Chapter 157 157
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN
AURORA'S P.O.V
I said nothing, but I slowly reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stared at it for a while then laughed softly, a depreciating laugh.
"All these while I thought, I had thought that you didn't want me. That you never cared about having me in your life..."
I shook my head slowly, my heart aching for him.
"That was never true, I wished I had known you earlier...then maybe, my life wouldn't have been so lonely. You would have been there."
He smiled at me, for the first time. I gasped, my chest suddenly felt tight and I felt tears prickling the corners of my eyes. He saw my tears and shook his head, a sad, almost broken look on his face.
"Don't cry. Please, I've already done e enough to make you cry and I feel bad for that already."
"Oh Auron!" A sob escaped me but I cleared my throat and blinded away the tears.
"So um...can you...can you please tell me about you? Your life. How did you survive, who raised you? I want to know everything."
He sighed and looked away.
"Its not a happy story."
I crouched and stared into his eyes.
"I'm here to listen."
His gaze drifted away, like he was lost in the memories of his past. He took a deep breath and began speaking.
"I...I don't know where to start. I don't even know my real name, the name I have now, was given to me by Elder Mikhail. I guess it works since your name also sounds similar to it. I was found by a group of people, scavengers, when I was just a baby. They took me in, but they didn't treat me like family. I was their slave, Aurora, according to them, I was found amidst dead bodies so I wasn't for to be treated like a human. They used me for labor, beat me, and starved me. I was nothing to them, just a tool to be used and discarded."
My throat hitched, his voice cracked, and he paused, collecting his emotions. I squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue.
"One day, when I was eight years old, they left me behind, in the middle of nowhere. I was sick, hungry, and barely alive. I thought I was going to die, Aurora. I was ready to give up, but...but then I heard a voice. It was Elder Mikhail. He found me, took me in, and...and raised me as his own."
His eyes welled up with tears, and he looked away, conflicted.
"I owe him everything, Aurora. He trained me, taught me how to fight, how to lead. He told me I was destined for greatness, that I was a true alpha. And I believed him, I wanted to be like him, strong and powerful. He was the one who told me about you, where I really came from."
He laughed, a bitter sound.
"But it was all a lie, wasn't it? Because all the things I'm finding out are all opposite of what he told me. The letters, about you refusing to speak with me. About your whole life. I'm sorry,...I just...I just don't know why he would lie to me like this. I mean, he saved me. To think that he could have been deceiving me all these years. I can't...he knew how much I had longer for a family, so when I heard about you, I was so excited to meet you. But then when he told me that you didn't want anything to do with me, I broke...I lost my heart, I felt like I had no one except him. I depended on him so much."
I reached out and pat his lag gently, tears sliding down my cheeks. He went through so much, bit he still managed to come out stronger.
"Its alright, Auron, I'm here. You are so brave and strong, I'm proud of you for that. If I had gone through what you had gone through, I think I would have turned out different, like a villain or something. But instead you grew up to be a strong alpha who cares about his people. Though your decision to take my power wasn't nice, it was from a good place in your heart. For your people, your pack and I'm glad and happy to have you in my life."
He sniffed back the tears threatening to slip from his eyes.
"Yeah, but I shouldn't have believed everything he told me without meeting you first, and asking you. We would have met sooner, if I had done that."
I stared at him in pained silence, I didn't know what to say, I wished I knew how to comfort people but I'm shit at these things.
Jake was the first to break the silence, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Auron, man...I'm so sorry." He sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "I'm crying, dude. You're making me cry like a baby." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes were red and puffy.
Talia was a different story. She was furious, her eyes blazing with anger as she listened to Auron's story. She was crying, but her tears were mixed with rage. "That Elder Mikhail...I'll kill him, no...I wish we could find the people who took you away." she growled, her voice low and menacing. "How could anyone do that to a child? How can they treat you less than a human being?"
Ariel looked like she'd been punched in the gut. Her eyes were wide with sadness, and her face was pale.
"Auron, that's...that's awful," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
Mirabel was crying softly, using a pale handkerchief to wipe her eyes which shine with tears.
"Auron, I'm so sorry, you've been through a lot." she whispered, her voice shaking. "No child deserves to be treated like that."
Kale's face was set in a grim expression, his eyes narrowed in anger bit he didn't say anything, same with Kieran, I think their rage was enough for the both of them.
Griffin let out a deep breath, stuffing his hands in his pocket.
"No matter how annoyed I am with you, what you went through is not something you pull through easily.