CHAPTER 134: Grief & Desire

CHAPTER 134: Grief & Desire
Alora’s POV

There was a strangling sound coming from beside me.

I bolted upright in bed, my chest heaving. 

For one heartbeat, I didn’t know where I was until my eyes adjusted to the room. 

I turned to where the strangling sound was coming from and Morgan laid on his back, thrashing beside me, his claws extended, tearing the bedsheets and mattress to pieces. His fangs were out, biting down on his lips.

“Morgan!” I cried, clasping his shoulder and shaking him, trying to jolt him awake, but he didn’t hear me, so I shook him harder. 

“It’s not real! You’re here, with me. You’re safe.” I repeated the words like a mantra, but he didn’t hear me. He was trapped in whatever nightmare had him by the throat.

I did the only thing I knew. I climbed over him, straddling his waist, forcing my weight down to hold him. My hands pressed his wrists into the bed even as he bucked and thrashed beneath me, strong enough to throw me off if he wasn’t half-lost inside his head.

“Morgan, listen to me!” My voice broke. I pressed my forehead to his, desperate, whispering against his lips. “It’s me. Alora. I’m here. Come back to me.”

He gasped, and his eyes snapped open. 

They were wild, glinting in the darkness. His heart thundered in his chest as I crushed him to my chest. 

He collapsed on top of me and sobbed like a child while I comforted him with my hands and words. 

My heart cracked. I framed his face with both hands, forcing his gaze on mine even as his body trembled. “Look at me. You’re not there. You’re not in chains. You’re here. With me.”

“They killed them, Alora. My father. My mother. My sister…” His body convulsed, and I felt his tears burn against my skin. “I watched. I watched, and I couldn’t stop it. And Xavier…”

“Shhhh…take it easy. It was all a terrible nightmare. Xavier can never harm you again” I whispered, trying to comfort him. 

But he looked up, his claws and fangs disappearing into his skin. 

I stayed that way for a few minutes, then he turned in my arms, sat up and stared into space. 

He heaved a long sigh and then began.

“Eight years ago, during my coronation as Alpha King, we were attacked by jaguars orchestrated by my father’s best friend. The man he trusted most. He envied my father’s bond with my mother. That jealousy festered for years, and that night… he didn’t just desecrate the throne. He slaughtered half our pack and burned my home to the ground.

“I’ve had nightmares about that day every single night since…until you. 

It was the same nightmare I just woke up from, but this time it was so vivid it felt real. Somehow I knew I was dreaming, but it felt so real too. 

I can still see my father roaring, breaking free of the guards restraining him. He fought like the Alpha he was, claws flashing, blood flying. But there were too many. 

“They tore him down. Silver blades ripped his body open until his roar broke into a gurgle. I watched him take his final breath, his eyes locked on mine, full of sorrow. Morgan’s voice had dropped to a trance-like monotone, his eyes vacant, reliving it all.

“My father knew I couldn’t save him nor protect my family, not like that. He knew we were all going to die. “I’m sorry” he mumbled, before his throat was slashed open, his blood gushing out and staining the floor. 

“My mother screamed next. High, raw. Kierian was the one who killed her. He drove his claws straight into her heart. ‘If I can’t have you, no one will. 'You’re already damaged goods,’ he spat, her blood splaying across his face. 

“No!” My voice finally tore free, but it was too late.

I roared and tore the place apart, my first instinct reaching for my sister. By now, I had turned into my full wolf form, but it was too late. 

Kieran knew nobody could stop me, so he took my sister. 

“I can still see him rising from my father’s throne, stepping down like he owned it, his clawed hand wrapping around her hair. She screamed, reaching for me. Her tiny fingers stretched out, shaking, calling my name over and over.

I had lunged forward, but I was too late. Jaguars are fast. One moment she was there, the next she was gone, my name on her lips still echoing in the room. 

I rushed into the night, killing every jaguar in sight in the wake of my anger, but it was all in vain. 

My sister was gone. 

We searched for days, weeks, but it was like she never existed. 

Her link was cut off. I did everything I could to find my sister, used every resource I could lay my hands on at the time, but to no avail. 

“Then, a month later, a carcass turned up at the pack border. Bones tangled in matted hair, scraps of the dress she wore that day. The others whispered it was her.

“We buried what was left.”

I sat there, holding him, listening as the man I loved recounted every diabolical, horrid detail of his past.

Losing his whole family in one night? It was too hard to bear. 

I pushed him close as he shifted against me. “Is this why Xavier hates you?” I asked. 

He nodded “he blames me for the death of his family and his mate.”

“You were just a child and a victim too”

“I was the new alpha… I was supposed to protect my pack” he replied. 

“I’m so sorry, my love” I cried, pushing him closer as he held onto me like a lifeline. 

And then, somewhere between my tears and his, the grip of his hands shifted. 

They became less frantic, and more desperate as he sought comfort from my body. 

His lips brushed my collarbone, inching upwards to the hollow of my neck, a tremor running through him in waves. 

“Alpha…” I whimpered, knowing he needed reassurance. 

His mouth moved against my skin like a starving man. His breathing was ragged and hurried. 

“I need you,” he rasped in a broken, desperate voice. 

I felt an ache in my heart. Nyx went wild in my head and I slid my fingers into his hair, tugging his face up until his mouth crushed against mine. 

Our lips collided, and I kissed him with the raw intensity of the moment. 

His claws shot out, and he growled, his claws tearing at my night gown. My desires fired up at the sound, and I gasped into his mouth, arching against him as the heat of his body pressed me down into the sheets.

A soft moan escaped my lips, and he answered with a groan, pressing his hips against mine.

“Alora,” he breathed against my chest in a broken voice. 

“Please don’t ever leave me.”

A sob escaped my lips.