Leave With Me
1319 Words
The trees exploded.
Ancient pines snapped apart as something massive stepped into the moonlight.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Even the warriors stopped moving.
Aurora’s breath caught.
The creature wasn’t a rogue.
It wasn’t a wolf.
It wasn’t even fully human.
It stood nearly nine feet tall, wrapped in black armor that seemed forged from shadows.
Glowing silver symbols crawled across its skin.
Its eyes burned crimson.
Ancient.
Merciless.
Wrong.
“What the hell is that?” Damon growled.
For the first time all night, uncertainty appeared in the Alpha’s voice.
The creature smiled.
A horrifying expression.
“As expected.”
Its gaze locked directly onto Aurora.
“There she is.”
Fear surged through her.
Not fear for herself.
For the baby.
Every instinct screamed danger.
Kael immediately stepped in front of her.
His massive frame blocked the creature’s view.
The possessive gesture didn’t go unnoticed.
Especially by Damon.
Aurora saw jealousy flash across his face.
Raw.
Ugly.
Uncontrolled.
The Alpha clenched his fists.
“Move away from her.”
Kael didn’t even look at him.
“No.”
One word.
Absolute.
The dismissal only made Damon’s expression darker.
Aurora almost laughed.
A few hours ago Damon had publicly chosen another woman.
Now he couldn’t stand seeing another man protect her.
The irony was painful.
And satisfying.
At the same time.
The armored creature took another step forward.
The ground trembled.
Several warriors instinctively retreated.
Smart.
Aurora wanted to do the same.
Unfortunately, her legs felt frozen.
The creature inhaled deeply.
Then smiled.
“The scent is unmistakable.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“Dangerous statement.”
The creature chuckled.
“And yet true.”
Aurora’s pulse accelerated.
What scent?
Why did everyone keep speaking in riddles?
She was tired of it.
Terrified of it.
And completely exhausted.
Everything had changed in a single night.
Her future.
Her relationship.
Her pack.
Even her unborn child.
Nothing made sense anymore.
“Someone explain what’s happening.”
The frustration exploded from her.
Everyone went silent.
The creature.
Kael.
Damon.
The elders.
All of them.
Aurora laughed bitterly.
“That’s what I thought.”
Nobody wanted to answer.
Because everyone knew something she didn’t.
The realization hurt.
She was the center of the storm.
Yet nobody trusted her with the truth.
The armored stranger’s smile widened.
“Perhaps she deserves to know.”
Kael’s expression instantly darkened.
“No.”
The response came too quickly.
Aurora noticed.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The mighty Lycan King wasn’t afraid of the creature.
But he was afraid of what it might reveal.
Why?
The creature tilted its head.
“You can’t hide it forever.”
Kael took a threatening step forward.
Silver power exploded around him.
The air itself seemed to crack.
Several nearby wolves collapsed to one knee.
Aurora gasped.
Every time Kael unleashed his power, she understood a little more why the entire werewolf world feared him.
He wasn’t simply strong.
He was overwhelming.
Ancient.
Almost godlike.
The creature finally stopped smiling.
Good.
Someone had finally found a way to make it nervous.
“Aurora leaves with me.”
Kael’s voice echoed across the courtyard.
Not a suggestion.
A decree.
Damon immediately moved.
“No.”
The Alpha stepped forward.
Pack power surged around him.
The courtyard became a battlefield.
Not of claws.
Not of weapons.
Of authority.
Aurora stood directly between two of the most powerful men in the werewolf world.
Both refusing to back down.
Both determined to claim control of her future.
The realization made her angry.
Very angry.
“I am standing right here.”
Both men froze.
Good.
Aurora folded her arms.
Neither of them looked pleased.
Even better.
“You don’t get to decide what happens to me.”
Kael’s expression softened slightly.
Damon’s didn’t.
Aurora noticed.
Kael respected her anger.
Damon expected obedience.
The difference bothered her.
More than it should.
