Chapter 257
Chapter 257
Third Person’s POV
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Aurora’s amber eyes blazed with fury and desperation as Freya handed over every shred of evidence she had collected against her to the authorities. The documents–contracts, intercepted messages, financial ledgers–clinked against each other in a metal tray like the cold chimes of fate. Aurora knew what it meant. By law, she would be detained. She would be taken, at least temporarily, by the officers, facing scrutiny, interrogation, and possibly arrest.
Her glare fixed on Freya, venom coiling in every flick of her gaze. “Freya, don’t think this means you’ve won!” she spat, her voice sharp with outrage. “Those so–called ‘evidence‘ won’t convict me. You can’t do this p>
Freya’s eyes, cold as the winter river, met hers without a flicker of emotion. “Whether it’s enough to convict you,” she said smoothly, voice low and measured, “that’s a matter for the judge and the jury, not you, and certainly not me p>
Before Aurora could retort, Kade and Lana stepped into the police precinct, flanking a restrained figure–Lee. The moment Lee’s gaze fell upon Aurora, it darkened, claws of greed and vengeance scraping at his composure. “You filthy bitch,” he seethed, teeth bared, fangs glinting. “You dared to scheme against me? Just wait. If you ever get out of here, I swear I’ll make you pay with your blood p>
Aurora’s lips curled into a sneer, her wolf coiling, ready to strike, yet she spoke through the tension in her jaw. “You were greedy first, Lee! You demanded five million! If you hadn’t pushed me to the edge, do you think I’d have needed to take such drastic steps? Blame yourself p>
Lee’s laugh was bitter, almost feral. “Greedy? And you? Don’t tell me you weren’t after Caelum’s fortune! Admit it–if you really liked him when he was a poor pup, why didn’t you stick around? Only after he became the Alpha of SilverTech Forgeworks did you make your move p>
Aurora froze, the words like claws scraping across her ribs. Her gaze darted past Lee’s sneer to the one she truly needed–Caelum Grafton. The moment her eyes locked with his amber gaze, panic flooded her chest. “Caelum… don’t believe him!” she cried, voice breaking. “I’ve always loved you! I was with you because of that p>
Her heart hammered with desperation. She couldn’t let him think she had betrayed him for power or wealth, not now, when Freya had discovered the old evidence of the border fire–the same fire Aurora had inadvertently caused years ago. Every moment, every shred of her credibility, hung by a thread, and she needed him. She needed Caelum to fight for her in court, to defend her against Freya’s calculated strikes.
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Chapter 257
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Caelum’s expression was unreadable, wolf instincts warring with human emotion. He had rushed from the riverbank, hailing a taxi to the precinct, only to hear Lee’s venomous accusations. Could it be true? Could it really be as Lee claimed–that Aurora had only sought him once he had risen to prominence?
He remembered the earlier days. When he had been a struggling wolf, just another member of Bloodmoon Pack trying to find his place in the world, Aurora had appeared briefly, tending to him in the hospital after his injury. She had visited only twice, citing busyness, claiming she had no time. And yet, once he was released and began building his life, she began to appear more often, contacting him voluntarily, her presence growing persistent.
Caelum’s wolf growled low in his chest, claws scraping at the invisible chain of confusion and pain. He wanted to believe her. He had loved her onçe; he still… but how could he trust now?
Aurora’s desperation rose as she saw him hesitate, the hesitation feeding the wolfish anxiety coiling inside her. “Caelum, don’t you believe me?” she pleaded, voice quivering, claws flexing, ears twitching.
Caelum let out a bitter laugh, the sound low, almost a growl. “Believe you? How can I? You claim to love me, yet you never told me the most important truth of all–that you weren’t the one who saved me in the river!” His amber eyes flashed, wolf instincts demanding retribution, even as his heart ached.
“I… that was—” Aurora began, but Caelum cut her off, his voice snapping like the strike of a wolf.
“Aurora! You’ve lied to me in more ways than I can count. That five million… it wasn’t for verification. I confirmed with your uncle. He had no knowledge of any partnership or verification process. You took it to silence Lee, didn’t you? And to secure your own advantage? Is that it? ”
Aurora’s eyes widened, her chest tightening. The distance in his gaze, the absolute lack of trust, was like a knife to her wolf heart. He would have forgiven her once–if only she had taken, lied, or stolen for him—but now, after everything, after the truth about the river… she could feel the gulf between them widening.
“I didn’t mean to deceive you!” she gasped, claws scrabbling at her own wrists as if to claw the words out of her throat. “I only… borrowed the five million temporarily. I reported it—so no one lost anything! I was going to help you and my uncle with the collaboration–I swear, I was p>
Caelum’s gaze hardened, wolf eyes like twin coals burning. “Enough, Aurora. Enough of your excuses. Our bond… ends here p>
Aurora’s amber eyes widened in shock, the words slamming into her like a blow. Ends here?
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Chapter 257
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After all she had sacrificed, all the schemes she had endured, all the nights of lying and fighting to protect him… this was the end? Her wolf snarled, teeth bared, instincts screaming that she could not, would not, let it end.
Desperation and resolve burned through her veins like molten steel. Her him, words raw and urgent. “Caelum… I’m pregnant p>
gaze flicked up at
“What?” His amber eyes widened, pupils dilated, wolf instincts snapping to life with a surge of protectiveness and alarm. The word hit him like a jolt of lightning. She… carried his blood, his legacy. His wolf roared inside him, instincts clawing, demanding that he protect, that he claim, that he respond.
Freya’s brow furrowed slightly, watching Aurora with a calculating eye, though the faintest shadow of concern flickered. Even the alpha wolf inside Caelum recognized it: she still mattered to someone.
“Yes,” Aurora said again, her voice shaking but resolute, claws digging into her thighs. “I’m carrying your child, Caelum. Don’t think you can end this between us. Not when it matters more than ever p>
The precinct seemed to still, time stretching as Caelum’s wolf growled low, muscles tensing, heart pounding. Aurora’s declaration had changed the battlefield. Not with weapons, not with evidence, but with life itself, a life born of him and her–a connection deeper than any pack rivalry, deeper than any betrayal, and yet as raw and precarious as the river that had once claimed him.
He could feel the pull of instinct and heart, wolf and man, blending into a maelstrom of emotion. And as he stared into her determined eyes, amber against amber, the world outside -the precinct, Lee’s curses, Freya’s cold calculation–faded, leaving only the predator and the mate, and a bond that even deceit could not fully sever.