Chapter 2.

Aurora’s POV

I limped back to the room, my vision wavering black at the edges. Each step sent fresh pain shooting through my bruised knee. I had cried, sobbed, and begged multiple times until I simply ran out of tears. My nostrils were stuffed, my head pounded with a vicious ache, and my chest felt hollowed out. Hunger gnawed at my empty stomach, and I was lightheaded enough that the walls seemed to breathe around me.

Collapsing onto my bed, I bit my now-raw lip to keep from crying out and waking the others. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, making my stomach roll with nausea. A wrapper crinkled beneath my head, and I held my breath. My side mate, a brute whose name I'd never bothered to learn, shifted in his sleep but otherwise remained unconscious. I exhaled shakily, gently reaching out to find the source of the noise.

It was a small wrapper. I squinted and raised it toward the window, where the moon—already beginning to swell with the approach of fullness—spilled in. A nylon wrapper containing chocolate with a piece of paper stuck to it. A gift from Kylie, no doubt. A farewell present.

The small kindness tightened my throat in a way that even Aunt Meredith's abuse couldn't. I tucked it under my mattress quickly, if Fina found this, she'd only create another scene.

Sleep came in fractured bursts. Every time I closed my eyes, images from my past haunted me. Rogues cutting my mother apart, piece by piece. Those silver eyes I'd glimpsed earlier, staring at me with an intensity that burned. Beasts chasing me through endless forests. My own mangled body at the foot of a cliff.

By the time dawn was approaching, I was tired of the sham of sleep. There was no way I was getting any sleep again. At least the day wasn’t going to be as bad as the day before. It was the day of the full moon, and as per traditions, everyone was to be present at the packed courtyard to pay respects to the moon. 

I tried to sit up, but my body screamed in protest. Every joint felt like it was filled with broken glass. The pain was so sudden, so intense, that I couldn't stifle my cry as I fell back onto the mattress.

The other omegas glanced in my direction before quickly looking away. One gave me a small, sympathetic smile, but I didn't return it. What was the point? Friendship was a luxury I couldn't afford, especially not with people who would eventually leave me behind.

I dozed fitfully until the room emptied, grateful that nobody would witness what was coming next. As a natural omega, the full moon affected me differently than the others. Where most wolves felt strength and vitality, I felt... everything. Pain became agony. The slightest touch against my skin sent shockwaves of sensation through my body.

And then there was the heat. I was so sensitive that the gown I wore to sleep also made my breath shudder in pleasure. It was like every part of me was an erogenous point. 

My teeth chattered but I wasn’t cold, I was burning up. Eventually, the room emptied. I was pretty sure the pheromones I was giving out had been a major factor for their swift exit. 

I gasped as I tried to sit up again, my entire chest area brushing against my gown. I whimpered.

I needed my suppressants. They were in my small wooden box, just across the room. Might as well have been across the ocean for how impossible it felt to reach them.

After multiple attempts, I managed to stand, bracing myself against the same metal frame that had bruised my knee the day before. My breath came in short pants and pained whimpers as I took one trembling step, then another. My vision swam, narrowing to a pinpoint of light surrounded by darkness.

That was when it hit me, a wave of sensation so intense I dropped to my knees. My wolf, usually so quiet, roared to life inside me, making me scream in pain. It wasn't just the normal full moon sensitivity, this was something else entirely. Something I’d never experienced before. Had I been poisoned?

The door suddenly slammed open, and I groaned at the sudden movement I made. A man entered, his eyes almost entirely consumed by gold, a sign his wolf was close to the surface. A dangerous situation for any omega, but especially one in my condition.

"Please," I whimpered, not even sure what I was begging for.

He moved toward me, nostrils flaring as he caught my scent. I could see the moment his control slipped, his features sharpening, becoming more predatory. I pressed myself against the wall, but there was nowhere to go.

My salvation came in the form of a maid who burst through the door. She shoved the man back with surprising strength, her own eyes glowing an unnatural blue. Without a word, she pressed something into my palm and thrust a cup of water into my other hand.

The suppressant tablet. With trembling fingers, I placed it on my tongue, swallowing it down with the water. The heat instantly lessened, but what replaced it was worse—a burning, grinding pain that radiated from my joints outward. My wolf was fighting the suppressant with everything she had.

"No," I gasped, clutching my stomach. "Stop... please stop."

The maid's face swam before me, her features blurring. Her lips moved, but I couldn't hear the words over the roaring in my ears. All I knew was that something was terribly wrong. My wolf had never fought the suppressants before.

As darkness crept in from the edges of my vision, the last thing I saw was those silver eyes again—not in the room, but in my mind. Clear, commanding, and somehow familiar, though I was certain I'd never seen them before today.

My wolf howled in recognition, and for the first time in my life, I felt her reaching for something, or someone, beyond the confines of our shared body.

Then everything went black as I collapsed to the floor, my head hitting the wooden boards with a loud crack.