Aurora's POV
Kael stood in the pack yard. Blood covered his tall frame, glinting in his silver eyes under the moonlight as I watched from the window. He was beautifully terrifying.
He looked wild in his stance, his muscles coiling with unspoken rage, and it sent a shiver down my spine.
I looked away, my tail flicking as I walked to the other side of the room. My heart did a silly little dance and I reprimanded myself.
I was a cat. A damn cat. And I was getting a crush on my owner?
That was stupid of me.
I sat on the rug and curled up, but the thoughts were constant. My brain betrayed me, braiding together Kael's face with another. He looked just like Ethan.
My first love. My first heartbreak and also a big disappointment.
The resemblance was uncanny. That same strong jaw, those same sharp features. But also differences. Kael was taller than Ethan with much darker hair, with stormy silver eyes while Ethan has brown hair and warm brown eyes.
Kael has a more masculine feature where Ethan had a softer look.
Was the universe giving me a do-over?
I let out a sigh and flicked my tail, feeling foolish. It didn't matter. I wasn't staying long. I reminded myself that I had only three months.
I muttered, flatting my ears. "Life isn't fair."
Sleep took the possibility out of my mind before I could consider it any further.
When I woke, the room was cloaked in darkness. Kael's heavy breaths were the only sound I could hear.
I raised my head and squinted in the dim light. I looked over at him, stretched out on the bed, shirtless.
I wiggled my tail.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I jumped on the bed and padded over to him.
His warmth was intoxicating. I snuggled up against his chest, without consciously deciding to. He moved his arm while sleeping to wrap around me, pull me in.
My purr rumbled faintly as I burrowed into him, his heartbeat calming enough to coax me back to slumber.
When I woke, Kael was gone. The bed was unoccupied, the sheets frozen.
I started to stretch, yawned, then jumped down. I had to look, the door was ajar and my curiosity got the better of me. It was morning and the sun was not yet up.
I maneuvered between the crack, my paws soundless on the wooden floor.
The hall was quiet.
I stealthily moved forward, ears a-twitch as I overheard faint voices. Laughter followed, then low murmurs. A tendril of uncertainty twisted in my stomach, but I pushed it away. I was just a cat. Nobody would listen to me.
Or so I thought.
I turned a corner and found disaster staring me in the face.
A ring of higher-ranking wolves, by the smell of them, stood together with heads inclined in a whisper. I tried to slither by, but one lurched forward, his boot almost crushing my tail. I yowled in alarm as my fur puffed up.
"Oh, shit," one of them cursed, falling back.
"She almost got stepped on," another muttered.
A third narrowed his eyes. "That's the Alpha's cat."
The air thickened for a second. I could sense their lack of conviction. Then, before I could respond, I was scooped up in a pair of hands. I gasped in a startled meow, then calmed at the sight of my rescuer.
A girl, no more than eighteen, held me against her chest.
"Watch out," she reprimanded the men. "You don't want to get on the wrong side of the Alpha, do you?"
That seemed to work. The tension faded, and the men laughed, waving her off.
She picked me up and walked me down the hall and then said, "You shouldn't be walking around."
I looked at her face but she wouldn't look at me. She stroked my fur before she left.
I wriggled happily and looked around before scampering off. My instincts screamed at me. Something was off.
I stalked the halls, straining to hear every conversation, every whisper. And then, I heard it.
"The poison will be prepared soon."
My fur bristled.
I moved in closer, my body low to the ground. Two men stood around talking in the corner.
I moved closer and saw them. I had seen them before. One was Elara, and the other was Liam who I was guessing was Kael's beta.
Their voices were muted, but I heard enough.
"It has to be exactly the dose," Elara muttered. "If we fail, we're dead. I'm serious, Liam."
Liam scoffed. "Kael won't see it coming. He trusts us."
It sent a cold chill up my spine.
This was real. This wasn't my paranoia. Someone was trying to murder Kael.
I edged closer, my heart racing.
"Hey, we got a problem," Liam said. "Camila's back."
Who's that?
"Camila? Kael's sister?" Elara asked.
"Yes," Liam answered.
"Its basic immunity — it's been spent." Elara cursed under her breath. "She's not meant to be there."
"Doesn't matter. We stick to the plan. It will take ten minutes until the poison is ready for use."
I pressed myself against the wall as a shadow moved.
None of them raised their hands, my hair stood.
What in the demonic hell were they doing?
The bottle of poison changed hands. A note tucked in next to it. It fell without their notice.
And then they were gone.
I crawled forward, fixated on the note left on the table. I hesitated, then pawed it open.
One word stood out.
Dark Master. Who was this too? What on earth was happening with this pack?
I took the paper and hid it in the wall cavity.
All I knew was I needed to warn Kael. But how?
But when I prepared to leave, voices wafted through the hallway.
"…Camila isn't loyal. You know that, right?"
"She has her own motives," another wrote.
My heart hammered and I froze in place. Camila. Kael's own sister. Was she part of this? And what in the bloody hell did she look like?
I was witnessing a betrayal in real time. And I was the only one who knew.
I had to act fast.
Kael, hold on. I'm coming. They are not going to get you over my dead body. Hell, no.
I turned, prepared to run but the final whisper chilled my blood as it delivered a formal notice.
"We move at dawn."