CHAPTER 2

AURORA

It was past midnight, and I was still waiting for Rowan in my room. He’d told me to come to him tonight, but it was already one in the morning, and he still hadn’t returned.

I gazed out the window, the woods were dark and silent, yet they whispered of freedom — freedom from the insults, the pain, the hollow ache of loving a man who couldn’t love me back.

If I could only find the courage to cross that border, I would be free.

The door burst open, making me jump. Rowan stumbled in, the scent of alcohol heavy around him.

“You’re still awake,” he muttered, collapsing on my bed without a glance in my direction.

I turned off the lamp and lay beside him, pretending to sleep. It had always been this way — he only reached for me when drunk, and every morning he left before sunrise, leaving me emptier than before.

Then I felt movement behind me. His hand brushed my waist, tentative at first, then firmer, drawing me close. My heart betrayed me, beating faster under his touch.

“You smell so good,” he murmured, his breath warm against my neck.

The mate bond pulsed through me — cruel, relentless.

He pressed closer, his voice low and broken. “Viv…”

My heart froze. He thinks I’m her.

I wanted to push him away, but my body wouldn’t obey. The heat of his skin, the desperate weight of his loneliness, made me falter.

He cupped my face, his thumb trembling as it traced my jaw. For the first time in years, there was something almost human in his eyes — confusion, pain, need.

When his lips brushed mine, the world fell away. The kiss was rough, searching, but beneath it I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t felt in a long time — tenderness.

He whispered against my lips, “Don’t move… please.”

I didn’t. I couldn’t.

“Goddess, you are so beautiful!” my heart warmed. Before I knew it, his warm lips connected with mine, kissing me passionately. He was so gentle, his touch burned, and my privates throbbed even more, itching with desire.

Rowan made me feel like a woman that night, every part of my body he touched awakened, my body bent to his will, responded to his every touch. He made love to me until early hours of the morning, when he gentle pulled me into his arms whispering. “You must be tired now, my love. I am sorry for tiring you out like this.”

A smile formed on my lips as I closed my eyes relaxing on his chest. Enveloped by his scent and feeling safe in his arms. It wasn’t hard to fall asleep.

*****

I woke to a splash of icy water, gasping as Laura stood over me, bucket in hand. “You call yourself a Luna? Sleeping until noon while the pack starves?”

“Mom…”

“Mom?” she sneered. “Do I look like your mother?”

I glanced at the empty space beside me, Rowan was gone. Sunlight streamed through the window. Despite the ache in my body, a smile tugged at my lips. He had held me, whispered to me.

Nothing could ruin that. Not even her.

I showered, humming softly. Jess, my wolf, scoffed.

“He called you Vivian, Aurora. Wake up. Leave him.”

“Not now, Jess,” I whispered. I didn’t want the truth, not yet.

I got done and went into the kitchen and made food for my mother-in-law. She sat quietly on the kitchen counter watching me. that was a first for her, she always found fault in everything I did. but I appreciated the silence.

When I got done, I placed everything in front of her. she didn’t say anything and started eating. I made myself a cup of coffee and suddenly she spoke. “Aurora.” Her tone was oddly calm.

“Mom?” I asked cautiously.

“Do you know how long he showered this morning, the look of disgust when he got out of your room?” she shook her head.

I gripped the counter, refusing to meet her eyes.

“It’s because he hates you,” she said softly, almost with pity. “He showered for nearly an hour this morning. Said you make him sick. Even the Goddess hasn’t given you a child, she knows you don’t belong here.”

My throat burned. I forced myself to breathe.

Jess’s voice was steady in my mind. “Breathe, Aurora. Don’t break for them.”

I closed my eyes breathing in and out as she instructed. When I felt better, I opened my eyes only to find my mother-in-law looking at me. she shook her head. “Your family’s event is coming up,” she said coldly. “I won’t go. I won’t sit there listening to gossip about how pathetic our Luna is.”

She left, and I gathered the dishes quietly.

*****

A month had passed, and Rowan still hadn’t spoken to me.

He must have known it was me that night — at first he’d called me by her name, but once the haze of drink had faded, he knew.

He just hated himself for giving in, and I told myself his anger wasn’t at me, but at his own weakness.

Still, his silence cut deeper than ever. I stayed, caring for him, finding meaning in his recovery even as his heart remained frozen.

After returning to the pack at eighteen, I fell for Rowan at first sight. It wasn’t for any other reason—just that when everyone laughed at me as a wild country girl, he stood up and spoke to me. He even taught me some fighting techniques.

I knew he was more suited for Vivian, yet I couldn’t help the feelings that grew in my heart. That’s why, when Rowan was injured, I threw myself into healing him with everything I had ever learned, without hesitation.

Those rare nights he came to me kept the smallest spark of hope alive. I told myself that maybe, someday, he’d soften.

But would that day ever come? I wasn’t sure anymore.

My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was Beta Jayson.

“Luna,” his voice was tight, urgent. “Alpha Rowan’s been injured. He needs a blood transfusion, urgently.”

The phone slipped from my hand. My heart stopped. What could have happened? He just left!

Rowan’s body had only just recovered this year — I couldn’t stand by and watch him get hurt again.

I snapped out of it, “Rowan…” I stood, grabbed my bag and my phone on the floor.

Terrified, I rushed to the hospital, my heart pounding in my chest imagining the worst. “Please Goddess, let him be okay.”