Chapter four
1676 Words
“The man who killed Ronan sleeps under this roof.” The words kept lingering in her mind for too long. Maybe because she read the message at least 20 times.
If this were true… then she spent seven years paying for another person's crime.
A knock sounded on the door. Three deliberate knocks.
Aurora quickly hid the note beneath her pillow just as the door opened.
“Alpha Kael has requested your presence in the dining hall,” the young maid from earlier said, keeping her eyes lowered.
Aurora studied her carefully. The girl looked nervous. Far too nervous. Her fingers twisted the edges of her apron until her knuckles turned white.
“What is your name?” Aurora asked, taking a cautious step closer.
The maid looked startled. “…Nora…. I… the name is Nora..”
“Nora,” Aurora repeated the name gently. “Thank you for bringing me clothes earlier.”
A flicker of surprise crossed the girl's face. As if she wasn't used to being thanked. Before Aurora could say another word, Nora's expression changed.
Fear.
Her eyes darted to the hallway and back. “Please…..don't ask me anything where the walls have ears,” she whispered so softly that Aurora could barely hear her.
Then she hurried away. Aurora just started at her.
“Where can the walls hear?” What does that even mean? Aurora asked herself.
“Are you planning to stand there all night?” Kael's voice cut in, echoing from the opposite end of the hallway.
Aurora turned immediately.
He stood with one hand tucked in his trouser pocket, dressed in a charcoal-gray shirt with the sleeves rolled to the forearms. Without the suit jacket he wore earlier, he looked less like a politician…. And more like a warrior
The scar running along his right wrist caught Aurora's attention. She hadn't noticed it earlier. It looked old. Deep. Almost identical to–
No. Her thoughts stopped. She knew that scar. Years ago Ronan had shown it to her proudly.
“Kael got this protecting me,” he'd said with a grin. “He insists it makes him look more intimidating.”
“What?” Kael noticed she stared at his scar.
“Nothing.”
“You've been staring for ten seconds.”
“I was remembering something.”
His expression darkened instantly. “If it's about Ronan, save it.”
Aurora looked away. “You don’t even let anyone remember him.”
“I think about him every day.” The coldness in his voice wasn't anger, but grief. Unhealed.
As they walked through the dining hall, silence settled between them. It lasted until they reached the corridor lined with photographs.
Every picture showed Kael….and Ronan as children. Teenagers. Young men.
One photograph caught her attention. Two boys, not older than eight years old, laughing uncomfortably covered in mud while holding fishing rods.
Another showed them wearing matching graduation uniforms.
“I haven't seen these before.”
Kael didn't answer immediately.
“They weren't meant for the public.”
“He talked about you all the time,” Aurora said, watching him closely.
“So did I.” A bitter smile appeared on his face.
“He also admired you a lot.”
“He shouldn't have…. Because I failed him.” his jaw tightened.
“You couldn't have known.”
“I should have,” he said bluntly.
“When we were twelve, Ronan nearly died during winter training.”
Aurora listened quietly.
“I jumped into the river after him…. knowing fully well that I couldn't swim.” he let out a humorless laugh.
Aurora frowned. “What happened?”
“He dragged me back… we almost died together.” For the first time, genuine emotions crossed Kael's face.
“He wasn't just my best friend…. He was my brother.”
Before either of them could speak again–footsteps came through the hallway.
“Alpha!”
A security officer came sprinting towards them, breathing heavily. His face had gone pale. “They’re breaking through the first gate.”
Kael's expression hardened instantly. “What happened?”
“The media found out she's here.” The guard took a glance at Aurora before continuing. “There are hundreds of reporters outside.”
Another guard rushed into the corridor. “Not just reporter…,” he struggled to breathe. “The Pack council is here.”
“The council?” Kael immediately frowned. “They arrived without notice.”
Aurora watched the calm disappear from Kaels’ face for the first time. Something was wrong, very wrong.
“Move!” Kael turned sharply.
Within seconds, the mansion transformed into an organized chaos. Servants hurried into the corridors. Security personnel flooded every entrance. The peaceful estate Aurora had walked into an hour earlier, had transformed into a battlefield preparing for war.
Kael's commanding voice echoed through the halls.
“Seal the eastern entrance.”
“No one enters without my permission….. Increase security on the upper floor.”
Aurora looked up at the stairs and caught Lyla just watching everything surface.
