Aurora’s P.O.V
I could feel my heartbeat faster in my chest as I looked at Ashton. I had to know the truth, and I had to know it now. The air around us felt charged, like a storm was brewing. I couldn’t hold back any longer, not after everything I’d witnessed, everything I’d been through.
"Why is he doing this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, trembling despite myself. "What the hell is wrong with Lucas? Is he some kind of psychopath?"
Ashton shook his head, his eyes holding the same pent up fear and anger as did Maggie. “He calls himself a Wizard Scientist.” He scoffed. “He says he’s working on something big, something that will change the world. But we don’t know, Aurora. We’re in the same boat as you. We’re all his prisoners, his to do as we please.”
Maggie, who had been sitting quietly beside us, finally spoke up. "It’s not just a science project, Aurora. Lucas is... he's trying to create a new breed of children, ones that will carry on his legacy. He believes these children will be the key to immortality. Real immortality. No aging, no death."
I felt my stomach twist. "Children? He’s been... experimenting on children?" My voice cracked, the horror of it settling over me like a suffocating weight.
Ashton’s eyes softened, but there was a bitterness in his words. "It’s not just about the children. It’s about creating something... perfect. He wants to make the ultimate being. He’s not a big talker but sometimes, he says things and from what we had gathered, he had previous children too. Failed experiments. But this new batch..." Ashton hesitated, his gaze flicking toward Maggie, who looked just as horrified as him.
Maggie’s face was pale, and when she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible. "I heard Lucas and Harmona talking once. They... they think the others were mistakes. They believe the new batch will be perfect. That’s why they’re so... determined to push forward."
I looked from Maggie to Ashton, and then back at Maggie. The truth was unbearable. The weight of it all felt like it was crushing me, like I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to say, what to think. Was it even possible for someone to go this far, to treat lives like experiments?
Not just lives…children! Lucas’s own children. He had to be some kind of special psychopath to have done something so heartless and still continue to do so. In comparison to him…my step-father, seemed like a saint.
Lucas went around targeting women, he went around hunting them, stalking them and then he…
I couldn’t hold back the disgust that boiled inside me as I stared at glass coffin of my mother. My stomach churned, and I nearly gagged. This was my blood? My relatives? The thought alone made my skin crawl. "I can't believe I'm related to such a filthy man," I spat, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and disbelief. "He makes my father look like a saint in comparison. At least he had some dignity. He—" I had to stop myself, the words catching in my throat. There was too much hatred, too much anger, and not enough space to fit it all in. “God…I …oh god…”
They didn’t say anything at first, letting my words hang in the air like a bad smell. Then, Ashton stepped closer, taking my trembling hands in his. "Aurora, we're not the ones at fault here," he said, his voice low but firm, like he was trying to keep me calm. "We're bound to him. By magic. We can't do anything about it. Trust me, if we could, we would've stopped him by now. But we can’t escape, and our magic is useless in this house."
I glared at him, not caring for the excuse. My thoughts were spinning, the anger fogging my mind, but something started to click. I was shaking my head, struggling to understand how I had been so blind. The mark behind my ear—the one that had appeared recently. I never really understood what it was until now— it was the key. It wasn't just a mark. No, it was a leash. A barrier. It was stopping me from using my magic. It was stopping all of us.
That realization hit me hard. The blood drained from my face as the implications settled in. I couldn't escape. I couldn't fight back. At first I had thought it was just a symbol, nothing significant. But now, I know it for what it really was—a prison. A magical restraint to keep me from using my magic to escape this hell.
"You’re telling me you’re all bound to him?" I demanded, my voice rising despite myself. "You can't even break free of his grip?" I shook my head in disgust. "You're…we’re all weak…we’re nothing more than pawns in his twisted game."
"No, we’re not weak," Maggie shook her head, her blue eyes sparking with anger. "We’re not proud of this either. But if we could do something, we would. We don’t have the power to stop him—Aurora and neither do we know how. We’re all teenagers! How can anyone expect us to fight this man who has us all prisoners for his sick game?"
My heart felt like it was about to explode, but I didn’t let my emotions take control. I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. "I don’t care," I snapped, my voice cold and cutting. "He’s disgusting. And we’re done being weak. We need to fight back, we’re more in number. There has to be some kind of way to get out of here! We need to leave this cursed house!"
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating. I could feel their eyes on me, a mix of pity and regret in their gazes. But none of that mattered now. I had to find a way to break free. The mark behind my ear was the key, and I wasn't going to let it control me anymore.
I stared at Ashton, my heart hammering. "Have any of you ever tried to escape?" The question felt stupid as soon as I asked it, but I needed to know. My mind was racing, desperate for any shred of hope, any sign that there was a way out.
Ashton’s eyes hardened, his face darkening. He didn’t say anything for a long time, and I could feel the weight of his silence pressing down on me. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and rough, like he was dragging the words out from some dark place deep inside. "One boy tried. Thought he could make it, you know?" He paused, looking down. "He didn’t come back. Alive, anyway."
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the knot that tightened in my stomach. The way he said it, like it was just another fact, like the life of that boy didn’t matter anymore, made it feel real. Too real.
"But that was years ago," he added, lifting his gaze to meet mine. "For the last five years, we’ve been stuck here. No hope, no way out. Just trying to survive day by day." His words were sharp, as though he was trying to cut something out of me, something that still clung to the edges of my mind.
I clenched my fists, ignoring the ache in my chest. "I don’t care about your hopelessness," I said, my voice trembling, but strong. "I’m mated to a wolf. He’s the future Alpha of a pack. He’ll find me. I know it. He won’t stop until he does. He can’t."
Ashton shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Hope is our worst enemy here," he said, his eyes filled with something that looked like pain, but colder. "You hold onto it, and it’ll tear you apart. It’ll make you weaker. If you want to stay alive, you need to let it go. Leave it behind. Because no one’s coming for us. Not anymore."
I shook my head. I couldn’t listen to him. I wouldn’t. "I’m not giving up on him. I’ll never stop believing." My heart was pounding, every beat a reminder that I wasn’t alone. "I don’t care if it takes years. He’ll come. He will."
Ashton stared at me for a moment, and I could see the conflict in his eyes, like he wanted to say something else but couldn’t. Then he sighed, stepping back, almost like he was distancing himself from me. "Then you’ll be disappointed," he said softly, as if it was the kindest thing he could say to me. "But if it’s the only thing that keeps you going... hold on to it. I guess."
I didn’t want to hear it, but I also couldn’t ignore the weight of his words. Even as I clung to the hope of my mate, the doubt started to creep in. Was he right? Would I be waiting for nothing?