CHAPTER TWO

Three years later

    “Hey Aurora, come see this.” My cousin and best friend, the girl I had been staying with for the past three years, Layla, yelled up the stairs to me. I had just finished getting ready for the barbeque that we had planned weeks ago. All our friends were coming and it was so exciting because for the first time in three years, I was finally going to see my brother, Alex.

    I could not wait to see him, we talked on the phone and messaged a lot but being so far away and Tyler having his own life, it had never been easy to arrange things. The main reason being that I had not returned to the pack house since I left years ago.

    Back then, I was a mess, bullied and then rejected by my so-called mate. The moon goddess had been crazy to pair me with such a selfish idiot. Whenever I talked to my brother, he would never mention anything about it, I preferred it the way.

    Of course, he had made Debbie his chosen mate and Luna after graduation. It felt so good to be able to hold my head up high and not get upset about that anymore. He was no longer in my head.

    My wolf and I were a hell of a lot happier and stronger now. Training every day, exercising, taking more care of myself and doing everything to glow up, including getting more friends, has turned me into a confident, healthy she-wolf.

    Going to stay with my cousin was the best thing to happen to me, she was like a sister. Well, I barely heard from my real sister. I guess she had forgotten all about my existence.

    “Aurora,” Layla yelled for the second time.

    I smiled to myself and took one last look at myself in the mirror. I had chosen leggings with a black vest top. My long hair neatly plaited into two French braids. I looked good.

    Making my way down the stairs, Layla whistled dramatically.

    “Damn girl, you look good.” she said, causing me to do a twirl and pose like some celebrity on the red carpet.

    I was grinning like a cute little cat when my eyes fell on a figure in the corner.

    I almost fell over myself when I saw him.

    He looked the same but older. His smile made me want to cry.

    Alex.

    “Oh my God, it's really you. You came.” I screamed, rushing over to him and bursting into tears.

    I missed him so much, I missed all my family if I were honest but Alex the most since we were closest.

    “Hello, sis.” he grinned, swinging me around like he used to do when we were little kids.

    “I'm so happy you are here,” I told him.

    “Me too. But I need to talk to you.” his face went all serious and I fell silent.

    I had a bad feeling it wasn't going to be good news.

    “Well, the thing is, you gotta come home,” he said.

    I broke out into a laugh, my brother was such a joker. I turned to my cousin and stopped when I saw that she wasn't smiling or laughing. She suddenly looked serious.

    “What's going on?” I frowned at both of them.

    Alex rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily like he had the whole world on his shoulders.

    “Alex, why are you saying this? It's been years since I left that place. You know I can't just go back.” I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my cool.

    I didn't know my brother would want me to go back there after all the abuse and bullying that I had to endure from everyone, Tyler especially.

    I was older and stronger now, but that did not mean that I wanted to face my past. I was in a good place now mentally and physically. Why should I risk that to go back to something that almost killed me?

    “I won't go back there,” I told him. I knew I looked like a sulking spoiled brat, but the silver moon pack house was the last place I wanted to be.

    He looked slightly irritated by my unwillingness.

    Who could truly blame me?

    That packhouse had memories I wanted to get rid of

    I looked to Layla for support but she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. She knew everything about my past, how they had treated me like a piece of shit on the ground, how I had been rejected and made to feel an outcast by my own family and friends.

    “You do not have a choice, I am sorry. Get your stuff now.” My brother ordered me, causing me to stare open-mouthed at him.

    My brother had never spoken to me like that before.

    “What?” I yelled at him to push him away from me.

    If he thought that I was going to let him speak to me like shit, then he could think again. I had changed a lot over the last three years and nothing or nobody would ever make me feel that small again!

    “It's mum. She's really ill.” The words echoed in my head and changed everything.

    My eyes widened in disbelief. What was he talking about?

    “What did you say?” my voice was unsteady as I turned to look my brother in the eye. I could see the uneasiness and upset on his face. He wasn't lying, not that he would lie to me about something so serious as this.

    Layla reached out to comfort me, but I pushed her away.

    So many thoughts were running through my head, I couldn't think straight.

    “I have to get my stuff.” I ran up the stairs so fast, but the tears were already brimming up in my eyes.

    Grabbing my old suitcase from under the bed, I started shoving all my clothes and belongings into it. Not taking any care to organise it in the way that I normally would have.

    My vision was beginning to get all blurred by my stupid tears.

    I did not know if my mother was going to be okay or not. Well, I really hoped she would be.

    Why had I not been told about this before now? I had so many questions. My mind was in overdrive.

    There was a knock at the door, but I ignored it.

    “Aurora, please! Just stop for a moment and let me help you. I can come with you.” I heard Layla say as she entered the room and grabbed hold of me.

    “No,” I said firmly, pushing her away.

    There was no chance in hell that I was letting her go near my old pack. I would not be responsible for my actions if anyone hurt her. I did not trust any of them, waste of space idiots.

    “Fine.” Layla scowled at my bluntness. I could tell that she was offended by my lack of enthusiasm.

