Caroline’s P.O.V
My heart broke for Aurora. She had been through so much in such a short amount of time and I haven’t even told her the most vital part yet.
“Do you want me to leave?” I asked her, hoping that she would disagree. “I can come back tomorrow morning, or-”
“Stay with me!” Aurora caught my arm before I could finish the sentence. “Please.”
Looking into her huge blue eyes, I felt a surge of relief that she wanted me to stay, but at the same time, an overwhelming feeling of guilt filled my heart.
If Caleb hadn’t found out she was his mate, then we would have never known the life she was living. Would any of us had gone out of our way to help her or would we have kept our distance…never knowing the pain she was suffering in silence…until one day, she would be just another name in our distant memories.
It made me feel like a horrible person. Knowing that it would’ve been her fate because we didn’t get involved in human matters, and neither were we allowed to harm them.
“I think one of the biggest questions on your mind is why we helped you…or why you’re here.” Aurora looked up at me in surprise, and I knew I had guessed right about the questions she wanted to ask me. “There is a reason for that, but first, you need to understand a certain rule about wolves. Our souls are made in pairs.”
I knew I was dumping all of this onto her too soon, maybe too soon for her to process the reality of all of this. But this had to be done. Caleb was her mate, and she needed to know why she was here and the fact that no matter what happened, from now on, he would always be by her side.
“Pairs?” Aurora frowned, moving aside the slightest to make room for me.
I fought a smile. She was opening up to me, even if it wasn’t a voluntary reaction. Good. I was glad she liked me enough that she could trust me near her.
“Yes. Each of us wolves has a mate, something akin to what humans call a soulmate.” I explained. “But for us, it’s even…stronger. It’s a bond we cannot deny and someone we can never hurt. On our eighteenth birthday, we ‘imprint’ on our mates, meaning that we know for sure that a certain person is made just for us. We are bound by the Moon Goddess to love and cherish them for eternity.”
When I looked at Aurora this time, I found her shaking her head as if in denial.
“What? What is it?” I asked worried.
But then, Aurora burst out laughing. Clutching her stomach, she laughed so hard that I was worried she would tear up one of the stitches on her arm. I have to admit, it wasn’t the kind of reaction I had been hoping for…but then again, there wasn’t any correct way to react to all the information that I was dumping onto her all at once.
“Caleb.” Aurora said at last, her hysterical laughing subsiding to leave her worn out and with a rueful smile on her face. “I heard him say ‘mate’ when he looked at me tonight. It was on his birthday, when the countdown ended.”
“Yes.” I told her, trying to be careful with my words because I had no idea what kind of reaction it could garner. “Caleb is your mate.”
“You know…in a sick, twisted way, it all makes perfect sense now.” Aurora looked up at me, that smile still on her lips. “I kept wondering why I was suddenly being noticed by Caleb for the last two weeks. After all, I wasn’t anyone special and as far as I knew, Caleb had always hated me.”
“Aurora…that’s not true…Caleb never-”
“After saving me from Mr. Hemming the first time, he helped to offer me a scholarship.” She cut me off yet again, and any other time, I would’ve been irritated, but now, I let her be, let her get it all off her chest. “I thought he pitied me, and I hated it. But then he came to my restaurant to ask me back…even bought me a cup of coffee and asked me to sit and have a drink. I actually felt happy for once in my life, because he was noticing me, and not out of pity. And now, after what you just told me, it all makes sense…that all of that was for a reason. Some…goddess induced stuff that was never real.”
I stared at Aurora for a few seconds, my mind blank as to what I had just heard, and trying to make a connection with this nagging feeling in my head.
“You liked Caleb.” I realized with a start. “I would’ve never guessed.”
“Because I’m a stupid girl and I wanted a stupid fairy tale…” she shook her head, looking down at her hands on her lap. “The hottest guy in school falling for a loser…sounded like the perfect fairy tale right?”
“Aurora…” I didn’t like it one bit when she called herself a loser. If anything, she was a fighter. She was standing tall despite everything going on in her life. She was stronger than most people our age.
“This isn’t a fairy tale…not after what happened.” Aurora answered, the smile falling from her face to reveal a hint of disappointment. “It doesn’t matter if some all-mighty Goddess bound us together or not…I don’t believe in fairy tales anymore. How can I like someone who let me get humiliated like this? Yes, he didn’t do it himself, but he didn’t protest either.”
“Caleb didn’t let it slide either, Aurora.” I told her quickly, before she misunderstood the situation. “Right after you left…he beat Shane up pretty bad before he went out to look for you. He regrets not getting to you on time. Trust me on this, Caleb isn’t a bad person. Us wolves…we aren’t really allowed to get involved with humans unless one of us is linked to them directly or indirectly via a mating bond.”
“That doesn’t make this any better, does this, Caroline?” She asked me, her eyes losing its shine. “Because if Caleb hadn’t imprinted on me, or whatever it is that happened…he wouldn’t have cared enough to come after me…and tomorrow, I would be just another ‘poor girl’ who got raped and left to die by drunks and addicts, and no one would’ve cared less because of who my father is.”
“That’s not true!” I protested immediately. “I would’ve cared! Even if you weren’t Caleb’s mate, I consider you my friend, Aurora! And I would’ve cared!”
Aurora stayed quiet, as if absorbing the new information. It was a lot, even for me. And I didn’t want to stress her anymore than she already was.
“Why don’t you lie down for now?” I offered, after getting my own emotions in check. “Get some sleep, try to digest what you’ve learned today and then, when you wake up tomorrow, things might not look so gloomy.”
“Will you stay with me?” She asked hopefully. “Just…until I fall asleep.”
“Of course.” She didn’t have to ask twice.
I laid down on the bed next to her, holding her hands in mine. “And before you start to get worried, our pack leader, the Alpha, who just happens to be Caleb’s dad…has already made sure that your house is being guarded. So your brother can be brought here directly, as soon as he’s returns from his sleepover.”
“Riley!” Aurora eyes widened on a sudden gasp. “I totally forgot about him! That’s never happened before!”
“You just went through hell and back, got injured badly and then learned about the existence of werewolves.” I told her with a smile, pushing her hair back from her forehead, careful not to disturb the bandage there. “You can give yourself a break, just for today.”
Aurora nodded unsurely, but then, her eyelids dropped and soon enough, she was fast asleep. I bet even she hadn’t realized just how tired she was given what she had been through. I stayed beside her for a little while longer before heading back to my own house. Thankfully, my parents were asleep and I didn’t have to answer any of their ridiculous questions.
‘She’s asleep now.’I told Caleb through the mental bond. ‘But I think you should talk to her once again tomorrow. She’s shaken up.’
‘I will.’Caleb promised, but his voice sounded distance, as if he was away from pack territory.
But I was still worried about Aurora. She had just stepped into a world not only full of wonder but, dangers that even we weren’t aware of.
I had a feeling that her inclusion into a pack centered on mostly wolves meant more than what it looked like. And only time would tell what the future held for all of us.