novelraw Chapter 172: Denial
Chapter 172: Denial
Aurora’s POV
I stared at the screen until the letters burned into my eyes. How is my girl doing?
My hands shook so hard I almost dropped the phone again. He was mocking me. He had spent the night inside me, whispered sweet things in my ear, and then walked out the door to put eight silver bullets into the man I loved.
The grief in my chest turned into a cold, sharp blade of hate. I didn’t care if he was an assassin. I didn’t care if he was a monster. I wanted him to know I knew.
I typed back with blurry eyes, my breath coming in short, jagged gasps.
"Don’t ’sweet pie’ me, you murderer. I know what you did. You left my bed and went straight to the meeting. You shot Oliver. You put eight bullets in him!"
I held my breath, watching the screen. The "typing" bubbles appeared almost instantly. My heart was thumping against my ribs.
"Whoa, slow down, little bird," the reply came. "I don’t know what news you’re watching, but that wasn’t me. I told you I had a job, but it wasn’t the King."
I let out a harsh, dry laugh that sounded more like a sob.
"Liar! You said you were ’removing the rot.’ You said everyone you kill deserves it! You hate him! Everyone knows you hate the Alpha King!"
The reply came back fast, and this time, it felt colder.
"I’m a lot of things, Aurora, but I’m not a fool. Shooting a King in a room full of guards is a suicide mission. Why would I do that when I have you waiting for me at home? It wasn’t me. Maybe the ’King’ just has more enemies than he can handle."
I stared at the text. He was denying it. He was actually denying it. But if it wasn’t him, then who? The timing was too perfect. The anger I saw on his face before he left... it had to be him. He was just trying to protect himself.
"Aurora?"
I looked up, my face wet with tears. A black SUV pulled up to the gate, the crowd parting like the sea. The tinted window rolled down, and I saw Genevieve. She looked perfect, even in her grief. Her eyes were red, but her hair was in place, and she looked every bit like the queen she was supposed to be.
The guards didn’t stop her. They didn’t tell her to go home. They opened the heavy iron gates immediately, bowing their heads as she passed through.
"Wait!" I screamed, lunging forward. "Genevieve! Tell them to let me in! Please!"
She looked at me for a split second. Her eyes were cold, filled with a mean sort of triumph. She didn’t say a word. She just rolled the window back up, and the car moved forward, the gates slamming shut behind her.
I was left in the dirt, barefoot and broken, while the man I loved was dying behind those walls.
Buzz.
The phone vibrated again, and I forced myself to glance at the screen.
"Believe me, Aurora. It wasn’t me. I’m many things, but I’m not the one who pulled the trigger today."
I stared at the words, but they meant nothing to me. Whether he was lying to protect himself or telling the truth, it didn’t change the fact that Oliver was dying. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, ignoring the man who was suddenly so desperate for my belief. I had more important things to worry about than an assassin’s guilty conscience.
"Please!" I cried out, turning back to the guards. I grabbed the iron bars, my knuckles tight. "You have to let me through! I need to see him!"
The guard who had spoken to me before looked away, his jaw tight. "I told you, Aurora. We have orders. No one gets in. Go home before the reporters start hounding you."
"I am not going home!" I screamed.
Nearby, a pack official stepped onto a small podium, speaking into a cluster of microphones. "The Alpha King is in stable condition," he lied, his voice smooth and practiced. "The bullets have been removed, and he is resting. We ask for privacy during this time. Please, everyone, clear the area."
The crowd of reporters began to murmur, some starting to pack up their gear, but I knew better. I had seen the look on the guard’s face. Stable wolves didn’t have "silver moving to their hearts." It was a cover-up to keep the pack from panicking, to keep enemies from attacking his father.
I felt a wave of dizziness. I was helpless. I was standing in the dirt, wolfless and alone, while my whole world was being ripped apart.
Just then, a silver luxury car pushed through the crowd. The driver didn’t wait for the people to move; he kept a steady, slow pace that forced them to step aside. The window rolled down as the car pulled up to the gate, and I saw a face that made my heart skip a beat.
It was Knox.
He was Oliver’s closest friend. I had seen him just twice, but Oliver talks about him all the time.
His eyes widened when he saw me. "Aurora? What the hell are you doing out here?"
I ran to his window, my feet stinging as I stepped on sharp gravel. "Alpha Knox! They won’t let me in! They told me to go home!"
Knox looked at my bare feet, my messy hair, and the desperation in my eyes. He looked up at the guards, his expression shifting into a dark, angry frown. "Oliver will kill them for this," he muttered, more to himself than to me. He reached over and pushed the passenger door open. "Get in. Now."
I didn’t wait for a second invitation. I scrambled into the leather seat and slammed the door shut, the cool air conditioning of the car hitting my feverish skin.
Knox drove up to the gate. The guards, who had just been so stone-faced with me, immediately bowed their heads.
"You refused to let her in?" Knox’s voice was like a whip, cracking with authority. "Are you all insane?"
The head guard stepped forward, looking terrified. "I’m sorry, Alpha Knox. We had direct orders from the Alpha King’s father. He specifically said Miss Aurora was not to be allowed onto the grounds under any circumstances."
I froze in my seat. Oliver’s father? Why would he go out of his way to keep me away from his son while he was dying?
Knox looked as confused as I felt. His grip tightened on the steering wheel. "The Alpha King is the one who gives orders in this pack, not his father. And as his best friend, I’m telling you she’s with me. Open the gate."
The guards didn’t argue. They moved quickly, the heavy iron gates groaning as they swung open.
As we drove onto the long, winding driveway of the packhouse, the atmosphere changed instantly. The peace of the gardens was gone. I saw a massive number of guards stationed every few yards. Some were in their human forms, dressed in full tactical gear and carrying silver-tipped spears, while others were in their wolf forms—huge, powerful beasts with fur the color of midnight, pacing the perimeter with their ears pinned back.
The scent of stress and aggression was so thick in the air it was almost hard to breathe. Every wolf we passed looked ready to tear someone apart.
"Alpha Knox," I whispered, my voice trembling. "How bad is it? Really?"
Knox didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes on the road as we approached the main entrance, where more guards were stationed. "It’s bad, Aurora. He was ambushed. They used modified silver... it’s not reacting to the usual healing spells."
My stomach turned.
But as the car pulled up to the front steps, I saw Oliver’s father standing at the top of the stairs, talking to a group of elders. He looked stern, his face etched with a frown.
When he saw Knox’s car—and saw me sitting in the front seat—his frown was replaced by rage.
My heart began to pound so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest. As we stepped out of the car, the air felt thick and heavy, like a storm was about to break.
Oliver’s father fixed his eyes on me, which were full of a deep, burning hate that made me want to shrink back into the car.
"Calm down," Alpha Knox whispered to me. He stepped closer to me, his presence tall and strong, acting like a shield. "I’ve got you."
But as we walked toward the steps, Oliver’s didn’t wait. He raised a hand, pointing a finger directly at me.
"Knox," he boomed, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the packhouse. "That girl cannot come in. I gave a clear order. She is to stay outside the gates."