Aurora's POV
The sounds outside are gruesome—every crash, every howl sends a shiver down my spine. Azura claws at the edges of my mind, restless and furious. She wants out, wants to fight, to defend what’s ours. But I force her back. Annalise needs me here. I can’t abandon her, not when everything feels so uncertain, so fragile.
The guys haven’t been gone long, but it feels like hours. Each moment drags, stretching endlessly as I pace the length of the room, my nerves fraying with every distant scream or clash of bodies. My hands shake, my breath uneven, and Azura’s snarls in my head do nothing to calm me.
Then it hits me—a piercing pain, sudden and raw. It explodes through my side, like someone has rammed a knife into my ribs. I gasp, clutching at my skin, expecting blood to pool betwe
