Aurora's POV
Aurora woke up confused.
For a moment she didn't remember where she was. The bed felt too soft. The room was too quiet. The light coming through the windows was all wrong. She lay there trying to piece together what was real and what was nightmare.
Then memory crashed back.
Exiled. Banned. Her entire life erased in seconds.
And she'd chosen to walk away with her enemy.
Aurora got out of bed and dressed quickly, moving on autopilot. She found clothes in the dresser that someone had left for her. They fit perfectly, soft and comfortable, nothing like the rigid uniform she'd worn in the Northern Pack.
She stood in front of the mirror for a long moment, staring at her own face. Same auburn hair. Same green eyes. Same scar on her collarbone from a training accident when she was seventeen. Same person on the outside.
But everything inside had changed.
The mate bond hummed softly, pulling her toward Ash like gravity. She could feel him somewhere in this compound. Could sense his presence like a heartbeat she could hear even though he was nowhere near her.
Aurora pushed the feeling down and opened her door.
The hallway was quiet. The pack house was still waking up. She could hear sounds from downstairs though. Voices. Laughter. The smell of food cooking.
She took the stairs carefully, aware that every wolf in this compound had reason to hate her.
But when she reached the kitchen, she found something unexpected.
Pack members were eating breakfast together. Not in tense silence like the Northern Pack ate. Not in rigid hierarchy with lower-ranked wolves serving the higher ones. They were just eating. Laughing. Sharing food and stories and space like they actually liked each other.
Children ran past chasing a ball, weaving between adults. Nobody yelled at them. Nobody told them to sit still and be quiet and respect the order of things. They just played while the adults talked and smiled.
It was so different from everything Aurora had known.
Maya spotted her from across the room and waved. "Come eat with us."
Aurora hesitated. She could feel eyes turning toward her. Could sense the shift in the room's energy as the pack realized their Alpha's mate had come downstairs.
She forced herself to walk to the table and sit down.
The stares didn't stop but they weren't entirely hostile either. More like wolves trying to figure out if she was a threat. If she was going to hurt them. If bringing the Northern Beta into their home was going to destroy everything Ash had built.
A young male approached the table. He looked like he was maybe twenty-two, with dark hair and eyes that burned with anger. Aurora's stomach twisted because she recognized that look. She'd seen it on the faces of warriors who'd lost family.
"Is it true you were Northern Beta?" he asked.
His voice was quiet but the edge underneath it was sharp enough to cut.
Aurora nodded because lying would only make it worse.
The wolf's eyes went hard as stone.
"My brother died in a Northern raid three years ago," he said. "He was seventeen. Just training to be a warrior. And your pack attacked our hunting grounds for no reason."
The words hit like a physical blow.
Aurora's mouth went dry. She'd led raids before. Had fought wolves she didn't know and didn't care about because they wore different colors. She'd never thought about the families waiting for them to come home. Never considered that each wolf she fought might have a brother or a mother or a mate waiting somewhere.
"I'm sorry," she started to say.
The young wolf's jaw clenched. "Sorry doesn't bring him back."
He turned to leave but before he could take a step, Ash appeared.
His presence filled the entire room.
Wolves immediately relaxed like they'd been holding their breath and could finally exhale. The young male froze mid-turn. Everything shifted the moment Ash walked in.
He crossed the kitchen and sat beside Aurora at the table. Close enough that their arms brushed. The contact sent electricity through the mate bond, making her entire body respond.
Ash looked at the young wolf with eyes that were calm but absolute.
"Your brother died because Ryker wanted to provoke a fight," Ash said quietly. "Not because of her. Not because of the Southern Pack doing anything wrong. Ryker needed a reason to keep the war going. Your brother was just convenient."
The young wolf stared at Ash, processing.
"You don't know that," he said, but the certainty was gone from his voice.
"Yes, I do," Ash replied. "Because I'm Alpha of this pack and I know which of our wolves died that night. And I know why they died. Ryker sent them specifically to provoke us. And yes, we fought back. Yes, some of his wolves died. But that raid wasn't about territory or hunting rights. It was about keeping the hatred alive."
Ash turned back to his food like the conversation was over.
The young wolf looked at Aurora one more time. She could see the conflict in his eyes. The desire to blame her. The realization that maybe she wasn't the enemy.
He walked away without saying anything else.
Aurora exhaled slowly, not realizing she'd been holding her breath.
Ash slid a plate of food in front of her. She started to eat even though her stomach was twisted with nerves. Maya sat across from them, her expression kind but watchful.
Other pack members gradually went back to their conversations. The tension in the room eased as the morning returned to normal.
But the mate bond between her and Ash was humming with something else. Something warm and protective and absolutely possessive. Like him sitting beside her, defending her, was announcing to everyone present exactly how much he cared.
After they finished eating, Ash leaned close. Close enough that only Aurora could hear.
"Stay with me today," he said quietly. "I want to show you the territory."
Aurora's breath caught. "Okay."
Ash slid a message across the table.
It was from Ash's phone. A text from an unknown number. But Aurora recognized the writing style immediately.
Ryker's handwriting.
She read the words and her blood went ice cold.
"Aurora is Northern Pack property. Return her immediately or face war. You have three days to bring her back or I'm declaring this an act of aggression. The other Alphas are already on my side. You're making a mistake you can't take back. - Ryker Stone"
Aurora's hands shook as she finished reading.
War.
Ryker was actually threatening war to get her back.
She looked at Ash and his expression was dark. Certain. Like he'd already known this was coming.
"What do we do?" Aurora whispered.
Ash covered her shaking hand with his.
"We find the truth," he said. "And we make sure every Alpha knows that your former pack leader is a liar willing to start wars to keep his lies hidden."
But even as he said it, Aurora could see the weight pressing down on him.
Three days wasn't much time.
And everything depended on whether they could expose Ryker before the deadline ran out.