Chapter Two – The Escape
Aurora didn't stop running until the night air hit her lungs. She burst out of the ballroom's side doors, her heels skidding across the stone steps as she clutched the skirts of her dress. The cold wind whipped her face, sharp enough to sting, but it couldn't cool the fire crawling beneath her skin.
Her chest ached with every breath, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might crack her ribs. And still, that word echoed through her head, louder than the music, louder than her thoughts.
Mine.
She staggered to a halt in the courtyard, clutching her chest, trying to force air into her lungs. Her vision swam, her body trembling as though it belonged to someone else. She wanted to laugh, to cry, to scream. None of it made sense. Who was he? What had just happened?
"Aurora!"
She turned sharply. Her friend came rushing from the shadows, skirts hiked up, eyes wide with terror. Relief surged through Aurora's veins.
"Thank God," she gasped, stumbling toward her. "I—I don't understand, he—"
Her friend gripped her arms tightly, cutting her off. "No time. We need to move. Now."
Aurora's stomach knotted. "Move? Why? Who was—"
The ballroom doors exploded open behind them with a deafening crack.
Aurora froze, her blood running cold.
He stepped out.
The Demon Alpha.
The sight of him against the moonlight made her knees weak. Broad shoulders, towering height, eyes glowing faintly gold, catching her in their snare. His presence rolled over her like a tide of fire and shadow, and she couldn't breathe.
Her friend swore under her breath, tugging Aurora's hand. "Don't look at him. Run!"
Aurora stumbled after her, her legs barely obeying. They bolted down the cobblestone path, skirts tearing against the stones, her lungs screaming for air. Behind them, a sound rumbled through the night.
A growl.
Not human.
"Don't touch her!" he roared, his voice splitting the air.
Aurora flinched, her heart lurching. He was angry—no, furious. And his voice, that snarl layered with something inhuman, shook her to the core.
Her friend yanked her around a corner, dragging her into the narrow passageway behind the ballroom. The shadows closed in around them, the noise of the party swallowed whole. Aurora pressed her back against the wall, trembling violently.
"What—what is happening?" she gasped. "What is he?"
Her friend's jaw tightened. "Not now. You just need to trust me. Stay quiet."
But the air shifted again, heavy and suffocating, pressing down on her chest. His voice slithered through the dark, low and lethal.
"Do you think you can hide her from me?"
Aurora's stomach plummeted. He was close. Too close.
Her friend stepped in front of her, protective. "She's not yours. Leave her alone!"
The silence that followed was razor-sharp. Then came the sound—low, guttural, a growl that seemed to rattle the stones beneath their feet.
"Touch her again," he snarled, "and I will tear you apart."
Aurora's hands flew to her mouth, stifling a cry. His voice made her body shake with something she couldn't name—fear, yes, but also… something darker.
Then he moved.
So fast she barely saw it, his hand shot forward, seizing her wrist in an iron grip. Aurora screamed, thrashing, the heat of his skin branding hers.
"Mine," he growled, pulling her closer, his eyes blazing like fire. "You can feel it. Don't fight it."
Her heart pounded in terror. "Let me go!"
Her friend acted without hesitation. She slammed into him from the side, and though the Alpha barely staggered, it was enough. Aurora twisted, her heel striking his shin as she wrenched herself free. Pain seared her ankle, but she didn't care.
"Run!" her friend shouted.
And they did.
Aurora's legs screamed with every step, her lungs burning, but the will to survive carried her forward. Behind them, his roar ripped through the night.
It was not a sound any human should hear. Raw, feral, endless—it shook the earth beneath their feet, shattered the silence of the night, and sent birds scattering from the treetops.
Aurora didn't dare look back. She ran until the shadows swallowed them whole, her pulse thundering, her breath ragged.
And behind her, the Demon Alpha's roar rolled through the darkness, not just a sound but a vow.
He didn't know her name. He didn't know who she was.
But he would.
And when he found her again, there would be no escape.