LOGINChapter 177Aurora's POVRunning in my wolf form made it slightly less exhausting but I could still feel my wolf muscles aching. The race from the mountain back to the White Pine was long and I was literally racing against time. At some point, the pursuers had returned and I was alone, but I didn't slow down. Just as I arrived at the pack gates, I transformed back to human form and grunted at the fresh wave of pain that hit me. My feet were bleeding a bit and I could barely feel my shoulders. I was jogging now towards the main gate when I heard someone. "Mistress?!" a voice said.I looked up and noticed a guard stood a few feet away. His mouth was open as he looked at my torn dress, my bloody wrists, and my split lip."Help," I said. "I need to get to my lodge."The guard stepped toward me. "Mistress, what happened to you? Chief Guardian Joshua said you were conducting a diplomatic meeting at the border.""It was a trap," I said shakily as I pushed past him. "Do not tell anyone
Chapter 176 Aurora's POV Theon took a sip from his goblet. "And the city Alpha you said came with her? Alpha Kaelen?""Kaelen is a problem for later," Kenneth said. "He is still unconscious. By the time he wakes up and finds out she is gone, she will already be here.” "I don't want a fight with some dig over a woman, I can get any woman I want here.” But Kenneth laughed. "Certainly not as feisty as this one. I can assure you of that. Our mountain girls are far too docile and they make terrible lovers.” “So, what if he comes looking for her?” "Oh, he will come looking for her, and when he does, we will deal with him. He has no army so he can't do anything.” "You are certain the council will follow you?" Theon asked."The council follows whoever keeps them safe and fed," Kenneth said. "I have kept them safe for fifty years. Alistair kept them afraid. Between safety and fear, they will do what we tell them. The girl threatened both. She wanted to change everything in one morning.
Chapter 175Aurora's POVThe cell literally stunk. It smelled so bad that I knew without even asking that it didn't have a toilet inside it. I gagged severally but I was damn too proud to beg them again. They wouldn't let me go when their Alpha had told them to hold me here, it was hopeless. So I couldn't bother at all. The two guards had pushed me forward and I fell to my knees then one of them had sneered. "Stay here and rot, little queen." Then they left and up until now, I was sitting alone and staying through the bars of the cell. I sat there, still enraged but unable to do anything. My face hurt where Theon had slapped me and my lip was split and still bleeding slightly. I was miles from White Pine and I could guess Kaelen was still back in our lodge, not daring to come out. He probably thought I was at a diplomatic meeting. He did not know I had been kidnapped.If I stayed here and waited, I was dead. I had to get out.I waited until the entire place was silent before I
Chapter 174 Aurora’s POVMy head was throbbing painfully and I could feel my temples aching like they'd explode. When I opened my eyes, everything was a dark blur. The smell of stale damp earth, woodsmoke, and old leather filled my nose. I tried to lift my hands to rub the pain from my temples, but my arms wouldn't move.I strained against the restriction, trying to wiggle my fingers and feet. But I realized that my ankles were tied together just as securely."Help!" I screamed, the sound tearing roughly out of my raw throat. "Help! Somebody!""Save your breath, little mistress," a rough voice growled from the shadows across the room.Memory rushed back over me and I gasped. I could recall the carriage flipping sideways, the fight and shouts and Joshua collapsing in the dirt, Elder Kenneth cowering behind a wheel, and the dark cloth bag thrown over my head before I was tossed over a horse like a sack of grain.I kicked my legs violently against the wooden bench, rattling the fra
Chapter 173 Kaelen's POV The minute those words left his mouth, I felt my wolf struggling violently at the inside of my chest, screaming at me to open my eyes, leap off the bed, and crush the bastard's windpipe before he could even draw his knife."Are you insane?" the second guard snapped back, his voice rising in anxiety. "And what do you think the Mistress will do when she finds out you did that?""How would she know?" the first guy grumbled."You're saying that like she isn't going completely wild right now!" the second guard shot back. "Didn't you just see her out in the square? She literally made all the senior elders vacate the Great Pavilion and gave our breakfast hall to the servants! If she finds out that you drew blood on her mate while he's lying in a coma, what do you think she'll do to you?"The first guard went quiet for a second."Besides," the second guard added in a tense whisper, "word around the council is that the Mistress also has a gift of prophecy. She hasn't
Chapter 172Kaelen’s POV I spent the better part of two hours pacing a tight line across the bedroom floor, stepping carefully so the timber wouldn't creak. The silence inside the lodge was maddening. With Aurora out in the village square, every single second felt like an eternity. My chest felt tight, my skin hot, and my mind was spinning in circles. I stopped in front of the tall, dark standing mirror in the corner of the room, looking at my reflection. My hair was a messy nest, my jaw covered in dark stubble, and my eyes were wide, blue, and manic. I stared at myself, clearing my throat softly. "I think I have feelings for you, Aurora," I whispered to the empty room. I paused, staring at my reflection for three seconds before squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my fist until my knuckles turned white. "Fuck it," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head violently. "I can't put it that way. That sounds way too clean. Way too formal." I took a deep breath, flexing my fin







