AURORA TWO YEARS LATER“Mummy! Mummy!! Come and see, it’s a butterfly!” my son, Declan’s joyful voice echoed across the sunlit field as he chased after the fluttering wings. His laughter rang like music in the air.I smiled faintly, my heart skipping at the sound of my son’s voice. “Declan, be careful!” I called out, shielding my eyes from the sun as I watched him dart through the wildflowers.“He’s such a smart young boy, just like his father.” Oprah said gently, walking up beside me.I froze. The words struck deep, anchoring my feet to the ground. He’s just like his father; Damon.It had been two years since I left Moonshadow pack. Two long aching years since I had seen him, touched him, breathed the scent of his skin.I had found out not long after I arrived at Trinity pack; I was pregnant with Damon’s child.It had rocked me to my core. I had cried alone in the dark, torn between returning to Damon and keeping my distance and the baby safe.I gave birth in secret.
DAMONThe door slammed behind her. The sound echoed through the study like thunder, but I didn’t move.I stood there, frozen, staring at the blood in my hands. I couldn’t feel the pain. Because the invisible wound I had just inflicted on her was far worse than anything physical.“What have I done?” I whispered to no one.My knees buckled and I fell into the chair, my hands dragging down my face as the weight of my actions crushed me.I could still feel the shape of her throat in my palm, the tremor in her voice, the way she looked at me with such surrender. She wasn’t fighting me.She was accepting whatever I gave her; even if it was death. My chest heaved violently as I tried to breathe through the rage and grief.This wasn’t who I was to her, not with Aurora; my love, my sunshine.I punched the desk, once, twice. Until my knuckles split open and the pain blurred everything.“I don’t deserve her,” I muttered, my voice cracking.I had become like those who hurt her in the past. And Ed
AURORAI stood at the edge of the balcony, the cold breeze brushing against my skin. The moon hung high in the sky, casting silver light across the stone floor.I wrapped my shawl tighter around my shoulders, but the chill wasn’t the wind; it was from within.I was back in the palace, Oprah barely left my side. But Damon wasn’t here.He hadn’t so much as looked me in the eyes since I returned. He had assigned special doctors to my well-being. But after that, he vanished into silence.I had only seen glimpses of him. Damon in his study, Damon walking the halls at night, Damon drinking, Damon avoiding me.I had found out Eden was the one behind it all. He had taken me, hurt me. And tried to break me by taking my loved one.I survived, yet Damon was falling apart. Oprah tells me Damon barely sleeps, he barely eats. He drinks.Oprah had mentioned she overheard his growls, his roars, the sound of furniture smashing against the walls.Every day he sent out more search parties, looking for
DAMONThe man stiffened, his back facing me as his fists clenched at his sides. The masked men around him turned slowly, exchanging glances, confusion and unease flickering in their posture.“What did you just call me?” the man asked, his voice lower this time; no mockery, no amusement.“I said… Eden. You think I wouldn’t recognize you?” I lifted my head, my eyes wild with fury from the effect of the silver.A cold silence followed, and for a heartbeat, no one moved. The man chuckled; a low, sinister sound.“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled.I looked up at him with absolute clarity in my gaze. “Oh, I do. You betrayed me. You stood beside me, acted like a brother, helped me search for her… while you were the one who took her.”He slowly turned, his fingers reaching up to rip the mask from his face.And there he was. Eden. The same eyes that once stood in battle with me… now stared back, laced with venom.“Yes, it’s me. Hello, brother.” Eden said with a smug smile.
AURORAIt had been days. Days of darkness, days without freedom, without sun, without Damon.I sat slumped in the corner of the windowless room; my prison. My head pounded with exhaustion.The air was stale and thick, and my limbs trembled from weakness and hunger.The stale bread and tasteless soup they pushed into my hands twice a day went mostly untouched. My body was paying the price now and so was my mind.Why has Damon not come for me yet?I rose slowly, my legs unsteady, and began pacing the room for what felt like the hundredth time.My heart raced every time I neared the door, hoping for some miracle; a sign of escape. But it was always locked.I didn’t even know where I was. The walls told me nothing, the silence mocked me.Just then the handle of the door twisted. My breath hitched. The door creaked open and he walked in.The masked one; the so-called boss. I instinctively stepped back, my body tensing as his boots echoed on the stone floor.My back brushed the cold wall a
DAMONI threw the heavy table against the wall; books, maps, ink bottles all shattered on impact.The growl in my chest was inhuman, feral. My claws were halfway out, my eyes were glowing as my wolf fought control.My study was wrecked; shelves toppled, the chandelier swung wildly from the ceiling, and shattered glass littered the floor like deadly snow.“King Damon, Stop!” Eden shouted as he threw himself into my path, grabbing my arm before I could cause more havoc.He gripped me tighter. “Please… enough. This won’t bring her back.” Eden said, his voice firm.My body trembled. I jerked my arm away from him and turned my back, facing the window.“Three days, Eden. Three days… and nothing… Not a word on what they want.”Marcus stepped over the mess and stood beside Eden. “Brother, calm down. We will track the bastard. We’ve done it before. They can’t hide from us.”Aaron nodded, his voice confident. “They made a mistake taking your mate. That makes them dead men walking.”I turned sl