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The moment Aurora saw Caelum Grafton stride into the terminal hall, she surged forward and threw herself into his arms. Her wolf trembled beneath her skin, eyes glistening as she looked up at him.
“Caelum… you’re angry with me too, aren’t you? You think I was reckless today?” Her voice was low, almost pleading. “But I swear, it wasn’t about Freya Thorne. I was only thinking of pack security, of safety. That’s all.”
Her grip on him tightened. “I know… I misjudged, I didn’t hold back when I should have, and things spun out of control.”
Then, as if her fangs could only sink into one scapegoat, she hissed, “But if Freya had spoken up sooner–if she had told everyone those ashes were her parents‘, war martyrs of the Iron Fang Recon Unit–none of this would’ve happened! She wanted me to stumble. She wanted to see me humiliated.”
Aurora ced the me neatly on Freya’s shoulders, her wolf snarling softly behind the words.
Caelum looked down at the woman in his arms, his Alpha gaze steady. “But Aurora, didn’t Freya’s friend call out, right there, that the ashes were from fallen warriors? You just… didn’t believe them.”
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Aurora stiffened in his embrace, her expression faltering. “Caelum… are you taking her side now? Didn’t you once vow that, no matter the circumstances, you would always stand with me?”
His lips pressed into a thin, grim line. He didn’t give her the affirmation she wanted. Instead, he said, “Let’s sit somewhere. Have something to eat.”
Aurora nodded, but her eyes flickered dangerously the moment he turned away. His attitude was shifting. Was it because of what Freya had whispered before she walked away from him?
Doubt was creeping into the Alpha’s heart–and that doubt could unravel everything.
They settled in a private corner of a small restaurant near the terminal, two untouched cups of coffee between them. Aurora broke the silence first, forcing lightness into her tone.
“Because of today, the Airborne Wing has grounded me for a time. I’ll be suspended, at least until tempers cool. But I’ve been thinking–maybe it’s for the best. I’ll finally have the time to apany you to Ashbourne, introduce you to my mother’s kin. It’ll strengthen bonds between Silverfang and Bluemoon. The packs could both benefit.”
Caelum lifted his cup, but the bitter taste of coffee couldn’t drown the question burning inside him.
His <b>eyes </b>lifted, sharp as a wolf’s strike. “Aurora, I need the truth. That night by the river–the night I <b>was </b>dragged from the water, bleeding out from eight de wounds–who was it that saved me?”
Aurora’s face drained of color.
“Caelum, what are <b>you </b>saying? You doubt me? <b>Because </b>of Freya’s parting words?” Her voice cracked, both wounded and furious, her wolf bristling with indignation.
“No. No, Aurora.” His voice softened, almost frantic. “I’m not using you. I just<b>… </b>I just want rity. To understand what really happened.”
Aurora forced her tone into something calm, almost scolding. “rity? Caelum, it was in. I saw you in the river. I pulled you out. The medics took you to the healers. You lived because I acted. Everyone saw it. Everyone knows<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Her words rang with practiced certainty, but sweat beaded cold in her palms.
Caelum’s jaw clenched. “And yet… Freya knew. She knew I had fallen, that I had taken eight knives to the flesh. I never told her. No one from Silverfang ever told her. And still she knew.”
Aurora’s wolf,faltered. Her reply slipped out sharper than she intended: “Then <b>ask </b>her how she knew!”
She bit down hard, cursing herself. If Caelum confronted Freya, the truth would crack wide open. Desperately, she reined in her wolf and smoothed her voice. “What happened that night <b>wasn’t </b>exactly secret. Your ssmates knew, the hospital staff knew, the healers talked. News spreads through the packs. Freya must’ve heard it from
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someone. If she were truly your savior, why would she hide it? Why never once im it until now?”
Caelum said nothing, but silence pressed between them heavier than stone.
If Freya had been the one, why hadn’t she spoken sooner? Why had Aurora been the one he saw when his eyes opened?
Aurora leaned closer, her wolf gaze searching his. “Don’t you see? Freya must have heard whispers, and now she uses them to wedge herself between us. She wants to break your faith in me. That’s all.”
Still, Caelum could not shake the images that haunted him: Freya astride at Runestone Grounds, Freya gripping the yoke of an aircraft, Freya standing alone against a dozen attackers, protecting her parents‘ ashes with teeth bared and wolf unyielding.
He had once thought Aurora’s poise, her valor, unmatched. But now… Freya’s fire seemed to eclipse hers.
Seeing his silence, Aurora’s voice broke into a desperate snarl. “If you truly want to believe Freya Thorne, then go ahead. But I told you from the start–I never wanted reward. Saving you was instinct, nothing more. I never asked to be your savior. The only thing I ever cared about was your trust. If one word from Freya can shatter that, then I’d rather I had never touched you that night at all.”
She rose abruptly, turning as though to leave.
But Caelum caught her wrist, his grip firm. “No–Aurora, forgive me. It was wrong of me to doubt. When you saved me, I was nothing, stripped of rank and strength. I know it was your wolf’spassion. I know it.”
Aurora held his gaze, her wolf steadying atst. She softened her voice into a velvet de. “Then remember that, Caelum. I never cared to be your savior. I only care that you believe me. If Freya’s words can unmake that… then perhaps you never believed at all.”
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