"Aurora, who were you talking to?" Henry asked. He looked around the room suspiciously before walking in further and shutting the door. "No one." Aurora shook her head quickly"But I heard you talking." Henry insisted. He checked the bathroom, then the large walk-in closet. He sniffed the air, but all he could perceive was Aurora's rosy scent. Aurora shrugged, trying not to act suspicious. "I was just talking to myself. I do that sometimes."Henry went round the room a second time and when he felt sure no one was in there, he finally believed her. "Talking to yourself eh?" He grinned, leaning forward to brush his lips on hers. "When did you start doing that?"Relieved that he didn't suspect a thing, Aurroa smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "I do it sometimes, when I'm alone."The room turned silent as he kissed her, his lips dominating hers completely. One hand gripping her waist gently but firmly while his other hand found its way into her hair, his fingers gently fistin
"Aurora are you okay?"Aurora snapped back to the present. Looking up from the book she had been reading, she stared at Penelope wide eyed. "What?""Are you okay?" Penelope repeated. "You've been staring off into space for a while now. Is everything alright?"Aurora dropped the book she held and stretched. "I'm fine Penny.""You don't look fine." Penelope argued. Then she lowered her voice. "Is it because of Kahlan?"Knowing Penelope wouldn't rest until she knew the reason her reason for spacing out, Aurora nodded. "It is." She said. "Have you found out anything about the dark witches yet?""Nothing yet." Aurora shook her head. "Most of the books I found only talk of their powers. Did you know dark witches have the power of healing?""You healed yourself, remember?""No, not just healing myself. We can heal others too." Aurora said, then proceeded to list out what she had read. "Along with healing, we can see the future through visions, create and end life, teleport and go invisibl
Surprisingly, the cottage looked clean on the inside. There was a sweet floral scent in the air and something sumptuous was cooking over a low fire in the corner of the room. Aurora sat with her thighs pressed together, holding her pouch close in case she needed to protect herself. She stared all around her, wondering how a blind she-wolf could stay all alone at the farthest and loneliest part of Ashidore. There was a small bookshelf on the side of the room filled with books, dusty from unuse. Framed pictures hung from the wall, pictures of wild forest and waterfalls. There were also a few pictures of a young girl smiling happily at the camera. "I was eighteen." Katherina said, startling Aurora as she walked into the room. She was referring to the picture of her. "It was taken a year before I met Henry."A dark wolf followed behind her, eyes glowing eerie gold in the dim cottage. "This is Sebastian." Katherina continued, pointing her chin to the wolf who curled at her feet. "He k
"What?" Aurora whispered. It sounded unbelievable. Henry was the monster in her dream? Was that why Kahlan told her to be careful of him? "I was as shocked as you are the day I discovered it." Katherina continued. "I remember standing there, staring in horror as the beast roared at me. The beta tried to push me out, but it was too late. I knew what they were hiding."She paused, and Aurora looked up at her. "What happened then?""Three days later, Henry came out from the underground." Katherina continued. "His beta had already told him everything, so he came straight to me. He was livid, demanding to know why I was sneaking around at night. I lost my temper and we got into a big fight. Then he told me to get my things and leave the castle. I was ready to leave and everything would have ended there, but I made the mistake of threatening him.""How did you threaten him?""I felt so mad and ashamed that he was chasing me away, so I threatened to reveal his secret to the whole of Ashidor
When Aurora arrived at the castle, Henry was almost going berserk. Everyone in the castle was out looking for her, trembling under his fearsome glare and thundering voice. Matilda was on the brink of passing out because Henry personally placed Aurora in her care, and that was the second time she was missing. "Alpha, maybe you should calm yourself." Tyler suggested tentatively. "She must have taken a walk instead of being indoors all day. I don't think anything bad happened to her.""It's sundown, Tyler." Henry snapped angrily. "If she was taking a walk, she would be back by now. Take the lycans and go into the forest. I want her found."At that moment, Aurora arrived. At first, what Henry saw approaching him was a beautiful golden wolf with eyes that glowed bright ruby in the dark. But when her rosy scent assailed him, he instantly went calm. "It's her." Tyler whispered beside him. "Her wolf is magnificent."The golden wolf stopped a few meters away and the sound of shifting filled
On the day of the next full moon, Aurora was already a mass of ruffled nerves. The question remained. What would she find when night came? Would it change her perfect life? That morning she woke up troubled. She hadn't been able to sleep properly because her dreams were filled with images of Katherina's horrific face, her voice sounding like it came from the depths of an abyss. In one of those dreams, she found herself trapped inside the secret room. But instead of the beast, she was chained to the wall while the monster prepared to attack her. The sleepless nights and troubled dreams disturbed her greatly that when she woke up the next morning, she had dark circles under her eyes. She looked unwell and Henry was very worried. "You haven't been feeling well since the day you shifted." He said to her, one hand caressing her hair. They were still on the bed and the curtains prevented the bright sunlight from filtering into the room. If only Aurora could tell him that the reason fo
