Chapter 85
Thorne’s POV
I’m going to marry Aurora.
Living without her is no longer an option. When I’m with her, I feel more alive than ever. When I’m away from her, she’s all I can think of. My mind is filled with thoughts of Aurora, of what she’s doing, what she’s thinking, and what she’s feeling.
She consumes my every waking, and sleeping, moments.
Now, I know and accept that Aurora is my mate. She’s the woman the Goddess chose for me, and it couldn’t be more obvious. I was just too stupid and hardheaded to realize it sooner. Then, there’s the issue of my father and his wife.
They still plan to have me marry a woman of their choice, and I know that Aurora won’t fit the image they have in their minds. They want a perfect Alpha’s child to be my Luna, but I won’t accept anyone other than Aurora.
She’s it for me. I choose Aurora as my mate, as the Goddess intended.
And it’s killing me that I had to leave her behind while to go to the Ender’s Pack to discuss the border shift.
Gripping the steering wheel, I take the exit south. The Ender’s Alpha wants more land and says he’s willing to trade, so I agreed to meet him on his territory. I’ll listen to what he has to say, even though I’m not happy that he only allowed me to bring two other werewolves who are of lower status than me.
Two of my gammas are following in the car behind me, but the further away from Aurora I get, the more the nagging feeling in my gut grows. It’s been there since I left the house, but now, it feels more like a rope has been wrapped around my neck
However, each time I contacted Jace, he told me Aurora was safe and happy. The last time I contacted him, he said she was curled up in the passenger seat, watching a movie on the tablet he brought with them.
But, the sinking feeling of dread won’t go away.
“Jace, just tell me once more that she’s alright,” I say through our link.
I wait for two minutes, then five before repeating myself, “Jace, tell me Aurora is alright.”
A cold chill fills me when I still get no response. Jace wouldn’t ignore me like this, not when he knows I’m worried about her safety. I try his cellphone next, but it rings through to voicemail, sending me and my wolf even closer to the edge.
“Call Luna Ashford,” my wolf barks. “She should know where they are.”
Flipping back to the my phone, I dial Luna Ashford’s number. My gut tells me that there’s something wrong, and I won’t ignore the feeling. I may not have made it to the Ender’s Pack, but it doesn’t matter. I turn around and head North, toward the Ashford pack.
“Thorne, I was just about to call you,” Luna Ashford says as soon as she answers the phone.
“Are they alright?” My steering wheel creeks under my hands. “Is Aurora okay?”
“Your Beta is unconscious but healing in the medical center, and Aurora… well, she’s banged up, but alright. It seems that when the car flipped, your Beta acted quickly and covered her body and suffered the most damage. After that, he pulled her out of the car and fought off three wolves, who we have in custody.”
I slam my foot down on the gas pedal, pushing my car to its limits.
“Who are they?”
In any other circumstance, I would never demand anything from an Ashford, but my mate is hurt, and Leah Ashford is the only person who has answers.
“Enemies of the Lycan King,” she answers with a sigh. “From what they told us after some intense questioning, they wanted to take her because they believed she could be his daughter. I’m not sure how the information spread so quickly, but we need to confirm Aurora’s identity now so we can end this.”
I think on what she said. There were only four of us in the room when Madame Maura gave us the information, so how would anyone know?
“Do you think there could be a mole in one of our packs?”
A sharp snarl sounds through the phone, “There better not be, but if there is, we need to be careful on what we say.”
“Agreed,” I mutter, remembering how I already thought there was someone from my pack out to get Aurora. They could be in on this.
There have been too many attacks against her lately, and they’re so close together that it can’t be a coincidence. It seems that whoever keeps attacking Aurora always waits until I’m gone, and now, there is more than one enemy after her.
We don’t have any indication that Aurora is more than human when she was attacked by the wolves on my lawn weeks ago. However, the people who caused the wreck could be working with the man who strangled Aurora the other night.
“I’ll be to your pack soon.”
“We’ll be waiting, and I’ll let Aurora know you’re coming once she wakes up.”
I was wrong to leave her. I should have gone with my gut and stayed, but I didn’t, and now Aurora is alone and hurt in an unknown place, surrounded by people she doesn’t know.
Whoever attacked her better watch their backs because once I get ahold of the men Luna Ashford has in custody, I’ll be going after the rest of their crew.
Several wolves run with my car as I enter the Ashford land. They follow me up until I get to the pack house and park, breaking off when Luna Ashford herself steps outside and waves them away.
“How are they?” I ask, jumping out of the car.
“They’re fine. Do you need to get that?” Luna Ashford asks, pointing down.
“What?”
When I look down, I finally hear the ringing coming from my pocket. I pull my phone out and groan when my father’s name pops up on the screen.
Against my better judgement, I answer the call and immediately regret it.
“Have you lost your mind?” My father screams, making my ears ring. I pull the phone away and stare at it. What the hell is he talking about?
Then, it clicks. I was supposed to be at the Ender’s Pack by now, discussing terms of the land. My father wasn’t happy about the idea when I mentioned it, and he warned me that if I was to stupidly give up land, I needed to receive something better in return.
“Don’t worry, father. I still have plans to reach out to the Ender’s Pack Alpha—”
“Fuck the Ender’s Pack and their weak Alpha. If you want land, you take it by force,” he growls, making me sigh. This is why my father and I don’t see eye to eye. I’m not mindlessly violent like my father can be.
Most things that my father uses his fists for can easily be solved without fighting.
“I’m more worried about this human you’re fucking.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your little sugar baby,” he growls. “The entire company, and now the world, knows you’ve lowered yourself to be with a human. I will not stand for such disgrace. You will marry the she-wolf your mother and I have chosen for you by the end of next month, or I will take back the Alpha title.”
