Aurelia’s body ached in ways she didn’t even know was possible.
She had broken a bone once, but at least then Priestess Victoria had been there to heal her.
Now she had no one, no magic and the goddamn healer Darius said he would send still hadn’t shown up.
Heavens, she missed Clover and her herbs.
Before leaving, Clover had left her some salves, but Aurelia wasn’t sure she could even make it to her room to get them.
Every little movement sent pain through her body, reminding her the horrible situation she had been in earlier.
She had woken up a few hours ago and hadn’t dared to move since.
The couch had become her prison.
She just laid there staring at the ceiling without really seeing it, not completely tired enough to sleep and too sore to do anything else.
Aurelia felt so helpless and she hated it every minute of it.
She hated being in such a situation and having no way to fix it.
She was slowly starting to drift off again when a loud knock on the door made her flinch awake.
Her eyes narrowed.
Of course someone decided to ruin her moment of rest.
Another knock followed, making her slowly push herself up before immediately regretting it.
“What is it now?” she muttered.
Then the shouting started.
The knocking grew louder, more violent, each hit against the door making her brows furrow in confusion.
What the hell was happening?
With a groan, Aurelia forced herself to sit up.
Her body protested immediately, pain shooting through her shoulder and ribs, but she ignored it as she slowly pushed herself to her feet.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
She had barely made it halfway to the door when a voice outside made her stop.
“Burn that blasted witch!”
Her entire body went still and for a moment she thought she had heard wrong.
Then another voice followed.
“She’s a murderer!”
Aurelia slowly stepped back.
The pounding on the door became louder, the sound echoing through the small annex.
She couldn’t even call it knocking anymore, they were trying to break in.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the door, her mind trying to catch up with what was happening.
Then the sound of glass shattering filled the room.
A rock flew through the broken window, landing on the floor beside her.
Aurelia flinched, staring at it.
Outside, the crowd only grew louder.
“Burn the witch!” They sounded angry and determined.
Aurelia’s stomach turned and she stepped back again, but more stones started flying in through the broken window.
She moved just in time before one of them came dangerously close to her face, the sharp edge brushing past her skin.
The shouts outside grew louder, their voices mixing together until she could barely make out individual words.
They cursed her, called her a murderer and demanded her death like she was some monster they had come to hunt.
“Burn that evil woman!”
Aurelia stared at the door when the first crack appeared.
They were actually breaking it down.
She didn’t understand what was happening.
Why were they trying to force their way into her home?
This was supposed to be the place where she was safe, even if she hated being here.
She tried to move, but her body refused to cooperate.
Every step was slow and painful, her injuries reminding her that she was not the same woman who would have fought back without hesitation.
She wasn’t in any condition to fight.
And without her magic, she wasn’t sure she could protect herself against a crowd of angry people.
Her eyes moved around the room, searching for anything that could help her.
A weapon.
A place to hide.
Anything that would give her enough time to figure out what the hell was happening.
But the sound of the door breaking apart made her heart jump.
She didn’t have time.
Each step sent pain through her body, making her bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making too much noise.
Once she reached the second floor, she didn’t hesitate.
She moved into her room and lowered herself beneath the bed, ignoring how undignified the situation was.
She hated this.
She hated that she couldn’t simply walk outside and remind these people exactly who they were dealing with.
But right now, survival mattered more than pride.
A loud crash echoed from downstairs.
They had broken in.
Aurelia held her breath as footsteps moved through the annex.
She could hear them searching, throwing things around and tearing through the place she had only just started calling home.
Glass shattered and wood splintered.
The sound of strangers destroying everything around her made her fingers curl into fists but she couldn’t do anything only stay there and listen.
Aurelia stayed hidden beneath the bed, barely moving as she listened to them tear through her home.
She waited.
Maybe they would get tired, maybe they would realize she wasn’t there and leave.
But they didn’t.
Instead, she heard their heavy footsteps moving towards the stairs.
Her entire body tensed.
They were coming upstairs.
Aurelia closed her eyes, forcing herself to stay still as the footsteps grew closer.
Her heart was pounding so loudly she was almost certain they could hear it, but she held her breath and pressed herself further into the small space beneath the bed.
The door to her room opened.
She could hear them moving around, opening drawers and throwing things aside.
Clothes were tossed onto the floor, furniture scraped against the wooden boards and then—
A crash.
