The Hidden Crown

Ch13

Aurora POV

The world felt soft when Aurora finally drifted awake, like she was floating between dreams and reality. Her eyelids were heavy, her mind fogged from the tea Emma gave her. But something tugged at her consciousness—voices. Quiet, tense, wavering voices drifting up through the floorboards.

Her mother’s voice.

Aurora blinked slowly, pushing herself upright in Emma’s bed. Her heart thudded quietly, a sense of dread sliding down her spine before she even understood why.

She heard crying.

Her mother’s crying.

Aurora froze.

Margaret never cried. Not even when bills piled up. Not even when they had to move again. Not even when Aurora was sick as a kid and doctors didn’t know why her fevers ran hotter than fire.

But now her voice was breaking. Soft, aching, broken.

“…I should’ve told her,” Margaret whispered.

Aurora’s breath hitched. She slid silently off the bed, padding barefoot toward the cracked bedroom door. The hallway light was dim, the house unusually quiet except for the murmured voices drifting up from the living room.

She held her breath, leaning closer.

“I always knew this day would come,” Margaret whispered. “I just—God, I hoped I had more time.”

Aurora’s pulse spiked.

Emma’s mom murmured something soft, comforting. Another voice—Raven’s. Then Lucian’s low rumble. And… Rowen.

Aurora edged closer, silently lowering herself to her knees at the top of the stairs, heart punching against her ribs.

Then her mother said something that made the world tilt.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to stay. He—he didn’t want me.”

Aurora’s entire chest caved, confusion slamming into her so hard she nearly gasped. Her mother’s breathing shook violently downstairs.

Margaret continued, voice trembling.

“I didn’t even know I was pregnant at first. It was one night. One stupid, impulsive night with an Alpha. A man I thought cared about me, even if only for a moment. But when I told him…” She swallowed painfully. “He told me witches and wolves don’t mix. He said I was a mistake. That our night together was a mistake.”

A soft sob slipped from her.

Aurora’s vision blurred.

Her mother had told her she didn’t know her father. That he was a traveler. That he left before she was born.

She lied.

Emma’s mom whispered, “Oh honey…”

“And I left,” Margaret continued, voice cracking. “I left because if he didn’t want her, then neither of them needed to know each other. I didn’t even realize I was carrying a baby with Alpha blood.”

Raven sucked in a sharp breath. “Her father doesn’t know she exists?”

“No,” Margaret whispered. “He never will. Aurora deserves better than the man who threw away the best thing that ever happened to him.”

Aurora clutched the banister so tightly her knuckles burned.

Rowen’s voice came next, strained. “Margaret… Aurora deserves the truth.”

Aurora’s world spun harder.

Truth? What truth?

She wasn’t breathing. She couldn’t breathe.

Margaret exhaled shakily. “There’s more.”

A thick silence fell.

Then her mother said the words that shattered everything Aurora thought she knew.

“Aurora was always meant to be hidden. She carries too much power. The ancient wolf spirit chose her before she was even born.”

Aurora’s heart stopped.

Wolf?

Ancient?

She squeezed her eyes shut, panic clawing at her throat. What was her mother talking about?

Then Margaret inhaled unsteadily.

“And… I never told anyone this part.”

The room downstairs went silent. Aurora crept one step lower, chest heaving.

Margaret’s voice softened into something fragile, trembling.

“It happened a week before Aurora was born. I was exhausted. Scared. Alone. I fell asleep… and I dreamed.”

Aurora’s eyes widened. She leaned in even closer, barely breathing.

“I woke up beside a pond,” Margaret whispered. “But not like anything on earth. The water glowed silver. Mist curled over it like silk. And wolves—beautiful, peaceful wolves—watched me from the shore.”

Emma’s mom sucked in a breath.

“Then the moon brightened,” Margaret continued, “and she stepped out of it. Selena. The Moon Goddess.”

Every single person downstairs froze.

Aurora’s lips parted silently.

Selena?

“She walked across the water like it held her,” Margaret whispered. “And when she touched me, I felt peace like I’d never known.”

Aurora trembled.

“She said she shouldn’t have been able to reach me—I wasn’t wolf. I wasn’t even practicing magic anymore. But then she told me the reason. My baby… had called her.”

Aurora pressed a shaking hand over her mouth.

“She said Aurora carried the first wolf spirit ever created. Ancient. Powerful beyond anything living today. A spirit meant to awaken at twenty-one… unless destiny or trauma woke it sooner.”

Rowen exhaled shakily. Raven murmured something low under her breath. Emma’s mom whispered a prayer.

“But Selena warned me,” Margaret said, voice breaking. “Aurora must not know about the supernatural world until she met her mate. Only her mate could anchor her wolf when it awakened. Only her mate could save her.”

Rowen’s sharp inhale echoed through the room.

“And Selena said the world would come for Aurora,” Margaret whispered. “Packs, covens, kings… because she wasn’t just my daughter. She was chosen.”

Aurora covered her mouth, tears burning her eyes.

Her mother…

An Alpha father…

The Moon Goddess…

Ancient wolf…

Mate?

Her pulse spiked so violently she thought she’d pass out.

Rowen’s voice came next—low, tense, pained.

“We tell her tomorrow. She deserves to know.”

