Aurora’s POV It took me half an hour to pull myself together enough to finish the drive home. I didn’t want to, but… I knew what I had to do.I’d stumbled out of the car, squinting into the too-bright headlights for a glimpse of Selene’s blonde hair. After she’d waved and winked at me, she’d skipped away, agile on her high heels even in the autumn rain. I’d stood, leaning on the bonnet of the car for support, trying to spot her as fogginess and dizziness took hold of my mind.I’d seen Selene twice now, and I could’ve sworn I’d heard her laughing at me in the woods with Dominic. My skin crawled as the sound lingered in my memory. If she’d been in the coffee shop, the woods, and now here…She wasn’t in Berlin. She was here, in Midnight City.Either she was lying to Ethan – or Ethan was lying to me. I had to confront him. I weighed the risks as I navigated the city roads. Unless they were in on it together, Ethan felt like less of a threat to me than Selene Snowfield did. After all, it

Aurora’s POVAfter that, everything sped up. I became a blur of motion as I rang an ambulance and did CPR. Through it all I heard the rush of water in my ears, felt the tightness in my chest that came from gasping for air in a panic, was the thrum, thrum, thrum of a drum beat, pounding desperately as I tried to save Remington’s life. My heart beat twice as hard, like it was trying to compensate for his.It was no use. I had failed. Remington was dead, limp on the sofa in his eerily pristine flat. I had come here for him, for his son, his son who was visiting him today, and I had let him down. I’d let them both down.I went through the motions when the ambulance arrived. I helped them, then made cups of tea as they moved his body onto his bed. I stayed politely out of his son’s way when he arrived, his reddened face streaked with tears, his hands clasping helplessly at nothing. A hand clapped me on the shoulder. “We just need to take a statement,” said the police officer.I’d been so

Unknown POV“He’s here.” My fingers tightened around my mobile. “I’ve got eyes on him.”Alpha Ethan bent over the front desk as I watched, practically begging the receptionist with his eyes for – something. It was that something that I was here for. I had my orders.“Good,” my boss replied.I listened closely as Ethan spoke to the woman at the desk. “Fill this out for me, please. Can I take down your title, name, and relationship to Aria?”“He’s here for her,” I muttered into the phone, taking a small step back into the shadows. They wouldn’t see me. No-one ever did.“As expected. Tell me something worth hearing.”I squinted at him. I recognised the woman with him: Zoe Collins. She was famous in most social circles because of her Alpha father and extraverted personality. His company wasn’t worth mentioning, though. She already knew everything about his relationship with her. The first, drunken kiss, the sham of a hook-up, the occasional follow through. Nothing interesting to report t

Aurora’s POVEthan kept glancing at me strangely. Even when he excused himself to scope out a non-hospital dinner and a decent cup of coffee, I could still feel his eyes on me. Maybe it was the mate bond. Maybe it was paranoia. Who knew?My concern right now was Sammy. His hand was still in mine. He kept squeezing my fingers and pressing two of his to my wrist, the slightly chubby pads of his fingertips hunting out my pulse.“I’m okay, sweetheart,” I murmured, kissing the crown of his head. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”He didn’t say anything. He just snuggled closer, searching out the heat of my body and the reassuring thud-thud-thud of my heartbeat. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep like that, the awful excitement of the day taking its toll.Zoe had been quiet, too, ever since she’d arrived. Hers were another set of eyes I could feel watching me. The tension built and built between us, a rickety old bridge that neither of us dared cross. I looked at her. She looked at me. I looke

Aurora’s POVI cleared my throat. “Bad news?”She nodded. Dusty grey hair, which had been tucked artfully to hide it within her brown bun, came loose. “I’m afraid so.” She tucked the stray hair away, then tapped her clipboard with the end of her pen.Her blue eyes drifted towards the sound of Ethan stomping away. “Sorry.” I winced at the doctor. She chuckled, but the tension in her eyes didn’t ease one bit. “Family drama? Believe me, I see all of it. The whole scope of human life comes through my ward. You’d know that though, wouldn’t you?”I blinked at her. What did she know? Why would she say that to me?“You are a doctor, aren’t you? It’s on your notes.” She ducked her head. “And you’re famous, at least in the medical world. That transplant?” She huffed, somehow managing to make a sound of derision sound impressed. “We talked about it for weeks on end here. It still comes up at least once a month.”It was my turn to look away, embarrassed. “Thank you. And - yes, I do understand.”