5. Aurora Evernight
1179 Words
Raine’s POV
The hall to my mother’s room was too quiet. The kind of quiet that pressed against your skin and made you uneasy. Zariah walked ahead, her steps cautious, but I was hardly looking at her. My mind was racing, already imagining what state I would find my so-called mother in.
When the door finally opened, the smell of herbs and faint smoke drifted out. The room was dim, a single lamp casting a weak glow. And there she was.
Aurora Evernight.
Her body looked small under the blankets, fragile like glass. Her hair, once dark, was streaked with silver strands far too early for her age. Yet when her eyes lifted to mine, the dullness cleared and something bright flickered alive.
“Raine,” she whispered, and the joy in her voice nearly broke me.
I froze, caught off guard by the raw love in her tone. I had not grown up with this. In my world, my father gave me everything except tenderness. My mother had been absent, a shadow I barely remembered. Affection was not something I understood. But this woman looked at me like I was the center of her world.
I stepped closer, unsure, my throat dry. “How are you feeling?”
Her smile deepened as she struggled to sit up. “Better now. You always give me strength. Come, sit beside me.”
I did. And for a moment, it was almost unbearable. She touched my hand like it was a treasure, her thumb brushing my skin with care.
“You look tired, sweetheart. Have you been resting? Have you been eating enough?” she asked, her voice soft but eager.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to nod. “Yes, mother.”
She talked then, her words spilling like a stream. She told me how she had dreamed of walking through the gardens again. She reminded me of the drawings I used to bring her, even if they were terrible. She laughed gently, the sound fragile but real.
I sat still, letting her words wrap around me. A strange warmth spread through my chest, unfamiliar and heavy. My throat ached. My eyes burned.
This was what I had been denied all my life.
Not wealth. Not luxury. Not power.
Love.
And I realized then, with a certainty that burned into my bones, that I could not let this continue. She deserved better. I deserved better.
I clenched her hand tighter, silently making my vow. I would tear this entire house apart if I had to. No one would keep her in this bed forever. No one would strip us of dignity and call it fate.
When I finally left her side, Zariah lingered at the door with me. Her voice was low. “Madame was the daughter of a Beta once. She belonged to a powerful family in her pack. Your father begged for her hand. He promised her safety, love, respect. But after marriage, he gave her nothing. He used her bloodline for his own status.”
My fists curled so tightly my nails bit into my palms. “And now he treats her like this?”
Zariah nodded, her eyes full of pity. “He even cut you both off from her family. From the Blue Moon pack. He wanted no ties, no interference.”
That was the moment my fury sharpened into steel. He thought isolation would break us. He thought wrong.
That night, I began my plan.
I disguised myself as one of the maids, slipping into the laundry room and trading my clothes for a plain uniform. With my hair tied back and a scarf covering most of my face, I looked like any other servant hurrying through the halls. No one glanced twice at me.
The Beta’s office loomed ahead. Guards paced the corridor, but timing was everything. When they moved to check the eastern wing, I slipped inside.
The office was heavy with smoke and the faint smell of whiskey. His desk gleamed with polish, stacked with letters and scrolls, the kind of chaos only powerful men could afford. I pulled the forged contract from my sleeve and set it neatly on top of the pile.
It looked perfect. The seal was flawless. The signatures convincing. But the true weapon was hidden inside, in the smallest of details: a code. A phrase I had once heard my mother whisper about her family, a phrase only the Blue Moon pack would recognize. If they read it, they would know I was reaching for them.
I stepped back, finding a shadow near the curtain, and waited.
Minutes ticked by like hours.
The door opened.
The Beta entered with the heavy steps of a man who owned everything in his sight. He muttered under his breath as he crossed the room, tossing his coat on a chair. His eyes swept the desk, pausing on the contract. He picked it up, scanning the pages.
Then his face changed. A pleased smile curved his lips.
He sat and reached for the phone. His voice grew warm, almost charming. “Yes, this is Liam Evernight I have received your proposal, and I must say, it looks promising. I believe we can cooperate well. For the future of both our packs.”
I smirked from the shadows. He had taken the bait. The Blue Moon pack would see the code. They would know I had reached out, even if he tried to hide it.
But then a second voice entered the room.
“Beta, you work too hard,” a woman purred.
I stiffened.
Elaris. I knew that because I have heard her voice speaking to father earlier. I clearing saw her speaking to him with a soft voice while yelling at the servants with the exact opposite voice.
She glided toward him like a serpent, her gown clinging to every curve. Her hands slid across his shoulders, her lips brushing his ear. He chuckled low, leaning back in his chair.
“Always a distraction,” he murmured, pulling her onto his lap.
She laughed softly, her lips finding his neck.
My stomach twisted. Rage shot through me like fire. Here was the man who left my mother to rot in a bed, indulging in his mistress without shame.
I wanted to storm out, to tear her from him and make them both bleed. But I held myself still, forcing silence. The Mafia taught me patience. Evidence mattered more than anger.
I edged closer, straining to hear his words as he spoke into the phone again. He promised loyalty, cooperation, friendship with the Blue Moon pack. Lies. Every word was a lie.
And then, just as I prepared to slip away unseen, a sharp voice shattered the air.
“What are you doing there, Raine?”
I froze.
The head omega stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, her gaze sharp and accusing.
The Beta’s head snapped toward me. His eyes narrowed, cold and dangerous, as Elaris smirked against his shoulder.
My cover was gone.
The game had just changed.
- Writer
