walk back into that club tomorrow, you’re on your own."
I heard her breath hitch, a small, broken sound that nearly made me cave.
"Is that all I was?" she whispered behind me. "A distraction?"
My heart broke, but I had to do this. For her safety. To end the lie of the double life before it destroyed us both. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. If I opened my mouth to confirm that lie—to tell her she was nothing but a distraction—I would break out of character... so I turned to leave.
But Aurora wasn’t having it.
With a sudden burst of energy, she scrambled forward and blocked my path, her back slamming against the door to keep me from leaving. Her chest was heaving, and those beautiful eyes were swimming with tears.
"No," she choked out, her voice trembling. "You cannot leave. I won’t let you."
I froze, faking annoyance. "Move, Aurora," I growled, the Raymond persona struggling to maintain. "We’re done here."
The tears spilled over, hot and fast, and for a second, my wolf howled so loudly in my head I thought she might actually hear it. But I had to finish this. I had to kill Raymond.
"We are not done!" she shouted, her small hands flat against the wood of the door, her body a fragile barricade. "You can’t just tell me you’re leaving! Not after everything!"
I knew I had to do it. I had to say the one thing that would make her loathe this persona, the one thing that would burn the bridge so thoroughly she’d never look for Raymond again. I stepped into her space, looming over her until she was forced to look up, her chin trembling.
"Aurora, I was pretending," I said, my voice dripping with a fabricated, icy boredom. I saw her flinch, but I didn’t stop. "You were playing so hard to get, acting so untouchable, that it became a game. I had to pretend just to see how far you’d go. And right now? I’m done pretending. The game is boring."
Her mouth fell open, a soft, broken gasp escaping her lips. "A... a game?"
"A game," I repeated, my heart tearing apart. "Move, Aurora."
I didn’t wait for her to step aside. I reached out, my hands firm as I grabbed her shoulders and physically moved her away from the door. She felt so light, so small, and she didn’t even fight me. She just stood there, paralyzed by the cruelty of my words.
I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I tore the door open and walked out, my boots echoing like thunder in the hallway. I felt the weight of her gaze on my back, a silent, agonizing scream that followed me all the way down the stairs.
I made it to my car and slammed the door, gripping the steering wheel tight. My chest was heaving, my heart feeling like it had been ripped out and stomped on.
"I’m sorry," I whispered into the dark interior of the car. "I’m so sorry, Aurora."
I checked my watch. I had exactly twenty minutes to get back to the palace, strip off this mask, wash the scent of the club off my skin, and become the Alpha King again. Because tomorrow morning, Aurora would come to work with a broken heart, and I had to be the man who would pick up the pieces I had just smashed.
The Raymond Chapter was closed. I had officially killed him. But as I pulled out of the parking lot, all I could think about was the look in her eyes. I had just destroyed whatever feelings she felt for Raymond.
Now, the only question was, could Oliver make her love him enough to forget the man I just forced her to hate?
