Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Attack
Victoria
I stared into Aurora’s eyes, determination hardening my resolve. "I need to know the whole truth."
Aurora’s laugh was hollow. "The truth? You wouldn’t even know what to do with it."
"Try me," I challenged, leaning forward. "Starting with why you left your mate and son for another Alpha."
Something flashed in her eyes—pain, possibly even shame. "You think it was that simple? That I just woke up one day and decided to abandon my family?"
"Wasn’t it?" I pressed. "You chose wealth and power over love and loyalty."
"I chose escape!" Aurora snapped, suddenly animated. "My father was Silver Claw royalty—the Alpha’s brother. Did you know that? We should have lived in luxury, commanded respect. Instead, he followed my mother like a lovesick puppy into that pathetic excuse for a pack your father led."
I bit back a retort, forcing myself to listen.
"Do you have any idea what it’s like to grow up knowing you were meant for greatness but forced to live in mediocrity?" she continued bitterly. "To be told stories about the palace that should have been your birthright while living in a cottage?"
"So when you recognized my father as your mate, you thought you’d finally achieved what you deserved," I said, understanding dawning.
Aurora’s eyes narrowed. "The Moon Goddess herself confirmed my worthiness. Dominic was an Alpha—my destined partner. It should have been perfect."
"But it wasn’t," I interjected quietly. "Was it?"
Aurora’s gaze shifted to him, assessing. "No," she finally admitted. "Dominic was... kind. Diplomatic. Everyone loved him." Her mouth twisted in distaste. "But he lacked ambition. The Howlthorne pack remained small, comfortable but never prosperous. I deserved more. Enzo deserved more."
"So you found someone who could give you what you thought you deserved," I said.
A shadow crossed her face. "Marcus Grimwood approached me at an inter-pack gathering. Charming, powerful, obscenely wealthy from his mining operations. He made Dominic look like a boy playing at leadership."
"You betrayed your mate bond," Leo stated, his tone making it clear what he thought of such an action.
"I rejected a destiny that confined me to mediocrity," Aurora shot back. "Marcus promised me the world. A real Alpha who knew how to wield power, how to inspire fear and respect." Her voice dropped. "I drugged Enzo so he wouldn’t wake when I left. I told myself I’d send for him once I was established as Crimson Claw’s Luna."
"But that didn’t happen," I guessed, feeling an unexpected pang for the child Enzo had been, waking to find his mother gone.
Aurora’s composed facade cracked, revealing raw pain beneath. "Marcus wasn’t looking for a Luna. He wanted a trophy, a possession. The moment we crossed into his territory, everything changed. I wasn’t his partner—I was his prisoner."
Despite everything she’d done to me, I felt an unexpected twinge of sympathy. "He abused you."
"Abuse implies occasional violence," she said bitterly. "What Marcus did was systematic destruction. He isolated me, controlled every aspect of my existence. My only value was as evidence of his power—he’d stolen another Alpha’s mate and suffered no consequences."
"You were with him for years," I observed. "Why didn’t you escape sooner?"
"You think I didn’t try?" Aurora hissed, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a network of faint scars along her forearm. "Each of these marks represents an escape attempt. Each time, his punishment grew more severe. Each time, I learned that the traditional packs wouldn’t intervene. Mate stealing might be taboo, but no one challenges Marcus Grimwood."
"Until you finally succeeded," I prompted, my eyes fixed on those telling scars.
Aurora’s hand unconsciously moved to touch her right eye, mirroring the location of Marcus’s eye patch. "There was a dispute with a neighboring territory. His security was distracted. I’d stolen a letter opener from his study months before, kept it hidden." A grim smile touched her lips. "I aimed for his throat, but got his eye instead. It was enough."
"And you ran back to the mate you’d abandoned," I concluded, trying to imagine my father’s reaction when his long-lost mate suddenly reappeared.
"I had nowhere else to go," Aurora admitted. "No money, no allies. Just the faint hope that Dominic’s kind heart might grant me sanctuary." Her expression darkened. "But when I returned, he’d betrayed our bond in the worst possible way. He’d taken a human to his bed—a weak, ordinary woman with not a drop of Alpha blood in her veins. And he’d produced you." She spat the last word like a curse.
Anger flared within me, Ava rising to the surface with a protective growl. "My mother was twice the woman you’ll ever be. She didn’t need Alpha blood to be strong."
"She stole what was mine!" Aurora snarled, her composure fracturing completely now. "Your father was MY mate! MY destiny!"
"A destiny you rejected," Leo reminded her coldly. "You don’t get to abandon your mate and then claim ownership years later."
Aurora’s face contorted with rage and something else—desperation, perhaps. "You don’t understand. None of you understand what Marcus is capable of."
"Then help us understand," I pressed. "Tell us what really happened the night of the crash. The night my father died."
A shudder ran through Aurora’s frame. For a moment, she seemed to shrink before our eyes, the imperious woman replaced by someone haunted, frightened. "Marcus never forgave me for escaping. For taking his eye. He tracked me to the Howlthorne territory. Sent messages promising retribution."
"Did my father know?" I asked quietly.
Aurora nodded slowly. "Dominic increased security, tried to protect me despite everything. But Marcus..." She swallowed hard. "He sent an ultimatum. Either I returned to him willingly, or he would destroy everything Dominic loved. Starting with you."
My breath caught. "Me?"
"You were just a child," she whispered. "Eight, maybe nine. Marcus knew you were Dominic’s weakness—his precious daughter. He sent photos of you at school, playing in the yard. Messages describing exactly how he would hurt you."
"That night," Aurora continued, her voice hollow, "Dominic decided we needed to leave. Just temporarily, he said. He had a safe house in the mountains where we could hide while he gathered allies against Marcus. We were on our way there when—" She broke off, her hands trembling.
"When what?" I urged.
The window shattered with explosive force, cutting off her words. Glass shards sprayed across the room as black-clad figures swarmed through the opening. I caught a glimpse of tactical gear, weapons raised.
"DOWN!" Beta Jackson roared, his body moving with preternatural speed to shield me as gunfire erupted.
Aurora screamed, a sound abruptly silenced as one of the intruders grabbed her by the hair, yanking her backward. "Target acquired," the masked figure barked into a radio.
Jackson shifted partially, his eyes glowing amber, claws extending as he prepared to fight. "Victoria, run!" he commanded.
But my feet felt rooted to the floor as I watched Aurora struggling against her captors. Despite everything, despite the years of cruelty and manipulation, something in me rebelled at seeing her dragged away.
"Let her go!" I shouted, lunging forward only to be caught around the waist by Jackson.
A canister sailed through the broken window, hitting the floor with a metallic clang before releasing a dense cloud of acrid smoke. My eyes burned instantly, lungs seizing as I gasped for clean air.
Through the chaos and gunfire, I heard Aurora’s desperate voice call out: "Marcus wants both of us! He won’t stop until he has you too, Victoria! He knows—"
Whatever crucial information she was about to reveal was lost as her captors dragged her through the window. A moment later, the distinct sound of helicopter rotors drowned out everything else.