Chapter 105 The First Friend

Chapter 105 The First Friend
Aurora:

Serena looked exhausted.

Not just physically. I had seen injured people before. I had seen grief before too. This was different. She looked like someone who had spent her whole life carrying herself carefully because falling apart had never been an option.

The room was quiet except for the rain outside and the soft crackling of the fire near the corner.

I stayed near the door for a moment instead of moving closer immediately. Serena watched me cautiously, like she was still trying to understand what kind of place this was and whether kindness here came with conditions.

“There are things I need to say,” she said finally, her voice rough from sleep and crying. “Things you all need to know.”

“I know,” I replied gently.

She looked almost guilty for not saying them immediately.

I walked closer slowly. “And whatever you have to say probably concerns my children, this island, the Council, the future of the packs, and more lives than either of us can count.”

Serena’s fingers tightened around the blanket.

“But I’m not here to interrogate you.”

That made her look up sharply. For a second she just stared at me like she had misheard. I smiled faintly and sat carefully on the edge of the bed, giving her enough space that she wouldn’t feel cornered.

“This is my home,” I said quietly. “Actually… it became my home the moment I stepped onto this island. Before that, I never really belonged anywhere either.”

Serena stayed silent.

“The island only allows its own,” I continued. “And it allowed you here. So that means something.”

Her eyes flickered slightly.

“And I’m not talking about your mate bond with Jax,” I added quickly. “You do not owe him anything because of that.”

Something in her shoulders loosened immediately.

“No one here expects anything from you,” I said. “Jax understands that too. He would never force you into something you don’t want.”

Serena let out a slow breath she had probably been holding since she woke up.

“Thank God,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

I almost smiled.

“He said something stupid,” I admitted.

“That’s one way to put it.”

“He already looks miserable about it.”

That got the smallest reaction from her. Not quite a smile. But close.

I shifted a little closer and looked at her hand resting tightly over the blanket.

“Can I?” I asked softly.

She hesitated, then nodded.

I placed my hand gently over hers.

The second our skin touched, emotion slammed into me so hard my breath caught.

Pain.

Fear.

Loneliness so deep it almost felt endless.

I saw flashes of emotions too tangled to fully separate. A little girl terrified of doing something wrong. Hunger. Shame. Grief. Exhaustion. Years and years of pretending to be okay.

The room tilted slightly. I inhaled sharply.

Serena immediately straightened. “What’s wrong?”

I closed my eyes for a second and forced myself to breathe properly before answering.

“Nothing,” I murmured. “Just… give me a minute.”

Her voice turned worried instantly. “Did I do something?”

“No,” I said quickly, opening my eyes again. “No, Serena. It’s not you.”

I leaned back slightly until the dizziness settled.

“My bloodline is complicated,” I explained softly. “I have Luna abilities. They awakened fully after Levi and I fled here when the Council first attacked us.”

Serena listened quietly.

“I can sense emotions,” I continued. “Sometimes I can even absorb them. Like an emotional sponge.”

That actually made Serena smile faintly.

“A sponge?”

“Yes,” I said with mock seriousness. “A very exhausted sponge most days.”

Her smile lingered for a second longer before fading again.

“But sometimes it gets overwhelming,” I admitted. “Especially when someone carries as much pain as you do.”

Serena looked away immediately. I squeezed her hand gently.

“So when I say I understand what you feel,” I said softly, “I don’t mean I lived your life. I didn’t. But I can feel your emotions enough to know how heavy they are.”

Her throat moved slightly.

“You know,” I said after a moment, “when I first saw you at that gala, I already knew something was wrong.”

Her eyes lifted slowly.

“You looked beautiful,” I continued honestly. “Perfect even. Like someone out of a magazine. But you also looked like a caged bird trying very hard not to hit the bars.”

Something fragile crossed her face.

“And when you warned me about the Council that night, I knew whatever your father was… you were not him.”

Serena blinked rapidly after that.

