At the mont, the wind stilled.
And so did Aurelius.
She watched him closely with trembling eyes, waiting for any deep reaction.
Anything. He just stared at her.
"Theo...dora?" He repeated slowly, like his tongue had forgotten how to work. The na tasted different in his mouth.
Then, his eyes dragged over her. Like, he really stared at her like it was his first ti seeing her because in a way, it kind of was. Everything he had ever assud, analysed and argued about her burned into ash before his eyes.
And then, it really hit him.
He was staring at a girl. A woman.
"You’re...," His voice cracked sharply, "You’re a girl?" He sounded stupid, yes, but he didn’t know what else to say.
Theo swallowed again, "Yes, I’ve been hiding it since the day I got here,"
Silence settled between them again.
The wind picked up again, carrying her scent and wrapping it around his nose.
Pine, with a dash of jasmine. His whole body reacted like he had just been struck by lightning - his muscles tensed, his heart skipped, and his wolf paced restlessly inside of him.
For a mont, he looked furious with himself.
Then, he took a step closer to her. When he was too close and still approaching, she naturally backed away till her back softly hit a nearby rock.
"You...," His voice sounded rough, and the smug look was completely gone, "Do you even know what you’ve done? Of all places to go...,"
"This was the perfect place for , Aurelius," She cut him off, "I had no other choice but to co here, or I would...," She clenched her teeth, "I would have been married to Cain by now. Tell , if you were in my shoes, would you just sit there and allow yourself to be bound to the monster like him?"
Aurelius went still again, with sothing complicated behind his stare.
Then, recognition flared in his eyes.
"So that’s the reason why," He murmured, "You’re Darius’s daughter that ran away and hasn’t been found...yet,"
"I won’t ever be found," She stated.
"Wishful thinking, Redhead," He replied.
The tension between them thickened, and Aurelius leaned in till their breath mingled. He was close enough that the heat of him seeped into her skin.
His voice dropped even lower, even rougher, like sothing feral was ready to slip through, "I slled you, you know - your real scent,"
She subconsciously pressed her back harder against the stone.
"And it drove my wolf insane. I thought I was losing my mind," He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
She stilled again.
His eyes swept her face slowly, lingering on her lips longer than they should have, and sothing inside him snapped.
Sothing instinctive.
Sothing primal.
"You fought off an entire pack of Second-years," he whispered, his hand bracing beside her head on the rock behind her, "You challenged them. Dominated them,"
"I’m not denying that. Plus, they didn’t give a choice,"
"And You’re a damn Silver Wolf," he said, almost reverently, "And a female one at that. Do you understand how rare that is?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Aurelius shook his head, almost in disbelief, "No. I don’t think you do,"
Their eyes locked, and his voice dropped, barely audible, "Do you have any idea what you’ve put yourself in the middle of, Theodora?"
Her na in his mouth made her knees weaken.
Theo swallowed hard, "I’m trying to survive. That’s all."
Aurelius stared at her for a long mont, then he let out a long and deep exhale.
His next words caught her unexpectedly, "Why didn’t you tell before?"
She stared at him with wide eyes. His eyes were soft and warm, but he looked pained.
"I...I...," She didn’t know what to say, "I didn’t think it was the right move to tell you,"
"You didn’t trust ,"
"Well yeah, I an you’re you, and it didn’t feel right to tell you,"
"Then why are you trusting now?"
"You gave no other choice,"
"Wrong," He whispered, brushing a stray stand of hair from her hair so gently it hurt, "You chose ,"
She frowned, "I didn’t choose you,"
"You had another choice apart from the ones I gave you. With your strength, you could have managed to take down and kill right here, throw over the cliff and this whole thing ends," He explained.
And then, his lips twitched into the most devastating curve, "But you didn’t, Redhead, so you chose ,"
Her breath caught, "So you brought to this location on purpose?"
"Yes,"
"Does this an...you’ll keep my secret?"
His eyes flickered mischievously, "Maybe. Maybe not,"
"Are you kidding ?"
"Maybe. Maybe not,"
"Do you always have to be annoying and full of yourself?"
He shrugged, "I’m an Alpha. Were you expecting hugs and flowers?"
She groaned, "I should have thrown you off the goddamn cliff,"
He let out a hearty laughter, "You’re too good a person to kill anyone like that,"
"Goody-two-shoes?" She murmured under her breath.
"Is that how you describe yourself?"
"No," She gritted, "It’s how a certain devil does,"
"What?"
"Don’t worry about it. Anyway, I just realised sothing. If you were able to pick up my scent, that ans the other Second-years must have realised the sa thing...Oh No! This is Terrible!"
"Yeah," He agreed, "You made a big mistake today, Redhead," Then he smiled, "But lucky for you, I’ve shoved your ss deep into the dirt,"
Her brows furrowed, her tongue darting out to lick her lips that had gone dry, "What do you an by that?"
Aurelius’s eyes followed the movent, and hunger blazed in his gaze. Quickly, he pulled back before he would do sothing she would slap him for.
Aurelius cleared his throat and swallowed.
"It ans, not only do you owe one for keeping your secret, but you owe another for cleaning your ss. You don’t have to worry about the Second-years, at all,"
She asked again, "What did you do?"
"Stop asking," He glared a little.
"Fine,"
There was another long silence, then he asked softly, "Am I the only one who knows your secret?"
She shook her head.
"Tell - who else knows?"
She sighed, "Eric knows. Eric and Finn,"
"Eric, the one you beat up earlier today. And Finn... wasn’t that the one you saw kissing another guy the other day?"
"Huh?" She looked confused, "Kissing what guy?"
"At the abandoned side of the school. The day you were drunk,"
"I don’t rember anything," She confessed.
"Why don’t you...," He stopped himself, "Anyway, Eric’s the guy you like, and Finn’s the one he’s with,"
Dread filled her eyes, "How do you know that?"
"Have you seen the way you look at him?" Aurelius chuckled.
She groaned again.
"Is that all? Eric and Finn?"
She thought about Sylas for a mont, but she wasn’t sure. Does he...or does he not? "That’s all,"
"Fine," He murmured, "Three people knowing your secret is already too much. Don’t let that number rise," His eyes dipped to her lips again, then back up, "And don’t ever shift again, unless you’re prepared to start a war,"
Her heart thudded painfully, "I won’t,"
"You will," He corrected softly, "Trouble follows you like a damn shadow, Redhead," His jaw tensed, "And it’s about to start following , too,"
"Does this an you’re going to help ?" She asked again.
"Maybe," His finger brushed the underside of her jaw, "Maybe not, little Redhead,"
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