Chapter 44

• Aurora's POV
• The pre-dawn mist clung to my skin as I slipped out of the Nightshade Pack compound, my heart thundering in my chest. I'd left a hastily scrawled note for Ethan, explaining that I needed time to think, to find myself. The weight of recent events – the constant pull between Ethan and Mason, the suffocating expectations, the secrets I sensed everyone was keeping from me – it was all too much.
• As I made my way into the dense forest bordering the pack lands, I felt a mixture of guilt and relief wash over me. I wasn't running away, not really. I just needed space, time to clear my head without Ethan's worried gaze or the whispers of pack members.