Chapter 11 Mine

Chapter 11 Mine
Christian’s POV

I hated nights now.

Days were easier. During the day there was noise, rage, destruction, meetings, reports, warriors, searches, commands… enough chaos to distract me from the gaping wound inside my chest.

But nights?

Nights belonged to Aurora.

Every damn thing reminded me of her.

The moonlight filtering through the curtains reminded me of the way her hair shimmered brown under the sun near the waterfalls. The scent of roses in the palace gardens reminded me of the soft floral fragrance that clung to her skin whenever I buried my face into her neck. Even the silence reminded me of her, because Aurora had never been loud.

She was soft.

Gentle.

Quiet.

And she had destroyed me completely.

I sat alone in my office, the room dimly lit by the fire crackling near the massive windows. Papers regarding the search lay scattered all around me, but my attention remained fixed on the crystal glass in my hand.

The whiskey burned down my throat, but it did nothing to numb the ache.

Nothing could.

Not after her.

Not after finding out the truth.

“A witch…” I whispered hoarsely, gripping the glass harder.

My mate was a witch.

The very species I had grown up hating.

The same species that took my parents away from me.

The same species whose screams I had heard in battlefields. The same species whose blood had stained the claws of wolves for generations.

And yet…

My chest tightened painfully.

And yet the moment I closed my eyes, all I could see was her smile.

That shy little smile she tried to hide whenever I flirted with her.

The way her cheeks turned pink whenever I kissed her ear.

The way she looked at me with so much love that it made me feel invincible.

A frustrated growl escaped my throat.

“Why?” I roared, throwing the glass across the room.

It shattered against the wall.

The sound echoed loudly.

Still not loud enough to drown her voice inside my head.

I love you.

My wolf stirred violently inside me.

Mine.

The possessiveness slammed into me so hard that my breathing became uneven.

No matter what she was…

Aurora was mine.

Mine to protect.

Mine to punish.

Mine to keep.

Mine.

I dragged both hands through my hair and leaned back against the chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I should hate her.

Moon Goddess, I wanted to hate her.

I wanted to remember only the betrayal.

The lies.

The deception.

But my stupid heart kept remembering different things.

The way she laughed when I splashed water at her in the cave.

The way she clung to me while sleeping.

The way she whispered my name during our lovemaking like it was sacred.

My body heated instantly at the memory.

Fuck.

I could still feel her.

Even now.

I could still remember the softness of her skin beneath my palms, the sweet sounds she made for me, the way she melted around me so willingly.

My jaw clenched.

She accepted me.

I knew she did.

I had felt it.

That moment when the bond partially clicked into place before she disappeared.

That wasn’t fake.

Aurora loved me.

Which only made this entire thing worse.

Because if she loved me so much…

Then why the hell did she leave me?

A sharp pain suddenly pierced my chest.

I froze.

The feeling wasn’t mine.

Sadness.

Overwhelming sadness.

Pain so deep it felt suffocating.

My brows furrowed immediately.

Aurora.

The bond.

I could feel her.

Very faintly.

Very weakly.

But she was there.

Crying.

My wolf whimpered painfully inside me.

The sensation lasted only a few seconds before disappearing again, but it was enough to make me shoot up from the chair.

“Aurora…” I breathed.

She was hurting.

My anger flickered uncertainly.

Damn it.

Even after everything, my first instinct was still to go to her.

To hold her.

To stop her tears.

I slammed my fist onto the table violently.

“No,” I snarled at myself. “She lied to you.”

But even those words lacked conviction now.

Because every memory I had of Aurora felt real.

Too real.

She had looked terrified whenever witches were mentioned.

Not manipulative.

Not cunning.

Terrified.

As if she genuinely believed I would hurt her.

The realization made something ugly twist inside my chest.

Had I really made her that afraid?

I stood up abruptly and walked toward the balcony.

Cold night wind hit my face instantly.

Below me stretched the massive palace grounds of the Werewolf Kingdom, glowing beneath moonlight.

Everything was mine.

The kingdom.

The throne.

The power.

And yet none of it mattered because my mate was gone.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

The mighty Alpha King reduced to this pathetic state because of one girl.

One tiny witch with beautiful eyes and a stubborn heart.

I gripped the balcony railing tightly.

“Aurora,” I murmured darkly, “do you even realize what you’ve done to me?”

The bond pulsed again.

Weak.

Broken.

Incomplete.

But there.

I could feel traces of her emotions occasionally now. Not clearly. Almost like distant echoes.

Pain.

Loneliness.

Fear.

Every single one stabbed into me like knives.

Which meant she could probably feel me too.

Good.

Let her feel my rage.

Let her know what she did.

But another part of me whispered differently.

