Chapter 298

AURORA

I needed air, a minute free from the weight of decisions weighing me down. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting shadows along the ground. My mind circled back, as it eternally did, to Dane, to the frail outline of his body in my memory.

“Luna,” Rowan called, his voice breaking into my thoughts. I turned to see him coming, Lila at his side; she seemed hurt, limping and with a bandage around her head. I didn’t bother to ask her how it happened. Nerves were betrayed in every angle; his eyes flickered from mine down toward the ground. “I need to talk to you.”

“Does it involve more bad news?” I asked, my voice sharper than I had intended.

Rowan flinched but stood his ground. “No, not bad news… At least, I hope not.”

Lila prodded him forward with her elbow, nudging him onward.

“We’ve been looking into the contacts that Calla had,” Rowan said, his voice firming up. “Lila and I have been researching the archives, hoping we’d find something to help us in strengthening pack defenses.”

I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. “And?”

Rowan was slower to continue. “We found some old maps and documents that suggested Calla may have been in league with a rogue network, working close to our borders.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You’re sure?”

Lila spoke this time, her tone even and soothing. “The evidence is strong, mentioning key locations and names we have heard before.”

I watched them closely. Nobody showed hesitation; nobody looked uncertain. “And what, precisely, do you plan to do with this information?”

Rowan stepped forward. “We will strategize and use this to protect the pack.”

I let out a sigh, my face softening. “You’re trying to prove yourself to the pack, aren’t you?”

“Not just to the pack,” Rowan said, correcting my tone with softness to his voice. “To myself… come with us, we will show you in the archives.”

My curiosity getting the better of my doubts, I followed them to the archives. The room was covered with aged paper and dust, record after record from battles, alliances, and treasons lining every shelf. Lila and Rowan moved efficiently, their focus in one place, until they stopped.

“Here,” Lila said, pulling out a worn map. “It’s this region; it matched one of the coordinates from the files.”

Rowan was leaning over her shoulder, his face darkening. “This is where she’s been recruiting,” he muttered.

“Rowan,” I said, my voice cutting through their focus. I looked at him, and a glint of pride in his eyes, as though he felt like I would just forget all he had done. I cleared my throat and said, “This information is well and good, but it doesn’t erase your past. You need to tread carefully.”

He looked up, his eyes finding mine. “I’m not trying to erase anything, Luna. I’m trying to push forward. And maybe, maybe help you do the same.”

My breath caught. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve been shouldering the weight of Dane’s illness and the burdens of the pack alone,” Rowan said, his voice low with sincerity. “This is me trying to take some of that weight off, even if it’s just a little.”

I blinked in surprise. Before I could utter a word, Lila chimed in. “Rowan’s coming from a good place, Luna. And this find could prove to be a game changer.”

The more they worked, the further back I stepped, watching. There was just this silent understanding between them, a quiet rhythm, almost to how they worked off each other.

“You two, you don’t even need me in here,” I half-joked, but somehow, the words sliced into a grain of truth.

Rowan turned to me then, his expression unreadable. “We need you more now than ever, Luna. You have kept us stuck together.”

“Even when I feel like I’m falling apart?” I whispered.

“Especially then,” Rowan said, his tone unwavering.

I smiled for the first time in what felt like days. “You’ve changed, Rowan.”

“I had to,” he said matter-of-factly.

Well along in the afternoon, Rowan and Lila stumbled upon a piece of paper with a name that stopped my breath. “This can’t be,” I whispered, eyes glued to the parchment.

“What is it?” Lila asked, curious.

I swallowed, my throat tying up in knots. “It’s a name I haven’t seen in years. Someone from… before Dane and I took over the pack. Someone dangerous.”

Rowan leaned in closer. “Who?”

I kept mute, staring down at it. It was Rowan who finally broke the silence. “Luna, what does this mean? Who is this person?”

I stammered, the words sticking in my throat. “It’s someone I thought I’d never have to deal with again,” I finally said, much softer than I had meant. “A ghost of our past, one I’d hoped would never come back.”

Lila furrowed a brow, interested. “But since they have to do with Calla, should we not grab onto that and take advantage of it? Just maybe, that’s the door we find about whatever she has to do with…”

I shook my head vigorously, though inside my heart tore in halves. “Later. Dane needs us first. With every hour, he is getting worse and this…” I waved at the paper. “…may wait.”

His face was set in a determined expression, with a hint of sympathy and understanding. “Aurora, you have carried so much for this pack. You don’t have to do it alone anymore. Let us take this on while you focus on Dane.”

I met his gaze, and for the first time in a while, let myself lean into the support he was lending. “You’ve matured, Rowan,” I said softly. “Maybe I do need your help.”

Turning to leave, Rowan’s voice called after me, solid and sure. “We’ll take care of it, Luna. You have my word.”

As I walked back toward the packhouse, that name wouldn’t be shaken from my mind. “This changes everything,” I muttered, my chest coiling tight with dread. “But I can’t face it until Dane is safe.”

I shook my head. “Once again, it is not important right now. Dane’s condition takes precedence. We can deal with that once he is stable.”