𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄

Aurora's POV

The house was enormous. Eight bedrooms on every floor, ceilings so high my voice echoed when I whispered. It felt more like a palace than a home. My parents' palace, now ours.

Their will had left us everything. Money, protection, furniture, even this estate full of ghosts and memories. We could have sold it, moved somewhere small, somewhere normal. But my brother Jonathan said it was safer here, that it was what they wanted for us.

I glanced at him from across the entryway. He gave me a look that said, I know, I'm sorry, we'll be okay. I nodded back even though neither of us really believed it. Our parents had been killed two years ago, and we'd spent every day since trying to act like the world hadn't ended. Living with our aunt was worse than the grief. Jonathan turning twenty-one and becoming my guardian had saved us.

Now here we were, trying to pretend this house could be a fresh start.

I climbed the grand staircase to my room, the sound of my footsteps hollow against the marble. Boxes lined the walls, and my bed was already made thanks to the movers. I sat on it and let out a long breath. The silence felt too big.

To distract myself, I called Olivia. My best friend, my only real piece of normal left. She answered instantly, dramatic as always. "You're gonna be fine! Look! Who am I? Boohoo, I have a giant house and an opportunity to meet new hot boys! I'm you!"

I laughed despite myself. "You're an idiot."

"That's why you love me. Now unpack, princess. You'll thank me later."

We said our goodbyes, and the quiet returned. I stared at the half-unpacked boxes and then at my laptop. Homework glared at me from the screen — four essays due by tomorrow. I started typing.

The history of the eighteenth century consisted of...

Nothing. I sighed and shut the laptop. It was 8:43 PM. Somehow the whole day had vanished in a blur of unpacking and pretending to care about school.

My wolf stirred restlessly inside me. She hated confinement more than I did. We need to run, she whispered. I could feel her pressing against the edges of my skin.

She was right. It had been weeks since I'd shifted, and I'd promised her that once we moved, we'd have freedom again.

I jogged down the stairs toward the back door but froze when I saw my brother in the kitchen with two unfamiliar men.

"Aurora," Jonathan said quickly, "this is Alpha Ashton and his Beta, Jake."

I smiled politely, offering a small wave as I maneuvered around them for a bottle of water. "Nice to meet you," I said, my tone soft but guarded.

The one called Ashton had the kind of presence that filled the entire room. Tall, dark-haired, steady. His eyes were a striking emerald green, sharp and unreadable. I could feel them on me before I even looked up.

"I'm going out for a run," I told Jonathan, standing on my toes to kiss his cheek.

Before I could leave, a deep voice stopped me. "Mind if we join you? My wolf could use the stretch."

The sound of it hit me low and deep, like a vibration in my bones. I froze mid-step. That voice belonged to the Alpha.

"I'd prefer to be alone," I said quietly, not wanting to seem rude.

Jonathan gave me that pleading look again, the one that said please don't ruin this for me. "Come on, Rory, they won't bother you."

I swallowed my annoyance and nodded. "Sure. No problem."

Outside, I ran straight into the woods, behind a tall oak where I stripped and folded my clothes on a stump. The change came easily this time, bones cracking, fur spreading, the shift pulling me apart and remaking me all at once.

When I stepped forward again, I was smaller, lighter, golden fur glinting beneath the moon. My wolf, Amethyst, stretched her legs in delight. It felt good to breathe as her again.

Three wolves joined me. Jonathan's was easy to spot. A large golden-brown beast with intelligent eyes. Jake was the lighter one, with sand-colored fur and bright blue eyes. The last, towering and dark as midnight, was unmistakably Ashton. He was massive, easily six times my size, his coat pure black except for a single streak of silver across his chest. His eyes glowed green even in the dark.

We ran through the forest until we reached the river. The water shimmered under the moonlight. I drank, then sprawled in the grass, tail flicking lazily.

Bored, I decided to irritate my brother. I pounced on him playfully, biting his ear and tugging at his fur until he kicked me off. He growled and I whined back in laughter, rolling in the dirt.

Through it all, I could feel Ashton's gaze on me. Heavy. Unmoving. It prickled under my fur until I shifted uncomfortably. My wolf whimpered in confusion. Why does he keep staring?

I turned away, pretending to explore the edge of the woods, when I heard a twig snap behind me. My muscles tensed, then relaxed as Jake emerged.

He approached with a shirt in his mouth and dropped it in front of me. I shifted behind a tree and slipped it over my body. The fabric swallowed me whole. Jake chuckled softly.

"What?" I asked, arching a brow.

"You look better in my clothes than I do," he said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes, but the corners of my mouth lifted. "You wish."

We talked as we walked the forest, his warmth disarming, his humor easy. He told me he was twenty, that Ashton had taken him in young, that being a Beta meant more listening than talking. I could tell right away he was a good person — loyal, steady, someone who didn't take things too seriously.

When my brother's voice brushed against my mind, it was sharp with worry. Where are you? Come back.

We shifted again and ran toward the river. Jonathan was there, pacing in his wolf form, and Ashton stood nearby, restless, eyes scanning the trees like he'd lost something.

"Let's head back," Ashton said finally, his voice low and commanding. "I want to get to know the new members of my pack."

I nodded, following them up the hill. The night air was colder now, heavy with pine and silence.

As we walked, he glanced back at me once, his gaze unreadable. "I heard you were Beta-trained," he said to Jonathan.

"Yes, sir."

Ashton nodded slowly, like he was thinking of something else entirely.

I let their voices fade as I focused on the rhythm of my wolf's paws, the soft sound of the forest, the question still echoing in my head.

Why did the Alpha look at me like that?