Cracks In Control
Roman's pov
The car door slammed harder than necessary as I closed it shut.
Aurora sat rigidly in the passenger seat, her body angled toward the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She didn’t look at me.
Didn’t speak, she didn't even acknowledge me.
The silence was immediate and suffocating.
I got into the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel as I started the engine. The low hum of the car filled the space, but it did nothing to ease the tension pressing in from all sides.
I pulled away from the club without another word.
The city lights blurred past us neon and gold streaks cutting through the darkness but my focus wasn’t on the road.
It was on her. On the storm radiating off her through the bond.
Anger.
Hurt.
Defiance.
It hit me in waves, sharp and unrelenting, feeding the already simmering fire inside my chest.
Still she said nothing but stared out the window like I wasn’t even there.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Why didn’t you stop him?”
My voice cut through the silence, low and controlled.
No response.
My jaw clenched.
“I'm talking to you Aurora.”
Still nothing. She didn’t even turn her head. Like I wasn’t worth the effort.
A slow, dangerous breath left me.
“Why didn’t you do anything when he had his hands on you?” I pressed, my tone sharpening.
She still ignored me.
My patience snapped.
“You think ignoring me is going to help?” I snapped.
Nothing. I received no response not even a glance.
I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face before gripping the wheel again.
“You belong to me,” I said, my voice dropping lower, heavier. “And no one no one is allowed to touch what’s mine.”
That got a reaction.
A soft, disbelieving snort.
My eyes flickered toward her.
She still wasn’t looking at me.
“I’m not your property,” she said, her voice quiet but cutting. “You don’t get to decide what I do or who I talk to.”
Something in me darkened instantly.
“I’ve already decided.”
That made her turn, finally.
Her eyes met mine, blazing with anger.
“No,” she said firmly. “You haven’t.”
My grip tightened.
“You’re mine,” I repeated, slower this time. More dangerous. “Whether you like it or not.”
Her laugh was sharp and bitter.
“I can do whatever I want, Roman,” she shot back. “You don’t control my life.”
That was it.
I slammed my foot on the brake.
The car screeched to a sudden stop, the force jerked her forward slightly before the seatbelt caught her.
Silence crashed down around us.
Thick and heavy.
My chest rose and fell slowly as I turned my head toward her.
“Watch how you speak to me,” I said, my voice low deadly calm.
She didn’t flinch nor did she back down. If anything her chin lifted slightly.
“Or what?” she challenged.
My eyes darkened.
“Don’t push me, Aurora.”
“Or what?” she repeated, louder this time. “You’ll beat me up the way you beat kiera's brother?"
My jaw tightened.
"I would never hurt you."
My voice dropped, the anger shifting into something darker. Something more controlled.
Her gaze didn’t soften.
Didn’t waver.
“But you hurt someone else,” she shot back. “Someone who didn’t deserve it.”
“He touched you,” I said again, my tone tightening. “That’s enough.”
“It’s not!” she snapped.
The force of her voice filled the car, echoing in the confined space.
“It doesn’t give you the right to lose control like that!”
“I didn’t lose control,” I growled.
“You did,” she fired back instantly. “And you’re too stubborn to admit it.”
My eyes darkened.
“You’re defending him.”
“I’m calling you out.”
The words hung sharp between us.
My chest rose slowly with a breath as I forced myself to rein it in to pull back before this spiraled further.
But she wasn’t done.
“I’m not yours to control,” she said again, quieter this time but no less powerful. “I won’t live like that.”
Something twisted in my chest at that.
“You don’t understand how this works,” I said, my voice lower now. “The bond—”
“I don’t care about the bond right now,” she cut in. “I care about how you treated someone in front of me like they meant nothing.”
Silence fell again.
But this time It wasn’t empty.
It was heavy with everything we weren’t saying.
Everything building between us.
My gaze held hers for a long moment.
Then slowly I looked away.
My hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel before I started the car again.
The engine roared back to life.
“I meant what I said,” I muttered, my voice quieter now. “I would never hurt you.”
She didn’t respond and she didn't
look at me again.
And as I pulled back onto the road The distance between us felt greater than ever.
Even with the bond still tying us together.
___________________________________________________
The drive back felt longer than it should have or maybe it was just the silence.
