Chapter 111

Aurora’s POV

“I promise I’m alright, Thorne,” I whisper, leaning into his hug. “It’s been a week since I woke up.”

“I know, but you know how I can’t stop myself from worrying about you,” he mumbles into my hair. I smile. I do know. Over the past week, he’s been like a mother hen, hovering over me to make sure I didn’t fall apart.

Having him there was nice, but it was a bit suffocating at some moments. It got to a point where I told him I want to go to work, and I swear he almost had a panic attack. It was cute and a bit concerning, but I understand where his worry comes from.

My nightmares haven’t gotten any better, and I still wake up crying or screaming in the middle of the night. It’s hard to be around a lot of people, which is why my desk was moved into Thorne’s office upon my return. And, I still need to be with Thorne when I go anywhere—my rule, not his. I tried to go out without him the other day, and it failed horribly.

A man stopped me to ask for directions, and I almost passed out because he touched my arm to get my attention. Thorne showed up quickly and deescalated the situation, but it didn’t change the fact that I freaked out.

The man apologized for scaring me, and I felt bad for scaring him, but after that, I decided to make sure Thorne is with me when I go places.

That probably won’t change for a while, but I’m okay with it because I know that healing takes time. If I rush things, they probably won’t turn out correctly, so I’ve resigned myself to taking my time, to letting Thorne help me, and to making sure I speak up when something makes me scared or uncomfortable.

“Do you need to take a break?” Thorne asks, glancing at the work piled up on my desk. It now sits off to the side of Thorne’s desk against the wall where I am facing Thorne’s desk. If I’m honest, this placement is much more distracting than being right outside of Thorne’s office, but at least I don’t have to peek through the blinds to see him anymore.

“I’m fine. I’ve got so much to do that I need to keep going,” I tell him. Leaning in, I plant a swift kiss on his lips before going back to my desk. He stands there, momentarily stunned before chuckling and going back to his own desk.

I touch my chest, trying to feel for my wolf again. With everything that’s been going on with my new family situation, healing, and going back to work, I haven’t been able to connect with my wolf.

I can almost feel that she’s there, but she hasn’t made herself known like she did when I was kidnapped. She also hasn’t tried to come out, something Thorne said she should be begging to do since she was dormant for so long.

We still haven’t figured out how my wolf was suppressed for so long, or why I can’t really feel her right now.

I think it’s because of the trauma, and so does Thorne. He said she’s probably in a hibernation-type state and could be healing after what happened. I didn’t know that was a thing, but Thorne says it’s normal after trauma like what we went through. Plus, being suppressed for years probably didn’t help.

His exact words were, “Your wolf is exhausted after being forced to shift while weak, so she needs time to recover.”

That was a few days ago, and I still can’t feel her. It’s a strange and interesting concept, but I have to trust that Thorne knows what he’s talking about since I’m unfamiliar with these things.

“Still worried?” Thorne asks from behind me as he wraps his arms around my waist. His lips find my neck and a shiver of arousal shoots through me.

“I am. She still isn’t responding.”

“Try not to worry too much,” he whispers, kissing my neck. “Lycans are strong. You heard what your father said. You’re from a strong line that is descended from the Goddess herself. It’s a line that doesn’t birth weak offspring.”

The way he says it makes it sound strange.

“Anyone would be lucky to find out they’ve been born in the lineage of the Goddess,” he says, pressing another kiss to my neck.

“Is that something that interests you?” I ask, not sure what answer I want to hear. He’s never brought anything like that up before except when he talked about his parents wanting him to marry an Alpha female. But now, things are different.

I didn’t really think about it until now, but Thorne has been acting a bit different since my father told us I’m an Ashford. It’s not really a bad-different, I don’t think. It’s just that he’s been more expressive with his touch.

We spend all our time together, and sometimes I feel like something is going to happen between us. I’m not sure what it is, but it has put me on edge for the last two days.

Thorne’s hands slide down my sides and circle around to my stomach, asking, “Who wouldn’t like that?”

I don’t know how to respond to his question, since it almost doesn’t make sense, but even so, it bothers me. Does he mean that he likes the idea of me being a descendant of the Goddess? Or is he talking about having strong birthing prospects?

This slight attitude change bothers me more than I originally thought, but how do I bring it up? I’m not sure if I’m overthinking things or if I’m rightly justified in my confusion.

“Thorne, I—Ah!”

His hand cups me through my nightgown, pulling a moan from me as he brushes a finger across my clit. Goosebumps fly across my skin, and I find myself leaning back into him as my thoughts fall away.

“What are you… Ohhh, my god,” I moan, and my hips move on their own. They roll forward and grind against his fingers as he expertly strums my clit. A satisfied growl rumbles through Thorne’s body as I cry out again, my head falling back as my pleasure builds.

I try to think straight, but it’s been so long since he touched me like this that my mind flees. My instincts take over, and I lift a leg. His free hand slides down my hip and down to my thigh, pulling it up and holding me open for him.

“You’re so wet for me,” he growls, sliding one, then two fingers inside me.

“Thorne!” I fall forward, my forearms landing on the bathroom sink as I thrust my hips back. His fingers move inside me as he rubs circles around my clit.

Stars sweep through my vision, and I have to drop my head to keep from getting dizzy.

“Do you want to come for me?” Thorne asks, and I cry out when he pulls his fingers from my aching pussy.

“Put them back!” I demand, thrusting my hips back and searching for what I need.

He chuckles, and then his hands are on my hips. “Do you want my fingers or my cock?”

My head spins with his words, and I mewl, “I need you, Thorne.”

“Which is it, little mate,” a dark, rumbly voice asks, and I recognize that voice. When I look over my shoulder, gold eyes shine back at me, and another wave of anticipation rolls through me.

“Your cock,” I answer, nearly coming just from the way his hands tighten on my hips as he growls.

“As you wish, little mate.”

Then, he’s on me, thrusting into me and making me cry out with pleasure as he fucks me like he needs me to breathe.