Third Person’s POV
s
Caelum had barely managed to soothe Aurora’s trembling rage and persuade her to return home when he escorted his mother Eleanor and younger sister Giselle back to the Silverfang Pack’s vi. Ever since his separation from Freya, Eleanor and Giselle had moved into his residence, their presence a constant reminder of pack duty pressing upon his shoulders.
The ride back was heavy with Eleanor’s fury. Her wolf aura pressed against the car walls, sharp and unrelenting.
“This Aurora,” she spat, her tone like venom, “she is unreliable and reckless. I once thought having a female pilot from the Bluemoon Airborne Wing as a mate would give our Pack prestige. But what happened? She was discharged–disgraced–and now she’s all over the news for cowardice. If word spreads through the packs, if the Packs whisper that Silverfang’s future Luna abandoned herrades, how will I hold my head high? They’ll rip into us like carrion birds!”
Giselle, seated beside her mother, smirked as she pulled up feeds on her WolfComm. “It’s not just whispers anymore, Mother. Look.” She angled the screen toward Eleanor. The video was clear: Aurora, in her pilot’s uniform, stumbling back as mes engulfed a fellow wingmate. An extinguisher was within reach, but Aurora had fled, her confession caught on camera. The footage had gone viral, everyment below it dripping with outrage.
“She admitted it herself,” Giselle read aloud with relish. “She saw herrade burning and chose to run. Listen to thements: ‘Coward.‘ ‘Traitor to the wing.‘ ‘No Luna of worth.“” Sheughed, though her eyes. gleamed with envy. “If she marries into Silverfang, every insult will fall on us. On me.”
Eleanor clutched at her chest, her wolf howling in protest. “Caelum, I tell you now–I forbid Aurora from setting paw across the Silverfang threshold. If you marry her, I will end myself before the Pack and let my blood stain the Primal Stones!”
“Mother!” Caelum’s head throbbed, his wolf caught between loyalty and love. “Aurora was terrified, yes, but fear does not make her evil. She never meant to betray herrades. Must she be cast aside because of one mistake? Must I abandon her just because she lost her station?”
Eleanor’s eyes shed, wolf dominance rolling from her. “It is not one mistake–it is a scar that brands her for life! If you keep her, every Alpha in the Capital will sneer at us. She will stain Silverfang’s bloodline.”
*Brother, listen to Mother,” Giselle chimed in, her voice sweet but edged with poison. “Aurora’s name is ruined. If you wed her, every time I step outside the vi, wolves will whisper behind my back. “There goes Giselle, sister to the Alpha who mated/with a coward.‘ Do you want that for us?”
Caelum’s jaw tightened. “Yet not long ago you both praised her. You told me she was strong, worthy, destined to soar higher than most females. What’s changed?”
“What’s changed,” Eleanor snapped, “is that her mask has shattered. She is no longer Bluemoon’s shining daughter. She is nothing but shame.”
Caelum’s voice deepened, his wolf rising, protective. “She is also my savior. Do you forget? Without Aurora, I would not have survived. How can I turn from her now, when the world scorns her? Would you have me dishonor the bond of gratitude and love both?”
<b>11:55 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>15 </b><b>Sept </b>
<b>+5 </b>Free Coins
Eleanor’s lips trembled, but her anger burned hotter. She pressed a hand dramatically to her chest, tears forming. “Then you would rather watch your own mother die of grief? Is that the Alpha you will be?”
Caelum rubbed his temples, helpless. His wolf prowled within, torn between blood and bond.
Giselle’s eyes glinted as she twisted the knife. “Brother, Aurora’s debt is already paid. You gifted her jewels -millions worth, enough topensate ten lifetimes. I remember the ledger Freya Thorne threw at your press conference. Fifty million in gems, wasn’t it? That’s more than she deserves.”
Envy red in her chest at the memory. Caelum had never gifted her so much as a silver chain.
Caclum opened his mouth to argue, but his WolfComm buzzed sharply. He answered, and as the voice on the other end spoke, his expression darkened. “I have to return to SilverTech Forgeworks,” he said abruptly, rising. “The stock is plunging. Investors are panicking over Aurora’s scandal. They’re tying her disgrace to me, to us.”
Eleanor cursed under her breath. Giselle only smiled thinly. “See? Already she drags you down.”
Without another word, Caelum stormed from the vi, his wolf bristling at the storm brewing around him. At Forgeworks, crisis meetings ran deep into the night. By the time he finished smoothing over the bleeding wound of Silverfang’s reputation, it was already dark when he reached Aurora’s dwelling.
Aurora flung herself into his arms the moment she saw him, her wolf clinging desperately. “Caelum! I feared you wouldn’te.”
His arms closed around her automatically, though his mind was heavy. “Of course I came.”
Her eyes burned, frustration and desperation written across her face. “I never thought it woulde to this. Yes, I faltered in the fire, but I fought too! I pulled others from the ze, yet they strip me of my title as though I am nothing. And Bluemoon-” Her voice cracked, wolf growling low. “They dismissed me without warning. They will regret it. I will rise again, stronger, untouchable. I will make those who spit on me bow.”
She looked up at him then, her wolf’s plea naked in her eyes. “Do you believe me, Caelum? Do you believe I will reim my honor?”
He forced a smile, though it tasted bitter. “I believe.”
Relief softened her face. She exhaled shakily, clinging tighter. “Good. Then, let us not dy any longer. Your mother and sister may scorn me, but when this storm passes, we should announce our union. Let us be betrothed. I cannot endure more wasted years.”
Caelum’s smile faltered. His wolf shifted uneasily, “Aurora… not now. We must wait.”
Her body went rigid, “Wait? Do you regret us?”
“No,” he said quickly, then faltered. “It’s only… Silver Tech Forgeworks reels from today’s disaster. The Pack watches me, the Council whispers. My mother and Giselle refuse to ept you. For now… we must be patient.”
Aurora’s wolf bared its teeth in wounded pride. She stepped back, eyes narrowing. “Patient? Or
abandoned?<b>” </b>
Caelum swallowed, trapped between the woman who had once saved him and the Pack whose gaze <b>never </b>
III
<b>2/3 </b>
11:55 Mon, 15 Sept
2? ???, 71%
s
relented. The night pressed heavy, full of judgment, and the wolves howled beyond the vi walls.
<b>11:55 </b>Mon<b>, </b>15 <b>Sept </b>