Chapter 7

AURORA'S POV

I arrived home that evening to an empty house with a note on the counter.

The piece of paper explained that Alaric had taken Asher and Seraphina to the pack gathering I had declined to attend.

Good for them because I needed the space to think about my next move.

There was no food, so I made myself a simple sandwich with beef fillings.I ate while standing at the counter and reviewing my patient files.

They returned about an hour later.

“Aurora?” I turned around to see him standing at the doorway, Seraphina and Asher behind.

The perfect family.

“We need to talk.”

“I'll take Asher upstairs,” Seraphina suggested, leading him away.

I found him standing outside my guest room.

“What is it?” I asked.

“What is happening to us?” He started in a voice etched with frustration.

“Nothing,” I shrugged.

He gave me the “don't give me that crap” look with the speed of light.

“Nothing?” He snapped.

The disbelief in his eye was clear.

I didn't move.

“Nothing?” He scoffed. “But you don't cook anymore or bother to attend pack events.”

“And so? I'm busy,” was my reply.

He rolled his eyes.

“You moved into the guest room, Aurora, out of our matrimonial bed.”

"I shrugged.

“I need  some alone time.”

“Alone time?!”

His voice rose a notch.

I looked at him carefully as he stopped closer, breathing close to my face.

I could see the purple shimmer in his eyes, which was stronger now.

It swirled like smoke behind his pupils.

“It seems to me like you don't even want to be a part of this family anymore.”

The words hit me hard.

A part of me instantly wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him.

I needed to yell at him and blame him for my death in my previous life.

I needed to scream about the dark magic that was poisoning his mind but I remembered dying on that surgical table while he celebrated with Seraphina.

And instantly, I couldn't do it, every zeal I had had before then lost.

I swallowed softly.

“Nothing is happening to us, Alaric.”

I kept my voice calm.

“I have simply chosen to focus on my work while giving you space to figure out what you really want.”

"What do I want?”

His hands seized my chin, tilting my head so I could look directly at him.

Tension built in the air.

The storm welling behind his eyes made him look… I don't know… Sexy?

And for a split second, I remembered why I had married this man.

Why I had chosen to spend forever with him.

“I want my wife back,” he began to explain, his voice shaking. “I want…”

“Alaric!” Seraphina's voice sliced through the silence, disrupting the moment. “Alaric !”

Alaric hesitated.

For a moment, my heart halted in my chest because I thought he might stay.

I really hoped that he might actually pick me over her summons.

Then he dropped his hand.

“We'll talk about this later,” he said.

My heart dropped to my feet.

He had chosen her again… the pattern never changed and this time it wasn’t her charms.

It was him who invited trouble into this house.

“Alaric,” I pushed out.

He turned away without a word, and I watched him go with tears in my eyes.That night, I waited until everyone was asleep before I crept into Asher's room.

I sat beside his bed.

I placed my palm against his skin and felt his forehead, which was still warm with that unknown fever.

Then, I closed my eyes and conjured the Luna power Miriam had helped me access.

I channeled it into him with my mind.

And when I opened my eyes, I saw my silver energy flowing straight from my hand and into Asher's small body.

I felt it seek the dark magic clinging to him, pushing against it.

It broke it apart, strand by strand.

Asher sighed in his sleep.

His body relaxed when I pulled my hand away, his forehead cool now.

It was an indicator that the fever had broken.

“I won't let her have you,” I whispered. “I promise.”

When morning came, I dressed quickly for work, descending the stairs early.

I found Seraphina at the stove, brewing something in a small pot.

The bitter smell made my wolf growl.

“Good morning, Aurora,” She was smiling brightly.

But I was seething inside because we were and had never been on first-name bases.

“What's that?” I asked, gesturing towards the culprit that made me uneasy.

“I am making a special tea for Asher. It should help with his illness.”

Instantly, I knew why the brew made me uneasy as fuck—it was dark magic.

