Chapter 64
Thorne’s POV
Aurora isn’t here. I look around the room to find it nearly empty. Right. Lunch.
Since she returned from being attacked, Aurora has been eating at her desk, so I figured she would today also.
“Thorne!”
Jace jogs up to my side and bows slightly in greeting.
“Walk with me,” I say, turning and heading in the direction of the lunch room.
“I looked into what you asked,” Jace says, falling into step beside me. He glances at everyone we pass, like always as he speaks. “There have been no disturbances near the house for the last few days. The only issues during patrol have been a few drunk teens, a human making trouble at the bar in town, and a few minor accidents.”
Figuring out who attacked Aurora is proving to be more difficult than it should be. Usually, me and my men have no issue finding intruders. I’ve joined the patrol every night since Aurora was attacked, and like Jace says, there’s been nothing.
Whoever attacked Aurora slipped in easily, hurt her, then disappeared. That shouldn’t be possible, yet here we are. It makes me wonder- both times she was in danger, some of my pack members were present.
Could it be someone from my pack? The attacker would’ve needed access to both locations, and it’s the only thing that makes sense for disappearing without a trace.
“Look into the pack members who visited the Redwater Pack for the banquet,” I instruct Jace. “Our attacker could be someone from our pack.”
Jace’s brows pull down in confusion. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Report if you find anything strange.”
“Of course, and speaking of strange, I did find something here at the office that you’ll want to know about,” Jace says, which has me stopping.
“Here?”
He nods and unlocks the tablet he’s holding. After a few clicks, he turns it around, and I watch the security footage of Aurora and Ethan. My anger rises with each moment he crowds her space, then he begins touching her.
I nearly lose it when he grabs her.
“She told me her burns were an accident,” I growl, watching as hot tea spills onto Aurora’s hand and ankle. Then I smirk when she threatens to call the police.
I’m proud and angry at the same time. She should have told me Ethan was responsible for hurting her.
“Add Ethan to your list of people to investigate and have him brought to my office.”
Jace bows out respectfully, walking away to find Ethan. Now, my goal is to find Aurora.
When I get close to the lunchroom, I hear voices off to the side. The sharp tones of an argument become clear, and soon, I find Angeline and Aurora in a side hallway. Aurora is backed against the wall, glaring at Angeline.
What’s more surprising than finding them alone like this is that Aurora is laying into Angeline, “I’m not here to be your personal punching bag. Honestly, I couldn’t care less what you say to me because you have no weight or value in my life. Stay out of my relationship with Thorne and we won’t have any problems here. If you don’t… well, you might get a reality check that isn’t as nice as merely touching grass.”
My wolf rumbles with approval, perking up at how Aurora subtly threatens Angeline. She’s usually so docile around werewolves, but this is so…
“Attractive,” my wolf finishes for me. It is. I’d gladly defend her any day of the week, but seeing Aurora defend herself is satisfying.
Though, she’s not just defending herself. There’s a touch of jealousy in the air that’s coming directly from Aurora. Is this her way of staking claim over me?
We’ve been sleeping together for a while, and I’ve noticed how she looks at me, but I didn’t think there were real feelings there. I’d thought it was just physical for her, but was I wrong?
I duck behind the wall as Aurora leaves, my mind running and searching for answers. I need to figure out if Aurora has true feelings for me, and the only way to do that is to test her because I know she’s not going to tell me if I ask her.
At best, she would tell me a lie. At worst, she would completely ignore the question.
An angry shriek sounds behind me, and an idea pops into my head. Initially, I had no intention of entertaining Angeline’s fantasy of getting back together. However, now, she’s the perfect guinea pig to test Aurora’s feelings.
“Nice of you to join me, Ethan.”
Jace pushes the man into my office, closing the door behind them.
“I have to say…” I rise from my chair and move around my desk. “I didn’t take you for one to assault defenseless women.”
Ethan nervously gulps, wringing his hands and blinking rapidly, as I stop in front of him.
“A-Alpha, I’m not sure what you—”
My fist slams into the man’s jaw, sending him tumbling back. Jace sidesteps his falling body, and we watch as he falls to the floor with a solid thud. He groans.
“Aurora,” I growl, and Ethan’s eyes fly to mine. Blood trickles out of the side of Ethan’s mouth, and my wolf growls in satisfaction. “You hurt her in the copy room the other day. It was minor, but who the hell are you to corner, harass, and hurt her?”
Jace hauls Ethan to his feet as he stutters, “I-I’m sorry, Alpha. It won’t h-happen again!”
Before he can say anything else, I grab his right hand and snap his wrist. Werewolves can heal quickly, but a broken bone takes a few days. This way, he’ll think twice before grabbing anyone in the future.
“You won’t touch her or any other woman again without their permission,” I snarl, bending his wrist even more. Jace slaps a hand over the man’s mouth, muffling the scream of pain that fills the room.
“Jace, get him out of here,” I mutter.
Jace dutifully drags the crying man out of my office, and they disappear just in time for Aurora to return. I’m not sure why she didn’t tell me what really happened that day, but I leave it alone. I don’t want her to feel guilty because I know she would if she found out about Ethan’s wrist, even though he deserved it.
“Aurora, come here for a second,” I call out while moving back to my seat.
Now is as good a time as any to get started testing her. I need to know if she feels the same way about me as I feel about her. If she has feelings for me, then this relationship might have a chance to move from temporary to long term or even permanent.
“Did you need me to do something?” Aurora asks as she enters my office.
“Yes. I’m about to have a meeting over the phone, but I need dinner reservations. Could you make them for me?”
“Dinner?” She asks then nods, “I can do that. Where would you like to go and how many people?”
“It’ll just be me and Angeline,” I tell her, watching her face as I continue, “Somewhere nice with a wide assortment of food.”
Aurora blinks and her jaw ticks. I watch and note the changes in her demeanor; her body stiffens, her brows pull together, and a frown pulls at her lips. The slight uptick in her heartbeat reaches my ears just as the sour scent of jealousy and anger fills the room.
“Make sure they put us in a private room. I have things I need to discuss with Angeline,” I add. Aurora’s scent shifts slightly, and the heavy scent of sadness reaches me. It’s so strong that I must clench my jaw to keep from apologizing for what I’m doing.
“I’ll do it now,” she says softly, turns, and leaves the office.
