Ethan’s POVHer brow furrowed as her gaze snagged on my limp hands. I suddenly didn’t know what to do with them. The cold touch of the metal doorknob was branded on my palm.“Everything all right?” she asked, her tone cautious.Selene hovered halfway between Aria’s bed and where I was guiltily stood. Was that fear I detected in her pretty green eyes – or was she just looking at me like I was the one up to no good?“Fine.” My brain scrambled to come up with a halfway sensible reason for my being over here.Sterling hissed, ‘Tell her you’ve got a headache and you’re looking for pills.’‘Thank you.’ I could’ve kissed him. Instead, I crossed the room in four quick strides and took Selene’s hands in mine. Aloud, I said, “Everything’s fine. I’ve just got a headache.” I nodded back towards the cabinet, forcing a wince as I did. “I just wanted to grab some ibuprofen.” She tittered. “Darling, it’s no wonder you’ve got a headache. You’ve been holed up in this hospital for days.” Her throat bob
Ethan’s POVMy eyes zeroed in on each shelf, narrowing as I searched every bottle, jar, and plastic container for anything out of the ordinary.Sterling huffed at me. ‘Do you even know what you’re looking for?’‘Not really. Just anything that seems out of place. Shout if you see a vial that’s labelled Evil Poison Do Not Touch or something, yeah?’This time, his huff was more of a wry laugh. ‘Sure.’It wasn’t only Selene who had no business being in this cupboard – it was me, too. The longer I looked the more I despaired. Everything had a name about four syllables too long for me to understand any of them. The words blurred together, becoming an illegible streak of meaninglessness. ‘What about that one?’ Sterling said.‘Which one?’‘Up, left – no, down a bit. Yeah. That one.’My fingers closed around the bottle. It was small, about two-thirds of the length of my thumb, and contained an unnaturally blue liquid. ‘It’s not labelled.’‘Exactly.’I held it up to the light. It sparkled, gli
Aurora’s POVThings didn’t go back to normal for me as quickly as I’d hoped. Standing at the window in my guest room, I sipped slowly at the potion that kept my wolf’s identity masked, knowing I was lucky that Ethan hadn’t sniffed Violet out while I’d been in the hospital again. Apparently he’d sat by my bedside night and day, according to Medic Leyla, who’d told me this with stars in her eyes and her fingers toying constantly with her ringlets. To her, it was a good thing. To me…Ethan. I shuddered at the memory of his rough hands on me. I hadn’t been able to look at him the same since I’d woken up here, back in reality. I still didn’t fully understand what had happened to me.Leyla had given me her hypothesis, which made sense, but everything that had gone on in my so-called dream state felt so real. According to her, I’d collapsed outside my room while talking to Selene. Selene had rushed me to the hospital, where I’d entered a comatose-like state and been unconscious for three day
Aurora’s POVI would, at some point, be able to deal with the sudden tilting of my world upon its axis. That was the logical conclusion to draw – but it hadn’t happened yet.Selene knew I was Aurora Everheart. This was not me guessing, not me jumping to conclusions. There was no allusion in her statement.Selene knew. ‘Uh, oh,’ Violet whispered.I gulped. ‘You said it.’I scrambled desperately to think of something to say to make this go away. I had to act casual, to act like Selene was crazy, to laugh if I had to – but what if none of those things worked? I spent so long second guessing myself that my expression got caught between laughter and fear, and I said nothing.Selene just smirked at me, the cat with the cream as her cold green eyes assessed me with a victor’s glint. I had to say something, do something – but what?I opened my mouth, determined to at least try to defend myself, but before I could Selene spoke.“Ethan! She’s in here,” she called out, twisting at the waist to
Aurora’s POVSeeing Serena up close was strange. I knew what she looked like, of course, but I’d never been face-to-face with her. She was the perfect mix of Ethan and Selene – but she also looked an awful lot like Sammy.She shared his dark curls and rosy cheeks, his bright eyes and curious expression. She had Ethan’s strong jaw, too, paired with Selene’s softer features, like her small, straight, freckled nose.It struck me as odd for a second that she and Sammy looked so alike, like they could be twins, almost, but of course it made sense. They shared a father, and genetically, back before I’d drastically changed my own appearance, Selene and I had been identical. That wasn’t just Selene’s nose I was seeing in Serena’s face; it was mine, too.“What are you doing out here?” I asked softly, crouching down to be at her eye level. “Waiting for Mummy and Daddy. They told me to stay out here.” She rocked back on her heels. She was wearing a woolly dress with patterned tights, and my hea
Aurora’s POVI stared down at the pregnancy test. My heart pounded. Another ten seconds, nine, eight…It was time. I swallowed hard, squeezed my eyes shut, and then–I looked down. My hands shook where they held it. I tried to focus my gaze on the trembling test.Two pink lines stared back at me. I gasped; a sob built in my throat. I clutched the pregnancy test to my chest, kicked my legs, and whispered to myself, “I’m going to have a baby!”Tears streamed down my cheeks. I let them fall, gazing down lovingly at my flat stomach, cupping it with one hand and still clinging onto the test with the other. “I’m going to have a baby,” I breathed again, my eyes widening.Finally.After three years of marriage, Ethan and I were going to have a baby. I smiled as I cried, imagining my belly swelling with our child, imagining Ethan pressing his hands to my pregnant belly and singing sweet songs to our little one. He’d always wanted to be a dad, just as much as I’d wanted to be a mum. But it was
Aurora’s POV“Ethan?” I croaked, feeling around the bed for my husband. My hand hit wood – floorboards. I wasn’t in bed. Panic choked me. “Ethan!”I cried out for my husband, but he didn’t answer.Grey daylight streaked across the living room. I rolled over and covered my eyes with my hand.Why was I on the living room floor?Last night hit me all over again. I bolted upright, saw the scattered pages of the divorce agreement lying next to me, and burst into tears.“Ethan?” I called out, my voice shaky. “Ethan, please…”I grabbed the blanket off the couch and let myself cry, cradling my belly. I didn’t understand why he’d changed so suddenly, so drastically. Sure, he’d been a bit distant lately – but I’d thought it was just work stress, or the pressure of being an Alpha, or… something. Whatever it was, he’d never treated me like this before. Never.Ethan woke before me most mornings. He kissed my head, then slipped quietly out of our bed and came back with two steaming mugs of coffee.
Aurora’s POV I stared at the girl Ethan had been kissing. Everything faded into the background as I recognised my own features on her face. We had the same long, blonde hair, the same green eyes, the same full lips, the same freckles over our small, straight noses. We even had the same beauty mark! What was going on? Who was this girl? Violet whined. ‘I don’t like this.’ I stood, frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but watch as my lookalike steadied herself on Ethan’s muscular arm. Was Ethan seriously cheating on me? With a girl that looked so much like me? Zoe stormed up onto the stage, dragging me with her. With all the fury of a lioness, she shoved the DJ out of her way and snatched his microphone. “To the bitch that kissed someone else’s mate over there – The Midnight Club doesn’t welcome cheaters!” The music stopped. There was a beat of total silence – and then the whole club erupted with chatter. I felt numb to it all. Then I heard what they were saying. “Why i