Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 196

Aurora’s P.O.V

After dinner, Lucas ushered all of us into a room filled with toys, his voice calm but firm. "Go on, bond with each other. I'll come back when it's bedtime," he said, offering a reassuring smile before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

The moment the door latched, Ashton moved toward me with quiet urgency, his gaze sharp and warning. "Be careful with what you say," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Even the walls have ears."

My breath hitched. So they were listening. I had suspected it, but hearing Ashton confirm it sent a wave of unease through me. If they were monitoring everything, how could we speak freely? How could I communicate without risking exposure? My mind raced for a solution, but nothing came fast enough.

Just then, Violet stepped closer, her small fingers brushing against my hand. Her touch was feather light, but her words were heavy with meaning. "What they say is the opposite of what they mean," she whispered, her voice so soft I almost missed it.

I stiffened. That meant... that meant every interaction, every instruction, every seemingly kind or neutral word could be a lie. A game. A trick designed to manipulate us. My eyes met hers, searching for confirmation, and she gave a barely perceptible nod.

My heart pounded. How long had they been trapped in this twisted game? How long had they been forced to pretend? The realization settled like a weight on my chest, pressing down with an urgency I couldn't ignore. I needed to figure out a way to navigate this—fast.

Taking a steadying breath, I nodded once, a silent promise that I understood. If words couldn't be trusted, then I had to learn to read between the lines. And if that was the game they wanted to play, then I was ready to play it too.

I nod, pretending to understand, but honestly, I don’t. Not at first. Maggie’s words sound simple enough—she says she really loves being here with her family. There’s nothing strange about that, right? But then I catch the way her eyes flicker, how her fingers press together a little too tightly. It hits me like a delayed echo.

She means the exact opposite. She hates being here. She misses her real family. This is just the way we talk now, isn’t it? Twisting words into something they’re not, because saying the truth out loud might break us. 

I swallow, my throat dry. "Is your mother here too?" I ask, my voice careful, almost hesitant. 

Ashton looks at me like I’ve just asked if the sky is blue. "Of course," he says with a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. "She lives with us. We’re a happy family." 

And there it is. The shift. The moment it all clicks into place. The realization slams into me so fast that I feel almost dizzy. They’re in the same situation as me, aren’t they? Their mother is dead too. Just like mine. And just like me, they’re playing along, speaking in riddles, pretending that everything is fine when it’s anything but. 

I don’t say anything. I don’t have to. The weight of it settles between us, heavy and unspoken.

I leaned forward, my voice light with curiosity, but I had to find the truth. "Do…your moms…ever read you stories at night?" 

Silence. An eerie, weighty silence. 

They all looked at each other, their expressions shifting—haunted, hollow, something deeper lurking beneath their eyes. I felt the shift in the air before they even spoke. 

"Our mothers don’t like reading stories," one of them finally muttered, Avery, her voice flat, emotionless. 

"But Daddy does," another added, a small, almost forced smile tugging at their lips. "Daddy reads to us every night." 

My breath hitched. Something about the way they said it, the way they all seemed to share some unspoken understanding, made my skin crawl. A slow, creeping dread spread through me, and I could feel my hands start to tremble. 

Does that mean that Lucas…had done the same to their mothers as he has with mine? Are their mothers too sealed in glass coffins…locked in eternal death but unable to find peace?

"What’s going on?" My voice came out weak, barely above a whisper. "Why—why are you saying it like that?" 

Before I could pull away, Ashton’s hand found mine, firm but warm. "Shh, it’s okay," he murmured, squeezing gently. "You don’t have to be scared."  

The others moved in, their hands linking together, forming a circle around me. Their faces, so calm, so sure and filled with determination. "We’ll all be together soon," they whispered in unison. "A big, happy family." 

My pulse pounded in my ears. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. But I couldn't move. I was trapped in their circle, in their words, in something I didn't understand but knew, deep in my bones, wasn’t right.

I stood frozen, heart racing, feeling like the walls were closing in. It was as if the words being spoken weren’t meant for me to understand. Their cryptic tones only made it worse, as though they were deliberately twisting the air around me, forcing me to breathe in confusion.

"Harmona’s coming," one of them muttered, their voice low, as if I wasn’t supposed to hear it.

"Things are about to change."

I stared at them, my mouth dry, unsure of whether I should speak up or stay silent. I felt like I was being toyed with. Was this a test? Were they speaking in riddles on purpose? Or was it something more sinister? The knot in my stomach tightened with every passing second.

I wanted to ask what they meant, what was really happening, but my voice got stuck in my throat. "What’s happening?" I finally whispered, barely able to breathe as panic began to claw its way up my chest. My fingers curled into fists, and I couldn't stop the trembling that started in my hands and spread through my whole body.

The room felt suffocating, the tension unbearable. The way they looked at each other… It was like they were waiting for something, or someone. But I couldn’t tell if they were speaking plainly or if there was some deeper meaning behind their words. I had no idea who or what they were waiting for. And then, suddenly, the door opened.

Harmona and Lucas stepped in. It felt like a moment of relief, though I wasn’t sure why. Harmona’s cold eyes met mine, and Lucas, smiled at us with that eerie smile of his.

"Time to go," Harmona said sharply, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife. "It’s time to head to bed now."

I looked at the others and they gave me subtle small nods, telling me that it was okay.

Before I knew it, they were taking us all away, guiding us with a forcefulness that left no room for argument. I didn’t want to be left behind, but I felt paralyzed, unable to move, to make sense of what was unfolding in front of me.

Finally, Harmona grabbed my arm and began to drag me back to the room where I had come from. And all the while, I couldn’t find a single open window so I could see what was happening outside or where we were.

This house, no matter how big and grand, felt like a prison trapped in an entirely different time.