Chapter 93
Aurora lay in bed. The room was dark except for one small candle on the table. The flame moved slowly. Shadows danced on the walls and ceiling. She tried to sleep. Her eyes were heavy. But her mind would not stop.
She thought about Hardin. His arms around her. His voice calling her Rhianna. The kiss in the hidden garden. It felt familiar. Good. Like something she lost and found again. But it also scared her.
She thought about Kairo. His kindness. His kiss. His love. He was safe. He was here. He was real.
She thought about the wedding. Ten days away. The dress. The vows. The celebration.
She closed her eyes.
Sleep came.
Then the nightmare came.
Fire.
It started small. A spark in the corner of a wooden house. Then it grew. Fast. Orange flames climbed the walls. Smoke filled the air. Thick. Black. Hot.
Aurora was small. Very small. Maybe five or six years old. She wore a thin nightgown. Barefoot. She stood in the middle of the room. The heat burned her skin.
She screamed.
“Mom! Dad!”
The fire roared louder. Wood cracked. Beams fell. Sparks flew.
Faces appeared in the smoke. Dark shapes. Eyes glowing. They laughed. Mocking laughs. Cruel.
One face came close. “Weak girl. Your wolf is broken. You will never be strong.”
Another face laughed. “Look at her. Crying. Running. Like a scared rabbit.”
Aurora ran. Through the burning house. Her feet hurt on hot wood. Smoke choked her. Tears burned her eyes.
She reached a door. Pushed it. It was stuck.
Hands grabbed her from behind. Rough hands. Strong hands.
She screamed louder.
The hands pulled her back into the fire.
Then a different pair of hands. Smaller. Kinder.
A boy. Young. Dark hair. Wide eyes.
He said, “Come. I will hide you.”
He pulled her through a small window. Into the night.
Rain fell. Heavy. Cold.
They ran. Through mud. Through trees.
The fire glowed behind them. The house burned bright against the dark sky.
The boy held her hand tight. “Don’t be scared. I have you.”
But the faces followed. In the shadows. Laughing.
“You can’t hide forever.”
“Your wolf will never wake.”
“You will die weak.”
Aurora fell.
The boy turned. “Get up!”
She could not.
The fire reached them.
The boy screamed her name.
“Rhianna!”
The flames swallowed everything.
Aurora woke up screaming.
She sat up fast. Breathing hard. Chest tight. Sweat on her face. Tears on her cheeks.
She screamed again. Loud. Full of fear.
The door burst open.
Hardin ran in.
He wore only pants. No shirt. His hair was messy. He must have been sleeping close by.
“Rhianna!”
He jumped on the bed. Pulled her into his arms.
He hugged her tight. His arms strong. Warm.
“Shh. It’s okay. It was a dream. Just a dream.”
Aurora cried into his chest. Her body shook. She held him. Fingers digging into his back.
Hardin rocked her gently. “Breathe. Slow. I have you. You are safe.”
Aurora sobbed. “Fire… faces… laughing… they said I am weak… my wolf is broken…”
Hardin whispered, “I know. I know. It’s over. You are here. You are safe.”
Aurora cried harder. “Someone grabbed me. Rough hands. Then a boy. Young. He pulled me out. Through a window. Into the rain. He ran with me. He said he would hide me.”
Hardin held her tighter. “It was just a dream. Your mind is trying to heal. The healer said memories come back in pain. In pieces.”
Aurora said, “It felt real. Too real. I felt the heat. The smoke. The fear.”
Hardin said, “You survived. You are strong. Your wolf is waking. I see it.”
Another door opened.
Kairo ran in.
He wore a robe. His face full of worry.
“Aurora!”
He saw Hardin holding her.
His eyes narrowed. Anger flashed.
But he came to the bed.
He sat on the other side. Took her hand.
“Are you okay?” Kairo asked. His voice shook a little.
Aurora looked at him. Then at Hardin.
She pulled back slowly from Hardin’s arms.
Hardin looked at Kairo.
Kairo said, “Guard. Leave.”
Hardin did not move at first. His arms stayed around Aurora for one more second.
Kairo said again. “Now.”
Hardin looked at Aurora. His eyes said: I don’t want to go.
Aurora whispered, “Go.”
Hardin let go. He stood up slowly.
He looked at her one last time.
Then he left. The door closed quietly.
Kairo moved closer. He pulled Aurora into his arms.
Aurora let him hold her.
She cried on his shoulder.
Kairo stroked her back. “What happened? Tell me.”
Aurora took deep breaths. She tried to speak.
“Nightmare,” she said. “Fire everywhere. The house burned. I was small. I screamed for Mom and Dad.”
Kairo listened.
Aurora continued. “Faces in the smoke. They laughed. Mocked me. Said I am weak. My wolf is broken. They said I will die.”
Kairo held her tighter. “It’s over. You are safe.”
Aurora said, “Someone grabbed me. Rough hands. Then a boy. Young. He pulled me out. Through a window. Into the rain. He ran with me. He said he would hide me.”
Kairo asked, “Do you remember his face?”
Aurora shook her head. “No. Just dark hair. Worried eyes. He looked… familiar. But I don’t know.”
Kairo said, “It was just a dream. Your mind is mixing things. The healer said memories come back in pain. In pieces.”
Aurora wiped her tears. “It felt real. Too real. I felt the heat. The smoke. The fear.”
Kairo kissed her forehead. “I am here. No fire. No faces. Only me.”
Aurora nodded. “I know.”
But inside, she felt torn.
The boy in the dream tried to save her. He cared. He ran with her.
The guard—Hardin—ran to her tonight. He held her first. He called her Rhianna. He knew her pain.
Kairo was here now. Safe. Kind. Loving.
But the dream felt like truth.
The boy protecting her felt like truth.
Hardin felt like truth.
She felt guilty for thinking that.
Kairo said, “Do you want me to stay?”
Aurora said, “Yes. Please.”
Kairo lay down beside her. Held her close.
Aurora closed her eyes.
Kairo fell asleep fast. His breathing slow. Steady.
Aurora did not sleep.
She stared at the ceiling.
The nightmare played in her mind.
Fire.
Faces.
The boy.
She felt the ache in her heart.
Bigger now.
Not just fear.
But longing.
For the boy who saved her.
For the man who ran to her tonight.
For the truth she could not see.
She whispered into the dark.
“Who am I?”
No answer came.
But deep inside, her wolf whined.
It knew.
It remembered.
And it wanted to run to Hardin.