“Aurora.”
Damon’s voice lowered.
“Please.”
The single word shocked everyone.
The Alpha didn’t beg.
Ever.
Yet there it was.
Plain as day.
Please.
Aurora felt something twist painfully inside her chest.
Not love.
Not anymore.
Just grief.
For everything they could have been.
For everything he had destroyed.
“You chose Selene.”
Damon visibly flinched.
“You don’t understand.”
Aurora laughed.
A sharp bitter sound.
“Oh, I understand perfectly.”
The entire courtyard listened.
Nobody interrupted.
Nobody dared.
“You stood in front of the pack and told everyone she mattered more than I did.”
Damon opened his mouth.
Aurora didn’t let him speak.
“You chose her.”
Another step.
“You humiliated me.”
Another step.
“You broke us.”
Silence.
Pure silence.
Even the armored creature seemed interested now.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Damon lowered his eyes.
The sight stunned everyone.
Again.
The mighty Alpha looked defeated.
Aurora should have felt victorious.
Instead she felt tired.
Just tired.
Then Kael spoke.
“Aurora.”
She turned toward him.
The Lycan King’s silver eyes held hers.
Steady.
Protective.
Dangerous.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
The promise landed differently than Damon’s words.
There was no desperation.
No guilt.
No excuses.
Just certainty.
A strange warmth spread through her chest.
Immediately followed by panic.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
She had known this man for less than an hour.
She shouldn’t care how his voice affected her.
Yet somehow…
She did.
The realization unsettled her.
Before she could respond—
A scream erupted from behind them.
Selene.
Everyone turned.
The woman had fallen to her knees.
Terror filled her face.
Real terror.
The armored creature was staring directly at her.
Not Aurora.
Selene.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The creature smiled.
“Found you.”
Aurora’s eyes widened.
Selene looked ready to faint.
Damon immediately moved toward her.
Protective.
Instinctive.
Aurora felt the familiar sting.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He still chose Selene first.
The pain should have weakened her.
Instead it hardened something inside her.
Good.
Let him choose.
She was done begging.
Done waiting.
Done being second place.
Selene shook violently.
“You can’t be here.”
The creature laughed.
“Neither should you.”
The cryptic response sent a ripple through the crowd.
The elders exchanged nervous looks.
Kael’s expression became unreadable.
The woman was definitely hiding something.
The question was—
How much?
Then the creature delivered another bomb.
“The false Luna finally looks afraid.”
The crowd exploded into whispers.
False Luna.
Selene went white.
Damon froze.
Aurora’s heartbeat accelerated.
The creature pointed directly at Selene.
Then spoke words that shattered the night.
“The child she claims belonged to Rowan Silvercrest…”
The creature smiled.
“…never existed.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Selene’s entire body collapsed.
The crowd erupted.
Chaos.
Shouting.
Accusations.
Disbelief.
Damon stared at the woman he had chosen over Aurora.
Horror slowly filled his face.
Everything.
Every decision.
Every sacrifice.
Every argument.
Built on a lie.
Aurora watched the realization destroy him.
And for the first time all night…
She felt absolutely nothing.
No satisfaction.
No revenge.
No love.
Nothing.
The bond between them had finally begun to die.
Then Kael grabbed her hand.
Not roughly.
Protectively.
Possessively.
The contact sent a strange spark through her body.
His gaze never left the forest.
“We’re leaving.”
Aurora swallowed.
Now?
With everything falling apart?
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Now.”
The urgency in his voice made her heart race.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
For the first time, the Lycan King hesitated.
Only a second.
But she saw it.
Then he looked directly into her eyes.
And spoke seven words that changed everything.
“The child isn’t the only target.”
Aurora’s blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
A distant horn suddenly echoed through the forest.
The armored creature’s smile vanished.
Kael’s face turned deadly.
And somewhere beyond the trees…
Something enormous roared.
Something powerful enough to make even the Lycan King tense.
- Writer
