Chapter 6 His Words Against My Thoughts

Aurora's POV

The knock never came.

The door burst open, the loud crack of it hitting the wall echoed across the room like a war drum. My heart didn't flinch. I had been waiting.

I knew he would come here anytime soon. After all, it is not my presence that he seeks but he's afraid that I might miss every important thing that we should have paid our attention to.

He is after the responsibility and the name I uphold... not the presence of his wife. In fact, he might have enjoyed the small smile and butterflies in his stomach while he spent his days with that woman. I am just a spare he seeks when he needs someone to show up for him.

Alexander stormed in, his tall frame cloaked in fury, his jaw locked tight, eyes glowing with Alpha rage.

I didn't move from my bed. I remained beneath the sheets, my back resting against the headboard, a cup of now-cold tea in my hand.

"Why are you still in bed?" he snapped. "It's nearly midday. You've missed council meetings. You've missed your duties as Luna."

I took a slow sip of the tea. Bitterness coated my tongue, but I drank it anyway.

Why would he come here to shout at me about some fuck ass obligations when he was the one who were out there doing some hunting to come running home to the arms of his mistress.

"You seem to have someone else by your side now," I said calmly, placing the cup on the nightstand. "Why don't you ask your mistress to do it for me? I assume she'll be taking my position soon, won't she?"

His eyes flared.

"So that's what this is about?" he growled. "You're sulking over gossip?"

Oh, but the gossip is accompanied by his actions. I won't be getting mad over some stupid stories that our maids or our people made...

It was his own decisions that had led me to this. It was him who made me spiral over silly stuffs that I shouldn't be worrying about.

I am turning into this petty woman who is afraid to lose her husband.

I met his glare with terrifying serenity. "Oh, I'm not sulking, Alexander. I'm simply stepping aside. Giving space where I'm clearly no longer needed."

His hands balled into fists. "Nova is not what you think."

I raised an eyebrow. "No? She's not the woman who arrived with you. Who shares your scent. Who now sleeps in a suite adjacent to yours? Enlighten me."

"How would I interpret things, huh?" I laughed wryly so as to mock the words he had just uttered in front of me.

"How would a good woman like me think when it was all clear?"

He stepped closer, eyes narrowing as he lowered his voice. "Nova is... fragile. She's an omega. She's been through things you can't imagine, Aurora. She needs protection. Care."

I do not like the space between us...

I tilted my head, my voice as soft as silk and twice as dangerous. "And that care involves bringing her into your bed? That care involves you prioritizing her over me?"

His silence was answer enough.

But he recovered quickly-he always did.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be," he said, switching tones like a master manipulator. "She's not a threat to you. She looks up to you, Aurora. She's not here to replace you. She needs kindness, not jealousy."

"Jealousy?" I let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You humiliate me in front of the entire pack, and now I'm the jealous one?"

"She's not strong like you," he said, stepping even closer, trying to shift the guilt onto my shoulders like a cloak I never asked to wear. "You're Luna for a reason. You carry the title, the bloodline. You can handle this. She can't."

So now I was to be the understanding Luna. The silent, supportive wife who smiled politely as her husband took in broken little girls under his wing.

No. I will never move an inch to be his little toy... the one who would obey his orders.

I met his gaze, spine straight, voice colder than steel. "Then let her have you. Let her have the warmth of your protection. The strength of your attention. But do not expect me to play house while you make a fool of me."

"All I ever wanted was for the two of you to get along. Nova is kind..." He said, as if she was not the same woman who stumbled in front of me. God knows, she must have done it on purpose to make sure that I will be stripped off of my composure.

"She is not my responsibility. Do I have to nurse her? She is a grown up woman." I stared blankly at his eyes.

"I do not need to keep her entertained nor teach her how to behave the way I do. I was like this because I was born and raised to be one. I know you wouldn't desire to have another woman who behaves exactly like me." I rolled my eyes and sighed in the thoughts that had been occupying my head.

Something flickered in his eyes-frustration, perhaps even guilt. But I didn't care.

Let him stew in it.

"I'm not your enemy, Aurora," he said, his tone low, pleading in disguise.

"No," I said softly, "you're just not my Alpha anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He acted as if my words weren't understandable enough for a smart man like him.

"I assume you would have already known, Alexander." I rested my face in my usual aura, avoiding to show him any emotions that might have dignified whatever manipulation tricks he had prepared up his sleeves to keep me under control in his wing.

And with that, I turned away, pulling the sheets over my body like armor.

He stood there for a long moment, unsure if he should speak again. But he didn't.

He left.

And the door, this time, clicked shut behind him.