Chapter 53:
“Pack your bags, Aurora. Go with your mother to her pack,” my father instructed, setting his phone aside. “He is not getting my daughter.”
I fled to my room at once, burying my head in my pillow, allowing all the tears in my eyes to soak into it.
How did my advice backfire on me? Why was my happiness always so short-lived? What did I do to deserve this kind of life, Moon Goddess?!
I couldn’t even think straight as my head ached from my sobs. I didn’t know which option was best. Become the Alpha King’s property forever, or flee to my mother’s pack?
The latter meant the death of my people—and perhaps my father. He was still badly injured, and he wouldn’t survive. Only a few would make it if we chose that option. But I would save myself. I didn’t need to become a cruel king’s property.
Confusion swept through me as I thought hard. The hope of everyone was resting on me. The enemies were getting closer to the packhouse with each passing minute. Time was running out with every thought. I needed to act fast, or I would regret it.
The clock was ticking. The choice was mine to make.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Aurora
Weighing the dangerous options one last time, I took a deep breath, forcing my nerves to settle as I tried to choose the lesser of two evils.
But there was no lesser evil. Both choices were suicidal.
I wiped the dried tears staining my cheeks with the back of my hand and stepped out of my room, ready to make the final arrangements with my father.
Be strong, Aurora. Now wasn’t the time to break.
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I had already spent hours in my room, soaking my pillow in tears until I had none left to shed.
The moment my feet hit the hallway, the air shifted.
A heavy silence fell over the crowd, the weight of their stares pressing down on me. Hope flickered in their eyes, fragile and desperate.
News traveled fast.
Guilt clawed at my chest as I walked through them. Their unspoken pleas were suffocating.
I avoided their gazes. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s savior at the cost of my own life. I couldn’t afford to let emotions push me into reckless decisions.
But then, as if fate had other plans, my eyes locked onto a boy’s.
His small, innocent face sent a jolt through me. My heart twisted painfully.
I knew him.
His parents had been killed in the attack, leaving him orphaned. He was one of the few who would be transported to my mother’s pack.
Pain gripped my chest as I tore my gaze away, forcing myself to move forward.
Still, something in me felt… wrong.
I turned back, unable to stop myself, only to meet his eyes once more.
Betrayal twisted in my gut.
