A COMFORTING SHOULDER

Aurelia's POV 

I pressed the cold towel against Zephyron’s bruised knuckles, watching the way his jaw tightly clenched.

He didn’t look at me. His gray eyes were locked on the empty ice, his breathing heavy and ragged.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard, Zeph,” I whispered.

He let out a harsh breath, his shoulders tense beneath his hockey jersey. “The finals are next week, Aurelia. My father is coming. The scouts are coming. I don’t have time to slack off.”

I knew that tone. I knew every shift in his voice, every shadow that crossed his handsome face.

For three years, I had been the one who caught his anger when the rest of the pack expected him to be the flawless Alpha heir.

When Lyra broke his heart, threw her ring at his chest, and left the academy, I was the one who sat on the floor of his cabin, holding him together while he tore himself apart.

My chest ached at the memory, but I pushed it down.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit me, making my head spin. I stumbled slightly, gripping the edge of the wooden bench.

My wolf, a faint, fragile presence in my mind, whimpered weakly.

“Aurelia?”

Zephyron finally turned his head, his hand reaching out to catch my waist. His grip was warm and steady, pulling me closer against his side.

“I’m fine,” I lied quickly, forcing a small smile. “Just a bit tired.”

He frowned, his thumb brushing against my hip. “Did you take the suppressants the academy healer gave you?”

“Yes. Headmistress Selene said it’s just my natural constitution. They told me to stop complaining and rest more.”

Zephyron sighed, his eyes drifting back to the ice. “Good. You need to stay strong for tomorrow night.”

He was caring, but he wasn’t completely here. He never was. Even when he held me, it felt like a part of his soul was still standing at the gates, waiting for a girl who had already left.

In the corner of the locker room, Ronan Hale, Zeph's best friend, stood quietly, his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze moved from my pale face to Zephyron’s distracted grip.

Ronan opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it, simply shaking his head and walking out. He always looked at me with that strange, heavy pity and I hated it.

An hour later, I walked down the grand corridor of the academy toward the dining hall.

Blackridge was a vicious place. If you weren’t strong, you were prey. And if you didn’t have a powerful wolf, you were practically invisible.

Unless, of course, you were hanging onto the arm of the future Alpha of the Duskmere pack.

“Look at her,” a low laugh echoed from a group of girls standing by the lockers. “Still running after him like a lost puppy.”

“She really thinks she’s replacing Lyra,” another whispered, not even bothering to lower her voice. “As soon as Lunar Crest is over, he’ll realize a weak wolf can’t be an Alpha’s mate. She’s just his rebound comfort girl.”

The words felt like a physical slap to my face. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.

They didn’t understand. Zephyron had been courting me for two months now. He asked me to be with him. He told me he wanted to try.

But deep down, the whispers still got to a terrified part of me that feared they were right.

A hand caught my elbow, pulling me out of the hallway and into an empty classroom.

It was Talia—my overprotective cousin. Her green eyes were swimming with worry as she looked at me.

“Aurelia, you look like a ghost,” she said punches-thrown, taking my hands. “Your hands are freezing. Your wolf is struggling again, isn’t she?”

“I’m fine, Talia. It’s just the stress.”

“It’s not just the stress, and you know it,” she snapped softly, her voice filled with a desperate, protective anger. “You are killing yourself for him. You spend every night managing his moods, cooking his meals, and fixing his messes. What does he give you in return?”

“He’s taking me to Lunar Crest tomorrow,” I said, my voice rising defensively. “Everyone is going to be there. The elders, the entire pack. He told me he’s going to make it official.”

Talia let out a frustrated breath, dropping her hands.

“Aurelia, listen to me. You deserve to be someone’s first choice. Not the girl who was always there when his real world fell apart. If Lyra came back tomorrow...”

“Lyra is gone!” I interrupted, my heart hammering painfully against my ribs. “She transferred out of the academy. She’s not coming back. Zeph is trying. He really is.”

Talia looked at me for a long moment, a deep sadness in her eyes.

“I just don’t want to see you break,” she whispered.

***

I left the classroom, her words echoing like a curse in my mind.

The girl who was always there.

Was that all I was to him?

I remembered the countless nights over the past years. The times he would call me at two in the morning, his voice thick with liquor and pain after another explosive fight with Lyra.

I would sneak out of my dorm, ignoring the brutal rules of the academy, just to sit with him in the dark.

I would listen to him tell me how much he loved her, how she was his entire world, while my own heart bled silently into the floorboards.

I had endured the pain because I loved him too much to let him drown.

And when Lyra finally pushed him too far and left, he had turned his eyes to me. He had looked at me with a soft, tired expression and said, “You’re the only one who never leaves, Aurelia. Let’s do this right.”

That sentence had been my salvation. It was the anchor I held onto whenever the fatigue from my weak wolf threatened to drag me down.

The academy healers had dismissed my fainting spells, treating me like an annoyance, an inconvenient glitch in a high-status pack. But as long as Zephyron held me, I convinced myself I could survive it.

I walked back toward the packhouse, the chill of the evening biting through my coat.

Tomorrow night was the Lunar Crest event. The biggest night of the term.

If he announced me as his official partner before the elders, the whispers would stop. The hierarchy would have to accept me. I wouldn't just be the backup girl anymore. I would finally be his.

When I reached my dorm room, a formal white envelope was lying underneath my door.

My breath hitched.

I quickly picked it up, my fingers trembling as I tore the gold wax seal of the Duskmere pack.

Inside was a heavy, embossed card. It was an official administrative itinerary for the Lunar Crest Night, issued directly from the Headmistress’s office and co-signed by the Alpha Council.

My eyes flew down the elegant cursive text, skipping past the opening speeches and the hockey commendations until they landed on the final, most prestigious slot of the night.

*9:30 PM: Public Declaration of Intent and Presentation of the Future Alpha Mate: Zephyron Duskmere and Aurelia Thorn.*

The words seemed to burn bright on the paper.

My heart leapt into my throat, a sudden sob of pure, overwhelming relief escaping my lips.

It was real. He hadn't lied to me. He was really going to do it.

He was going to choose me in front of the whole world.