AURORA The next few days were hell as I tried my best to try and be normal. The day started quietly, almost too quietly. I kept to myself, wandering around my room, trying not to think too much. Too much about Ethan, too much about what I knew. Agreeing to act normal was the easy part, but actually being normal after what I had seen when my memories were back was the hard part. Ethan had killed my mother and turned her into a blood thirsty monster.He is the reason that I will never meet her again. I could never forgive him even if I wanted to. After I was done walking around, I decided to go downstairs because I did not want anyone to come upstairs looking for me. When I reached downstairs, Ethan appeared in the sitting room with a box in his hands and a small almost shy smile on his face. I froze.“What’s that?” I asked, my voice more cautious than curious.He walked closer, the box tucked under his arm like it was something fragile. “Sarah mentioned you like painting,” he said sim
AURORAThe date was set. I had been counting down to this day for a while, and it had finally arrived. It was the most dreadful day of my life. I stared at the calendar pinned on the wall of my room, the small red circle around today’s date glaring back at me. I’d scheduled the abortion in secret, not telling Ethan or anyone else. It was my body, my decision. I couldn’t risk letting him know. Not after everything I’d learned about him.I had planned that I was going to get through it alone and I had scheduled for the doctor to let it be a private event. As long as no one asked about the abortion, she promised she was going to keep her mouth shut. And I believed her. I glanced at the burner phone on the bedside table. It buzzed softly with a message, and my heart sank when I realized who was messaging me. Damian: How are you feeling?At first, I ignored it. I didn’t want to talk to him. I had distanced myself away from everyone in the family. I did not have another friend because I d
AURORAThe date was set. I had been counting down to this day for a while, and it had finally arrived. It was the most dreadful day of my life. I stared at the calendar pinned on the wall of my room, the small red circle around today’s date glaring back at me. I’d scheduled the abortion in secret, not telling Ethan or anyone else. It was my body, my decision. I couldn’t risk letting him know. Not after everything I’d learned about him.I had planned that I was going to get through it alone and I had scheduled for the doctor to let it be a private event. As long as no one asked about the abortion, she promised she was going to keep her mouth shut. And I believed her. I glanced at the burner phone on the bedside table. It buzzed softly with a message, and my heart sank when I realized who was messaging me. Damian: How are you feeling?At first, I ignored it. I didn’t want to talk to him. I had distanced myself away from everyone in the family. I did not have another friend because I d
AURORAWhen I woke up, everything felt wrong. My body ached, and my head was foggy. I blinked against the sunlight streaming through the windows, I realized I was back in my room. A drip hung above me, the faint sting of the IV in my arm confused me. What had happened to me? I knew that I had went to sleep after my surgery? Had something gone wrong?Obviously something had gone wrong. Immediately, panic gripped me. I forced my eyes open this time, and the soft sound of sniffling caught my attention. I turned my head slowly to see the doctor who’d handled my abortion standing near the bed, adjusting the drip. Her hands shook violently, and her eyes were red from crying.I wondered for a second what could be making her act this way. Did she find out that I was dying? Even if I was, I was not sure it guaranteed that type of reaction from her. “Doctor?” I croaked, my throat dry. “Are you okay?”She sniffled again, refusing to meet my gaze. Instead, she finished adjusting the drip, mutter
DAMIANThe air in my pack had been different lately. It was calmer, quieter, and for once, under my control. With my stepbrothers dead and their meddling finally over, I could breathe. I was finally free to lead without anyone undermining me, free to make decisions that were mine alone. The elders had learned to respect me because they knew that I was going to be the end to them if they tried to disrespect me. But even for the fear they had for me, the elders weren’t shy about reminding me. “The pack needs an heir,” they’d said, their voices dripping with expectation. They did not try to force me into procreating with anyone yet. I knew they wanted me to take a breeder from the pack, but I did not want to have a bastard. If not with my mate, I refused to have a baby.Also, there were other alternatives that I was planning to venture into. But I knew I was going to wait for Aurora for how ever long it took. I hadn’t told anyone yet, but I’d decided that I wasn’t going to rush into any
AURORA I sat in my office, staring blankly at the papers scattered across my desk. The anger in my chest was still simmering, but it wasn’t as explosive as it had been earlier. I knew I’d crossed the line. That much was clear. I should not have done that. I would never hurt a woman that way. Thankfully, she was just exhausted that was why she collapsed not because I caused some damage to her. I hated that I did that to her. The door burst open, and I looked up to see Kiara storming in, followed closely by Sarah. Both of them looked furious, their footsteps echoing loudly in the room. I knew I was about to be chastised, and I did not want to be. I was tired and already felt guilty enough.“What the hell were you thinking?” Kiara snapped, slamming her hands down on my desk.I leaned back in my chair, letting out a long sigh. “Kiara, not now.”“No, now, Ethan,” Sarah chimed in, her voice sharp. “What you did was unacceptable. Do you even realize how bad it was? Do you care?”“I lost my
AURORAI stood at the window, my fingers trembling as I clutched the towel tightly around me. Outside, shards of my burner phone glinted on the grass below, the broken a perfect reflection of how I felt inside. Ethan hadn’t hit me. At least not yet, but the look in his eyes had been terrifying. I could not help but think back at what he did to my mother, and what he could do to me. I wondered at that moment how easy it would be for him to kill me and nothing was going to happen. No one could face him, and no one could hurt him. He had stationed himself at a very high place that he was untouchable. It was then I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t stay here. Not anymore.Grabbing my personal phone, I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. The cold tiles beneath my feet made me shiver, but it was nothing compared to the chill in my chest. I wondered who to call. Who was going to help me, because for all I knew Ethan was downstairs preparing for ways he was going to hurt me.
