Aurelia’s eyes stung as she packed her things.
The room was too quiet and annoyingly bright.
Sunlight spilled through the tall glass window and shimmered across polished stone floors.
Outside, the waterfall roared softly against the cliffs, its mist drifting in through the open balcony.
She already knew she would miss that sound.
Her fingers curled around a folded dress before she forced it into the satchel.
She tried to breathe, but it felt so hard She wanted to cry, She wanted to scream.
She wanted to grab someone, anyone, and demand this be undone.
But she didn’t.
Her jaw tightened as she forced the feeling down.
Not now.
And definably not here
Aurelia stood in the center of her opulent bedroom, packing only what she could carry.
Nothing more.
Nothing that tied her too tightly to a place she was no longer allowed to stay in.
The satchel looked too small for a life.
She glanced toward the window again.
The waterfall thundered below the cliffside, white water crashing into the sea far beneath the island.
They used to bathe there in the early mornings, laughing as cold spray hit their skin and the sun rose behind them.
Now it felt like something she had only imagined.
Clover and Diane moved around her quietly, folding clothes, gathering herbs, packing small enchanted trinkets.
Their hands were trembling and regardless of how much they hid it she could they were scared for her.
Aurelia wanted to tell them it would be fine.
She opened her mouth once then closed it again.
The words would be lies.
Silence filled the room instead.
She tied the satchel shut and rested her hand on it for a moment longer than necessary.
The truth was she had no idea where to where to go after this.
The question circled her mind without mercy.
The father of her child had rejected her.
Her magic had gone silent and even Hecate and Circe had turned away.
And now the Isle itself had spoken.
A son meant exile.
Aurelia lifted her gaze toward the balcony once more.
The wind moved through her hair, soft and familiar, like the island was saying goodbye without words.
She exhaled slowly.
This was the first time she had ever felt so alone.
The doors slammed open.
Aurelia flinched.
Aradia stroded in without hesitation, her robes moving like a storm behind her.
Her expression was sharp enough to cut stone, lips pressed into a thin line of fury.
“How could she?!” The words were barely contained.
Anger radiated off her in waves.
She crossed the room in three quick steps and cupped Aurelia’s face between her hands.
Aurelia leaned into the familiar warmth of her mother’s hands before she could stop herself.
Her mother’s palms were steady against her skin, thumbs brushing lightly beneath her eyes as if checking she was still real.
Aurelia swallowed hard.
Thinking about it now, this might be the last her mother would hold her like this, tte thought landed quietly, but it hurt more than anything else.
“She didn’t listen,” Aradia said, voice tight.
Aurelia’s throat burned.
“I know.” The words came out softer than she intended.
It wasn’t a mystery that Asteria wouldn’t listen to anyone.
Not when it came to her, especially not now when this was such a clear opportunity to cast her out.
Aradia pulled her into a firm protective embrace, it was desperate in a way Aradia rarely allowed herself to be.
Aurelia closed her eyes as her mother kissed the top of her head.
She took in her scent of herbs and ink.
The steady rise and fall of her mother’s breath.
The feeling of being held.
“You’ll get through this,” Aradia murmured against her hair.
Aurelia didn’t answer, she wasn’t sure it was true. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
Aradia pulled back slightly, still holding her face.
Her expression had changed.
The anger was still there, but now it was controlled.
Focused.
“You will go back to the North,” she said.
Aurelia blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me.” Aradia stepped closer, voice firm now.
“You will go back to the North and you will make him take responsibility.”
Aurelia recoiled slightly, confusion breaking through the grief.
“What?”
Aradia didn’t soften.
“Darius Dane.
He is the father of your child.”
Aurelia opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“That doesn’t change anything,” she said weakly.
“It changes everything.” Her mother’s gaze sharpened.
“Diane and Clover will go with you.
They will ensure you are settled before returning.”
Aurelia shook her head.
“You can’t just—”
“I can,” Aradia interrupted “And I am.”
Heavy silence fell between them.
