Chapter 24 AURORA 1/5 It was a long drive through the night to the home where Id grown up .


    In the years since Dane had driven out the Reeds , several trees had fallen across the old gravel road .


    About a mile away , I had to get out and walk .


    I knew from my faded memories that the forest at night used to be a ce I loved .


    A ce that familiar to me .


    A ce I called home .


    When I had my wolf , I was one of the creatures that ruled the night .


    Even so , there were ces wolves didnt dare to go .


    ces ruled by ancient , evil things .


    Now that I didnt have a wolf the whole forest felt more like that .


    There was only a sliver of a moon .


    Even though I was on a road , the trees leaned over it , twining their branches together , making it so dark I couldnt see my feet , or the path .


    I could have used a shlight … but sometimes it was safer to move through the dark than to draw attention with a light .


    There were noises in the forest , too .


    People who arent used to the woods think of it as a quiet ce , but it isnt .


    There are always sounds .


    Animals moving .


    The wind blowing the leaves .


    The sudden crack of old , dead branches Chapter 24 falling from trees .


    I ignored them all , keeping my eyes forward as I made my way toward memories I wanted desperately to leave sleeping .


    But I couldnt .


    Not if I ever wanted to take charge of my own life .


    Not if I ever wanted to create a world where my children and I and everyone else I loved could be safe .


    I hadnt taken more than twenty steps when I realized where I was .


    This road used to mark one of the borders between Reed and Montaguend .


    This was where the Reeds had dumped me the night theyd killed my wolf with silver .


    The night Id met Dane .


    I turned from the road like I was under a spell .


    Yes , this was the t ce Id dragged myself through the ditch .


    A few more steps , and I found the oak with gnarled roots that Id used like handholds to drag myself along .


    A few more , and here were the half buried boulders that had cut into my hands and bruised my knees as I crawled .


    The trees parted , and I stepped into the faint moonlight .


    The wall was still there .


    It was so old ; it had probably been built by a homesteader hundreds of years ago .


    It was covered in vines and moss .


    Chapter 24 There was something to this ce .


    A magic that lingered .


    It tasted like destiny .


    Like fate .


    Aurora .


    What the hell are you doing here ? Dane stood on the wall , the moon shining over his broad shoulders , his naked chest .


    He must have run here as a wolf .


    I gasped and tried to turn and run into the shadows .


    But it was toote .


    3/5 He caught me before I ran three steps .


    His big hand wrapped around my wrist like a manacle of iron , and he jerked me back toward him .


    You may be under my protection , he growled , And you may have been wee at the g .


    But you of all people should know that trespassing on mynd without permission means death .


    DANE Of course , she was here .


    Id told her to stay in her house .


    For her own safety .


    So , of course , shed have to prove she didnt have to obey me .


    But as I looked down at her , her pale coloring making her practically glow in the light of the moon , I couldnt help Chapter 24 wondering why shede here .


    4/5 I came to this ce when my dreams were troubled .


    Like they had been tonight .


    Because Id dreamed of her .


    Of an alternate life , where she was never a Reed .


    Or where there was peace , and she and I had been mated in a treaty instead of as the climax of a night of death .


    Then Id dreamed of Evelyn , pregnant with my child .


    Except when she gave birth to my son , he wasnt mine .


    He was shrouded in shadow .


    He cried , and when I tried to pick him up , he screamed for someone else .


    Dane , please .


    Let me go , Aurora whispered , snapping me back into the present .


    There are things I need to do .


    Things I need to face alone .


    Anger rose in me .


    Id thought we were finally findingmon ground as something like business partners , but even after all this time , and with everything that was at stake , every word from her mouth was a lie .


    I heard your car .


    Youre headed for Reednd .


    Where are you going , Ann ? To join them ? To let them in on the secrets you shared with me ? Or have they been in on the secrets all along ? Maybe you called them to your house tonight , yourself , and the only reason it turned hostile is because my wolves were there .


    Maybe youve been double crossing me all along .


    No ! She tried to tug her wrist free , but I refused to let go .


    She smacked an open palm against my chest .


    My skin stung and Chapter 24 burned , but I didnt budge .


    5/5 What am I supposed to believe , when youre prowling around out here by yourself ? I was going to the old pack house ! Those pages- I tugged her closer .


    You said we didnt need them .


    Now you im you want to get them alone ? Were you just trying to throw me off ? Whats on those pages you dont want me to see ?