CHAPTER 3

AURORA

The cell smelled of rust and damp stone. My head throbbed, my stomach churned. I’d lost count of how many days it had been, three, maybe four, since Rowan locked me in here.

He hadn’t come to see me once. He’d heard that I wasn’t well, yet he didn’t bother to check on me. He must have thought I was pretending again — as usual.

I didn’t even know when Rowan had started believing I was a liar.

What was I saying? Of course, it was because of her — Vivian.

Maybe then my name would be cleared but I didn’t know what would become of my baby then. I suddenly felt lightheaded, black dots started dancing in my vision and before I knew it, I was coughing up blood.

I couldn’t stop it. It just kept coming. “Oh, dear Goddess! Call the alpha!” I could hear one of the warriors guarding me panicking and yelling at the other one. This whole thing started with me feeling my body growing heavier and heavier. I thought it was because she was pregnant. “It’s spreading,” Jess whispered in my mind. “The old poison. You waited too long.”

My wolf said and my hands shook. it was indeed bad, I could die if I didnt take the medicine to surpress it soon. 

When I was ten, I had been poisoned by a rare snake in the forest. After my parents took me back home, they never believed I was poisoned when I told them. They thought I was faking illness just to steal their attention from Vivian.

In truth, just one herb could suppress it. Every year, I would go into the forest around this time to gather it. But this year, I had been delayed becuase my dear mate locked me up in the dungeon. Now, the poison was acting up again. My chest and throat throbbed from all the vomiting.

My whole body ached, and cold sweat drenched my forehead. I could feel my energy depleting, I could tell I wasn’t going to be conscious for long.

For the first time, I didn’t want to go on living. Maybe it’s better to just die, I thought. What was the point of living anyway. But then, I suddenly thought of the baby inside me.

Yes… I still had my child. For its sake, I couldn’t die yet.

Rowan refused to save our baby, he refused to believe he even existed but I will try my best to save his life.

I froze when I heard footsteps. That voice… I would recognize it anywhere.

My brother, Grayson.

 “Stop pretending,” he said coldly, "You brought this on yourself."

I smiled weakly. When I was little, he was my family. I wished I could go back to the time before I was kidnapped. The time when my brother and I were close. 

Ever since I went back home, I had become nothing more than a shadow in his eyes, the unwanted sister who had hurt his precious “little Vivian.”

To him, my very existence was a reminder of her pain, and he made sure I never forgot it.

Sometimes, I wondered if I had truly lost a brother that day — or if I’d simply never had one at all.

“Every year around Vivian’s death anniversary, you do this to get attention.” he sneered.

I used to always explain herself, but now I was tired, and I didn’t want to argue. It was no use anyway instead I said, "Too bad someone as wicked as me is still alive, while your sweet little sister Vivian is dead." I smirked, they thought I was evil anyway, I might as well give them what they wanted.

"How dare you!" A slap landed across my cheek.

I knew he was either going to yell and curse or walk away.

But this time, he did the unthinkable, something he had never done before. He slapped me.

His voice was cold, but his eyes wavered, just for a second. “You brought this on yourself,” he said, as if he needed to believe it.

Without another word, he hurriedly left.

I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face. Finally, he left. Once upon a time Grayson had been a loving brother. When I first got back home, he had been kind to me then as well, and I had done my best to be good to him, helping him heal injuries after he came back from the wars. I wanted to get back the connection we had lost when I was taken.

But it didn’t last. Under Vivian’s repeated provocations, Grayson grew annoyed with me, eventually, my brother refused to speak to me.

Yet when Vivian died, my brother went insane, shouting, "Why? Why didn’t death take to you!"

I didn’t understand. What was so special about Vivian that made so many men go mad for her?

My brother’s allergic to many foods, and I had spent countless days and nights preparing meals and searching for herbs for him. But it seemed my brother like Rowan had forgotten all that…

My wolf, sensing my grief, spoke “Ugh, these people are despicable. Aurora, you have to get the treasure, or even my power won’t protect you."

I said weakly. “I really don’t want to die yet. I still have my unborn baby. But I don’t know how much longer I can keep going..."

At that moment, just when my eyes grew heavy and I was finding it difficult to keep them open. My husband Rowan entered.

He froze when he saw me—pale, trembling, blood on my lips. For a heartbeat, his mask slipped. Then it was back. “You provoked Grayson again, didn’t you?”

Again, about Vivian, couldn’t he see that I was not well, why concern himself with someone who was not there? “You will continue getting slapped if you don’t stop this nonsense of yours."

I snorted coldly, avoiding Rowan’s gaze. Rowan continued, "Tomorrow, during soldier training, I’ll make sure to warn him not to do that again."

I sneered, "No need to pretend to be the good guy in front of me."

Rowan said, “Then tell me, what would it take for you to stop being upset with me?”

I looked at him, he looked sincere and so I asked, "Sure. I’ll ask you one last time. If this treasure is the only thing that can save my life, would you give it to me?" a faint hope still lingering in my heart.

Rowan sighted shoving his hands in his pockets. "Stop joking! That treasure is only for reviving Vivian. You lied enough times, and no one will believe you even if you were dying! "

“You don’t understand the real Vivian at all—”

All the hope I had was once again crushed. I wanted to reveal that Vivian wasn’t really killed because of me, but maybe the truth might never be uncovered.

Rowan frowned and came closer to me; he shook me slightly. "What about Vivian? What do you know?"

Anything concerning Vivian drew his intense attention. I sneered inwardly; I couldn’t take it anymore. My vision was becoming blurry. “Aurora, what do you know?” he questioned once more but it was like he was talking for afar.

Suddenly, I felt dizzy and the nauseous came back. I stumbled and Rowan moved to support me. Anger rose from the pit my stomach, why was he acting as if he cared? slapped his hand away and said, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Then I completely lost my strength and uncontrollably fell to the ground.

Rowan seemed taken aback by my outburst. He urgently called out, “What’s wrong with you? Call Doctor!”  

Just before everything faded, I thought I saw a flicker of anxiety and concern in his eyes. I must have imagined it.