AURORA

Chapter five

Alden lazily glanced around the room as he stared at his subordinates who stood in front of him, their bodies shaking as his eyes bore into them. His body was leaning on the armchair he sat on.

“Disrupting me in my meeting and calling me back for this rubbish?” he thundered, and his subordinates flinched in fear. He couldn't believe the "emergency" was a spy trying to gather information on them, and what angered him most was that they were not a match for the spy, almost allowing him to escape.

“We are sorry, Your Majesty… but he was just too powerful, and we were not expecting it,” one of the guards, who looked like their leader, said, feeling suffocated under his gaze.

After his father’s death, he had taken over the throne and made sure to implement the necessary checks and balances, and his ruthlessness shook people to the core.

“Hmm… not a match for a single person? I think it is high time to strengthen your training. You are to train five times the time you currently train, and any news about this will lead to your head sitting on my plate,” he ordered, and the room became tense.

“Y... yes, Your Majesty,” they chorused before dashing out of the room one after the other.

Alden folded his hand into a fist, as his anger did not dissolve. He had left abruptly and didn't even remember to collect her number.

“Useless,” he spat, his eyes red. He stood up and left the room. Going to his garden, he turned into a silver wolf, his fur illuminating under the moonlight before sprinting off.

---

The sun rose the following day, shining brightly on Aurora's face. She slowly shifted in her sleep, chewing on her teeth. She subconsciously sniffed around and perceived the familiar cologne of Alden. She snapped her eyes open and was stunned to see Alden standing over her.

She blinked her eyelids, confirming if she was dreaming or if it was reality.

“Want to sleep some more?” he asked gently and softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Y... you?” she asked, still puzzled, as she sprang up from the bed, in the process hitting her head on his chest.

“Ouch,” she winced in pain, as Alden held her head, gently rubbing it.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his face full of affection, making her blush.

“Hm..hm,” she coughed slightly, feeling embarrassed. “I am fine. How did you get here?” she asked.

“I have my ways,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips, as Aurora rolled her eyes.

Alden looked at her, finding her amusing. He hadn't slept a wink after he had left. He decided to come here instead, climbing through the window to stare at her till dawn.

“It’s wrong of you to be in a lady’s room,” Aurora said, folding her arms across her **bosom** as she stared at him with wide eyes.

Alden pulled her closer to him, his heart beating faster than usual. “I don’t go to girls’ rooms. I only come into *your* room.”

Aurora was surprised. “You mean… you don’t have any other girl?” she asked as she embraced him, her head resting on his broad chest.

“You are the first and only one,” he confessed, hoping she would get the hint, and feeling pleased.

The doorknob was suddenly twisted, and the door opened. “What is happening here?” Lena asked, while Aurora quickly disentangled from Alden, too stunned to utter a word.

Lena looked at them; they had been really intimate, as if she had just disrupted them. “I asked a question,” she said, her eyes moving from Aurora to Alden. Aurora quickly left the bed and moved closer to Lena.

“Mom, he is the friend I told you about,” Aurora said, trying to explain herself.

“A male friend in bed with you?” she asked, her brow creasing in anger.

Alden stood up from the bed and moved closer to them, hugging Aurora from behind, making her freeze in shock. “She is not my friend… she is my **mate**,” he said bluntly, his gaze sharp, as he felt Lena was making Aurora fidget.

Aurora and Lena widened their eyes in disbelief at his audacity. Lena looked at Alden, and a wave of unease washed over her.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Aurora asked, wriggling her body away from him.

“Aurora, we need to talk,” Lena said as she left, not without casting a sharp glance at Alden.

“Why would you do that?” Aurora asked in anger. She couldn't believe Alden would be so shameless as to hug her in front of her mother and even call her his mate.

“Showing everyone you are mine,” he replied, but Aurora only eyed him and left in a huff, getting prepared mentally to face her mother.

---

“Mum…” she called immediately she got to Lena’s room.

“You need to stay away from him. He is dangerous,” Lena said immediately she saw Aurora, moving closer to her.

“Mum, you don’t need to worry, I am fine, and he is a good person,” Aurora said, pacifying her mother.

“I know what I am saying, Aurora,” she placed her arms on her shoulder. “You need to listen to me. I don’t like him. He is dangerous,” she said, her eyes full of concern.

“Mum, you don’t know him yet… he is a good man,” Aurora tried to reassure her mother.

Lena moved away from her. “I said what I said. I don’t want to see you with him,” she finalized her decision before walking away, while Aurora sighed in frustration. She couldn't understand why her mother would dislike someone she had just met. She ran her hand through her hair before leaving.

Later in the day, the preparation for Tracy's wedding was almost complete, as the invited guests had started arriving a day early for the wedding. Aurora was in the room with Tracy as she tried on her wedding gown.

“How do I look?” Tracy asked as she turned stylishly, showing off her wedding gown.

“You look amazing,” Aurora replied as she watched her best friend. She couldn't believe her best friend was finally getting married. After the clothes fitting, they both sat down on Tracy’s bed.

“So, tell me, what do you think about Alden?” Tracy asked, as she couldn't let go of the question.

“Nothing. I only like him as a friend,” she replied, trying not to think about him. She couldn't believe he left after creating chaos between her and her mother.

“What is the matter with you?” Tracy asked, as she felt Aurora was not in her usual mood.

Aurora sighed before explaining everything to her. Tracy widened her eyes in surprise before bursting into a hysterical laughter, making Aurora furrow her brow.

“You mean… You were embracing Alden?” she asked, bursting into another round of laughter. “You don’t have to worry. Auntie will understand your feelings towards him,” she said after she stopped laughing.

“I… don’t have feelings for him, but it was embarrassing,” Aurora defended herself.

“Hmm… if you say so,” Tracy said, bursting into another round of laughter.

Aurora picked a pillow and threw it at her, while Tracy ran from her, dodging the pillow.

In the garden, Lena sat down on an armchair, lost in thought. Her view was suddenly blocked, making her jolt out of her thoughts. She glanced up, and her eyes locked with Alden.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, clearly displeased with him.

“I wonder what would make you hide your wolf,” he said, casually sitting down on the available seat as

he stared at the beautiful garden.

Lena’s face turned pale. Her gaze was sharp as she stared at Alden.