Kael's gaze followed instinctively. “Take Miss Lyla to the panic room.”
“No, she looks frightened.” Aurora said almost immediately. “I can help calm her down,”
“You stay away from her until all these is over.” Kael commanded leaving no room for bargains.
“You think I'd use my own daughter?” Aurora clenched her fists.
Before Kael could answer, more shouts from outside erupted the building. Aurora walked towards the nearest window. The front gate disappeared beneath a sea of people. Television vans lines the road. Camera flashes illuminated tge estate like lightning.
Large screens mounted on new vehicles replayed the scene that occurred stctge prison. The slap. The proposal. The headlines changed every few seconds.
MURDERER TO BECOME BLACKTHORN LUNA?
PACK DEMANDS KAEL RESIGNATION.
BLACKTHORN DYNASTY IN TROUBLE.
“Resignation?” Aurora frowned. She turned to Kael. “What do they mean?”
He didn't answer. Instead he walked into the grand conference hall. Aurora followed behind. Nearly twenty elderly men and women sat across the long oak table. Every one of them carried an Alpha aura powerful enough to make the air feel heavier.
An elderly man dressed in silver ceremonial robe caught Aurora immediately.
“So…” his voice echoed through the room.
“This is the woman.”
Kael remained standing. “You requested an audience.”
“No…. We demanded one.” The elder corrected him. He placed a folded document on the table. “Your marriage proposal has reached very pack withing three hours.”
Another elder spoke. “Do you understand the consequences?”
“I do.” Kael's expression remained calm.
“Do you?” the elder leaned forward. “If you marry a convicted murderer….” he tapped the document. “…you violate Article Twelve of the Alpha Succession Charter.”
Aurora frowned. “What does that mean?”
No one answered her. Instead the elder looked directly at Kael.
“You immediately lose the councils endorsement as the next supreme Alpha.”
The room fell silent.
“You never told me.” she looked at Kael.
“It wasn't relevant.
“So you're willing to risk your future?” she laughed in disbelief.
“My future is my concern.” Kael said, his gaze remaining on the council.
“The proposal must be withdrawn tonight,” A councilman stood up. “The pack will never accept her.”
The all nodded in unison.
Aurora felt dozens of elderly eyes judging her. She expected Kael to agree to end the engagement. Instead….. His voice deepened, cutting through the room.
“The wedding proceeds.”
“You would abandon the supreme Alpha title….for her?” an elderly council woman spoke.
“I made my decision….and my decision stands.”
The elder slammed her palms against the table. “Then well make ours.”
The elder rose slowly. “From this moment forward….the Council officially withdraws it's political support from Alpha Kael Blackthorn.”
Several elders gasped.
Valeria Blackthorn, who had entered unnoticed moments earlier, finally spoke.
“This is complete madness!” she let out a shout
Kael didn't respond. Instead he watched the council members gather their documents. As they reached the doorway one elderly man suddenly stopped. His cloudy eyes were fixed on Aurora. He inhaled deeply.
“Impossible.” he frowned.
Everyone looked at him. The older man took another step closer to her. “The scent…” his voice trembled. “… I know that scent.”
Aurora stiffened. “What scent?”
He whispered only one word. “Moonviel.”
The room instantly changed.
“The last Moonviel bloodline disappeared decades ago...” his gaze remained locked on Aurora. “…so how are you still–”
“Enough!” Kael's vice came bursting through, releasing his Alpha pheromones. “Leave!”
Aurora watched them leave, then slowly turned to Kael.
“What is Moonviel?” she asked.
“It doesn't concern you.”
“It does.”
He ignored her, walking away from the conference hall.
“Kael!” she yelled his name, following him behind. Kael stopped midway and turned to face her.
“When we're you planning on telling me…?”
“Telling you what?…. I asked you a question.”
“So did I.” he said utterly. “…that someone inside this house has already started passing you messages?”
Aurora heartbeat stopped. She hadntvtild anyone about the anonymous notes.
His grey eyes were colder than she'd ever seen them. He opened his hand. Another folded piece of paper rested in his palm. The writing matched the note hidden inside Auroras room.
But this one contained a single sentence.
“Dont let her sign the marriage contract tomorrow. She'll discover the truth.
Kael looked directly into Auroras eyes. Then asked the one question she couldnt answer.
“Tell me, Aurora...,”
“…which one of my people is helping you?”
- Writer
