Her Choice Not Theirs

### Aurora

We’d been around for 4 whole days now.

I don’t plan to stay long.

A few days, I’d told myself. But something strange happened.

They didn’t push.

They didn’t corner me with apologies. They gave me space. Time. And a voice I’d never had before.

It scared me more than their rejection ever did.

They calmly waited with hope I’d let them in.

And honestly it was working.

My walls were cracking.

I was sitting on the balcony outside my temporary room, watching the horizon in the evening when voices below caught my attention.

I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But I heard my name.

“We can’t protect her and give her a place here,” Alpha Damon snapped, voice edged in fury. “Not without making this entire pack question our leadership.”

When did they get back? I hadn’t heard anything.

Then ‘Oh it must have been while I was napping’

“She’s our mate,” Kael said, his tone calm but full of steel.

“She was our pack’s shame,” the Alpha growled.

“No,” Kaden cut in. “She was yours. You turned your back on her because of her father—your friend. And you let the pack do the same.”

There was a pause. Then Damon spoke again, quieter this time.

“She reminds me of him.”

“You mean she reminds you of how badly you failed both of them,” Kaden said. “We’re not asking for your approval, Father. We’re telling you—we won’t abandon her again.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest, the warmth of the blanket not reaching my bones.

They were choosing me.

Even when it cost them.

That evening, Kael knocked on my door.

“I heard,” I said through the wood.

His voice was calm. “We didn’t mean for you to.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry about what he said.”

Silence.

“Can I come in?” He asked softly.

I opened the door slowly.

He looked relieved.

He stepped in carefully as if trying not to break the floor.

We stood face to face.

I had to look up at him.

Then my throat tightened.

“I don’t know how to come back Kael.”

My voice cracked and I looked down.

“To a pack that made me feel like I didn’t exist”

I looked up again tears streaming down my face.

He looked visibly pained.

“I don’t want to come back to a place that I feel tolerated. A place that doesn’t love or want me.

I’ll feel like an outcast once more.”

He moved closer, not touching, just grounding.

“We will never let you feel that way again. Please let us earn your trust. Give us a chance to make it all right. The pack is not to be bothered with. They’ll grow to love you as they should have.”

“I don’t want people loving me by force, Kael.

If I’m to be their Luna they should love me because I’m Me. Not because I’m their Luna. And they don’t.

They see me as the pack shame.”

His head hung with defeat.

“I’m sorry Aurora. It’s all our fault. We caused this. Please give us a chance to make it right.” His voice was small and pleading.

I didn’t say anything but I’d stopped crying.

He moved closer and slowly brought his hand to my face. I flinched a bit but didn’t turn away.

He carefully wiped my eyes.

“You’re so beautiful.” He whispered.

I looked down.

“If you choose to leave. We will accept your decision. But we will never stop asking for your forgiveness and never stop fighting for a spot in your heart.”

When he left I sat down to think.

They’d been patient and even stood up to their father for me.

They gave me the choice to leave or stay but they’d still be there for me in any choice I made.

That moved me to be honest.

I made the decision to stay because they were respectful and didn’t push or suffocate me.

I know what you’re thinking… only after four days?

Yeah… the mate bond is not a joke. Ughhhh

“I’m staying” I told Nova the next day in my room when she came to check on me.

She didn’t react right away. Just stared at me for a moment, then came around to wrap me in a tight hug on my side of the bed. “About damn time,” she muttered into my shoulder. “I’ve been trying not to push you, but I’m proud of you. This is your choice. That’s what makes it powerful.”

I smiled softly, holding her back.

“But,” I added after a second, “I’m still terrified. What if it all falls apart?”

“Then it falls apart,” she shrugged, pulling back. “But you’ll be here. And I’ll be here. And they’re not the same guys you grew up hating. Not entirely, anyway.”

I exhaled. “I should tell them.”

Nova smirked. “Please go now before one of them explodes from holding in their hope.”

I found Kaden and Kael in the training field behind the pack house, sparring shirtless in the late afternoon sun, sweat slicking their skin. They didn’t notice me at first. I stood there for a beat, admiring the sheer focus they had on each other—like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

When Kaden finally turned and saw me, he froze mid-step. Kael noticed immediately and straightened, wiping his face with a towel.

“I have something to say,” I called out, walking toward them.

They both stilled, looking at me with unreadable expressions.

“I’m staying,” I said.

For a long moment, no one said anything.

Then Kael’s eyes flickered, disbelief warring with something dangerously close to joy.

“You’re—”

“I’m staying,” I repeated, this time more firmly. “Not because of the bond. Not because I forgive you. But because I want to see if you mean it. If your patience wasn’t just some performance.”

I said with a mischievous twinkle in my eye.

Kaden stepped forward first, voice low. “It wasn’t .”

“I don’t need words,” I said quickly. “I need actions. I’m here now. That’s all I can promise. But I’ll stay. And I’ll try.”

Kael stepped beside his brother, his expression soft. “That’s all we’ve been hoping for.”

“Don’t mess this up, If you push me again, I won’t just walk. I’ll run.”

“We won’t,” Kaden promised.

Kael nodded. “You’re not our obligation. You’re our choice.”

Something flickered inside me. Hope. Or maybe fear disguised as hope.

They didn’t touch me. Didn’t reach out. Just stood there, giving me the dignity of space.

“I’ll move into one of the upstairs guest rooms,” I added, folding my arms. “But I’m not moving into your wing.”

Kael chuckled under his breath. “We wouldn’t dare ask.”

“And you better make sure the pack doesn’t treat me like some ticking time bomb. I’m not here to be pitied or avoided.”

“We’ll make sure of it,” Kaden said. “You’ll be respected.”

I nodded slowly. “Alright then.”

As I turned to leave, Kael called after me. “Aurora?”

I looked back.

“Thank you. For giving us this chance.”

I didn’t say anything. Just nodded and kept walking. My steps were steady, but my heart? That traitor was sprinting.

I was still scared.

But for the first time in years, I was scared with hope.

And maybe… maybe that was enough.