The words replayed in my mind like a death sentence. The rich brat is going to be assassinated. My feet froze on the marble steps leading to the palace courtyard. Two men stood in the shadows near the iron gates, their hands reaching for something at their waists. I knew that motion. Guns.
My eyes found him immediately. Jack stood near his black vehicle, his tall frame unmistakable even in the dim evening light. The Alpha King, dressed in his usual dark suit that stretched across his broad shoulders. His short black hair was perfectly styled, and even from this distance, I could see the sharp line of his jaw as he spoke to someone on his phone.
He had no idea death was twenty feet away from him.
I should have walked away. Every rational part of my brain screamed at me to turn around and pretend I saw nothing. This man had destroyed me. He had taken everything from me and left me broken. I almost died because of the pain he caused. If those men killed him right now, maybe it would finally be justice. Maybe karma was finally catching up to the cold, ruthless Alpha King.
But my feet would not move backward. They would not let me leave.
Because Jack Hudson was Cody's father. He was the reason I had my son. How could I let Cody grow up without his father when I had the power to stop it? How could I live with myself knowing I watched it happen?
The men raised their weapons.
I ran.
My heels clicked against the stone courtyard as I sprinted toward Jack. He looked up from his phone, his dark eyes widening when he saw me racing toward him. I did not think. I did not plan. I just threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his muscular frame and turning him aside.
"Jack!"
The world exploded with sound. Bang. Bang. The gunshots tore through the air, so loud I thought my skull would split open. But worse than the noise was the searing pain that ripped through my body. Once. Twice. Like fire burning through my flesh.
I grabbed onto Jack's suit jacket, my fingers clutching the expensive fabric as I tried to stay upright. I looked up at him, wanting to say something, anything, but my voice would not work. My mouth opened but no sound came out.
Everything became chaos. More gunshots echoed around the courtyard. Palace guards flooded from every entrance, their own weapons drawn as they returned fire. I heard someone scream orders. The sharp crack of bullets hitting stone. Footsteps running in every direction.
My legs gave out.
"Aurora!" Jack caught me before I hit the ground. His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest. I felt him shaking as he held me. "Aurora! Stay with me!"
I tried to keep my eyes open, tried to focus on his face. His handsome face that I both loved and hated. But my eyelids were so heavy. The pain in my body started to fade, replaced by a strange numbness that spread through my limbs.
"No, no, no." Jack's voice sounded far away. "Look at me. Keep your eyes open."
I felt myself being lifted. Jack carried me in his arms, moving fast across the courtyard. The world spun around me in blurred shapes and muffled sounds. I knew guards surrounded us because I saw their dark uniforms in my peripheral vision. But I could not focus on anything except the feeling of Jack's heart pounding against my side.
"Please, Aurora. Please hold on." His voice cracked with desperation. "I am begging you."
I had never heard him beg before. The Alpha King never begged anyone for anything.
Somewhere in the distance, I heard Nonna screaming my name. My best friend's voice cut through the chaos like a knife. Then I heard Richard shouting medical instructions. The palace doctor. He was here. That was good.
I felt hands lifting me from Jack's arms, placing me on something soft. A stretcher. The movement sent fresh waves of agony through my body, and I tried to gasp but my lungs would not work properly. Something was placed over my face. An oxygen mask.
"Her pulse is weak." Richard's voice was tight with fear. "We need to move now."
I felt the stretcher moving, wheels rolling beneath me. The sounds around me started to fade. Nonna was crying. I wanted to tell her I was okay, but I could not speak. Could not move.
"Aurora!" Jack's voice again, closer now. "Stay with me. Do you hear me? That is an order from your Alpha King."
Even now, he gave orders. Even now, he acted like he had control over everything. But he could not control this. He could not stop the darkness creeping into the edges of my vision.
"She is my son's mother." I heard him saying, his voice thick with emotion I had never heard before. "She saved my life. Please, you have to save her."
The last thing I felt before everything went black was the sticky warmth of blood soaking through my clothes. My blood. So much blood.
Then nothing.