Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 372

Aurora’s P.O.V

I had thought, at first, that the skeletal form was running away from me. My heart raced as I tried to chase it, though the dizziness from the alcohol still clung to my senses, making every step a challenge. The figure moved with unnatural speed, the sharp angles of its bones slicing through the night air. But as I followed, my instincts screamed at me. No, it wasn’t running from me—it was running toward something. I wasn’t the one being hunted. It was meant to lead me somewhere.

The form came out of the packhouse, gliding like it was weightless, its bony limbs outstretched. It didn’t move like a person at all. It wasn’t running; it was floating. And despite how wrong everything felt—despite how sick I felt, how my vision swayed—I couldn’t stop following it. There was something magnetic about it. It called to me, luring me, and I had no choice but to heed the summons.

“Wait!” I shouted, my voice trembling, but the shadow didn’t respond. Instead, it gave a low, eerie laugh that seemed to echo in the trees around me. It was so chilling that I shivered, but I pressed on, forcing myself to take one step after another, pushing against the fatigue pulling at me.

The figure darted into the woods behind the packhouse, just beyond the edge of the clearing, the silhouette barely visible against the thick trees. My heart pounded, and I stumbled slightly, trying to maintain my balance. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of earth and moss. I barely noticed the branches scraping at my skin as I followed, my eyes fixed on the shadow ahead of me, which was already vanishing into the distance.

It moved faster, effortlessly drifting between the trees, and though I should have been afraid—I was afraid—there was a part of me that felt… complicit. Like this was a path I had to walk. My body screamed at me to stop, to turn back, but my feet kept moving, the pull of the shadow too strong to resist.

Eventually, we reached the gazebo—an old, weathered structure at the edge of the forest, now cloaked in darkness. It used to be a place of light, of laughter, of joy. I had memories of sitting there with Caleb, watching the lotuses bloom and their fragrance spread through the woods under the moonlight. But tonight, it felt wrong. I barely had time to process it before the figure lunged forward, diving into the lotus pond that lay just beyond the gazebo.

My breath caught in my throat as I sprinted forward, my legs moving as fast as they could, but still, I was too slow. My pulse raced, the sound of my heartbeat deafening in my ears. I reached the pond just as the shadow dipped beneath the surface, vanishing into the dark waters. I leaned over the edge, my fingers brushing the cool, slick stones, trying to peer into the blackness.

But the water wasn’t water anymore.

It was… blood.

The pond had turned into a deep, sickening crimson. My stomach churned, nausea rising within me as I stepped back, my vision swimming. I staggered, trying to steady myself, but it wasn’t the dizziness this time. It was the horror creeping into my bones, into my very soul. What had happened? What was this?

And then I saw it.

The bodies.

At first, it was just a ripple, something subtle in the water. But then, as the body of the shadow sunk lower, I saw the faces. My heart froze.

Alpha Camden. His usually proud, strong face was pale, lifeless, his body floating limply in the blood-red water.

Luna Maya. Her face twisted in a final expression of terror, her eyes wide open, staring at nothing.

Mia. I gasped. Mia’s delicate features, once filled with so much life and fire, now too still, too cold, too unnatural.

And then…

Caleb.

I couldn’t breathe. The air was suddenly too thick, too heavy, suffocating. My chest constricted as I stumbled back, my legs giving out beneath me. I couldn’t look away from Caleb, his body as lifeless as the others, his eyes closed, his face blank.

No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening. Why them? Why here?

“W-What... what happened?” My voice was barely a whisper, but the sound of it seemed to echo off the trees, bouncing back at me like an answer that wouldn’t come.

I fell to my knees, my hands trembling as they hovered over the water, unsure whether I should touch it, as if somehow that would bring everything back to life. But I knew better. I knew that nothing could fix this. The damage had already been done. They were gone. They were all gone.

And somewhere, hidden in the shadows of the woods, the thing that had led me here—whatever it was—was watching. I could feel its gaze, cold and unrelenting, even though I couldn’t see it. But I knew it was there. And now, I was trapped in this nightmare, with no way out.