Her healing salves.
The porcelain containers shattered against the floor, the familiar scent of Clover’s herbs filling the room.
“That cunt isn’t here” she heard one say gruffly before grabbing her vase and throwing it onto the floor.
“It can’t be..
haven’t seen that bitch leave the house” The second voice was feminine.
Aurelia felt the bed shift above her.
She heard it creak as the woman sat down, the mattress sinking under her weight.
“That’s little hussy’s been sleeping on premium stuff” The woman bounced slightly on the bed.
Aurelia didn’t move, she didn’t even dare to breathe.
Every muscle in her body remained tense as she waited for them to leave.
“Come on let’s get going”
The footsteps slowly faded.
The room fell quiet.
For a few seconds, Aurelia stayed frozen, unsure if they were truly gone or if this was some kind of trick.
Then finally, she released the breath she had been holding, her body trembling slightly from the relief.
But it didn’t last.
A hand suddenly clamped around her ankle.
Before she could even process what was happening, she was yanked out from beneath the bed.
A startled yelp escaped her lips.
Her eyes flew open.
A large man looked down at her, his grip still locked around her ankle, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face.
“Found you.”
___
It had been a long night for Darius.
Sleep had completely abandoned him.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw the bodies of the dead wolves lying in the snow, then Aurelia standing over one of them insisting she hadn’t done it.
His mind had gone in circles for hours, trying to make sense of everything.
He knew Aurelia wasn’t responsible, but then who was?
And if she was telling the truth about Elena…
His jaw tightened.
No.
He refused to believe Elena was capable of something like that. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
That he had given the title of Luna to a psychopath.
He sat behind his mahogany desk, old books and scrolls spread across its surface.
Some were borrowed from the pack’s archives, others had belonged to previous Alphas, all of them speaking of different branches of magic.
Morning light fell over yellowed pages as he searched for anything capable of causing a body to rot so quickly.
Nothing fit.
He had lowered his head to another text when frantic knocking shattered the silence.
Darius groaned, rubbing his temples as another knock followed almost immediately.
For a brief moment he considered ignoring whoever stood outside, but then Nicolas’ voice came through the door.
“Darius, we have a problem!”
Something in his Beta’s tone made him stand immediately.
He crossed the room and pulled the door open to find Nicolas standing there, his hair disheveled and his breathing uneven as though he had run the entire way.
“They’ve got Aurelia,” he breathed.
The sound of her name made Darius tense.
“Who’s got her?”
“A few members of Elena’s pack…
and ours.” Nicolas swallowed.
“They rallied together and surrounded her annex.”
A low growl rumbled in Darius’ chest.
How fucking dare they?
He didn’t wait to hear another word.
Pushing past Nicolas, he broke into a run.
The cold morning air lashed against his face as he tore across the grounds, snow flying beneath his boots.
He reached the annex within seconds.
And stopped.
A crowd had gathered around the small house.
The front door had already been broken down, the windows reduced to jagged frames of shattered glass.
Men and women stood outside hurling stones into the annex while others screamed loud enough for the entire pack to hear.
“Murderer!”
“Murderer!”
The chant echoed through the air, growing louder with every passing second.
Then Darius saw her.
A large man dragged Aurelia out by her hair.
She fought back despite her injuries, clawing at his wrist and trying to wrench herself free, but the man barely flinched.
Another stone flew from somewhere in the crowd and struck her squarely on the forehead.
Time seemed to stop.
Something inside Darius snapped.
Before anyone could react, he was already moving.
His fist crashed into the man’s face with enough force to send him sprawling across the snow.
The grip on Aurelia’s hair disappeared instantly as the man landed several feet away with a sickening thud.
The chanting died.
Silence spread through the crowd.
Darius caught Aurelia before she could hit the ground and pulled her against him.
His hand came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing carefully beneath the fresh cut on her forehead.
Blood stained his fingers.
His jaw clenched.
“How dare they…”
The words came out dangerously low.
He slowly lifted his head.
Brown eyes swept over the crowd, now filled with a rage so cold that even the boldest among them instinctively stepped back.
The murderous intent rolling off their Alpha was impossible to ignore.
The man he had hit was slowly making his way up, through gritted teeth he said, “You can’t seriously be siding with a m—”
“One more word from you and I might just rip out your throat”
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