Let her know you still love her.

I shut my eyes tightly.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

But even I knew it was a lie.

Because hatred didn’t feel like this.

Hatred didn’t make your chest ache for someone’s touch.

Hatred didn’t make you search for their scent on your bedsheets like a madman.

Hatred didn’t make you crave someone every second until breathing itself became difficult.

No.

This was something far more dangerous.

Obsession.

My wolf had accepted her completely.

There was no going back now.

No matter how much I fought it.

I turned around and walked back toward my room.

The moment I entered, my gaze immediately landed on the bed.

Our bed.

The same place where Aurora had fallen asleep in my arms a few nights ago after I secretly sneaked her into the palace.

I could still remember how peaceful she looked sleeping beside me.

Small.

Fragile.

Mine.

A low growl escaped me again.

I walked toward the bedside table and opened the drawer slowly.

Inside lay the black-gold chain she had gifted me.

Along with that carved pendant.

The wolf.

And the witch’s wand behind it.

I picked it up carefully.

My chest tightened painfully again.

She had handcrafted this for me.

Every detail.

Every curve.

Every mark.

Her fingers had touched this lovingly.

My thumb brushed over the tiny carved wand.

A witch and a wolf together.

As one.

A humorless smile tugged at my lips.

Even before I knew the truth… she had been trying to tell me.

“She wanted me to accept her,” I whispered.

The realization hit me harder now.

Aurora had not run because she didn’t love me.

She ran because she truly believed I would reject her.

My breathing grew heavier.

And the worst part?

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

Because when I first found out…

I had hated it.

I had hated fate.

Hated the Moon Goddess.

Hated the universe for binding me to a witch.

But never Aurora.

Never truly her.

A sharp knock interrupted my thoughts.

“Enter,” I growled.

Jack walked inside cautiously.

My Beta looked exhausted. Dark circles rested beneath his eyes after days of continuous searching.

“We still haven’t found her,” he said carefully.

Silence filled the room.

Jack hesitated before speaking again.

“The trackers lost her scent completely near the eastern borders.”

Of course they did.

Aurora was smart.

Too smart.

I stared at the pendant in my hand.

“You know what the problem is?” I said quietly.

Jack frowned slightly.

“I underestimated her.”

Aurora looked soft and harmless.

But beneath that sweetness hid someone incredibly powerful.

Careful.

Intelligent.

Secretive.

A girl who had managed to fool the entire supernatural world.

And me.

Especially me.

“She’s scared,” I muttered more to myself than to Jack.

Jack looked confused.

“What?”

I clenched the pendant tighter.

“She thinks I’ll kill her.”

The words tasted bitter.

Jack’s expression softened slightly.

“My Alpha…”

“But she’s wrong,” I interrupted coldly.

My eyes glowed golden.

“Because nobody touches what belongs to me.”

A dangerous silence filled the room.

Jack swallowed.

“What are your orders?”

I slowly lifted my gaze toward him.

“Continue searching.”

Jack nodded instantly.

But before he could leave, I spoke again.

“And Jack?”

“Yes, Alpha?”

“If anyone finds Aurora before me…”

My voice dropped dangerously low.

“They are to treat her with absolute respect.”

Jack blinked in surprise.

I smirked darkly.

“She is still my mate.”

And future Luna.

Even if the entire world burned because of it.

Jack bowed immediately before leaving.

The moment the door shut, silence engulfed the room again.

I walked toward the bed slowly and sat down heavily.

Exhaustion finally started creeping into my bones.

But sleep still refused to come.

Because every time I closed my eyes…

I saw Aurora disappearing before me.

Tears in her eyes.

Love in her voice.

Fear in her heart.

I lay back against the mattress and stared at the ceiling.

“Aurora…” I whispered into the darkness.

My voice cracked.

My chest hurt so badly that it felt unbearable.

“I can’t let you go.”

The bond pulsed weakly again.

A soft warmth.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

She was awake.

Crying again.

My wolf whimpered painfully.

I clenched the sheets tightly.

“You stupid girl,” I muttered brokenly. “Why are you crying alone?”

I hated imagining her suffering somewhere without me.

I hated imagining her scared.

And I hated the fact that despite all my anger…

I still wanted to hold her.

Protect her.

Love her.

A dark possessiveness slowly consumed me again.

No.

This wasn’t over.

Not even close.

Aurora Rae Jenkins belonged to me.

Witch or not.

Enemy or not.

Mate bonds weren’t so easily broken.

And neither was I.

I shut my eyes finally, clutching her pendant tightly against my chest.

“You can run all you want, Aurora,” I whispered into the darkness.

“But sooner or later…”

My eyes glowed golden.

“I will find you.”