chapter 5
1076 Words
Aurora dragged herself into her quarters, every muscle screaming in agony. Blood smeared her torn clothes, bruises already forming across her arms and ribs. She locked the door behind her, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
Weakness was not an option.
She forced herself toward the washbasin, gripping its edges tightly as she looked at her reflection. A pale face stared back, her eyes sharp despite the exhaustion weighing her down.
The attack had been brutal. They had wanted to break her.
She wouldn’t let them.
Teeth clenched, she grabbed a cloth, dipped it into the cold water, and pressed it against the gash on her shoulder. Pain flared through her nerves, but she didn’t flinch. She focused on each movement, methodically cleaning her wounds, forcing her body to comply.
A sharp knock on the door made her freeze.
“Aurora?”
Liana.
Aurora hesitated before stepping forward and unlocking the door. Liana pushed inside, her sharp gaze instantly locking onto the injuries. Her usual composed expression darkened.
“You look like hell.”
“I’ve had worse,” Aurora said stiffly, turning away.
Liana folded her arms. “You should get that treated.”
“I’m handling it.”
Liana studied her before sighing. “You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that.” She leaned against the wall. “But you need to understand something—this wasn’t just some random attack. They want you gone.”
Aurora already knew that.
Liana’s voice softened, just slightly. “If you want to survive here, you need to be stronger. I can help with that.”
Aurora met her gaze. She didn’t know why Liana was offering, but something in her tone made it clear—this wasn’t pity.
It was respect.
Aurora nodded once. “Fine.”
Liana smirked. “Good. Training starts tomorrow.”
---
Killian sat in his office, hands clenched on the desk.
His mind was a storm, his wolf pacing violently within him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her—bloodied, hurt, struggling to stand.
A snarl tore from his throat.
She had been attacked. And he had almost been too late.
His claws extended, digging into the wood beneath him. His wolf wanted vengeance.
His wolf wanted to claim her.
He exhaled sharply, forcing control back into his limbs. Aurora wasn’t his to protect. She wasn’t his to want.
But the mark on her wrist…
His mind replayed the faint glow, something unnatural, something unknown. It wasn’t a simple birthmark. It meant something.
He needed answers.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a name—a contact outside the pack. Someone who could find out who Aurora truly was.
Because there was something about her. Something even she didn’t understand.
And he would find out what.
---
The whispers started before the blood on Aurora’s skin had even dried.
The attack had shaken the pack. Some murmured in disgust, outraged that a group of their own had turned against an outsider so violently. Others believed it had been necessary—that she was a threat that needed to be removed.
The warriors who had attacked her were punished, but only lightly.
Some of the higher-ranked wolves had silently approved of what they did.
Tension crackled through the air, the pack splitting between those who saw Aurora as a danger and those who, after witnessing her resilience, were beginning to respect her.
The division was growing.
And Killian knew it.
---
Davina sat by the fire, swirling a glass of wine in her hand.
Aurora had survived.
She had survived, and worse, Killian had been the one to save her.
Fury burned beneath her skin, but she forced herself to remain composed.
This wasn’t over.
She needed a new plan. A stronger one.
She smirked to herself. There were other ways to get rid of a problem.
She just needed the right leverage.
And she knew exactly where to find it.
---
Despite her injuries, Aurora slipped into the forest that night, moving deeper into the shadows.
She needed to train.
She needed to be stronger.
Her body protested with every movement, but she ignored it, pushing herself harder. The pain grounded her, reminded her of what she had survived.
She closed her eyes, steadying her breathing, and for a brief moment—
A memory flickered.
A darkened corridor.
A voice whispering her name.
A flash of silver.
She gasped, the image shattering like glass. Her hands trembled slightly, but she tightened them into fists, forcing herself to focus.
She wasn’t weak.
She wouldn’t let herself be weak.
“Training in the middle of the night?”
She spun around, heart pounding.
Killian stood there, his silver eyes glowing in the darkness.
Aurora’s breath caught. There was something in his gaze, something wild, untamed.
“You’re reckless,” he said, voice low.
She squared her shoulders. “I can take care of myself.”
His eyes darkened. “Is that what you call what happened earlier?”
She flinched. His words hit deep.
But she refused to let him see it.
“I survived,” she shot back.
Something flickered across his face. Anger. Frustration.
And something else.
He stepped closer, his scent wrapping around her. “You shouldn’t have to survive.”
The words sent a tremor through her chest.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The tension between them thickened, electric, suffocating.
Killian’s gaze dropped to her wrist—the place where the strange mark still pulsed faintly. His jaw tightened.
“What are you?” His voice was barely a whisper.
Aurora’s heart pounded. “I don’t know.”
She expected him to push, to demand answers.
Instead, he stepped back, his expression unreadable.
“Be careful,” he murmured before disappearing into the night.
Leaving her standing there, breathless and confused.
---
That night, Aurora returned to her quarters, exhaustion dragging at her limbs.
She pushed the door open—
And froze.
A message was smeared across the walls.
In blood.
Leave. Or die.
A cold chill crawled down her spine.
This wasn’t just about jealousy anymore.
This was a warning.
A promise.
Someone wanted her gone.
And they wouldn’t stop until she was dead.
---
Far from the pack, deep within the shadows, a figure stood beneath the moonlight.
They watched.
Waited.
And then, they whispered a name.
A name Aurora didn’t even remember.
But soon… she would.
- Writer
