Chapter 53 Running From The Pack

Chapter 53 Running From The Pack
Aurelia

“Did she touch you?” Zhayad’s voice cracked as he rushed to the clone, hands already reaching to steady her swaying form. “Are you injured?”

I could only stand there, frozen,watching the scene unfold like a nightmare I couldn’t wake from.

My lips parted, but nothing came out. My body had gone completely numb, my limbs heavy and useless even though I screamed inside my skull to move, to speak, to do something.

The clone leaned into him, her lashes fluttering.

“No, she didn’t,” she breathed, her voice trembling in perfect imitation of mine. “But she tried to. She was just about to finish me off when we heard you come in.”

She swayed dramatically on her feet, one hand pressing to her chest as if the very memory stole her breath.

“Zhayad…” My own voice finally broke free, cracking, splintering into broken whispers. “That’s not me. I’m here. She’s the clone. I’m the real Aurelia.”

He didn’t even glance my way.

“Lance!” he bellowed, the sound raw and commanding. I already knew what my fate would be. 

Lance burst through the doorway seconds later.
His eyes widened at the sight of bodies sprawled across the floor, unconscious, limp, the vines from my magic still faintly shimmering around their wrists and ankles.

They widened even more when his gaze landed on the two identical Aurelias: one cradled protectively in Zhayad’s arms, smirking faintly behind her trembling façade, the other standing alone, rooted in place, unable to move.

The room felt suddenly too small, the air too thick for me to breathe freely.

Every heartbeat echoed like a war drum in my skull.

Lance’s throat worked. He opened his mouth, closed it, then looked to Zhayad for orders.

The clone nestled closer to Zhayad’s chest, her fingers curling into his shirt.

“She tried to kill me,” she whispered again, voice soft and broken. “I was so scared… I thought she’d finish what she started.”

Zhayad’s arms tightened around her instinctively even as his eyes flicked to me for the first time.

“Undo the magic you used on them.” Zhayad’s sharp command cracked like a whip, edged with something that made my stomach lurch.

I finally found the strength to push forward, my legs trembling but moving.

“They were trying to hurt me.” My voice came out thin, unsteady, but I forced it louder. “I was defending myself. Zhayad… you’re carrying our enemy in your arms.”

He didn’t even glance at me. His focus stayed locked on the clone, the one nestled against his chest, looking small and fragile and perfectly terrified.

No matter what I said, he wasn’t listening anymore. The clone had him wrapped around her finger now.

“Undo the magic.” This time the order roared out of him, vibrating through my bones.

I shuddered. He’d never shouted at me like this before. Never.

My shaking hands lifted slowly and I gathered the air in my arms, pulling back the threads of silver that had surged out of me earlier.

The vines retracted, coiling inward like smoke sucked back into a flame. 

“She's a copycat. She's using her magic exactly the way I used mine. Look at the vines!” The clone whispered, pretending to be taken back.

Why wouldn't Thayne just ask us to display our magic? She wouldn't be able to replicate everything about my magic, especially if she performed first.

What about the tattoos on her chest? Did she have fake ones drawn on her chest? I was tired of asking these questions, because this situation wasn't supposed to be tough. 

This was something Zhayad could easily resolve if he wasn't so enamored with the clone. At the same time, I wondered…. Did Zhayad always look like this when he was with me?

One by one the fallen began to stir, groaning, blinking, looking around in confusion, muttering to each other, “What happened?” “Why am I on the floor?”

Ravina was the first to recover fully. She pushed herself up slowly, her eyes sweeping the scene with predatory calm.

They narrowed when they landed on me, still standing, still breathing, still here. Were they expecting that by the time they woke up, Zhayad would have flung me all the way to the humans territory?

“The clone will be taken to the cells right away,” Zhayad said flatly. He turned his back on us, on me, the clone sighing softly in his arms like a wounded bird.

She looked over his shoulder, just long enough for our eyes to collide, and winked at me. A small, secret, victorious little flick of her stupid lashes.

My fist clenched so hard my nails bit into my palm.

“Well?” Ravina hissed at Lance, her voice dripping with that signature venom of hers. “What are you waiting for? Take her away.”

I started taking frantic steps backward. Mirvina joined Lance, both moving toward me with slow, deliberate purpose.

Their eyes were cold, determined, like they’d been waiting for this moment.

“You're making a mistake. Mirvina, you know I'm the real Luna. You'd prefer our enemy in your Alpha's bed if it'll get rid of me?” I asked Mirvina whose eyes glinted with triumph.

“Shut up and stay put, imposter!” Saliva flew from her mouth with the insult. 

I needed to do something. And fast. I couldn’t let them hurl me into the cells. I might never make it out.

Zhayad had hurt me by choosing blindly, by choosing her. He’d shut down our communication thread since he left; the bond was silent, walled off, no whisper could reach him now.

There was no way to convince him through it.
I just had to hope and pray that he’d lower his walls eventually.

That he’d feel the truth. That he’d realize he was holding the wrong Aurelia.

Lance’s hand stretched toward my arm. Mirvina flanked him, ready to grab the other side.

I backed up faster, my heart slamming against my ribs.

My back hit the wall. Oh, goddess, there was no more room.

The clone, still cradled in Zhayad’s arms, looked back at me one last time.

Her lips curved into a small, satisfied, cruel smirk, and then she buried her face against his neck again, as if she belonged there.

As if she’d already won.

I pressed myself harder against the stone, my breath coming in short, panicked bursts.

Lance's hand came for my shoulder, and I shut my eyes as I tugged on a single thread inside me. I pressed inside the wall.

I was on the other side of the pack-house, there were only trees here, and the windows overlooked this side of the compound.

I lifted the hem of my dress and ran. I cried as I ran, sobbing, the breeze blowing the tears away.

I didn't stop until I was away from the pack-house and standing in front of the mouth of the woods, opposite the border we shared with the humans.

I'd blend in with them for a while. The pack never wanted me to begin with, so it was best to stay away completely.