LOGINAURORAThe council chamber was already full when we arrived.Apparently, the elders had decided they couldn’t wait until morning to ruin my life.Wolves filled the room. Some stood along the walls. Others sat in the elevated seats overlooking the circular chamber. The moment I stepped inside, every conversation died.Every single one.I hated that.I hated being looked at like I was a problem waiting to happen.Beside me, Darius muttered, “If one more person stares at her like that, I’m punching someone.”“Please don’t,” Lyra sighed.“No promises.”I almost smiled.The elders sat at the center of the room.The same elders I had accidentally launched across the chamber earlier.Judging by the way they stiffened when they saw me, they hadn’t forgiven me.Wonderful.Malrik walked in behind us and immediately the atmosphere shifted.The wolves parted for him. Some lowered their heads. Others looked away entirely.Power. That was what he carried. Raw authority. The kind that didn’t need to
AURORAThe Hollow Lands.The name stayed in my head long after Malrik stopped talking.Most never come back.What kind of place was that supposed to be? And why would my mother choose to live there?I sat down heavily on one of the chairs and rubbed my temples.Everything was becoming too much again.A few days ago my biggest concern was surviving Malrik.Now I had an ancient bloodline, a bond with two Alphas, a mother who was apparently alive, and a journey to some mysterious place where people disappeared.At this point, nothing surprised me anymore.“You’re doing that thing again.”I looked up at Darius.“What thing?”“The thing where you disappear into your own head.”I rolled my eyes.“I’m sorry. Let me just casually process the fact that my dead mother isn’t dead.”His lips twitched.“Fair enough.”For some reason, that made me smile. Just a little.Draven noticed immediately. Of course he did. The man noticed everything.His gaze softened slightly before he looked away.The bo
AURORANobody spoke for a while after that.The room felt strangely quiet despite the fact that three Alphas were standing inside it.My gaze remained fixed on the floor as Malrik’s words repeated themselves inside my head.Prepare yourself for the possibility that you won’t like her answers.I hated that those words affected me.I hated that part of me was already wondering what those answers could be.The worst part? I wasn’t afraid that my mother was dead anymore. I was afraid she had chosen to stay away.That fear sat heavily in my chest because death was easier to forgive. Abandonment wasn’t.“You look like you’re planning a murder.” Darius’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.I looked up to find him watching me. There was no mockery in his expression.No amusement. Just concern. Which somehow felt weirder.“I might be.”He snorted. “Good.”My brow furrowed.“Good?”“If your mother really is alive, she deserves at least one punch before you forgive her.”A surprised laugh escaped
AURORAI stared at Malrik, waiting for him to laugh.Waiting for him to tell me this was another one of his sick games.Because there was no way what he had just said could be true.My mother was dead.I had spent years believing she was dead. I cried for her. I mourned her. I sat beside her grave and spoke to a stone because it was the only thing I had left of her.Now this monster was standing in front of me telling me she was alive?My chest tightened so hard it hurt.“You’re lying.”My voice sounded weak even to me.Malrik didn’t react.The bastard didn’t even blink.“You think I would tell you something this important if it wasn’t true?” he asked calmly.I hated how calm he was.I hated how he always acted like he knew things nobody else knew.Most of all, I hated the tiny voice inside my head whispering that he wasn’t lying.Because if he was lying, he would be enjoying this.He would be smirking.He would be provoking me.Instead, he just stood there watching me like he was wai
DRAVEN“Well,” Malrik said calmly, his gaze moving between the three of us, “that was faster than I expected.”Nobody answered him.The room felt suffocating.Aurora stood between Darius and me, her shoulders tense, her eyes locked on Malrik. I could feel the bond pulling at all three of us again now that we were together. The hollow ache that had haunted me in the dungeon had eased the moment I saw her.But something else had replaced it.Suspicion.Because Malrik wasn’t angry. He wasn’t surprised and he certainly wasn’t worried.A man whose prisoner had just escaped should not be standing there smiling.Darius stepped forward first. “Move.”Malrik’s brow lifted slightly.“You break out of a dungeon, assault my guards, invade my chambers and now you’re giving me orders?”Darius folded his arms. “Yes.”For a second, I thought Malrik might laugh. Instead, he simply stared at his son.“You’ve always been impatient.”“And you’ve always talked too much.”Aurora grabbed Darius’s arm before
DRAVEN“Left.”Darius didn’t slow down when he said it. He just turned sharply into the corridor like he already knew I’d be right behind him.I was.We moved fast, but not recklessly. Every step was controlled, every turn calculated. The packhouse wasn’t unfamiliar to us, but tonight it felt different. Or maybe that was just Malrik.“You’re sure it’s this way?” I asked quietly.Darius didn’t look back. “I can feel her.”That made something in my chest tighten.“I thought you said the bond was weak.”“It is,” he replied, his voice clipped. “Doesn’t mean it’s gone.”Fair enough.We took another turn. The further we went, the quieter it got. Fewer guards. Fewer voices. That alone was enough to tell me we were getting closer to somewhere important.“Too quiet,” I muttered.Darius huffed softly. “You complain when there are too many guards, now you’re complaining when there are none.”“I’m saying it’s wrong.”“I know.”That was the problem.We both knew it.A shadow moved at the far end o
AURORA“What do you mean you don't know?” Darius asked. I could see the worry in his eyes. It was a bit weird getting used to Darius who didn't see me as a sex toy, I could also feel his worry deep in my heart. The dream or vision… I honestly don't know what to call what I'd seen and how I'd seen
AURORAI woke up choking on heat but it wasn't the type that came from fire or fever alone, it was something deeper than that, like something was pulling me from inside, stretching, and burning like my body was being torn in opposite directions. I heard the voices before I opened my eyes. I heard
AURORAI woke up choking as my body jerked violently, lungs seizing as if I’d been dragged out of deep water too fast.Pain exploded across my back and ribs, so sharp it ripped a scream out of me before I could stop it. The sound came out broken, barely more than a rasp.I collapsed back onto the g
AURORAI didn’t wake up so much as drift upward. It felt like surfacing from deep water. It was slow, disorienting, and painful, like when you've been submerged in water for so long you think you're going to die but you don't. My chest burned as my lungs dragged in the air. The first breath scrap