The wall didn't budge when Aurora applied pressure on it. She traced her fingertips along the sides, trying to find an opening. There was none. Suddenly she had an idea. She moved back and stared at the wall silently, unsure if her plan would work. "There's only one way to find out." She muttered to herself.As she raised her hands and pointed them towards the wall, a hard voice stopped her. "Miss Thompson?"She whirled around and came face to face with Krino. Cade was beside him and they were staring at her strangely. She noticed Krino cast a wary glance to the wall and back to her again. "What are you doing here?" He asked. In one hand was a cup of coffee. She could perceive the aroma from where she stood. On his other hand was a plate of cooked steak. Cade held the same thing as they both stared at her. Aurora didn't know how to explain herself, so she ignored them and turned her attention to the wall. "Wait, what are you doing?" Cade asked aloud when Aurora pointed her hand
Behind the crumbled wall was a steel door that had a very large hole, made from the impact of Aurora's punch. Aurora grabbed the edge of the hole and effortlessly widened it until she was able to pass through. "Aurora please! Stay away! If Henry hurts you, he would hate himself." Tyler yelled. He groaned in frustration when he tried to pull away from the wall and failed. All his efforts were futile. Totally ignoring him, Aurora walked down the stairs that led deeper into the underground. She could see a faint light at the end of the long tunnel and she began to walk towards it. It took forever for her to descend the stairs and walk towards the tunnel. As she reached the edge, she leaned out a little, dreading what she would see. Her eyes slowly grew accustomed to the dimmess and she let out a loud gasp when she saw him. The monster. He towered high above her, reaching the ceiling. He was a terrible beast, with fur as dark as night. His eyes glowed pure gold. Those golden orbs t
Two Years Later... On the roof of the castle, Henry and Aurora lay cuddled in a warm blanket, staring at the full moon in the sky. The air was cool and the sky was alive with thousands of shimmering stars. Aurora lay on her side, with Henry spooning her. His hand lay curved on her large belly and he slowly caressed her baby bump, occasionally dropping kisses on her cheek. "Tyler is going to be a big brother soon." She whispered, placing her hand over Henry's. "He's going to be the best big brother." Henry replied. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. "You've been the best mother to him.""I promised Penelope I would take care of her child." Aurora said with a smile. "And I intend to keep that promise. I know I'll tell him the truth about his birth parents someday, but for now, he's mine.""Ours." Henry said, gently turning her around to face him. "He's ours.""Yes. Ours." Aurora smiled and her eyes closed as they shared a passionate kiss. A lot of ye
Many months later, the realm was back to normal. Shifters returned to Ashidore and everyone went back to their normal way of life. Ashidore was built again and it prospered more than before. The dead was buried and mourned and the injured received healing. But they would never forget the last war with the dragons. They would never forget the innocent souls that died that day. They would never forget how their Alpha sacrificed himself to save his mate and destroy the dragons. Aurora had been crowned Supreme Luna of Ashidore and she ruled the kingdom just as Henry would have wanted her to. But she knew her life would never go back to normal without him. It took her a whole year to move on and accept his death. She built a tomb and did a proper funeral for Tyler, Penelope, Henry, Shota and Nimueh, and every other shifter they lost. Most nights, she stayed beside Henry's grave, crying and wishing to the heavens that he would be brought back to her. She was a strict and just Luna, and
When Aurora arrived at the designated spot, she met a horrific scene. The entire forest was covered in flames. The bushes, tall trees and grasses were all burning brightly. Thick smoke coiled up into the dark sky and the heat was blistering hot. The entire lycans were scattered all around, bloody, burned and unconscious. The dragons continued their terror, wrecking havoc everywhere. Aurora's eyes darted around, searching for Henry. She found him lying a few meters away from her, surrounded by fire. "Henry!" She screamed, rushing over to where he lay. She didn't dare try to extinguish the flames because the last time she did, it affected her. Grabbing his arms, she dragged him away, over to a dry patch of grass. Then she knelt beside him and placed her head on his chest. She could feel his faint heartbeat meaning he was still alive, but barely. There were terrible bloody burns on the side of his face and chest, and unless he gained consciousness, he wouldn't be able to heal. "He
