Aurora Jaxson pushes into the washroom, his crisp blue eyes a relief to see after experiencing such a threat from his brother. I am still weak with terror, my cuts and bleeding marks just enough to mask the smell of the second prince and his hands that crawled all over my body.Jaxson grabs for me to stand, holding me upright in the glass to assess my injuries.The fiery heat is still burning in my throat, still reeling off the threat, and my wolf is pleading feel safe. Pulling back from his chest, I can only shake my head, trying to make sense of everything that has happened and what came so close to transpiring.“What happened? Did someone hurt you?” he snarls.“No,” I lie. “It was my fault, sire.”He cocks his brow, as if he doesn’t believe me. I can’t piss off his brother more, though, so I do the only thing I know will shut him up and make him forget his rambling questions ov

Aurora There’s soft music playing downstairs, and I look out my large windows to see flocks of royal’s meandering through the palace doors to the gala inside. My stomach knots at the idea of being seen by so many high-ranking officials but the only thing keeping my head on straight is the idea of getting to see my parents and my closest friends.I pace my bedroom, wearing a lengthy red dress made of silk, feeling it hug my curves while it trails behind every step as I pace the floors of my bedroom. I wear another set of heels, glitzed with diamond looking studs, the dress I wear so much more glamorous than anything I’ve ever worn on my birthdays before.It used to be a simple affair, a night in my parent’s kitchen with a cake my mother made last minute. My friends would surround me and sing, and I would open gifts of small amounts of coins or special treasures they have found that would make me smile. It was simple then.

Jaxson I’ve never had to fight so hard in my life to keep from shifting and killing someone in my way. My hands haven’t stopped shaking for two days, my fists stuck in place at my sides, worried if I pull them up even a little, I’d put a hole in the walls of the medical wing of the palace. No one will speak to me, not the healers or the guards outside the door, posted permanently to watch my mate at all hours, every day, even if I am around and capable of protecting Aurora.I should have been there to prevent this and from now on, I will be. I wanted to give her space, even while I saw her in the courtyard, upset and clinging to her old friend, I held back my ferocity of her embracing another male. I wanted her to feel a semblance of familiarity here in her new home, but seeing her runaway so upset, and watching him chase after her, I thought for sure she would have pushed him away the same way she has done me the last few weeks.

Aurora I can hear Jaxson outside the door with his father, king Kennedy, arguing about how Xander got away and took some of the royal pack members with him in his escape. I want to feel comforted by the fact that Luke isn’t to blame anymore, and at least Xander is gone and can’t threaten me again, but I can’t help feeling like the second prince isn’t done with me yet.He wants to be Alpha. He wants to be king. And right now, Jaxson and his father are the only two wolves standing in his way. I can’t imagine what he is willing to do to get to the throne but for now, I feel safer without him down the hall from me.“Leave this matter to me, Jaxson, I mean it,” the Alpha says, his voice making me shiver.Jaxson doesn’t even sound frazzled by his father’s command. “If I catch wind that Xander is coming back to do anything to her again, I will send my guys out to have him killed. Now leave

Jaxson I have always had a temper, there is no mistaking my fits of rage when things don’t work out the way I had exactly planed out. I don’t like calling it meticulous by any standard but severe could be a more ambitious word to call it what it is. When I get mad, I’m furious, there is no lever lower than that.Seeing my mate curled into the lap of another male, who tenderly cradles her in his arms, I begin to ponder if there is a level higher than severe.I stomp into the room to rip her from his arms, but she flinches away from my hand, as though I am a threat, and she is helplessly at my mercy. I pause, my warriors circling the two of them, one of them threatening to grab for the mutt holding my mate but I slam a fist into his forearm, watching him recoil away from doing so.It’s obvious I’ve had this situation mistaken.I went to check in on my mate, holding another present I grabbe