Chapter 37: A Daughter's Burden.

Aurora’s POV

I couldn’t sleep much, Rafael’s words about Alessandro echoing in my mind. Was he truly doing all this to protect his family's reputation, or was there another reason he didn’t want Leonardo and me together?

My thoughts drifted back to the moment our eyes met. ‘What could be going on in that stubborn head of his?’ I wondered, pulling the duvet over my head, only to throw it off again a moment later.

“Was he pretending to hate me, hiding his true feelings?” I muttered aloud, the thought as absurd as it was unsettling.

I shook my head. “Stop it, Aurora. There's no way the mighty, arrogant Alessandro could have feelings for his enemy,” I told myself sternly, rolling over to glance at the bedside table.

But the thought wouldn’t leave me. ‘What if he did?’

I sat up straight, my heart racing at the thought. ‘No,’ I told myself. ‘Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. I’m with Leonardo. He’s my mate.’

With a deep sigh, I collapsed back onto my pillow. “There’s no point dwelling on something that can never happen,” I muttered, switching off my bedside lamp.

---

The next morning, a knock at the door pulled me from my restless sleep. I glanced at the clock—6 a.m. ‘Who could be knocking at this hour?’

*Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!*

Groggily, I swung my legs out of bed and shuffled to the door, barely awake. When I opened it, I was surprised to see my mother standing there.

“Mother? What are you doing here so early?”

Her expression gave her away—she looked worried, maybe even regretful. The events of last night clearly weighed heavily on her.

“Can I come in?” she asked quietly.

I hesitated. I didn’t want her in my room, but the look in her eyes made it hard to say no. With a reluctant sigh, I stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.

“Thank you,” she murmured as she walked past me and sat on the couch near the window.

I shut the door and turned to face her, arms crossed. “So, what do you want, Mother?”

She took a deep breath, her eyes avoiding mine. “I… I want to quit my drinking and drug habit.”

I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped me, rolling my eyes. ‘How many times had I heard this same speech?’

She looked up at me, confusion crossing her face. “Why did you scoff, Aurora? You don’t think I can stop?”

Leaning against the wall, I folded my arms. “You’ve said this before. When I was eleven, again at thirteen, and again when I was eighteen.

And I remember very well when you threw me out of your house because you thought I was trying to seduce your ex-husband.”

“Oh, come on, Aurora. That was a long time ago. Yes, I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but after meeting Alpha John, I want to be better. I want to be sober.”

I scoffed again, unable to stop myself. “Good luck with that, Mother.”

She sighed heavily, her eyes full of sadness. “I want to be a better Luna, a better wife to Alpha John, and a better mother to the boys. I’ve decided to go to rehab.”

I clapped slowly, mockingly. “Bravo, Mother. You finally realized that your 'annoying habits' are the reason you’ve been hopping from one man to the next. But with Dad, you cheated.”

Her expression hardened, and before I could react, she stood up and slapped me hard across the face.

I gasped, raising a hand to my stinging cheek, shock and anger flooding through me.

“Don’t you ‘dare’ mention your father,” she hissed. “You were the reason he didn’t stay. The reason we were banished from the pack.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, not from the slap, but from the pain her words caused. “I was the reason?” I whispered, my voice shaking with both sadness and fury.

“You blamed me for your infidelity when I was just a child! I was ‘only a child,’ Mom!”

She waved her hand dismissively. “If you had been a male child, your father wouldn’t have banished us so easily. He would have given me a second chance.”

“A second chance?” I snapped, my voice rising. “You would’ve cheated on him over and over again! That’s who you are!”

My words hung in the air, sharp and bitter, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t a scared little girl anymore, afraid to speak up. I was done being her scapegoat.

She turned away, staring out the window as the first light of morning filtered into the room.

“You will help me make this marriage work,” she said, her tone low and commanding.

“You’re going to fix what I’ve damaged.”

I frowned, confusion creasing my brow. “Fix the mess *you* made?”

She turned from the window, walking toward me until she was close enough to whisper in my ear.

“You will go and apologize to Alessandro on my behalf. Kneel if you have to, but don’t leave until he’s forgiven my actions. This is an order from your Luna. Understand?”

I stood there, frozen in disbelief. ‘Apologize to Alessandro?’ After everything that happened? After how she humiliated him in front of his father and brother?

“Mother,” I began, my voice shaking with both anger and confusion. “You want me to apologize to him for *your* mistakes?”

She took a step back, her eyes furrowed. “This isn’t a request, Aurora. This is an order.”

I clenched my fists, the heat of anger rising within me. “You expect me to beg Alessandro for forgiveness when he’s the one who’s been treating us like we’re beneath him? Like we’re nothing?”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “You don’t understand the politics of this pack, Aurora.

Alessandro is going to be Alpha, and whether you like it or not, we need him on our side. We need to survive here.”

I shook my head, the anger now mixing with frustration. “Survive? You think kneeling to him will make things better? He hates us! He hates *me*!”

Her gaze hardened again. “Then change his mind. Do what you have to. But you will make sure this doesn’t escalate any further. You’re part of this pack now, and your actions reflect on all of us.”

I stared at her, searching her face for any hint of the woman I once knew. But all I saw was a woman desperate to cling to her position, willing to use her own daughter as a pawn.

Without another word, she turned and left the room, leaving me standing there, stunned and seething.

I sank down onto the edge of my bed, my mind spinning. ‘Apologize to Alessandro?’

The idea made my stomach churn, but as much as I hated it, but I knew my mother didn’t care about my feelings at all.


-----

Later that morning, I found myself standing outside Alessandro’s room, my heart beating with frustration and dread.

My knuckles hovered over the door, hesitating. ‘Why should I do this? Why should I bend to him?’

But my mother’s words echoed in my head. ‘Survive.’

With a deep breath, I knocked on the door, the sound sharp and final.



Ensnared by My Stepbrothers' Realm
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