“Actually, I've prepared a different remedy based on his latest symptoms.”

I instantly pulled out a bottle of vitamins from my medical bag.

“Why don't we try this first?” I said to her as I set it down on the counter.

Seraphina's smile tightened.

“Of course, Luna. You know best.”

But I saw her eyes flash with anger that was dark and dangerous.

I got a feeling that she knew I was now interfering with her plans.

“I'll just clean this up then,” she ground out as she reached for the pot and I intercepted her smoothly.

“Leave it. I would like to analyze the ingredients later for my medical records.”

Her gaze on me hardened.

We both just stood there with our eyes locked in a silent battle of wills.

Finally, Seraphina stepped back with a dark storm swirling behind her mask.

“As you wish, Luna.”

I took the specimen to work, showing it to Lyra as evidence the moment I arrived.

Then, I fell into my work.

At noon, I returned in time from work to the mandatory pack meeting.It dragged on for hours, and I took the opportunity to review the case notes while Alaric discussed territory boundaries and patrol schedules with the council.

When it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief, packing up to go back home.

But the Beta, Declan, suddenly appeared at my side as the people filed out.

“I need to tell you something, Luna,” he said to me in a quiet voice.

Then, he helped with my bag and walked me to my car, where we spoke.

“What is it?”

“I have been noticing strange things about Seraphina, especially the inconsistencies in her story and gaps in her background.”

My heart leaped in my chest.

“What kind of inconsistencies?” I asked as my eyes narrowed in curiosity.

“She claims she was living in the Silver Creek Pack before coming here?”

I nodded because it was the same thing that Alaric had told me.

“Well, I was in contact with their Alpha, and they have no record of her.”

My eyes widened.

She had lied?

Was she an impostor?

Declan leaned closer, “But what bothers me more is that the Alpha isn't himself when he is around her.”

My interest was piqued.

“He is always distracted by her and making poor decisions on her account.”

I blinked repeatedly.

I hadn't been aware of that.

“Yesterday he nearly approved a treaty that would have put our pack at a disadvantage if I wasn't there with them.”

Was she trying to sabotage the pack too, not just my home?

How had I been so blind to this before?

“She should have known better. I began to wonder if she was an ally or a foe.”

A light bulb went off in my head.

Declan, he wasn't on her side.

Therefore, he could be on mine.

He could be my ally, help me to watch Alaric whenever I couldn't, and keep him from making silly mistakes because of her.

“Declan, I need to tell you…”

I was interrupted by the high-pitched and terrified scream that cut through the air.

It came again.

I gasped in horror at the realization that the voice was familiar.

Asher.

I ran toward the sound, Declan bolting after me with concern.

I burst through the packhouse doors to find a crowd gathered in the hallway.

They parted as I pushed through.

My heart fell when I saw Asher lying on the floor, his small body convulsing.

Seraphina, who knelt beside him, had tears streaming down her face.

I could instantly tell that it was fake.

This was a performance.

“I don't know what happened!” she cried in a broken voice. “He just collapsed! One moment he was fine, the next…”

I ignored her, dropping to my knees and pulling Asher into my arms.

His body was burning with that stupid fever again, worse than before.

His eyes rolled back in his head as his tiny body shook uncontrollably.

This was my fault.

I had broken her curse last night and intercepted her tea this morning now she was retaliating.

“Someone call Dr. Montgomery!” I shouted at the murmuring crowd. “Now!”

Alaric appeared then.

His face went pale with terror the moment he beheld our son.

“What's happened?” He demanded. “What is wrong with him?”

I looked at Seraphina over Asher's convulsing body.

She met my eyes.

For just a second, her mask slipped, and I saw the triumph there.

This was a threat.

Back off, or your son will pay the price.

There were twenty-one days left until the divorce, twenty-one days until I could walk away from this nightmare.

But as I held my dying son in my arms, I knew the truth.

I couldn't leave him.