"Let me go Cade." Aurora cried, trying to dislodge herself from Cade's grip. The baby had woken up from the sound of her screams and was crying loudly, but all Aurora could think of was going back to help Henry. Without her, he and the other lycans were doomed. "Cade please..." She begged. [Forgive me Luna. I cannot disobey the Alpha's orders] Cade replied without stopping. "You don't understand." Aurora protested. "Henry is in danger. They are all in danger. Fighting against the dragon creatures is futile."[The Alpha knows this, which is why he wants you out of harm's way before he faces the creatures]Aurora felt like screaming out. He wasn't listening to her. "Cade I am your Luna! And it is only right that you listen to me! Put me down this instant. Now!"Cade tried to resist the order, but just as Henry used his Alpha voice on him, so did Aurora. He couldn't disobey the authority in her voice. He slowed down and gently lowered her to the ground before shifting back to his h
A few minutes later, Henry and Aurora met with Krino and the entire lycan warriors. The other shifters had been shared into three large groups and dispatched to different packs. They were instructed to inform the members of the different packs to build bunkers and hide away until the war with the dragons ended. All that was left were the lycans and a few shifters who stayed back to fight beside their Alpha. When Henry and Aurora arrived holding the baby, Krino and Cade noticed immediately that Penelope was not with them. "Where's Miss Penelope?" Cade asked. The other lycans then noticed that their late beta's mate was missing. Aurora didn't respond and just started crying softly. It was Henry who took a deep breath and told them how Penelope had passed away after birthing her son. The news hit them hard and a few looked away so the tears in their eyes wouldn't be seen. How many more would they lost? How many more would die just because two shifters were evil enough to set the d
Aurora jerked awake from sleep with her mother's name on her lips. It was daylight already. Henry was up, standing a few meters away from her, holding the baby. She watched him for a while as he stared down at the sleeping infant. She couldn't read his mind, but with the look on his face, she knew he was thinking about his beta. When Tyler died, Henry had felt the pain of loosing his beta and best friend. Though he didn't shed a single tear, she knew Tyler's death affected him immensely. She knew he was greatly hurt. Yet what was coming was even greater than Tyler's death, and she doubted if he would be able to bear it. The dream she had of her mother played back in her mind and she heard Kahlan's voice echo in her ears– 'Aurora the core of your magic lies in your soul, and that is the only thing powerful enough to destroy the dragons. You must use it.'She remembered the shock she felt when she realized what her mother meant. To destroy the dragons, she would have to sacrifice
No! Aurora screamed the words within her, but her face remained frozen in shock. She could hear the cries of the baby at the back of her mind, loud and persistent, but all her focus was on Penelope's face. The entire word faded, the sound of the wind and the rustle of the trees. Everything went still as she stared at her friend. For a short moment, she thought Penelope would blink and stretch out her hands for her baby. She waited, hoping and praying. But as each second passed, Penelope's body turned completely pale and stiff, and her eyes turned glassy. Only then did Aurora move. She lifted a hand and placed it on Penelope's cheek, tracing the dried streak of blood. "Penny." She whispered. Tears spilled down her eyes silently as the thought registered within her. Penelope was dead. Her best friend was dead. She hadn't been able to prevent her vision from coming to pass. "I'm so sorry Penny" She sobbed, softly pulling down Penelope's eyelids so her eyes were closed. "I'm sorry I
"PENNY!" Aurora screamed, rushing towards to the hole. All she could see was darkness, but she could hear Penelope's soft groans. "Penny can you hear me? Are you okay?" She asked repeatedly, waiting for an answer. After what seemed like an eternity, Penelope responded. "Aurora." She called out in shaky voice. "I'm right here Penny. Are you alright?""No. I... I think my water broke. And I think I might be bleeding too.""Just hold on. I'm going to get you out." Aurora said, hearing her friend cry softly. The castle was slowly crumbling as the flames consumed it entirely. She knew in a matter of seconds, the large building would collapse. She was at a loss of what to do. Calling to Henry for help was impossible because he wouldn't be able to go through the flames. And her strength was slowly diminishing. Her nose continued to bleed and she was beginning to feel dizzy with loss of blood and all the smoke around. "Moon goddess." She whispered in tears. "Please help us out of here
"HELP!" Penelope screamed out. She was curled into a tight ball at the edge of her room. Half of the room was destroyed by the flames and the fire kept advancing towards her. "HELP ME! PLEASE!" Her screams were drowned out by the roar of the flames as it licked up the entire room. The curtains and bed burned brightly, and the walls were slowly falling away. Seeing that there was no way out, she stopped crying out for help and just sobbed quietly. As she waited for death to take her, her mind went over everything that had happened minutes earlier. She assumed Aurora and Henry, along with all the other lycans had perished in the fire and all that was left was her. Hours ago when she first heard the roars and trembles, she made no move to find out what was happening. She had been too weak in the spirit, too tired, after the death of Tyler. All her energy was gone, her zeal for living too. But then her hand brushed her belly and she realized she had a reason to live. She was going t