Aurora's Choice

The crystal water splashed against Aurora's face as she dove behind the rock. An arrow hit the spot where she'd been standing seconds before.

"That was too close," she gasped, pressing her back against the cold stone.

Aurora peeked around the edge. Victor's shadow wolves circled the old spring, their purple eyes glowing in the dim light. The small glass bottle in her pocket felt heavy—at least she'd managed to collect the crystal water before they attacked.

"Lucian?" she whispered, searching the clearing for any sign of him.

They'd been separated when the attack started. One minute they were filling the vial together, the next minute shadows had burst from the trees. Lucian had shouted for her to run while he held them off.

A low growl came from her left. Aurora froze. Slowly, she turned her head.

A shadow wolf sat less than ten feet away, its body rippling like smoke. It had found her.

Aurora didn't think—she acted. She threw a handful of crystal water at the thing. It screamed as the water touched its shadowy form, the droplets burning through it like acid. Aurora bolted, running toward the trees.

More howls rose behind her. The pack had spotted her.

"Just keep running," she told herself, clutching the valuable vial. "Find Lucian. Get back to Caleb."

The thought of her younger brother gave her strength. Through their link, she could feel him—alive, worried, but safe for now. Whatever power they'd found in the mate bond had worked.

Aurora leaped over a fallen log, her feet barely hitting the ground before she was running again. The trees blurred around her. She didn't know these woods well, but she trusted her senses.

Something moved in the shadows ahead. Aurora slid to a stop, ready to change direction.

"Aurora."

The voice made her blood turn to ice. Standing before her was Victor Drake, Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack. He looked almost normal—handsome even, with his dark hair and sharp features. But his eyes had changed since she'd last seen him. Purple shadows swirled in them now.

"You've led me on quite a chase," Victor said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "I've been looking for you."

Aurora took a step back. "Stay away from me."

Victor raised his hands, showing they were empty. "I just want to talk."

"Last time we 'talked,' you tried to kidnap me," Aurora snapped. Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape route. The shadow dogs were closing in behind her.

"That was a misunderstanding," Victor said. "I've learned much since then. About you, about your brother. About what you two really are."

Despite herself, Aurora felt curious. Since discovering their Bondspeaker abilities, she and Caleb had been looking for answers about their powers.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

Victor smiled. "You're not just Bondspeakers. You're Gatekeepers. Twins like you only come along once every few centuries. You were meant for something greater than pack politics."

Aurora's heart beat faster. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Victor stepped closer. "Haven't you felt it? The pull toward the ancient places? The way shadow and light both respond to your call? You and Caleb are two halves of a whole, meant to control the gateway between realms."

Aurora thought of the strange dreams she'd been having—of standing at a massive doorway, Caleb beside her, power running through them both.

"What do you want from us?" she asked.

"To help you fulfill your destiny," Victor said. "Tomorrow night, when the blood moon rises, the First Seal will weaken. With your help, I can control what comes through. Without it..." He shrugged. "The shadows will pour into our world unchecked. Everyone you love will die."

An picture of Caleb and Reid flashed through Aurora's mind. Her brother and her mate, both in trouble.

"You're threatening me," she said simply.

Victor shook his head. "I'm offering you a choice. Join me willingly, and I'll spare your brother and the packs. Fight me, and watch everyone you care about die when the Shadow Realm opens."

"How do I know you'll keep your word?"

"Because I need you both alive and willing," Victor said. "The gateway can only be controlled by twins who choose to work together."

Aurora felt the weight of his words. Could it be true? Were she and Caleb really meant to run some ancient gateway?

Through her twin bond, she sent a quiet warning to Caleb: Don't trust anyone. The darkness can wear any face.

Victor watched her, his purple-tinted eyes unblinking. "I know you're communicating with him. Good. He should know what's at stake too."

Aurora's mind raced. She needed time to think, to plan, to find Lucian and the others.

"If what you're saying is true," she said slowly, "then you need both of us. You won't hurt Caleb."

"Not permanently," Victor agreed. "But pain is a powerful motivator. He's with your mate now, isn't he? Tobias Vale, the younger Alpha. My wolves are closing in on them as we speak."

Fear shot through Aurora. She reached for her bond with Reid, feeling the steady pulse of his life force. He was still living, but in pain. Captured, just as Lucian had told Caleb.

She needed to buy time.

"I need to think about this," she said.

Victor laughed. "There is no time to think. The blood moon rises tomorrow night. Your answer now will determine whether your loved ones live or die."

Aurora looked past Victor, deeper into the trees. For a short second, she thought she saw movement—a flash of familiar eyes watching from the shadows. Hope sparked in her chest.

"If I come with you," she said slowly, "what happens to Reid? To Lucian and Tobias?"

"They live," Victor said simply. "Bound by ancient laws, they'll be forced to accept our new order. As for your mate..." His smile turned cruel. "He'll never touch you again, of course. But he'll live with the knowledge that you chose the greater good over him."

Rage boiled inside Aurora. How dare he? How dare this monster threaten the people she loved and expect her to thank him for it?

The crystal water bottle pressed against her leg. An thought formed in her mind.

"You know what I think?" Aurora said, taking a step toward Victor. "I think you're scared. The shadow magic is consuming you, and you need us to control it before it destroys you completely."

Victor's smile faltered. "You understand nothing."

"I understand more than you think," Aurora said. Her hand slipped into her pocket, fingers closing around the vial. "You're not offering me a choice. You're begging for help."

Victor's eyes darkened, the purple shadows whirling faster. "Watch your tongue, girl. I could snuff out your mate's life with a thought."

"But you won't," Aurora said firmly. "Because you need me willing. You said it yourself."

She was close enough now. In one smooth move, Aurora pulled out the vial and smashed it at Victor's feet.

Crystal water splashed across his legs. Victor screamed, the sound inhuman as the water burned through his shadow-infused skin. He stumbled backward, his perfect facade cracking to show the corrupted creature beneath.

"Run!" a voice yelled from the trees.

Lucian burst from the shadows, shifted into his huge wolf form. He barreled into the circle of shadow wolves, scattering them.

Aurora didn't pause. She raced toward him, leaping onto his back as he turned. Together, they ran into the forest, leaving Victor's howls of rage behind them.

"That won't hold him for long," Aurora gasped, holding Lucian's fur as they ran. "We need to find Caleb. Victor's planning something terrible tomorrow night—something about the First Seal breaking."

Lucian grunted in response, running faster.

As they fled, Aurora felt the twin bond pulse with Caleb's worry. His question came through clearly: Are you safe?

For now, she sent back. Then, with all the intensity she could muster: Victor says we're Gatekeepers. We need to find the First Seal before the blood moon rises tomorrow night.

Miles away, Caleb heard her message with growing horror. Aurora felt his answer like a whisper in her mind: What happens if we don't?

Aurora looked back over her shoulder. In the distance, a column of purple fire rose above the trees—Victor, recovering from his injury and releasing his rage.

Then darkness falls, she answered grimly. And everyone we love dies.

As they raced toward the safe house, a new feeling crept through Aurora's twin bond. Something cold and dark, something that didn't feel like Caleb at all.

Caleb? she called through their link. Caleb, what's happening?

The answer came back warped, as if through static: Something's wrong. The shadows... they're inside me.

Aurora gasped, nearly losing her grip on Lucian's fur. The cold feeling grew stronger.

And then, most frightening of all, a third voice entered their twin bond—a voice that shouldn't have been there at all.

Hello, children, Victor's voice whispered inside their heads. Did you really think you could escape me?