    “I'm sorry, Layla. I really did not mean to sound so harsh. It's just for the best. I will be back as soon as I can.” I gave her a small smile as she nodded but avoided my gaze.

    I was going to miss her so much.

    Ten minutes later, I had my bags and my suitcases all loaded up in my brother's black jeep. He let me say my goodbyes to everyone quickly, but I could tell that he was eager to leave since it would take a while to get back to the pack house.

    “You better call me when you get there.” Layla smiled through her tears and pulled me into a tight hug. I loved this girl so much, she had been there for me when I had nobody. She would forever be my chosen sister.

    “You bet I will,” I told her as she reluctantly released me. Wiping her eyes with her jumper sleeve, she nodded and forced a snorted laughter.

    I grinned at her and tried to stop the tears that were brimming up, ready to flood my cheeks.

    “Come on, sis.” Alex nodded his head towards the car and I gave Layla one final squeeze before getting into the jeep.

    Alex also hopped in and started it up. He did not say a word until we were a few minutes down the road.

    “Aurora, I am sorry. I know that going home is the last place that you want to be, but we need to all be there for mum. She is in a bad state.” He sighed and kept both hands on the steering wheel while I quietly processed his words.

    My mother was unwell and needed all of her children around her. I wasn't sure if she would be happy to see me. We were never close but I still cared about her and did not want any bad thing to happen to her.

    After we had been driving for a couple of hours, Alex pulled into a car park and my stomach rumbled at the sight of the cafe in front of us.

    “Hungry?” My brother looked at me with an amused smile on his face. I nodded eagerly. He opened the jeep door, jumped out and came to open the passenger side so that I could get out too. My brother was a true gentleman. He would make a great mate for someone one day.

    Pushing open the cafe door, I felt all eyes on us which caused anxiety to overwhelm me.

    “What can I get for you?” A woman dressed in a blue top and skirt with a white apron. In her hand, were a notebook and pen which I am guessing was for taking note of any orders.

    “Sorry, change of plans.” I heard my brother say as I eyed all the cakes and desserts up.

    “What? We only just got here. Let me eat. I am starving!” I whined but the colour had drained from his face and I followed his gaze to a table in the corner where a bunch of men were sitting, growling at us.

    I knew that they were werewolves, like us. They smelt like werewolves.

    “What is going on?” I whispered to my brother.

    “Aurora, we need to leave,” he murmured to me. I frowned at him, confused and hungry.

    Alex clutched my hand and he led me out of the cafe and back to the jeep. I was practically running to catch him up. He stopped for a split second to fumble in his jacket pockets of the car keys.

    “What are you doing?” I yelled at him.

    What the hell was happening?

    “Aurora, we need to get out of here. Now.” He found the keys and wasted no time in picking me up. Then, he threw me over his shoulder and shoved me into the jeep.

    I noticed three of the massive guys, all around the ages of early forties and late fifties, standing at the entrance of the cafe, glaring at us as if they wanted to cause damage and pain.

    What was their problem?

    “Alex, who are they?” I started to ask but he was too busy driving the jeep into reverse to answer me.

    I screamed in fright as one of them hit on the window, almost smashing it and bared his teeth at us.

    I hit the lock so it would not be yanked open.

    “Get down.” Alex shouted at me pointing to the footwell. I did as he said.

    My heart was racing like crazy. What was that about?

    I was crying holding my knees to my chest, scared that we were about to die but my brother assured me that we were going to be okay. We were almost on our land and nothing could harm us there. I did not know whether to feel relieved or not.

    “Aurora, I am so sorry,” Alex said, reaching out to me but I just slapped his hand away, feeling angry that he had put me in such a dangerous situation in the first place.

    He must be crazy.

    I wanted to turn around and go home, back to my safety, back to my cousin and the friends who had become my family.

    But knowing that my mother needed me at that moment was the only thing stopping me.

    “Aurora, please let me explain.” he sighed. I had no interest in whatever he wanted to say to me.

    We were soon on our land and once my brother was sure that we were safe, he decided to drive through Macdonald's where he ordered enough food to feed an orphanage for a week.

    I was desperate for the toilet and he reluctantly let me go into the Macdonald's toilets. Warning me to hurry up, he watched me get out of the jeep.

    My knees were wobbly as I forced them to carry my weight. I was a nervous wreck, scared that any second, those crazy men would jump out and attack me.

    Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and locked it. Once I was finished, I washed and dried my hands.

    I quickly hurried back out to my brother who looked relieved when he spotted me.

    “I think you have some serious explaining to do,” I told him the second I got back into the jeep. He nodded while eating and I raised my eyebrows. He owed me an explanation.

    “Yes, Aurora. I know.” he looked down at his lap, totally avoiding my questioning glare.

    “Tell me that we were not on someone else's territory.” My eyes widened as I started to put two and two together.

    His face said it all.

    “Alex!” I yelled, shoving him and causing his drink to almost spill all over his tracksuit. Not that I cared, it was his own fault.