“You don’t have to worry about people here questioning you all the time,” I said. “Some will be cautious because they’re protective of the island, but nobody is going to punish you for where you came from.”

Her voice came out small. “You trust me that easily?”

“No,” I answered honestly. “Trust takes time. But I believe you came here for a reason. And the island believes it too.”

She looked confused. “The island?”

“The wards should have stopped you,” I explained. “Instead they opened for you.”

Serena went very still after that.

“So whatever else happens,” I continued gently, “you are one of us now.”

The words hit her hard. I saw it immediately in the way her face crumpled before she could stop it.

Her lips trembled. Then suddenly she broke. Like someone finally too tired to keep holding themselves together.

I moved instantly and wrapped my arms around her.
For one second she stayed stiff in shock. Then she collapsed against me. I held her carefully while she cried into my shoulder, years of loneliness and exhaustion spilling out silently.

“You’re safe here,” I whispered softly, rubbing her back slowly. “You don’t have to carry everything alone anymore.”

She cried harder after that.

“I don’t even know how to do this,” she admitted brokenly. “I don’t know how to trust people.”

“That’s alright,” I said gently. “Nobody’s asking you to do it all today.”

After a while her breathing slowly steadied. I pulled back enough to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

“You can consider me your first friend here,” I told her softly.

That made her stare at me again like she still couldn’t understand why someone would say something like that without wanting something in return.

“And if Jax says anything stupid again,” I added, “I’ll have Levi deal with him personally.”

A small laugh escaped her before she could stop it.

“There,” I said proudly. “That’s better.”

She shook her head weakly, embarrassed. I glanced toward the tray left near the fireplace. “Have you eaten anything?”

Serena made a face immediately. “Not really.”

“You should,” I said. “The food here is amazing.”

That surprised her enough to distract her from crying.

I continued seriously, “I swear something about the air here makes everything taste better. Maybe it’s the island magic. Maybe it’s because nothing is polluted.”

That got another tiny smile from her.

“Okay,” she agreed softly. “Then I’ll try and see.”

“Good.”

I stood and walked toward the door.

The second I opened it, Jax straightened from where he had been standing nearby pretending not to stare at the room every five seconds.

“She alright?” he asked immediately.

I gave him a look first. He looked guilty instantly.

“Call the healer,” I told him. “And bring something decent to eat.”

His eyes immediately shifted past me toward Serena. I stepped slightly into the doorway, blocking his view.

“Jax.”

He sighed. “Right. Boundaries.”

“Very proud of you.”

He muttered something under his breath and walked off. Before I could close the door again, Serena spoke quietly behind me.

“Aurora?”

I turned back. She looked nervous suddenly.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “You’re probably the first person who sincerely offered to be my friend.”

My chest hurt a little hearing that.

“And thank you for not forcing me to talk about everything yet,” she added. “It means more than you know.”

I smiled gently.

“No thanks needed between friends.”

Then I closed the door again and came back to sit beside her. She watched me carefully for a moment before asking quietly, “You really won’t ask me to talk to Jax?”

“You don’t owe him that,” I answered honestly. “And I would never force you into anything you don’t want.”

She looked relieved again.

“If you decide you want to talk to him later, that’s your choice,” I continued. “A mate bond doesn’t obligate you to tolerate anyone’s nonsense.”

That made her laugh softly through the last of her tears.

“And Jax is a good man,” I added. “So once his brain starts functioning properly again, he’ll understand that too.”

Serena nodded slowly.

“Now,” I said gently, “you’re going to eat something, let the healer check on you, and then I’ll call your aunt in. She’s been worried sick.”

Serena looked down at her hands for a moment before whispering, “Okay.”

I leaned back in the chair beside her bed after that, feeling strangely lighter and sadder at the same time.

There were secrets waiting. Dangerous ones. But all of that could wait a little longer.

Because before Serena told us anything about the Council or bloodlines or war, I needed to make sure my new friend remembered what it felt like to be cared for, for the first time in her life.