Aurora's POV
"You might want to get down from Kane," Rod muttered to me as he stared long and hard at Salem. He was looking paler than the last time we met, his hands shook like they were left in ice.
"Where is Alicia, bastard?"
"Who is that?" He clicked his tongue while gripping the sword sheathed to his waist strap.
"The name doesn't ring a bell. Maybe if you explain her more vividly I would be able to get the image,"
His focus shifted to me as I walked to Rod's side. My heart wouldn't stop pounding when I stood next to Kane. There was a rage boiling within me and I knew for a fact that it wasn't from me, we were already connected and I could feel what he felt.
"My men that survived your little encounter whisper that you seeked someone. Did you lose your alpha's mate, Rod?"
"Grrr!" Kane leapt toward him, and for a moment I thought he had caught him. But when the dust had settled, I realized Salem was somehow behind me.
"You really need to control your anger," he remarked with a grin. Rod moved with incredible speed, his dagger aimed toward Salem's neck, but Salem blocked it once again. Their clash erupted—Salem moving with a cocky ease, defending himself with his sword still sheathed. Every strike Rod made carried pure rage, yet he still couldn't land a single hit.
Kane took down the rest of Salem's men one by one, and the few who remained scattered into the dark woods. They were right to run, because for a moment, even I considered fleeing. I had heard stories about the fury that lingered after a transformation, but whatever I sensed from Kane was something far beyond that.
Soon, he turned his gaze to Salem who had somehow swept Rod off his feet.
"Give a sick man a break," he groaned, watching Kane circle him frantically like a predator.
"Hand over the girl, and I'll let you all leave with your food."
"Fuck you!" Rod snapped before he counterattacked.
He kicked him hard, sending him flying straight into Kane's grasp. He sank his fangs into his arm without hesitation. Salem didn't cry out, his silence sent chills through me because he had no reaction to his whole arm about to be ripped off. He only struggled to free himself but Kane's jaw grip was firm. With a slow tired exhale, he finally drew his sword.
A terrifying look crossed Rod's face the moment the blade came out. He tried to reach them, and a surge of instinctive alertness rushed through me. Before Salem could strike, I pushed Kane out of the way and the sword cut across my back.
The scorching pain had me crumbling in agony. I shrieked loudly as I felt the heat spread across my whole body. I panted heavily as I watched him kick Rod off effortlessly. He took a look at his sword and gently licked my blood off it with a smirk.
"You indeed are different," he muttered. The sword was black and had an emblem I recognized from my mother's grimoire
"I must have you,"
Kane viciously attacked again but he kept invading their attacks. Even with their combined effort, they still couldn't get him. Rod was specifically terrified of the sword, almost like he knew it.
I tried to sit up, but everything blurred around me. My body felt distant, almost weightless, and the light slowly dimmed, leaving only Salem's smile lingering in my mind.
*******
"He is almost there," a voice rumbled in the dark. It felt strangely familiar but its intensity frightened me.
"He's almost there,"
The darkness split apart as a fire flickered to life in the center, casting long shadows around me. I stepped toward it and noticed something burning at its core, though I couldn't tell what it was. The strangest part was the lack of heat despite the soaring flames, the air around it felt freezing cold.
I reached into the fire and closed my fingers around it, a feather. It burned with light, not heat, yet the moment I touched it, a rush of intense energy surged through me. The air seemed to hold its breath, the whole scene suspended, until I sensed a presence beside me.
I turned instinctively and froze. The figure beside me was… me. Her skin was sallow, her eyes blood-red, and she wore the same torn dress I had on the day I was executed. She reached for the burning feather in my hand, her lips parting as if to speak but no words came.
"Wake up!" The voice roared again and I jolted awake in Kane's arm. We were in his room at Crescent pack and his face wore a worried look.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as I got up to my feet.
"Careful!" He exclaimed as I collapsed back to his arm. My feet were weak, I could hardly feel them.
"What happened? How… where?"
"He left when Rod transformed as well," he answered softly.
"He knew he wouldn't be able to take the both of us. You were hit by his sword, the maiden sword. It has laces of silver that burns through our blood,"
I heaved heavily as I recalled how tormenting the pain was. My mind went back to the weird dream I had and I noticed that the hand I used to pick up the feather was freezing cold.
"The supplies? Did we get it?"
"Yes, it's been distributed by the council as we speak," he answered as he grabbed his belt from the bed.
"Stay here, heal up. The wound had been treated but you need to rest for recovery,"
"Where is Rod?"
"He passed out when we arrived. He forced himself to transform, it was a risky move but he saved your life," He looked disappointed when he spoke. I knew he was pissed that Salem escaped, a man he had been looking for all these while.
"You should rest up,"
He left me in the room with my thoughts. The fact that both an alpha and his beta couldn't take Salem down was horrifying. The intimidating aura despite looking moments from deaths, not a surprise he was the Leader of the Deep Traders. The Deep had many frightening people in their ranks and for Salem to lead them, meant he wasn't someone to be underestimated.
"I was told you are awake," Rod walked into the room. He was limping, dragging his left foot behind him.
"How do you feel? Not everyone survives the maiden cut,"
"You obviously have," I replied weakly as I sat up to converse with him.
"Why will you risk your life for me? You might have died from transforming again,"
"I didn't," he gave a soft laugh as he sat beside me. He exhaled heavily as he looked into my eyes with concern.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, it's not your fight. I know won't apologize but I know he feels sorry too,"
I had no idea how to respond because if he knew who I really was, he would understand that it was my fight. I had a bigger agenda than both of them combined.
"Can I ask you a question?" I leaned closer, ignoring the pain shooting through my back.
"Yeah,"
"What's the deal with the both of you? He fought like he knew your move and you did like you knew his,"
The question appeared to have struck a nerve as his countenance turned dull. He inhaled sharply, hesitating to respond while he ran his hand through his hair.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,"
He smiled, dimples appearing on his chin. "My history with Salem goes way back, to my days on the street,"
"The street?"
"Oh, I wasn't trained in a castle like Kane or had a roof over my head. I was an omega, the pack's bitch," he replied, taking deep breaths in between sentences.
"And Salem… Salem was my brother,"
A wave of shock washed over me as his words caught me completely off guard.