Chapter 215: Love’s Price 2
Aurora’s POV
“Alessandro is fierce and he loves recklessly. He will fight anyone to get you back. But fate is not always a blade that cuts as we expect.
The Moon’s trials are not just about strength. They demand surrender, truth, and a readiness to bear another’s pain.”
My pulse hammered.
“Another’s pain?
I felt everything already, his guilt, my fears.
What more—”
“Aurora.” Valeri’s voice softened to near whisper.
“You must remember. Not the stories told at the hearth, not the cruel versions, but the small truths.
The first time you felt the pull, the small kindnesses you denied yourself, the promises you kept to people who failed you.
The trial will show you what you fear most: losing him, losing yourself, and the choice to keep both.”
I wanted to scream that I would do anything, that I would give up breaths and bones a thousand times over to go back to him.
The thought of Alessandro’s face, the way he’d broken when I’d gone made my vision swim.
Valeri squeezed my hand.
“The Moon allows me to guide you for a moment. I was once foolish in love and ruined much for pride.
I am here to warn you, to tell you what I could not tell my own mate when time still let me.
If you choose to return, there is a path. But be ready: the cost will test what you think you are.”
“I don’t care about cost,” I said. “
Tell me.
Show me. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
She looked at me with a tenderness so sharp it hurt.
“There are stages. You must walk them in spirit and stand the pain as if it were your own.
You have already glimpsed one where he took your wounds in his dreams.
That was not the end. The second will be deeper, and the third… is a sacrifice only a few can bear.”
My breath came fast now.
“And if I fail?”
Valeri’s hand tightened.
“If you fail, you go where the Moon will take you and no mortal hand can pull you back.
If you pass, you will return whole or with a new bond. The wolves who return sometimes come back with a wolf bond changed stronger, or bound to a different fate.”
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
“A different fate?”
“A different life,” Valeri said.
“One where old debts are paid.
One where those you love may demand more than you can give. Understand this: love is not only comfort. It is a weight.
The Moon’s tests ask if you can bear that weight.”
My shoulders slumped with the ache of it. Images flashed Alessandro’s promise, my father’s scorn, the hospital beeping like a countdown.
I could not, would not leave him to face all that alone.
Valeri’s gaze softened, and she lowered her voice until it was nearly lost in the hush.
“There is one more thing. When you wake, remember the word I will give you.
It will be your anchor when the trial tries to unmake you. You will not be able to tell anyone its meaning.
Not yet. But you must keep it. The Moon will call it to you when the time comes.”
My hand shook. “Give me the word.”
She inhaled, a tiny quiver passing over her mouth as if she tasted old grief.
“Remember.”
I blinked.
“Remember?”
She nodded once.
“Remember. When you are in the dark and the trial whispers lies, say that word to yourself.
It will bind what your heart cannot.”
It was cruelly simple. The word itself felt like a thread.
“Will Alessandro know?”
I asked, panic tugging at my voice.
“If I go, if I do this, will he understand?
Will he be able to bring me back if I call?”
Valeri’s smile was sad.
“He will hear you. He will feel the pull. He will come. But remember, some paths can only be walked alone.
His love will open doors. Your choice will close others.”
I wanted to scream that I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted him in every room, in every breath.
I wanted to refuse any test that asked me to choose between us. Tears leaked from my eyes unbidden, hot and bright.
Valeri reached up and brushed a tear from my cheek with a thumb.
“Courage, little one. Courage and truth are different things. Be honest in the trial.
Do not hide from the pain, face it. Then perhaps the Moon will grant you back to the world.”
A chime sounded in the distance like a bell struck far away. The edges of the bright place began to waver, like a painting in the rain.
Valeri’s hand tightened once more.
“You must go now. The threshold will close.”
My legs felt leaden.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“You will never be truly alone,” she said. “Not while you carry love.”
I forced my feet to move. The grass parted under my steps. I looked back once, desperate for something to hold: Valeri’s face, her hands, the way she had said the word Remember.
“Remember,” I whispered aloud, tasting it. It landed in my mouth like a charm.
Light folded me like silk. For a moment the world was only warmth and the sound of distant boots then a voice, hoarse and raw, cut through the fold.
“Aurora!”
It was Alessandro.
I opened my eyes, and the infirmary blurred around me, faces, the healer, the monitors and the single clearest sound in the world: Alessandro’s voice, screaming my name.
My heart lurched.
I tried to answer, but my throat was heavy. The word Remember was in my mind like a small steady flame.
And then everything went black again.
“Alessandro!” someone was shouting.
“She’s moving—help me!”
I felt hands on my shoulders, pulling, and then the world surged and a single thought burned: I had to get back to him.
The darkness didn’t last long. A sharp pressure pulled me upward, like a hook in my chest yanking me out of some endless sea.
“Her pulse, it’s weak but steady!” the healer’s voice rang in my ears.
Then Alessandro’s voice, broken and desperate.
“Aurora… stay with me. Please. Don’t you dare leave me now.”
I blinked. My lashes felt heavy, but I forced them apart. The blurred outline of Alessandro’s face swam into focus his dark eyes rimmed red, his jaw clenched so hard it looked painful.
He was holding my hand as if letting go would kill him.
“Alessandro…” My whisper was cracked, barely a sound.
His grip tightened instantly.
“I’m here. I’m here, amore. Just… keep looking at me.”
I tried to smile but it felt weak, trembling. “You… sound like you’ve been crying.”
He gave a broken laugh, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Of course I’ve been crying. I thought I lost you. You scared the life out of me, Aurora.”
The healer cut in sharply. “She needs to rest, Alpha. She’s between worlds still.
Her wound is healing but slowly. If she slips again, she may not come back.”
Alessandro’s head snapped up. “Then what do I do? Tell me how to keep her here!”
“You can’t force it,” the healer said softly. “It has to be her choice.”
I felt Alessandro shudder against me, his voice raw when he whispered, “Then choose me, Aurora.
Please. Choose me. I can’t— I won’t survive without you.”
The word Valeri had given me burned inside my chest.
Remember.
I swallowed hard, my voice breaking.
“I saw her… Alessandro. My aunt. She told me…”
He leaned close, frantic. “What did she tell you?”
“That I had to remember,” I whispered. My fingers, weak as they were, curled into his shirt.
“Remember… why I’m still fighting. Why I can’t leave you.”
Tears fell from his eyes onto my cheek, hot and salt.
“Then don’t. Stay. Stay with me. I’ll fight every god, every curse, just don’t leave.”
The healer’s voice broke in again, firmer. “She must rest. If you want her to live, Alpha, you need to let her spirit recover.
Push her too hard and you’ll drag her back under.”
Alessandro kissed my knuckles, his voice hoarse.
“I’ll be right here.
Always.
You rest, amore.
I’ll keep you safe while you do.”
My body felt heavier and heavier. My eyelids sank shut, but I wasn’t afraid this time.
His voice, his warmth, and that single word Remember anchored me.
Just before sleep pulled me under again, I whispered, “Don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” he breathed.
“Not ever.”
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