Margaret sniffed. “She hasn’t even awakened her wolf. How will she handle the truth?”

The room went quiet.

Then Raven said softly, “Because Rowan is her mate.”

Aurora’s heart dropped straight out of her chest.

Mate?

Her ears rang.

Mate.

Rowan?

Her Rowan?

Her vision blurred, blackness creeping into the edges. Her lungs squeezed tight.

This wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real—

Her breath broke. A tiny, choked sound escaped her lips before she could stop it.

A floorboard creaked.

Every voice downstairs went still.

“Aurora?” Emma’s voice called.

Aurora bolted.

She didn’t wait. Didn’t breathe. She spun, sprinting down the hallway, nearly slipping on the hardwood. Panic detonated inside her chest like a bomb.

She tore out the back door into the cold night air, sucking in sharp breaths, shaking violently.

Her mother lied.

Her life was a lie.

Her boyfriend—her sweet, gentle, steady Rowan—was her mate?

Her legs barely held her. Tears streaked hot down her cheeks. She stumbled toward the tree line, gripping her hair, sobbing.

“I—I can’t—this can’t be real—please—”

Pain ripped through her.

Not emotional pain.

Physical. Burning. Shredding.

A scream tore from her throat as she fell to her knees.

Her bones vibrated. Heat flooded her bloodstream. Her heartbeat thundered like a war drum.

Aurora…

A voice slid through her mind—warm, ancient, feminine.

Aurora gasped, eyes wide. “Wh—who—?”

It’s all right, the voice whispered. I’m here. I’ve always been here.

The world blurred, the forest spinning as she clutched the dirt.

“I—I’m going crazy—”

No, my girl. You’re waking.

Lights flickered behind her eyes. White, silver, gold. Energy thrummed under her skin, like lightning tethered to her soul trying desperately to break free.

My name is Electra, the voice murmured. And you are not alone.

Electra.

Her wolf.

Her ancient wolf.

Aurora sobbed, body convulsing. “This hurts—why—why now—?”

Because truth woke you. Destiny woke you. And… your mate is close.

A twig snapped.

Aurora whipped her head up, chest heaving.

Rowen stood at the edge of the clearing, eyes wide, breath shaking, terror and relief warring across his face.

“Aurora,” he whispered, stepping toward her. “Baby—”

She scrambled backward on instinct, tears blurring her vision. “Don’t—don’t come near me—”

His face twisted. “Please. You’re shifting. You need me.”

“I don’t—!” She choked on her own breath, another scream ripping through her as her spine arched violently.

Her fingers dug into the earth as her bones cracked, reshaping.

Rowen dropped to his knees in front of her, eyes glowing gold. “Aurora, look at me.”

She sobbed, shaking her head.

“Look at me,” he begged.

She forced her eyes up.

The moment their hands brushed—

The world went still.

The pain quieted.

Her body hummed.

Something deep inside her snapped into place like a lock meeting its key.

And Aurora choked out the word that changed everything.

“…mate…”

Rowen let out a broken, relieved laugh, his forehead dropping to hers. “Finally,” he whispered. “Finally you feel it.”

Her breath stuttered, shock and awe and fear colliding inside her. “You… you knew?”

His voice cracked. “From the moment I saw you.”

A sob tore from her throat—right as the shift slammed into her full-force.

This time, she didn’t scream.

She exploded into light.

Silver. White. Gold.

The same colors as the pond her mother described. Ancient power rolled through her veins like thunder.

Rowen stumbled back, eyes wide with awe as Aurora’s body reshaped, fur bursting through skin, bones reforming, her wolf emerging with a howl that shook the trees.

Where Aurora had knelt moments before now stood a wolf the size of a full-grown Alpha—except luminous. Ethereal. Beautiful in a way that wasn’t natural.

Rowen whispered, voice trembling, “Electra.”

The massive silver-white wolf blinked enormous blue-gold eyes at him—Aurora’s eyes—then stepped forward tentatively.

He held out his hand.

Electra lowered her head, nuzzling his palm.

Rowen smiled—soft, relieved, reverent. “There you are, love.”

Aurora felt everything—through Electra. The warmth. His scent. His joy. His love. The mate-bond igniting like wildfire.

Her wolf circled him once, brushing against him, glowing faintly under the moonlight—ancient power radiating off her in waves strong enough to make even the forest go quiet.

Behind them, branches rustled as Raven, Lucian, Emma, Emma’s mom, and Margaret arrived—staring in stunned silence.

Margaret collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

“Oh… my baby…”

Rowen stood protectively at Electra’s side, one hand still on her fur as if anchoring her.

Electra stepped toward her mother, lowering her head gently into Margaret’s trembling hands. Margaret sobbed harder, kissing the top of her daughter’s massive head.

“She’s beautiful,” Emma whispered, tears in her eyes.

“She’s powerful,” Lucian murmured. “More powerful than any wolf alive.”

“More than a wolf,” Raven whispered. “Ancient.”

Margaret looked up at Rowen, her voice soft and fierce. “Protect her.”

Rowen placed his hand over his heart. “Until my last breath.”

Electra rumbled softly—a purr, a promise, a bond sealed under the moonlight.

And for the first time in her life…

Aurora felt whole.

Complete.

Chosen.

Alive.