Chapter 87

Aurora’s POV

With the news of our relationship spreading, Thorne’s possessiveness spiking, and the possibility of me being attacked even more, we decided that it’s best for us to head back home.

After seeing Thorne nearly attack Mrs. Ashford, I told her I couldn’t stay unless Thorne also stayed. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me it would be fine if I just went with Thorne.

“I promise to stay in contact,” Mrs. Ashford says, patting my shoulder before turning to Thorne. He’s still on edge, but at least he’s not growling at her anymore. His eyes are back to normal, but I think having constant contact with me helps to calm him down.

It probably also helps that when he gets a little too worked up, I kiss him. That seems to bring him back to his senses.

“Alpha Thorne, I’ll continue questioning the prisoners and let you know if we learn anything further about who they work for,” she says. Thorne merely nods, and I wonder if he’s afraid to say something that may offend her.

The nurse walks over with the vile of blood I donated moments ago and gives it to Mrs. Ashford.

“Thank you, Aurora. I’ll get this sample to Madame Maura,” she says. “As soon as I know something, I’ll call you.”

We exchange our last goodbyes before getting in the car. Thorne tucks me safely in the passenger seat, buckles me in, and then climbs into the driver’s seat. He immediately takes my hand in his as he begins driving, but I don’t mind.

The tingles that spread through my body at the contact allows me to relax into the seat. Jace has already been sent back to Thorne’s pack to be taken care of, so it’s just the two of us. He talks on the phone the majority of the time, answering some questions and denying others.

It seems that our relationship is causing more trouble than I thought, and by the time we make it back to the house, Thorne is growly and mad again. It only gets worse when a wolf runs up to us and shifts into a man.

“Alpha,” the man bows. “The elders and your parents demand your presence at the pack house and sent me to fetch you.”

His wording annoys me, and it clearly annoys Thorne because he growls at the man. I try to pull Thorne back when he moves in front of the smaller man and towers over him.

“They said if you didn’t come, they would send warriors to drag you back, Alpha.”

“They wouldn’t dare,” Thorne barks. The man instantly lowers his head and goes quiet. I’m not exactly sure who the elders are, but they seem to hold power in the pack, or at least they think they do.

I thought Alphas were the highest rank, but these people seem to think they can order Thorne around.

“I’ll go, but I want ten of the best gammas here to protect Aurora.”

Thorne’s POV

The moment I enter the room, all I hear is nonsense. My father sits at the head of the meeting table, in my seat, with elders sitting all around him. My stepmother stands at his side with a hand on his shoulder.

“Move,” I growl, my voice thundering through the room. Everyone goes silent, and my father’s eyes meet mine. He knows I’m talking to him, and no matter how much he wants to hold onto the power and title of Alpha, he knows he must move.

And he does.

Everyone watches as he moves to the seat at the other end of the table. My father stares me down the entire walk to his seat, and I’m surprised that he doesn’t challenge me right here in front of everyone. I know it’s what he wants.

He regrets letting me take over as Alpha. I can see it in his eyes every time I visit him, and now that I’ve messed up, he sees this as his chance to come back to power.

I won’t let it happen, though. He had his time as Alpha, and that time is over.

“Sit down,” I demand, pushing some of my Alpha command into my voice. They all sit, and then chaos erupts.

“A human Luna is unacceptable!”

“What were you thinking when you decided to pay a woman to sleep with you?”

“She’s only with you for the money.”

“Our pack deserves a Luna who can connect with us.”

“A human Luna will only weaken our pack.”

“She has already proven herself to be selfish and improper.”

The more they talk, the angrier I get until I can’t take it anymore. I explode, “Shut up!”

My fist slams down on the table, splitting it in half. The two solid pieces of wood fall apart and crash to the floor in front of the pack elders. My chest heaves as I try to breathe steadily, but all of their words flood my mind.

“You haven’t even met Aurora yet, and you’ve already passed judgement,” I say, taking a few deep breaths.

“Can you blame us?” Elder Johnson asks, standing and turning to me. “You are with her because you made a contract that stated you would pay her for sexual favors.”

“The contract was my idea, not Aurora’s idea.”

Elder Johnson shakes his head while another elder stands, “Alpha, you should be choosing a Luna who is kind, caring, and selfless. How can you expect us to respect a woman who doesn’t even respect herself?”

I sigh. I understand where his question comes from, but it still irritates me.

“Aurora only went along with accepting money because she needed the money to save her dying sister,” I explain. “She had no ill intentions, and she still doesn’t. Aurora is my mate, and we love each other.”

“Having a human Luna will make our pack weak,” my father states, narrowing his eyes on me.

“Bringing a human in will only sully our family line,” my stepmother adds. “If you mate with her, your children will be weak.”

“Says who?” I growl, standing. “Just because you see humans as weak doesn’t mean they are. They may be physically weaker than werewolves, but Aurora isn’t weak. In fact, she spent years busting her ass to take care of her family and pay for her sister’s medical treatments. Is that weakness?”

Whispers break out around the room, but I don’t take my eyes off my father.

“I will not marry or mate anyone other than Aurora, so you might as well get that thought out of your head.”

A few elders look up at my words, but I’m not speaking to them.

“This is a mistake,” my father says, and I scoff, becoming angrier. If they would just give Aurora a chance and meet her, they would realize she’s better than any woman they could ever choose for me.

“Are you saying the Goddess herself made a mistake when she chose my mate?”

The room falls silent as I stare my father down. This is one thing I know he would never admit to thinking. The Goddess’s word is sacred, and to accuse her of making a mistake would be the epitome of disrespect.