Aurora’s POV
What does he mean by he’s not going to hurt me? God, I swear I’m about to faint. My heart is racing so fast it feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. I don’t even know if I’m breathing properly anymore. And the fear… Oh my God, the fear. I might actually pee my oranges.
I’m sitting at the farthest edge of the couch, as far away from him as I can possibly be. But it doesn’t feel far enough. I can still feel his presence, heavy and suffocating. My legs are trembling, and I’m not sure if it’s from the fear or the absolute confusion of everything he just said.
I keep stealing glances at him, but every time my eyes meet his, I look away just as fast. What the fuck did I just hear? He’s not human. He’s a werewolf. A werewolf. My brain keeps repeating that word like it’s trying to make sense of it, but it can’t. It won’t.
And Karen… Karen is a werewolf too? His fiancee. A werewolf fiancee. A woman who could snap my neck like a twig if she wanted to. No, not snap. End. She could end me with the snap of a finger.
I glance at Ryan again, my mind screaming at me to do something. Scream, run, cry, anything. But I just sit there, frozen, staring at him like a complete idiot. My voice finally finds me, though it’s shaky and barely audible.
“What do you want me to say?” I whisper.
Ryan’s eyes soften as he leans forward slightly. “Anything,” he says. “Just say anything.”
I shake my head, my thoughts a tangled mess. “I don’t know what to say,” I admit, my voice cracking. “This… this is foreign to me. I don’t know how to feel. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know where you came from.”
My breathing picks up, and I feel the panic bubbling inside me like a volcano about to erupt. My chest feels tight, and I grip the edge of the couch so hard my knuckles turn white. I can’t take it anymore.
Ryan moved closer, and without thinking, I screamed loudly.
“Stop!” His voice is firm but not harsh, and it cuts through the chaos in my mind like a knife.
I freeze, the sound of his voice echoing in my ears. There’s something about the way he says it, it’s commanding, but there’s an edge of concern that makes me pause. For a moment, the fear loosens its grip, and I look at him, really look at him.
“How do you expect me to trust you?” I ask, my voice shaking. “What if… what if one day I do something you don’t like, and you…. you bite me? Or behead me?”
Ryan blinks, and then, to my absolute shock, he laughs. It’s not a mocking laugh; it’s soft, almost amused.
“We don’t do that, Aurora,” he says, shaking his head. “We don’t go around ending people’s lives for no reason. That’s not how we are.”
I narrow my eyes, my fear momentarily replaced by anger. “That’s not what I’ve heard,” I snapped. “Werewolves are killers. They’re wicked.”
His expression shifts, and for a moment, I see something dark in his eyes. “I can be cruel,” he admits, his voice low. “But only to those who deserve it. Never to you, Aurora. Never you.”
I don’t know what to say to that. My mind is spinning, and my chest feels tight again. “I want to ask you something,” I blurt out, needing to fill the silence.
“Go ahead,” he says, leaning back slightly.
“How are you so sure you can trust me?” I ask, my voice trembling. “You talked about this… bond. But I don’t know anything about that. I don’t feel it. I only… I only like you. That’s it. And right now, I don’t even know if I feel that anymore. This is too much. I feel like I’m suffocating.”
Ryan’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then he nods. “Alright,” he says finally. “I’ll give you all the time you need. But just know, the time you need is until tomorrow.”
My eyes widen, and I shake my head. “No,” I say quickly. “I’m not skipping work. I have to work for my money. I told you, Ryan, there’s nothing between us anymore. It’s just a CEO and his personal assistant. That’s it.”
He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll give you space. But the day after tomorrow, we’re going to Shadowhaven.”
My stomach drops. “Why?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Because,” he says, his eyes locking onto mine, “I want everyone to know that you’re mine.”
I feel like the air has been sucked out of the room. My head spins, and my heart races. This is too much. All of it.
“I think I’m dreaming,” I mutter, pressing my fingers to my temples. “This can’t be real.”
“Aurora,” Ryan says softly.
“Please,” I cut him off, my voice cracking. “Just leave.”
For a moment, he hesitates, like he’s about to argue. But then he nods, standing up slowly. His presence still feels heavy, even as he walks to the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says quietly before leaving.
****
As soon as Ryan left, I bolted for the door, locking it with trembling hands. My chest heaved, my heart racing so fast I thought it might give out. I leaned against the door, clutching it for support. “Oh my God,” I whispered, my voice shaky and thin. “Oh my God. I’ve been with a werewolf. I slept on the same bed as a werewolf.”
The thought made my stomach churn. What could’ve happened if I had angered him? What if he had… hurt me? Or worse? I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push away the horrifying images flooding my mind. I felt like my thoughts were spinning out of control, pushing me from one terrifying possibility to another.
And now he says he’s taking me to Shadow Heaven. Shadow Heaven? What kind of place is that? It doesn’t sound like a place humans should go. What if I don’t agree to go? What if I say no and he gets offended? What if he… kills me?
I felt my knees buckle slightly, but I steadied myself, shaking my head as if I could physically shake away the fear. This is too much. It’s all too much.
Deep down, I knew Ryan wouldn’t hurt me. He seemed… harmless in his own way. But the fact that he wasn’t human was like a wall I couldn’t climb over. It was unsettling, and no amount of soft words or reassurances could change that.
I walked into my room, my movements stiff and robotic. I wasn’t even sleepy anymore. How could I sleep after this? I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and stopped. My reflection stared back at me, wide-eyed and pale. I looked like I’d seen a ghost.
“I like Ryan… a werewolf,” I whispered to myself, and the words sounded ridiculous even as I said them.
Without thinking, I raised my hands and curled my fingers like claws, baring my teeth at the mirror as if testing what I’d look like as one of them. I felt a small, hysterical laugh bubble up in my throat, but it died quickly. What was I doing? What was wrong with me?
I dropped my hands and stepped back, shaking my head. No, no, no. This wasn’t happening. I had to stay away from them, all of them. Ryan, Karen, Caleb… anyone tied to this insane world.
Karen. My stomach flipped at the thought of her. Now that I knew she was a werewolf too, the idea of facing her made my blood run cold. She already hated me, and now that she thinks I’m taking her man? Oh no. No way.
I couldn’t go back to work. I just couldn’t. It was too much. Too dangerous. I’d be walking into a den of werewolves every day, pretending like everything was normal. What if Karen decided to snap one day? What if she… hurt me? Or worse?
No, I wasn’t going to die early. I wasn’t going to be another tragic story. I had to get out of this.
I sat on the edge of my bed, clutching my head as I tried to think. Tomorrow, I’d start looking for another job. Something far away from all of this. I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t keep working for Ryan, knowing what he was.
This was the end of the story for us. No more professional relationship. No more anything. I had to protect myself.
I glanced at the door, imagining Ryan coming back. I could already see myself dragging the table in front of the door, barricading it so he couldn’t get in. If he wanted to talk, he could talk through the door.
Even though I told Ryan I was going to come to work. Well, I wouldn’t try that. Tomorrow, I’d start over. I’d move on with my life. Forget about him, his fiancee, and everything else tied to this nightmare.
“I think this is the end for us, Ryan,” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling but resolute. “No more.”
I nodded, as if convincing myself. This was the right thing to do. It had to be.