Ryan’s Pov
I couldn’t move.
I didn’t know what just happened.
I had never calmed down this fast before. Never.
My hands were still clenched into fists, my breathing still uneven, but the rage that had consumed me just moments ago was gone. And it wasn’t because I forced myself to control it.
It was because of her. Aurora.
I lifted my head and looked at her. She was still standing there, her expression filled with something I couldn’t quite understand. Fear? Confusion? Maybe both. Elliot was staring at her, watching closely, as if trying to figure her out.
“What did you do?” His voice cut through the silence.
Aurora took a shaky step back.
Elliot’s eyes didn’t leave her. “How did you make him calm down?” His voice was firm. “How did you do it, Aurora?”
She looked at me, her eyes searching mine like she wanted me to answer for her. But I didn’t have an answer.
I turned to Elliot. “Stop questioning her.”
Elliot shook his head. “No, we should question her. She might be the one who can stop all of this. We have to know what she did. You never calm down this fast. You stay like this for hours, trapped in your own rage. But this?” He gestured toward me. “This was seconds. Minutes at most. It’s surreal, and I need to know why.”
“I said, stop questioning her.” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
Elliot opened his mouth to argue, but Caleb stepped in. “Just stop. Ryan knows what’s best.”
Elliot exhaled through his nose, clearly frustrated. “Ryan knows what’s best. But we are summoning Nara. Right now.”
My stomach twisted at the mention of her name.
“Elliot, we don’t have to do this,” I said, my voice lowered this time.
“We have to,” he insisted. “This is a new development. And it’s good news. I’m not saying Aurora is dangerous, but we need answers.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Fine,” I muttered. “But leave. I need to speak to Aurora alone.”
Elliot hesitated.
“Uncle, please,” I said quietly. “Respect my decision. I need some privacy.”
For a moment, he looked like he was going to refuse, but then he sighed and walked out with Caleb.
Silence filled the room.
Aurora was still looking at me, her brows drawn together, her lips slightly parted.
“Ryan, I swear, I don’t know what happened,” she whispered.
I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms.
“It’s okay,” I murmured against her hair. “It might just be a coincidence.”
She didn’t hug me back immediately. Her body was stiff, tense.
“They’re looking at me like I’m something else,” she mumbled. “When Nara comes here, she’s going to call me something else.”
I could hear the fear in her voice.
“I don’t know what happened,” she whispered. “I just don’t know, man. It just… happened.”
I pulled back just enough to cup her face. “Little one, listen to me. It’s okay.”
She swallowed hard, her hands gripping my shirt.
“When Nara gets here, we’ll be fine,” I reassured her. “Come. Let’s lie down for a bit.”
But she immediately shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “We shouldn’t be alone right now. Please. My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my body. Let’s go stay with the others. Let’s wait for Nara together. Please, Ryan. Please.”
I searched her face.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes. I’m sure.”
I sighed, then took her hand. “Alright.”
We walked to the meeting room together.
Elliot and Caleb were already there.
The room was quiet. No one spoke. No one even looked at me. But I could feel the weight of their thoughts pressing against me.
I glanced at Aurora. She sat beside me, her hands folded in her lap, her fingers twisting together. I could feel her nervousness through the way she tensed beside me.
Without thinking, I reached for her hand and held it.
She flinched slightly but then relaxed when she realized it was me.
I wasn’t just trying to comfort her.
I needed the contact too.
Elliot’s gaze lingered on Aurora-not with suspicion, but with something else.
Hope.
Like he believed she might be the answer to everything.
*****
We waited and waited for Nara to show up
The silence in the room was unbearable. Every second felt like an eternity. Aurora’s fingers were still tangled with mine, cold and tense. I gave her hand a small squeeze, but she didn’t look at me.
Then, finally, Nara appeared.
She stepped into the room with her usual eerie presence, her dark robes flowing behind her, her piercing gaze sweeping across us like she already knew more than we did.
But then, her eyes landed on Aurora.
Something changed in her face immediately.
“I hear there’s a new development,” she said, her voice unreadable.
“What happened?”
I sat up straighter. “I lost control again,” I said, my voice even. “But this time, I calmed down almost immediately.” I glanced at Aurora. “Because of her.”
Nara’s expression didn’t shift. “Because of her?”
I nodded.
I explained everything…. how my rage had taken over, how my claws had come out, how Aurora should have been in danger, but instead… instead, she had stopped it.
When I was done, Nara leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping against the wooden table between us.
“It might just be a coincidence,” I said. “Nothing to be dramatic about.”
She didn’t react to my words.
Instead, she turned her sharp eyes to Aurora.
“Come here,” she said.
Aurora stiffened beside me. I felt her fingers tighten around mine.
She looked at me for reassurance, and I nodded. “Go ahead,” I murmured.
I could sense the fear in her, the way her heartbeat had picked up, the way her breath was slightly uneven. She didn’t want to do this.
But she did.
She stood up and walked toward Nara.
Nara motioned for her to sit. Aurora hesitated but finally lowered herself into the seat across from her.
Nara reached forward and took her hands. “Calm your breath,” she instructed.
Aurora swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”
I watched them closely.
Nara closed her eyes.
Aurora didn’t.
She looked at me again, confusion clear on her face.
I mouthed, Close your eyes.
She hesitated for a second before finally obeying.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
The air in the room shifted.
Then suddenly, Nara jerked back, ripping her hands away from Aurora like she had been burned.
Aurora gasped, her eyes flying open.
I was on my feet instantly. “What is it?”
Nara didn’t speak.
Her face was pale, her breathing uneven. She looked at Aurora like she was seeing something impossible.
“What is it?” I demanded again.
Nara’s voice was quiet, but firm.
“Stay away from her.”
The entire room fell into stunned silence.
Aurora went rigid.
Elliot, Caleb, everyone just stared at Nara.
“What?” I said, my voice low, dangerous. “Why?”
Nara shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”
Elliot took a step forward. “Even angels asked why,” he said, his voice edged with frustration. “You can’t just say something like that and not explain.”
Nara looked at Aurora again, her expression unreadable.
“She is not who you think she is,” she said. “And she knows it.”
Aurora inhaled sharply. “I don’t know anything,” she whispered, shaking her head.
I looked at her, at the sheer panic in her eyes.
Then I turned back to Nara.
“Nara,” I said, my voice low. “I command you to tell me what you’re talking about.”
She stared at me. Then, slowly, a knowing smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“I’ll give you a hint,” she said. “I can’t reach her. Not fully. Because she is covered in something dangerous. Something powerful. And it is beyond my power.”
A cold sensation crawled up my spine.
Nara stood up, turning her back to us.
“Stay away from her,” she repeated.
And then, she left.