Chapter 6 — The Secret Message

AURORA

The pain vanished as suddenly as it had come. Gasping, I pried my eyes open.

The wolf guard who had been crushing me dropped instantly to his knees, head bowed in submission.

“How dare you touch her?” The voice sounded like thunder.

My heart skipped a beat. I knew that voice, it belonged to Darius.

With trembling arms, I pushed myself upright, settling into a shaky sitting position. My eyes darted to the wolf trembling in fear before the towering Alpha.

“Al… Alpha,” the guard stammered, his head still lowered.

“Who gave you the right to punish her?” Darius’ voice was icy, sharp enough to cut glass.

Relief flooded me though I hated to admit it at the sight of him. I’d been moments from blacking out when he appeared, his aura dominating the hallway like lightning.

“I… I’m sorry, Alpha. She was being—”

“Silence!” Darius’ roar shook the walls.

The sound made me flinch, curling in on myself. The guard shook, trembling, his claws scraping against the stone floor.

“She belongs to me,” Darius snarled. “Only I have the right to punish her. No one else.”

“Yes, Alpha—”

The guard’s voice strangled off into a choking gasp. His feet left the floor, body dangling in the air, though no hands touched him. Only Darius’ burning silver gaze pinned him in place.

“Did I permit you to speak?” Darius’ voice was so terrifyingly calm.

The guard’s eyes bulged. He clawed desperately at his throat, mouth opening and closing with no sound. His feet kicked helplessly in the air as his face darkened.

The sight horrified me… yet a dark, shameful part of me didn’t want Darius to stop. That wolf deserved every second of it. He had almost killed me.

The guard’s body convulsed, lips turning blue until with a dismissive flick of Darius’ fingers, he crashed to the floor. He sucked in air greedily, wheezing.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Darius barked.

The guard scrambled away on all fours before finding his feet, disappearing in a blur of panic.

Then his cold gaze turned on me.

I shrank back instinctively, curling against the wall. Those silver eyes pinned me like a predator deciding whether to tear me apart or spare me.

Why had he saved me? He despised me, I saw it in the way he looked at me. Death would have freed me from this nightmare, and yet he had pulled me back from it.

“Who gave you the right to attack my guard?” His voice sliced through the air, cold and merciless.

Fear prickled every inch of my skin. I looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

“Can’t speak now?” His tone mocked me.

I forced myself to glance up, frowning weakly. “You said—”

“Silence!” His sharp command cracked through me like a whip.

I swallowed hard, lips clamped shut. He made no sense, asking questions but forbidding answers. Darius was an arrogant, egotistical maniac!

“You have no right to raise your hand against my wolves, Aurora.”

The way he said my name… it made something inside me twist. I hated it. I hated how it made me feel.

“You are nothing but a slave. And that is what you will remain for the rest of your life.”

Tears burned my eyes. I blinked them back, refusing to let him see them. I would not give him that satisfaction.

“Remember your place in my court,” he hissed. “Or next time, I will be the one to punish you.”

For a heartbeat, his eyes glinted as something unreadable flickered there before he turned and stormed off.

I let out a shaky breath, realizing I’d been holding it as the girl I had saved rushed to my side, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Thank you so much. I’m so sorry.” She helped me to my feet.

I gave her a small, tired smile. “It’s alright.”

“You’re Aurora, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. But you can call me Rory.”

Her lips quivered into a smile. “Some of us had our names changed. I was lucky to keep mine. I’m Mimi.”

“Nice to meet you, Mimi. Why did they change the girls’ names?”

“The guards didn’t like how some of them sounded, so they renamed them.” Her face twisted with anger. “I’m just grateful mine stayed the same. And I'm grateful to you. You saved me from hell.”

I scoffed. “They steal us from our homes, try to steal our dignity, and now they strip away our names too.”

Mimi sighed. “We don’t have a choice. But I’ll help you however I can, Rory. I owe you.”

I shook my head. “I just did what anyone should have done.”

Her eyes watered again. “Three girls passed by before you came. They all pretended they didn’t see me.”

Her words crushed me as I wondered how anyone, especially a girl, could walk past the scene I had witnessed without trying to help.

I pulled her into a hug, letting her cry. This place was poisonous, no matter how beautiful its glowing walls looked.

Mimi pulled back, sniffing. “I should get back to work.”

“And I need to find the laundry room.”

She chuckled softly, wiping her tears. “Down the hall to your left. Thank you, Rory.”

As she disappeared, I turned to head in the direction she’d pointed. But something fluttered against my back.

I whirled around only to be met with an empty hallway but laying at my feet on the ground was a single folded piece of paper.

My fingers trembled as I picked it up and unfolded it. Scrawled across the page were four words:

“Do you want your freedom back?”