جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 430

Aurora’s P.O.VI let out a long breath, rubbing the back of my neck before I finally turned to Care. “You’re right,” I said quietly, my voice sounding a little more tired than I wanted it to.“I’ll talk to Caleb. It’s just… the past few days have been a lot. Every second has been about either chasing answers or stopping problems before they spiral. I guess I’ve just been… using up all my time and energy on that.”Care’s brow softened, and she tilted her head a little, giving me that look she always gave when she thought I was pushing myself too hard.“Aurora, you don’t have to do everything alone,” she said gently. “I’m here. The whole pack is here. You’ve got an entire family at your back, whether you like it or not.”I felt my throat tighten, and I had to blink a few times to stop the sting in my eyes from turning into full-on tears.“I just…” I swallowed. “I don’t want them to get hurt, Care. Especially Riley. I don’t think I could handle it if the wraiths—” I broke off, shaking my

Aurora’s P.O.VI sat across from Alice, my hands twisted together in my lap as I tried to gather the right words. Caroline was right beside me, still fidgeting like she wasn’t sure if she had made the right choice in even mentioning what she had seen. Caleb, Damien, and Shane were all there too, quiet but watchful, their eyes darting between us and Alice, waiting for every word that would spill.“I don’t even know how to explain it without sounding insane,” I finally said, shaking my head. “Caroline said she saw… something. A ring of light, red, glowing, like a portal or whatever you’d call it. She kept insisting it was there. But I swear to you, Alice, I saw nothing. Absolutely nothing.”I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “But when she touched me, it appeared. For me. For just a moment. I saw it too, glowing and alive like some doorway. But that’s the thing…I can only see it when I have physical contact with Caroline.”The room went quiet for a moment, the kind of silence that pres

Aurora’s P.O.VI glanced at Caleb as we stepped out into the cool night air, the silence of the pack house fading behind us. For a while, neither of us spoke, just the sound of our footsteps crunching against the gravel path. My chest felt tight, and I finally broke the quiet.“Caleb,” I said softly, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. “About the other night… I didn’t mean for things to get so heated. I wasn’t trying to argue with you.”He stopped walking and turned to face me. “You don’t have to explain, Aurora. I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure. I shouldn’t have pushed.”I shook my head quickly. “No, it wasn’t just that. I felt… cornered, like no matter what I said it was going to sound wrong. And with everything that’s been happening, I just—” I bit my lip, lowering my voice. “I kept thinking it was all my fault.”His brows furrowed. “Your fault? How could any of this be your fault?”“Because I’m the one who brought Ashton and the others here,” I said, my words tumb

Aurora’s P.O.VIt was empty.The furniture was still there, every last bit of it…but there was a kind of silence that only came from a place being devoid of any life.“Ashton?” My voice cracks, the sound too small, too desperate. “Maggie? Avery?” I push further in, scanning every corner like maybe they’re hiding, maybe this is some sick trick. But no—nothing. The house is eerily empty, no trace of them. Just silence.Caleb comes in behind me, his face pale. He looks around, his chest rising and falling hard.“Aurora… oh, no. No, no, no.” His hands run over his face like he’s trying to wake himself from a nightmare. “Does this mean—they took Riley?”I whip around to him, my head shaking violently. “No. No, that doesn’t make sense!” My hands clutch at my hair as if I can somehow squeeze the truth out of myself. “The full moon is tomorrow, Caleb. Tomorrow! Why would they be gone today? Why would they—” My voice breaks and I slam my fist against the wall. “This wasn’t supposed to happen y

Aurora’s P.O.VI was about to ask Alice what she meant, the words right on my lips, when the howls tore through the air-sharp, wild, and echoing from every direction. My breath caught in my throat. The whole room froze, the sound of claws scraping on stone as heads whipped up in fear. Caleb cursed under his breath, the sound low and rough.“Damn it,” he muttered, his jaw tightening as he turned toward us. “That’s the signal. Another rogue attack.”“What?” My heart thrashed against my ribcage.Alice’s eyes widened, but she recovered fast. “No, this isn’t random. This means Ashton knows. He knows we’ve caught on. He’s sending the wraiths to create a distraction.”Caleb cut her off with a sharp shake of his head. “I don’t care what it means, Alice. The reason doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the pack. They’re in danger. We’ll need to move toward the borders. Now.”My heart hammered, but my hand shot out, catching his arm before he could storm out. “Caleb, wait—”He stopped, look