The kind that pressed in from all sides, suffocating, heavy with everything left unsaid.
The palace gates came into view, towering and familiar, opening without question as I drove through.
Home yet it didn’t feel like it.
Not tonight. I brought the car to a stop in front of the entrance.
For a moment I said nothing. Then I opened the door and stepped out.
I didn’t look at her. Didn’t speak.
Didn’t wait because if I did If I stayed in that car for even one second longer
I might say something worse or
do something I couldn’t take back.
The cold night air hit my skin as I walked away, my jaw tight, every muscle in my body coiled with restrained anger.
I could still feel her in the car, through the bond.
Her emotions flickered, hurt, anger and confusion. It scraped against my control making it harder to breathe.
Harder to think.
I needed distance, some space away from her.
I pushed through the palace doors without slowing, ignoring the guards, the staff, the quiet shift in atmosphere as I passed.
I moved straight toward my office, the familiar path grounding me just enough to keep the beast at bay.
The door shut behind me with a sharp click.
I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair before moving toward the cabinet.
I didn’t hesitate.
I poured a drink, the amber liquid catching the low light as it filled the glass.
Then I downed it in one go. The burn hit instantly sharp and welcome.
But it didn’t calm the storm inside me.
Nothing did. The image replayed in my mind again.
Her on that dance floor in that dress and another male’s hands on her.
My grip tightened around the glass.
A low growl built in my chest.
A knock sounded on the door.
I ignored it but the door opened anyway.
Kael.
Of course.
“I heard what happened,” he said, closing the door behind him.
“Then you heard enough,” I muttered, pouring another drink. “Leave.”
“I don’t think I will.”
My patience thinned further.
“I’m not in the mood, Kael.”
“Yeah,” he said dryly, stepping further into the room. “That much is obvious.”
I threw him a sharp look over my shoulder. “Then stop talking
But he didn’t. He never did.
“You lost control,” he said plainly.
“I handled it.”
“You nearly killed him.”
“He touched her.”
Kael exhaled slowly, like he was trying to keep his own temper in check.
“That doesn’t justify what you did.”
“It does to me.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then Kael spoke again.
Quieter this time.
“You shouldn’t have assaulted Dylan.”
The name barely registered at first.
“Kiera’s brother,” he added.
My jaw tightened.
“I know who he is.”
Kael’s gaze didn’t waver. “Then you should also know that what you did—”
“He had his hands on my mate,” I cut in sharply.
Kael stepped closer. “He wasn’t trying to claim her, Roman.”
“I don’t care what he was trying to do.”
“Well, you should,” Kael shot back. “Because you just beat someone who wasn’t even a threat to you.”
My eyes darkened.
“Everyone is a threat.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is when it comes to her.”
Kael studied me for a long moment.
“You didn’t even stop to think, did you?” he said.
There had been no thinking.
Only instinct, rage and possession.
Kael shook his head slightly. “You saw another man touching her, and you snapped. That’s it.”
My silence confirmed it.
“And do you know what makes it worse?” he added.
“He’s gay, Roman.”
The words landed heavier than expected.
Kael continued, his voice steady. “He wasn’t looking at her the way you think. He wasn’t trying to take anything from you.”
My grip on the glass tightened again.
“But you didn’t care,” Kael said. “You didn’t ask. You didn’t stop. You just reacted.”
A muscle in my jaw ticked.
“That’s what happens when someone touches what’s mine.”
Kael’s expression hardened slightly.
“She’s not an object.”
My gaze snapped to his.
“Watch it.”
“No,” he said firmly. “You watch it. Because if you keep treating her like something you own instead of someone you care about—”
“I do care about her.”
“Then start acting like it.”
Kael sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You need to fix this.”
I let out a low, humorless laugh.
“She defied me.”
“She stood up for herself,” he corrected.
“She chose him over me.”
“She stopped you from killing someone!”
My temper flared again. “You weren’t there.”
“I didn’t need to be,” Kael shot back. “I know you.”
That hit harder than I expected.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
“You hurt her,” Kael said quietly.
The words landed differently not
like an accusation but like a fact.
My jaw tightened as I looked away.
Kael moved toward the door, pausing just before he opened it.
“Figure out what matters more,” he said without turning back. “Your pride… or your mate.”