AuroraHe’s in pain and I hate to witness it.Of course I feel a small pang of guilt over him rejecting the royal pack. He is doing it because of me. I watch him hold his breath and try to remain still, my wolf wondering if this is how he felt when I decided to reject him as a mate. He shuts his eyes, scrunching them tightly closed and trying to steady his rapid breathing.His hands form into fists into his lap, the notion making me worried, and I pull back just a little. He whimpers. The royal prince of the king Alpha whimpers when I move away from him. It overshadows my fear an di press myself into his side, inhaling his scent and feeling his arm curl around my back, holding me to his side as she trembles.The moment flees as fast as it had arrived. He releases a deep breath, opening his eyes that are brewing with tears and almost collapses back into the sand, catching himself with his free hand while his other arm keeps me close.I bring my hand to his cheek, reaching slowly and ca
AuroraWe have dinner on the porch, in serene silence, listening to the waves of the ocean brush up and down the shore, nearing our little hut before retreating back to the vast sea ahead. It’s hard for me to focus, something about the full light of the moon ahead catching my attention. My body doesn’t hurt as much, and I may be covered in scars but the wounds no longer ache.I catch Jaxson’s glare once or twice, sometimes on me and other times looking to the ocean nearby. He doesn’t eat much. I can sense he is nervous, feeling him tap his foot under the little porch table where we eat some fresh fish and green vegetables. He is going to go after Luke tomorrow night and without his royal warriors to back him up, I’m worried if he will be able to face Xander’s entire pack.Jaxson is incredibly strong and wise in battle, but Xander has no limits.He catches my gaze as it wanders across his jawline, luminated blue under the moonlight. He smiles, his eyes lit up with his curved, plump lip
Aurora“Aurora,” Jaxson says, somewhere nearby.I cage my arms over my face, only hearing Xander as if he is in my head still, screaming at me and degrading me to no end. I try to not choke on the sand, curling into a small, nonthreatening ball, just hoping this nightmare passes.“It’s just me.”Jaxson pulls for me, despite my scream in fear, and pelts me into his chest, squeezing me so tight that I have no chance to escape further. I instead take to crying into shoulder, still damn from the ocean, and let my mind melt into a puddle of horrid memories I wish I could forget.“Shh, please.”I grab my arms, practically clawing into my skin, hoping the subtle pain pulls me out of my darkness and shoves me back into reality. I just had an amazing moment with Jaxson, experiencing the ocean for the first time ever and yet I had to ruin it, feeling Xander grab at my throat and pin me back against a wall until I black out.“Jax—Jaxson,” I pant, pushing into his chest, needing more of his affec
AuroraTonight, Jaxson will face his brother in the attack posed to save my best friend. Luke saved my life when we escaped, and he sacrificed himself, knowing he would take the brunt of Xander’s anger and ferocity. I try not to seem anxious but I can’t help pacing in the living room, the evening on it’s way as the sun threatens to fall from the sky too fast.Jaxson packs a duffle bag with spare clothes and other little necessities. I try to meet his eyes so maybe his calmness will influence me, but I can’t help that my wolf is howling deep in my head. She is upset, rightfully, and she doesn’t want Luke to stay with Xander but she hates to see Jaxson risk his life.I open my mouth to speak, a little notecard on the kitchen cabinet catching my attention instead. I reach for it, finding a pen, and knowing that it may hurt but it has to happen. I retreat to the bedroom, my heart racing even faster as I sit on the bed and try to get my hand to stop shaking long enough to write this down.
JaxsonWe run all day, then all night, and again into the next day. My wolf is pleased to be in control again. He needed this release and frankly, I needed to step back from control. My mind has been all over the place since I’ve gotten my mate back. Sometimes I think she feels the mating pull and wants me to be her fated, and other times I think she looks at me like a royal, her superior, here to ruin her life.All of that is diminished as we near the packhouse of my half-brother. I can smell his stench poured all over the woods out here. We pass through the North Woods pack, completely empty and ransacked in the process. Xander has been here. I slow, Paula and Row doing the same as we skid over to the wood home my mate had grown up in.We all shift mortal, throwing on some pants from the bag I had in my muzzle for the trip, and Paul sets to going into Aurora’s childhood home and sparking up a fire in the fireplace, Row busy looking for kindling while I aim to rest for a little while
The packhouse is right where Aurora said it would be, it’s just larger than any of anticipated. We linger in the woods, waiting to see if he has wolves running guard or waiting at the entry points in case of attack but surprisingly, my brother doesn’t seem too concerned with being attacked outright. He doesn’t know I rejected our father’s pack so he could be left vulnerable like this if I hadn’t and instead showed up with every royal warrior available.But we’re here to get a commoner back, and the royal warriors wouldn’t be interested in that.We’ve made it here in the dead of night and for a second, I truly think this place to be dead. Not a single light is on inside or outside the massive packhouse. It still smells of fresh cedar, most of this house unpainted, and I can tell it’s still new from being built. It’s surprising to see Xander getting this much done, though, he was never one to take charge. Only in taking my mate does he take initiative.I look to Paul and Row, wishing we
JaxsonI used to let my brother win.We grew up playing as an Alpha, like our shared father, but we played two very different games. He was a tyrant, never leaving mercy for the pretend members of his pack, daring them to slaughter and torture any one who even considered challenging him.I just wanted to establish a community, a pack for all, like my mother envisioned. I suppose my father sat somewhere between our fantasy’s, living the life he had always dreamed as Alpha, as a king, but at the fault of commoner blood and torment. He never seemed to care once my mother passed away. He went cold, and in turn he bore a child who was just as hostile as he.For a long time I pocketed the fact that Xander was an angry kid. I assumed I would be the Alpha, the king of the pack my father built, and my brother would be my beta, my most trusted sidekick. Seeing him now has changed the future on what I predict will become of me and my half-brother. I have Aurora to thank for that.Before my mate,