DAMIAN I was pacing the length of my office, my mind filled with chaotic thoughts. Every time I thought of Aurora and of what Ethan had done, of her being trapped in that palace, I felt like my blood was boiling. I needed to get her out of there. I had to. But every option I considered led to dead ends. I could not ask my people to go to war for this. There was too much at stakes. I needed to do this the smart way, but it was like whatever smart way I thought of had too many loopholes. I might actually be stuck. I clenched my fists, trying to shake the helplessness that weighed on me. I hated this feeling. I wanted to act, to fight, to destroy anything standing between me and her, but I couldn’t risk charging in blindly. Not with Ethan being as dangerous as he was. A soft knock broke through my thoughts.“Come in,” I called, trying to sound composed even as my nerves were all over the place.The door opened, and Evelyn strode in, her heels clicking against the polished floor. Her pr
AURORA It was raining. It never rains around here. I heard people whispering about it, saying that the earth knew that someone had just taken a great man, which was why it was weeping. I would not be surprised if they were right, even though I was not the type that believed in superstition. Today was the burial of Damian. I had cried so much for the past three days that I could not even recognize myself when I looked into the mirror. It was like a stranger was looking back at me every single time, and it terrified me to my bones. Damian’s body had been prepared as usual by the elders, and he was about to be cremated in the boat and sent in the ocean, so he could find peace. It was how burials happened apparently, since I have never really been to one. The last time I lost someone, I was not allowed to stay back for either of their funerals. I was shipped off to marry this man. The man that I was cremating now, and sending back to the earth that had brought him to life. I won
AURORA I wished there was a way to leave the fucking pack. Finally, Nancy had gotten me some blood even though it was not one that I would like to drink. It was animal blood, and it tasted low quality but at least it kept me alive. I felt like I had not unlocked all of the potential that I had until I was able to feed on normal blood from a person. I was looking forward to that. I had stayed with my brother mainly because I did not want him to feel alone after all of the months he spent alone. Counting down, it has already been a year since he was captured. Just a few more months to come. I also wanted to ask Damian why the hell hadn’t he brought back Silas to life until I realized that the day had passed. I was in the prison, and I had missed my only chance of getting back my true love. I cried for the entire day, and Logan and Nancy tried to comfort me but there was very little they could say. I couldn’t even say it was Damian’s fault. I was the one that made him do whatever he
DAMIAN I tried to get back into schedule after I waited three hours for Aurora to come and meet me but she did not. I had wanted to go and check if she was alright but that did not sound like a great idea. If she needed space, then perhaps I should grant her that. If she wanted to speak to me, then she would come and meet me. I paced in my room until I couldn’t anymore, so I headed to my bathroom and got ready for the day. I popped some of the hangover pills I had to help with the headache that was still prominent. Then I checked my reflection before I headed outside to my office where I was going to sign some documents for the new houses that are been built in the pack. When Alpha Matthew eventually surrenders, I would like to start building on the land so I was already starting to prepare it now. The birth rate had increased by some percentage, and in a few years to come there would be a shortage of homes people could afford. We needed something on a budget but also good qual
AURORA “Have you seen him?” Nancy burst through my room, startling me until I sat down, leaving my previously lying position. She looked excited, which was odd because there was absolutely nothing to be excited about. My life was in shambles and I was in desperate need to feed. She could not find any place to get blood for me because all of the blood banks in the hospitals around had vervain in them. It seemed like it was not only Damian who took the caution to have all of the subjects take vervain to prevent them from being food to vampires. I wished I could tell him but after what he had done yesterday, I could not bring myself to do it again. Not when the incident of yesterday still haunted me. He obviously did not take me with respect. If not, he wouldn’t have done that. “Who?” I asked her. The first person that came to mind was Damian . Perhaps something had happened to him. “Logan. He is out!” I did not expect to hear that early in the morning. I got off my bed an
