Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 127

Aurora’s P.O.V

The suffocating darkness clung to me like a second skin as I bolted upright, gasping, and my lungs struggling against the thick air. Cold sweat slicked my forehead, and I pressed a trembling hand to my chest, trying to steady my breaths. But nothing helped.

The darkness was all around me, pressing down like a suffocating blanket.

“Caleb!” I called out, my voice cracking, the sound faint and swallowed by the abyss. Panic clawed at me.

“Caroline! Where are you?” My voice, though desperate, seemed to vanish the second it left my lips, devoured by the void.

I staggered to my feet, my bare toes brushing against what felt like jagged stone. Every direction was the same—black, infinite, and oppressively silent. I reached out blindly, my hands groping for something, anything, to ground me. My heart pounded wildly in my chest.

“Caleb, if you can hear me, say something!” I shouted again, louder this time, but the silence pressed back, mocking me with its weight. A shiver racked my body as I hugged myself, trying to keep from panicking.

Then I felt it—a subtle tremor beneath my feet, like the ground beneath me was alive. “What the hell is this?” I whispered, though my voice barely registered in my own ears. The tremor grew stronger, and the hard surface beneath me began to shift. It wasn’t just moving; it was… breaking. A sickening crack echoed through the void, the first real sound I’d heard, and it sent a wave of terror through me.

I stumbled, falling to my knees as the ground beneath me splintered. “No, no, no,” I muttered, crawling backward as the fissure widened.

“This can’t be happening!” My voice cracked as I screamed again for Caleb.

“Caleb! Where are you? Please!” The words felt useless, the sound muted as though the darkness was swallowing them whole.

Suddenly, the tremor turned violent. The ground beneath me tilted sharply, and I slid forward, clawing at the jagged edges for grip. My fingers scraped against the unforgiving stone, and I cried out as pain shot through my palms.

“Caleb! Caroline! Somebody!” The void answered with nothing but the terrifying rumble of the earth splitting apart. A gust of frigid air rushed up from the fissure, chilling me to my core, and for a moment, I thought I heard a voice—low, guttural, and terrifyingly close.

“Who’s there?” I croaked, my throat raw. I froze, listening, my pulse pounding in my ears. The voice came again, faint but unmistakable. A deep, mocking laugh echoed in the distance, sending a shiver down my spine.

The jagged rocks bit into my palms as I clung desperately, my breath hitching with every scrape.

"No, no, no—this isn’t happening!" I muttered, my voice cracking. The black rocks were cold and unforgiving, their edges sharp and cruel. My fingers throbbed, blood seeping from fresh cuts, but I refused to let go. Not like this. 

Just as I tried to find my footing on the cliff’s edge, a sudden burst of green light pierced the abyss below me. It wasn’t just light—it was alive, pulsing, humming with an energy that made my heart pound harder. My eyes darted downward, and there it was—a strange symbol etched in the void.

"What...?" I breathed, squinting at it. A circle with a rectangle inside, vines twisting up its sides like they had a mind of their own. The glow intensified, and the air around me seemed to hum, a low, magnetic pull tugging at my very core.

"That symbol..." My words trailed off as a cold shiver ran down my spine. I knew it. From where? I didn’t have time to think. The rocks under my grip crumbled, small chunks breaking off into the endless void below.

"No! No, no, no—please, not now!" I screamed, tears burning hot against my cheeks as my fingers slipped another inch. 

The pull of the symbol grew stronger, like invisible hands reaching for me. I dug my nails into the crumbling surface, desperate to fight against whatever was drawing me in.

"Stop!" I shouted at the light, as if it could hear me. My arms trembled violently, every muscle straining, but it was no use. The pull was relentless. My hands slipped. 

And I fell. 

A scream ripped from my throat as the green light swallowed me whole. My body plummeted through the chasm, weightless yet heavy, the air itself thick and electric. I spun, flailing, trying to grab onto something—anything—but there was only the suffocating glow of that cursed symbol. 

"What do you want from me?" I choked out, my voice lost in the rushing wind and the eerie hum of the light. The symbol grew larger, closer, its intricate vines seeming to writhe as I hurtled toward it.

Before I could even attempt to brace myself, the circle and its glowing rectangle engulfed me. The light burned—sharp and searing, yet cold, like ice crawling under my skin. My scream died in my throat as the world shattered into nothingness.

I woke with a start, my chest heaving as the remnants of the nightmare clawed at the edges of my mind. Blinking, I tried to make sense of my surroundings, only to find Caleb hovering over me, his hands on my shoulders as if he was trying to shake me awake.

Jade hovered in my peripheral vision, as did Caroline, her eyes brimming with concern. And then there was Damien, standing to the side, a frown on his face.

“What the... what’s going on?” My voice came out hoarse, like I hadn’t spoken in hours. I pushed myself up, wincing at the stiffness in my muscles. “Why are all of you here? What happened?”

Caleb leaned forward, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “That’s what we were hoping you could tell us, Aurora.”

“Me?” I frowned, confusion washing over me. “What do you mean? I don’t remember—”

“You were sleepwalking,” Caleb interrupted, his tone sharper than I expected. “We found you wandering the hallway, calling out for Caroline and me. You almost fell down the stairs.”

My breath hitched. “What?” I stared at him, searching his face for any hint of a joke, but there was none. “I don’t sleepwalk. I’ve never—”

But my voice fell short when I found myself at the base of the staircase to the main pack house, propped up against the stairs as everyone surrounded me.

“You almost fell, Aurora,” Caleb said again, his voice firm but laced with something softer. Concern, maybe. “If I hadn’t caught you in time...”

“I don’t—” My words faltered as I tried to process what he was saying. “I don’t remember any of that. I just... I was dreaming. That’s all I remember.”

“You were screaming our names,” Caleb said, his voice softer now. “Over and over.”

“Do you remember why?” Jade’s voice was quieter than usual as he leaned forward. “Why were you calling for them?”

“I don’t know!” I exclaimed, frustration bubbling to the surface. “I just... I don’t know! One minute I was dreaming, and the next, I’m here with all of you staring at me like I’ve lost my mind!”

“No one’s saying you’ve lost your mind,” Damien interjected, his tone calm but firm. “But this isn’t exactly normal, Aurora. Sleepwalking, calling for people, almost getting yourself killed—none of this is normal.”

“Damien,” Caroline snapped softly, shooting him a look.

He shrugged. “What? She deserves the truth.”

I buried my face in my hands, my mind racing. Sleepwalking? Screaming for Caleb and Caroline? Almost falling down the stairs? None of it made sense.

“This doesn’t happen to me,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. “This has never happened to me.”

“It’s happening now, Aurora,” Caleb said quietly. “And we need to figure out why.”