Chapter 78

Aurora’s POV

Jace runs toward us, stopping and looking both of us over when he stops in front of us.

“Are both of you alright?” His eyes scan Thorne first then me before going back to Thorne, “The blood—”

“Isn’t mine,” Thorne says, shaking his head. “Did you bring a medic?”

“Anders is here. He was with me when you linked,” Jace says, pointing to a large man leaning against my car. He’s probably at least six foot four, or maybe five, and he’s packed with muscles.

He’s massive.

“Anders!” The man’s head whips up at Thorne’s call. Then, he’s in front of us before I can even blink. I lean against Thorne’s side, looking up at the giant. “I want you to check Aurora’s injuries.”

“I told you I’m fine—”

One look from Thorne, and my mouth is suddenly glued shut. I know better than to argue, and my head is pounding. Not to mention the pain in my lower back is beginning to throb. I didn’t want him to see me as weak, but maybe he’s right that this is for the best.

“Yes, Alpha,” the man, Anders, says. He motions for me to follow him, and we walk over to my mother’s house and head inside. Thorne and Jace follow us, watching carefully as I step over the mess in the living room floor.

“Miss, if you could take a seat,” Anders says. I perch on the edge of the couch and show the man where my head hurts. I split my attention between him and Thorne, who whispers in the corner with Jace. However, his eyes are on me, not on Jace.

A flutter starts in my stomach, and I offer a small smile. He doesn’t smile back, but I don’t expect him to. He just fought for both of our lives.

“Lower your head,” Anders says, gently pushing my head down. It’s strange to have someone touching all over my head. He presses and prods, but when I gasp as he presses a tender spot, a growl sounds, and he jerks his hands away.

“Thorne, it’s fine,” I mutter.

“Look up, please,” Anders says. He checks my vision and hums. “Slight concussion. Any other pain?”

I nod and touch my lower back, “I hit here when I fell down a hill.”

Anders glances at Thorne before whispering, “Lift your—”

“Anders.”

“Thorne, stop,” I hiss, glaring at him. “If you want me to get better, he has to check, which means he has to look at my back. It’s not like I’m taking my entire top off.”

A groan from my stepfather steals everyone’s attention, and I look at Anders and smile. “It’s fine. Here.” I lift the back of my shirt and turn to show him the aching spot on my back. He sucks in a breath, which tells me it’s probably pretty bad.

I wince when he presses the most tender spot by my spine.

“You’re badly bruised, but I don’t think anything is broken,” he says as he pulls his hands away. I glance back at Anders and study him as he digs through his bag.

“You know, you’re very large.”

“I’ve been told.”

I smile, “You don’t look like any doctor I’ve ever seen.”

He looks up from his medical bag, “What makes you say that?” The smirk tells me he knows exactly what I mean.

“Well, you’re a giant, for one,” I say, “And you look like you could kill someone with the flick of your finger.”

He chuckles and passes two small bottles to me, “The red one is pills for your concussion. Take one each morning for the next few days. The blue one is a cream to heal your cuts and bruises.”

“Thank—”

“Oh my God, what is going on here?!” My mother screeches, rushing into the living room. She runs to my stepfather, who is tied up and being held up by two of Thorne’s warriors.

My mother looks over my stepfather, fussing over the bruise on his cheek and the ties around his wrists. She shouts at the warriors holding my stepfather up. He’s groaning and barely awake, but conscious enough to see my mother.

He groans her name, sounding like he’s in pain, but I can’t find it in me to have any sympathy for the man. Not once, but twice now he’s nearly gotten me killed.

An icepack appears in front of my face, and Anders nods, pressing it into my hand. I lift it to the back of my head and watch as my mother turns to us.

“Release him, please,” my mother cries. “What did he do wrong?”

“Your husband has tried to sell your daughter twice, now, in order to pay his debts,” Thorne announces.

“He… W-What? That’s not true,” she stutters, her eyes moving to me. I can see the moment she realizes I’m hurt because her eyes widen, and they move between me and my stepfather. “Is it?”

I nod, “Yes. He tried to sell me to an auction a while back. Thorne saved me that night and today. He saved me again, this time from the two werewolves that Frank tried to sell me to again.”

My mother gasps and stumbles away from my stepfather. Anders jumps up and catches her as she nearly faints and sits her on the couch next to me. She gasps for air, presses her hand to her chest, and hunches over her knees.

Anders rubs her back, telling her to breathe.

Thorne moves to my side, takes my hand, and pulls me up, asking, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I whisper. His eyes narrow, and I sigh, “Alright, I’m not, but I don’t want to be scared anymore today, and I don’t have the energy to deal with this.”

He nods and pulls me into his side, and I curl into his comforting warmth. I lean into him, letting him take my weight as I watch my mother jump up, crying and hitting my stepfather. My stepfather groans with each hit, but he can’t fight back. The warriors hold him between them, letting my mother do what she wants.

When she finally stumbles back to the couch, crying, Anders is at her side again. He offers her tissues and a shoulder to cry on.

“Jace, take Frank to the pack prison,” Thorne orders. “If he tries to fight, knock him out.”

They drag my stepfather away as my mother continues to cry.

Thorne sighs, and I move over to my mother’s side as she looks up at Thorne.

“How could I let this happen? How did I not see—"

“Mom, it’s not your fault,” I say, hugging her. The pain from my running in the woods makes me wince, but I ignore it. “This is all his fault. He made his own decisions, and Thorne will make sure he pays for what he does.”

She looks up at Thorne, as he stands in front of us.

“I am Alpha Thorne, leader of this pack and it is my duty to punish those who commit crimes on my land,” he states. “Your husband will be imprisoned for his crimes and questioned about today’s events to see if we can find out where these men came from.”

She nods, sniffling.

“What about me? This is his house,” my mom says, looking around.

Thorne shakes his head and kneels in front of my mother. “You have nothing to worry about. Everything here will be transferred to your name, so you can stay in this house without trouble. I do not punish innocent people.”

Relief fills me because, honestly, I wasn’t sure what he would say. I don’t’ think my mother could afford to move even if she wanted to.

“I think I’d better go lie down, and honey, you need to go rest too,” my mother says before she kisses my forehead and slowly walks away. We stand there for a little while, listening to her rattle around in her room before we all walk outside and head for the cars.

“Thank you, Th—”

My phone rings, interrupting me, startling everyone, and making me jump in fright.

What in the world?

When I look down, a familiar name flashes across the screen.

Leah Ashford.