DAMIAN I was disappointed in myself. I did not know that I had fucked up so much until when I woke up in the morning on my bed and my head felt like it was spitting into two. I was severely hungover from the other night. The only thing I remembered at first was that I was with Kai and we were celebrating the fact that Aurora knew that I was her mate. I was not sure of it, but I knew that there were high chances of that since I had gotten my own mate bond just a few days ago. I was so excited. The celebration morphed into a party, and then when I realized I was too drunk, Kai told me to stay back until tomorrow because it was a bad idea to go to her room and speak to her in that state. I had agreed with him but as the night passed and he was asleep, my urges got the better of me and then I was on my way to her room. I remembered going there and I remembered kissing her, and she pushed me away. Now that I was sober, my ego felt even more injured than it was but I still felt so fuck
AURORA I had a hard time writing the letter because I was not sure of what he wanted to hear. I did not know if he brought me out on his own accord or because he needed me for something regarding bringing his lost girlfriend back home. Because as time passed, since the two days that I was released, he had not come to see me. It was on the second day that I finally decided to send out of the letter to him. If he released me because he still believed that we were friends, then he was going to come and see me. If not, then it is what it is. I would just forget I ever wrote the letter and bury myself out of shame. Moments after I had sent the letter a few hours ago, I had started to pace in my room out of anxiety when Nancy came back into the room. I gave her a questioning look because it couldn’t have taken her this short period of time to have taken it to the alpha and yet here she was, already back. “Why are you already back?” I asked her. “One of his sisters collected it,”
DAMIAN I had very little time to decide if I wanted her to be in my pack or if I wanted her to take her away. The anti vampire committee had been trying to get someone who would be their sample, but I did not know if I would be able to just give her away because I was selfish. It was something I was not ashamed of admitting. I didn’t want to be away from my mate. She was the closest we could get to getting the work done but I couldn’t do it. Whenever I thought of giving her away, something stopped me from doing it. I had not told Kai yet because I knew what he was going to say. He did not like Aurora that much so of course he was going to tell me to let her go. She was my mate, and this was her secret so I had to protect it. I was going to do everything to make her feel better. It has been two days since I instructed that she was let out of the cage and I have been doing everything in my power to go and meet her because I did not know how the conversation was going to go. Of c
AURORA It almost felt unrealistic as I felt the cold air of the night hit my skin. I have been so starved of this and wanted to experience it again for the entire time that I was in the cell. I hoped that Logan was going to feel that way soon too. The cold, iron bars of the dungeon door clanged shut behind me, it marked the end of a nightmarish chapter. The moon bathed the streets in its ethereal glow as I stepped into the night, my senses acutely aware of every rustle and heartbeat around me. The guards that were holding on to me had let me go and I was free to roam. My legs hurt from being trapped in one place for so long and it took me a while to stop myself from limping as I headed towards the palace. I wished there was somewhere else that I could be, but I didn’t really have a choice. The palace was the only place I could go to. On my way back, I stumbled on so many random things on the way. I hissed. If Damian wanted me to be out then at least he should have sent so
AURORA I sat there in silence, hearing what my brother was telling me about my identity that I had not found out for a long time. I could not believe what I was hearing. It was all adding up, with every word he spoke. It made sense why my parents never really liked me in the first place. I was not their daughter. I was adopted into the family when their real daughter had died, and I was replaced by her. Only the immediate family knew, and it had been kept a secret all till today. I was surprised, but it was fleeting because it all made sense to me. He said that I was a hybrid, which meant that I was a werewolf and a vampire in one body. When I had died at the Elantine’s palace, that was when my vampire side was activated. I had technically been dead since then. My heart was not beating and I would not shift on the full moon because I had the power to do that now. Not even an alpha had the same potential as I did. He was stronger than me, but I could beat him in a combat because o