Chapter 184: If Only It Could Stay This Simple
Aurora’s POV
I dragged myself down the hallway, my boots leaving faint marks on the wooden floor. My sweater still smelled faintly like Alessandro’s cologne, but all I felt was cold. Not the physical kind—something deeper, heavy in my chest.
I reached my room, turned the handle, and stepped inside.
“FINALLY!” Annie sprang up from her spot on my bed, nearly dropping a half-eaten chocolate bar.
“I was about to send a search party!”
I blinked at her in confusion.
“Sit,” she ordered, patting the bed like an overexcited gossip-loving aunt.
“I need every juicy detail. Don’t leave out anything. What did you eat?
What did you guys talk about? Was there candlelight?
Did you kiss? Tell. Me. Everything.”
I let out a sigh and shut the door behind me.
Annie’s grin faltered.
“Wait… you look like someone who just watched their favorite book get turned into a terrible movie.”
I plopped beside her, tugging my hair loose from its clip.
“That’s… a pretty accurate description, actually.”
Her eyes widened. “What happened? Did he mess up?”
“No,” I said, rubbing my temples.
“It wasn’t him. The beginning was… beautiful, Annie. He planned a real date. Like a picnic by a private lake, candles, rose petals, music and he even played a guitar for me.”
Annie gasped.
“Okay, stop. You’re lying. Alessandro played the guitar? Like with his hands?”
I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips despite the disappointment.
“Yep. And it was actually good."
“Shut the front door!" Annie said with a surprise look.
“So what happened and why are you looking like the impossible date wasn't beautiful?"
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
“We were talking… and laughing… and he said all these really sincere things.
We were having such a a great time." I swallowed.
“We almost kissed. Almost.”
Annie leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
“Okay, and then?”
I dropped my hand onto the bed. “Then some idiotic rogues decided to crash the moment.”
Annie’s jaw dropped.
“WHAT? You’re joking.”
“I wish I was,” I muttered. “Out of nowhere, they came into the cabin and tried to attack us.
Alessandro protected me, and the next thing I knew, he was fighting off a group of them in the dark.”
Annie sat up straighter, her giddy energy replaced by something more serious.
“Were you hurt?”
“No. He kept me safe, but… the mood was gone. The whole night was just… ruined.”
Annie groaned, tossing her head back.
“Ugh, those filthy flea-ridden beasts. Why is it always the good moments that get interrupted?!”
I gave her a weak laugh.
“He was so angry,” I added quietly. “Not just at the rogues. I think… he suspects someone sent them intentionally. That they knew we’d be there.”
Annie’s face darkened. “You think this was an attack on him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. He’s not sure either. But the way he looked at the forest afterward… it wasn’t just suspicion. It was personal.”
“Great,” she huffed. “So not only are you dealing with complicated feelings and romantic tension, but now there’s a whole murder plot on top of it. Classic Alpha problems.”
I managed a faint smile. “Basically.”
Annie stood, crossed the room, and returned with a blanket, throwing it over us like a tent. “Well, I say we stay under here until all the world’s drama goes away.”
I chuckled. “Sounds perfect.”
She peeked at me. “Even though it ended in rogue chaos… you’re glad you went, right?”
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I am. Because for a little while… it felt real. Like maybe we could have something normal.”
Annie stayed quiet, watching me closely as I picked at the edge of the blanket draped over my lap.
“I had always wanted a normal date and all…” I said softly, my voice trailing with a sigh. “Just something simple.
You know? No guards. No danger. No politics. Just… someone choosing me and wanting to spend time with me.”
She nodded slowly, sensing where my thoughts were going.
I looked up at her, my brows pinched. “But I don’t know… When Alessandro becomes Alpha, do you think we’d even get to have moments like that again? Real dates? Quiet ones?”
Annie let out a breath, thoughtful. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether he decides to rule as an Alpha or love as a man first,” she said, voice softer now. “Because the truth is… power complicates things. And Alphas? They carry the whole world on their shoulders. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still make space for you. If he wants to.”
I looked down again, staring at my fingers.
“I want to believe he will,” I whispered. “But I’ve seen what the title does to people. I don’t want to be something he pushes aside when duty gets heavy.”
Annie leaned in and squeezed my hand, her voice firm but warm.
“Well, I don’t think Alessandro will choose duty over you.”
I looked at her, unsure.
She continued, her tone more certain than I felt.
“He isn’t Leonardo, Aurora. He’s Alessandro. The man who, at first, hated you and your mother for coming into the pack and marrying his father, Alpha John…”
I blinked slowly as the memories resurfaced. The coldness. The stares. The resentment.
“…But along the way,” Annie went on, “he stood by you. When others didn’t. When things got messy and ugly, when people whispered behind your back, when even your ex Leonardo turned his back on you…”
I swallowed hard, looking down.
“…Alessandro didn’t. He saved you. Again and again. He protected you.
And now? Now he’s standing in front of the very man he once idolized his father and saying out loud, without shame, that he loves you.”
My eyes stung, and I blinked back the tears. Annie wasn’t wrong. I’d just forgotten all the pieces of the journey because I was so caught in the fear of what the future might steal from me.
She squeezed my hand again. “Aurora, Alessandro isn’t Leonardo. And he never will be. He’ll never choose duty over you.”
I stayed silent, but she didn’t let up.
“So don’t doubt his love. Don’t let fear twist it. Just trust him. Support him. Be with him while he becomes Alpha.”
She tilted her head gently. “Can you do that?”
I took a deep breath and nodded slowly, my chest aching in the best and worst way.
“I want to. I really want to.”
Annie smiled and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a side hug.
“Then that’s enough,” she whispered. “Love isn’t perfect, but when it’s real, it’s worth the chaos.”
I leaned into her, letting the comfort of her warmth wash over the cold coil of anxiety still sitting in my chest.
The clock on my wall ticked softly in the silence between us.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Then—
A knock.
We both froze.
It wasn’t loud. Just one soft, deliberate knock at the door.
I glanced at Annie. Her brows furrowed.
“It’s past midnight,” she whispered. “Who would—”
Another knock.
This time, louder. Slower.
Three beats. Knock. Knock. Knock.
A chill ran down my spine. I stood slowly, unsure why my heart had started racing.
Annie followed me to the door, her posture suddenly more alert.
I placed my hand on the knob.
“Maybe it’s Alessandro,” I said quietly, though something deep inside me whispered otherwise.
I turned the handle and opened it—
But there was no one there.
Only an envelope.
Cream-colored. Elegant.
With my name scrawled across the front in sharp, unfamiliar handwriting.
I reached down slowly and picked it up, heart thudding.
“Maybe it’s some kind of invitation?” Annie said cautiously, peering over my shoulder.
But I already knew it wasn’t.
I opened the envelope with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single note.
Written in blood-red ink.
You were supposed to die in that cabin.
Next time, he won’t save you.
I stared at the words, my breath caught in my throat.
Annie gasped behind me. “Aurora…”
But I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even blink.
Because beneath the note… was a photograph.
A photograph of me and Alessandro at the cabin.
Taken from the shadows.
Someone had been watching us.
And they were still watching now.
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