Aurelia stared at her mother, trying to find some sign that this was negotiable.
There was none.
Her mother’s decision was final and there was nothing that would change her mind.
“North?” she repeated quietly.
Aradia nodded once.
“You are not being discarded, Aurelia.”
A pause.
“You are being sent to finish what he started.”
Aradia lifted her hands conjuring bags for Diane and Clover.
They floated over to them.
“Can you two do this?”
For a minute they hesitated but nodded.
Aradia smiled then opened a portal.
“Then go”
***
They had chosen a warmer place for the wedding.
A rare mercy in the North.
Here, the air was milder, softened by distant coastal winds rather than the usual bite of frozen mountains.
Still, Darius could feel the weight of the ceremony pressing in around him.
He stood at the altar in a perfectly tailored black suit.
The fabric sat sharp against his shoulders, fitted to him with exact precision.
Dark hair had been slicked back, not a strand out of place.
His posture was rigid, controlled, carved from discipline.
One hand rested behind his back.
Still and composed.
The image of an Alpha ready to bind himself to a future.
Today was his wedding to Elena Frisk.
This was it.
The moment that was supposed to define the rest of his life.
Behind him stood Nicolas Quinn and Gamma Nathaniel Thorn.
Both silently observing him.
The hall smelled faintly of pine resin and burning cedarwood, meant to mask the cold edges of stone and steel.
Outside, wind pressed against the walls in low, distant waves.
Darius should have felt something.
Anything, maybe even a semblance of satisfaction but nstead, there was only a tightness in his chest he couldn’t name.
It was an absolute, deliberate silence that made him restless.
The wolf hadn’t growled even a protest during these weeks of planning, As if Kyle had simply stepped back and left him entirely alone.
Darius’s fingers curled slightly behind his back.
He forced them to relax.
Today was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.
That was what everyone expected.
That was what he had agreed to.
And yet something inside him refused to settle.
A faint pressure lingered beneath his ribs, uneasy and persistent, like a storm waiting just beyond the horizon.
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
Nicolas shifted slightly beside him.
Even without looking, Darius could feel his Beta watching him.
That judgemental look just waiting for him to crack.
But Darius kept his gaze forward.
The doors at the end of the aisle slowly opened.
A soft breath moved through the room.
Elena stepped inside.
Her white gown shimmered under the warm light of the hall, fabric layered in delicate waves that caught every flicker of candlelight.
A gentle smile rested on her face as she began to walk forward with practiced grace.
Each step echoed faintly against polished stone.
The piano began to play.
It felt like a countdown, a final step before everything became permanent.
After all this was the future he wanted.
Elena was everything a Luna should be.
She had strength, respect, understanding.
She was a wolf, born as one and raised as one.
Her bloodline was powerful, and regardless of everything was someone he choose….
Right?
A flicker of doubt cut through his thoughts.
He exhaled sharply through his nose.
Elena reached him, she stopped before him and took his hand.
Her grip was warm.
She smiled shyly and lowered her gaze.
Darius barely felt it just gave her a tight smile.
The priest’s voice filled the hall, droning on in practiced ceremony.
“—we are gathered here today—” his words blurred together barely reaching Darius’ ears.
Darius stared straight ahead.
“If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Thick, absolute silence filled the hall.
No one had even dared to even blink.
Then—
The air shifted.
A golden circle tore open a few paces from the altar.
Light spilled across the hall and all heads turned at once.
Gasps broke the silence.
Darius’s grip tightened instinctively.
Nicolas had stepped forward half a pace before stopping himself.
The circle widened.
And then she stepped through.
Aurelia Dusk.
Wet strands of gold light still clung to the edges of the portal as it collapsed behind her.
Her gaze slowly swept across the hall, when they landed on the couple at the alter she smiled.
“Well now…” Her voice cut cleanly through the stunned silence.
Aurelia’s lips curved slightly as her eyes met his “A wedding?”
She stepped forward.
Her expression sharpened, almost amused.
“Without me?” She tilted her head.
“How dreadful.”
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