Chapter 7: Why did he save me?

Aurora was still unconscious when Henry barged into the room like his life depended on it. She was trashing on the bed while Kaleb tried to hold her down. Her fists gripped the bedsheets tightly and she threw her head about, struggling against the hands that held her.

Tyler and David hurried into the room after him and the three men stood helplessly, at a loss of what to do.

"Why don't we wake her up?" Tyler suggested. He had never encountered anyone who had a panic attack while still unconscious.

"That won't be a good idea, beta Tyler." Kaleb disagreed, his voice unstable as he tried to calm Aurora. "She is clearly terrified of something in her subconscious. If we try to wake her up without calming her first, it could affect her psychologically."

"Well, we have to do something." Tyler raised his voice in worry as Aurora screams became louder. He turned to Henry and grabbed the latter's arm. "Alpha, if her screams get any louder than this, people will hear and wonder."

However, Henry remained quiet. He watched Aurora silently, a thousand thoughts roaming his mind as he thought of what to do. A worried frown creased his brows, and when Aurora twisted out of Kaleb's arms, he finally moved.

He reached the bed in three long strides and pulled Aurora into his arms, and his eyes widened when he felt how hot she was.

"She has a fever." He said calmly to Kaleb.

"I am aware, Alpha. I need to go get the necessary drugs she would need." Kaleb said and rushed out of the room.

Tyler paced around, his gaze moving over to Aurora once in a while. "What if she dies?" He asked worriedly. "What if she has some sort of disease that has no cure? Where are her parents?"

Henry, on the other hand, didn't bother to answer him. He knew Tyler got agitated whenever he was worked up or worried about something.

So ignoring the beta, he put his full attention on Aurora and held her tightly, trying to lessen her struggles. For a full minute, he remained that way, holding her tight against his body. He said nothing, didn't bother to whisper soothing words to her.

After what seemed like ages, Aurora finally became quiet. She lay limp in Henry's arms, her face wet with tears. Her dress was damp from perspiration and she still had a fever.

Henry carefully lowered her to the bed, slipping his arm away from her waist. He lingered by the bed for a few seconds, brushing a lock of hair away from her brows.

As if realizing what he was doing, he dropped his hand and walked away without a backward glance.

"Stay with her until Kaleb returns." He threw the words to Tyler and David before stepping out of the room and shutting the door.

...

Aurora slowly gained consciousness and immediately, she knew she was no longer in the carriage where she fell asleep. The bed was much softer and more comfortable.

She heard low voices conversing, and she was able to catch a few words, but they made no sense to her.

After a while, the voices receded and she heard the click of a door shutting close. Silence descended and the only sound she could hear was the howl of the wind.

It took her a lot of effort to open her heavy eyes, but she did eventually. At first, all she saw was a mass of blurry colours.

Blinking repeatedly, her vision gradually cleared up and she was finally able to see the room.

It was beyond magnificent. The room alone was two times bigger than Bishop's mansion. It was decorated in gold, pure gold. The curtains, the bedsheets and pillows, the bedstand. Everything was gold.

The large king size bed was positioned in the middle of the room. A mini bar was built into a corner, with different exotic drinks she had never seen.

On the other side of the room, a medium-sized table and chair reclined close to the wall, filled with parchment and books.

Moving slowly, she got off the bed. Suddenly feeling light-headed, she held on to the bed to steady herself.

Seconds later she felt better, and walked slowly towards the large windows on one side of the room.

It was night already, and a half moon brightened the sky. All she could see was the thick forest that surrounded the kingdom. In the distance, she could see massive mountains, their peaks disappearing into the clouds.

She turned around and gazed at the room, her eyes round with awe. On the other side of the room, mirrors lined the wall from side to side.

Aurora walked towards the mirrors, and when she saw her reflection, she grimaced. Because of her ailment, she lost a lot of weight. She still looked pale, but all her wounds had been healed. The bloody bruise around her eye was gone and the scratches on her lips were healed.

"Where am I?" She whispered to herself. The last thing she remembered was accepting Bishop's rejection. When she tried to remember what happened after that, she came up blank. Had she been kidnapped?

A large frame on the wall caught her attention from the corner of her eyes and she turned slightly to the left, moving closer to get a better view.

The name, written in bold golden italics, was the first thing she saw and she read it aloud.

"Supreme Alpha and Alpha King of Ashidore, Henry James Robert II."

And when her eyes fell on the picture of the handsome man, his golden eyes staring straight at her, his thick hair curling over his brows, her memories rushed back and assailed her.

She remembered everything now, how Henry saved her from Bishop's banishment and decided to take her back to the lycan kingdom. It was all coming back to her.

"Why did he save me?" She whispered.

Suddenly, she froze. Approaching footsteps echoed loudly as someone walked towards the room where she was.

She didn't have enough time to go back to the bed because the door suddenly opened and a young man stepped in.

But it wasn't Henry. It was the healer, Kaleb. He noticed Aurora standing away from the bed and his eyes widened.

"You're finally awake." He said, moving to the desk in the corner of the room and dropping the tray he held.

"Um," Aurora mumbled, lowering her eyes to avoid contact. "How long was I asleep?"

"You've been unconscious for three days." Kaleb replied.

Aurora's head shot up in shock. Three days? How was that possible?

Kaleb turned around and took a step towards her, but Aurora retreated, staring at him warily. He sighed and raised his hands, as if surrendering.

"I know you're confused." He began. "My name is Kaleb. I am Ashidore's best healer."

"Ashidore?" Aurora frowned in confusion.

"Yes, Ashidore." Kaleb answered with a smile. "That's where you are. The Lycan Kingdom. Alpha Henry brought you here and you had a terrible fever. Don't you remember?"

Aurora remained silent, standing against the wall. She didn't feel comfortable being in a room with a stranger. And a man at that.

Kaleb clearly understood, hence he backed away. "Maybe it would be better if I get the Alpha instead. He needs to know you're awake."

Aurora was glad that he would leave the room for a while. She would be able to compose herself before Henry came.

But to her surprise, Kaleb didn't leave. She watched in astonishment as his eyes fogged for a few seconds, then he focused on her again.

"The Alpha is on his way." Kaleb said finally.

Aurora knew he used the mind link because she had seen her step-aunt do it several times.

She didn't have time to think about the mind link because just then, the door opened and the golden eyed Alpha stepped into the room.

His gaze met hers, and Aurora felt an electrifying tingle go through her body.