Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 376

Aurora’s P.O.V

Centuries of work? What on earth was happening? What was Avery even talking about?

“I—” I started, my throat tightening. “I didn’t know what you’re tal—”

“LIES!” she roared, and the sound reverberated through the trees, making the ground tremble beneath me. “You knew. You knew, and you still chose them over us. You betrayed everything I stood for. Everything we were!”

Before I could say another word, she was suddenly right in front of me—too fast—and then—

Her foot collided with my stomach so hard that the air punched out of my lungs. I gasped, folding in on myself as the pain exploded through me like wildfire. I hit the ground, gravel scraping at my skin, and instinctively tried to curl up, to shield myself.

But she didn’t stop.

Another kick. Then another. Fists rained down on me, hard, sharp, cruel. It was far stronger that Avery could’ve ever been. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel—the thudding pain, the wetness of blood on my tongue, the cold bite of the earth below me.

“Please,” I whimpered through the agony, trying to protect my face with my arms, “please stop—Avery, if there's even a part of you left—”

“Don’t say my name!” she snarled, and her hand wrapped around my throat, squeezing hard enough that black began to bloom at the edges of my vision. “You don’t deserve to speak it.”

I was choking. Drowning. My legs kicked feebly, trying to find footing, some way to fight back. But I was weak. So weak. And all I could think was I’m going to die here.

Whatever this thing was—this shadow wearing Avery’s skin—it wasn’t going to stop until there was nothing left of me.

And the worst part?

Somewhere deep inside, a sliver of me still hoped the real Avery was in there, watching… letting it happen.

Suddenly, Avery let me go with a harsh shove, the sound of her eerie laughter echoing through the forest. And then…she began to say something...words I couldn’t really understand. But it didn’t take me long to find out what it was.

My body convulsed with unbearable agony, the searing pain licking through my veins like fire consuming dry leaves. I could barely breathe. It felt like every cell in me was breaking apart and rebuilding itself at the same time. My hands clawed at the damp forest floor, fingernails scraping across moss and stone, desperate for something—anything—to hold onto. A scream tore from my throat, raw and full of the kind of anguish no words could ever explain. I didn’t know if it was the shift, a spell, or something entirely different, but it was ripping me apart.

And she was standing there. That twisted mirage. The one who looked exactly like Avery—but I knew she wasn’t. There was something too polished, too sinister behind that smirk. The way she looked at me with those familiar yet vacant eyes made my stomach twist. “You were never meant to survive this,” she purred, crouching beside me like a vulture ready to feast. “Weak little thing… You should’ve stayed down when you had the chance.”

I wanted to respond. I wanted to scream at her, tell her I wasn’t afraid of her, even if I was. But I couldn’t. My throat was tight, like someone had clamped invisible fingers around it. The pain was swallowing me whole.

And then—suddenly—crack! A rock flew through the air and smacked her right on the side of her head. She let out a sharp, unearthly yelp, stumbling back with a snarl. Her eyes, wide with fury, flicked toward the woods. “You’ll regret that!” she screeched, and then—before I could process what was happening—she blurred. One blink and she was gone, just a trail of wind and broken branches in her wake.

I gasped, barely aware of what just happened, only to hear the crunch of footsteps rushing toward me.

“Hey! Hey—are you okay?!” A voice—deep, breathless, and undeniably male—broke through the haze. I tried to lift my head, but it was too heavy. My limbs were jelly, my vision swimming in and out like I was submerged underwater. Still, something about that voice… It felt familiar. Comforting. Like sunlight through trees or the sound of rain on an old tin roof.

“I—” I tried to speak, but the word never made it out.

Then I saw the blur of movement again, not the woman this time—him. I think he dropped to his knees beside me. His hand—warm, solid—touched my shoulder gently.

“Aurora? Can you hear me? Stay with me, okay? Just stay with me—help’s coming. You’re going to be alright.”

I wanted to answer him. I wanted to stay. But the pain... It was too much. My head lolled to the side. The world tilted, twisted, and blurred until everything went dark and the forest melted away into silence.