Chapter 6

• AURORA'S POV.
• The last person I expected to see when I opened my eyes was this man whose face seems to be hovering all over mine. The same man who had ordered for me to be tortured to bed.
• When notices that my eyes are open, he quickly backs away, clears his throat and maintains his composure, standing straight with his hands behind his back.
• The mate bond comes coursing through my body again and I look up at him. There's an awkward silence between us. I have a lot of questions in my mind to ask him and the first being if he's aware of the fact that we are mates. But I'm sure he knows. If I can feel the mate bond, it means he can feel it too.
• Could that be why his face was almost touching mine a while ago.
• Did he want to kiss me because he knew we were mates?
• No!
• Most definitely not!
• And even if he knew we were mates. Even if he wanted to kiss me, I still can't forget about the fact that he ordered his guards to have me tortured till death. I won't easily forgive him for that.
• "You are awake." His baritone voice breaks the silence between us. The tension starts melting away.
• "That's obvious." I answer coldly and he looks at me. Surprise flashes in his eyes.
• Yes. Take that, bitch!
• "Where am I?" I ask calmly. Indifferently. I keep asking myself how I'm still alive. I heard the orders. They were to torture me till death. Did he change his mind? Did someone show up and tell him I'm innocent?
• Why am I in a hospital bed being taken care of?
• Is it all over?
• Am I free now?
• Those questions keep busting my mind and I can feel exhaustion trying to take over me again.
• This is too much to handle.
• "You are in the dungeon infirmary." His voice is calm and quiet.
• "Oh…" is all I manage as I slowly nod my head.
• "All evidence points to you, Aurora. More witnesses came forward to say that the wounds found on my brother's body, the wounds that led to his death were inflicted by you." I can see his jaw muscles tense as he says those words. My insides heat up upon hearing the same accusation.
• I am not free after all. I'm still a murder suspect. I calmly shake my head. Tears have begun forming in my eyes. This is too much and the saddest part is, I can't even defend myself. All I have are my words and what are words against concrete evidence pointing to me?
• "I really didn't do it." My voice is not more than a whisper.
• "One of the witnesses was Crew. He's kind of like your father's right hand man. He said he has been your personal trainer for a long time and he knows how you attack people. He knows your attack strategies and he was sure the unity was caused by you. His testimony was quite convincing." His words cut deep into my heart. I look up at his face and notice that he's very very serious. If this keeps up, I'm truly going to get killed.
• I need to find a way to prove my innocence. I can’t let them end my life for a crime I did not commit.
• Question now is, how am I going to do that?
• No one is on my side. I'm going to be punished for a crime I did not commit.
• Growing up, I always knew I wasn't my father's favorite child, but I had no idea he hated me. He hates me to the extent that he'd frame me for murder. All I ever wanted was to make him proud and I've spent eighteen years of my life trying my best to do so. He hardly ever appreciated anything I did. He always criticized me and nitpicked on the tiniest mistakes I made while doing something.
• I don't know what I ever did to deserve my father's hatred.
• "I really did not do it." I sniffle tears as I look at Lucien. He has a blank look on his face. I can't tell what he's feeling or get a hint of what's running through his mind.
• Does he think I'm guilty?
• His judgment matters. After all, he's my mate. If there's one person who can help me out of this situation, that person will be no one else, but him. If only he could believe I didn't do it.
• That, of course, is impossible because he has no idea the kind of person I am. He can't take my side when he has no idea what I'm capable of doing.
• "I know you have no reason to believe me, especially because of the fact that you know absolutely nothing about me, but I really didn’t kill anyone. My birthday was going well until my dad told me to go meet my sister at her wedding venue. When I got there, she got me all dressed up and I had no idea I was the one getting married until I arrived at the altar. It’s at that same altar that I found out my boyfriend has been cheating on me with my sister. I ran away and when I got home I got attacked by armed men who took me back to meet my father and that's when you came in. I really did not kill anyone.” I explain with a shaky voice, hoping he would understand me. Hoping he would hear me out. He keeps looking at me like I've lost my mind.
• "You don't believe a word I just said to you, do you?" I ask bitterly. I try to wipe my tears with my hands while giving me a deadly look.
• He releases his hands and sighs heavily.
• He doesn't believe shit I just said.
• "I want to hear your own words. Did you or did you not do it?"
• "Why should I answer when you won't believe me?"
• "If your answer is yes, I will deal with you according to the pack laws, but if it's no, I, as your mate, will believe you." My eyes widen in shock as I try to sit upright to have a proper look at him.
• He knows.
• He fucking knows we are mates!