Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 380

Aurora’s P.O.V

The sudden silence in the room made me pause as I glanced up at Caleb and Caroline, and I could feel my chest tighten with worry. I needed answers. Shane hadn’t been around much lately, especially since he’s actively trying to avoid Mia, but that wasn’t unusual. He was often busy with pack matters, out on missions or patrols. Still, something about the way Caroline and Caleb were avoiding my gaze had me on edge.

Why did they keep on calling him via a phone when they could’ve just used the mind link long ago?

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, yet carrying an urgency I couldn’t mask. "Where’s Shane? Why haven’t I heard from him? Caleb, why can’t you get hold of him using the mind link?" My heart was already racing as I said the words, the fear in my stomach growing with every passing second.

Did something happen to Shane after he rescued me? Did Ashton or that…shadow…somehow retaliate against him?

Caroline was the first to speak, her eyes soft but filled with something else—something that told me she was just as confused as I was. "Aurora, we didn’t want to worry you," she began, her tone gentle but firm, as if trying to ease me into something I wasn’t ready for. "Caleb and I thought it would be better if we didn’t say anything right away…especially with everything you went through."

I shook my head, my hand now trembling around my mug. "What do you mean? What’s going on? Is Shane okay? Please, just tell me. I—I need to know." I could feel the panic building in my chest, my breaths starting to come too fast, too shallow.

Caleb’s expression darkened, his brows furrowed as he looked at Caroline before returning his gaze to me. "Shane’s okay, this isn't about him. It’s... it’s hard to explain, Aurora," he started, his voice low and measured, the weight of his words settling in the air between us. "We woke up this morning, and everything just felt off. Like something’s... missing." His words trailed off as if he was trying to piece everything together himself, but it only made the knots in my stomach tighten.

"What do you mean by ‘off’?" I asked, my voice more insistent now, my feet taking me closer to them without thinking. "What happened? Can you please just tell me already!"

Caleb met my gaze, and I could see the strain in his eyes, the weariness. He was worried too—about something. I could feel it in the silence that hung between us. "The mental link," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it aloud made it even more real. "It’s—it's not working right. I can’t reach our packmates like I normally do. And worst of all, Aurora, I can’t reach you."

I froze, my heart dropping to my stomach. "What?" I gasped, a cold shiver running down my spine. "What do you mean you can’t reach me? My link... It’s not silent. I can still try to reach yo—" I stopped myself, trying to focus, trying to calm my racing thoughts. But the reality of what Caleb was saying hit me like a physical blow. The mating link to Caleb—our bond—was the foundation of everything. Without it, we were vulnerable. And right then…it was silent.

Caroline stepped closer, her voice soft but urgent. "We don’t know what’s happened, but we need to be prepared. Whatever’s going on, it’s not just affecting me and Caleb, but Mia and Jade too. Basically everyone at the party last night." Her gaze flicked to Caleb, and there was something in the way they looked at each other that made the fear deep in my chest spread like wildfire. They were both scared. And if they were scared, then I had every right to be terrified.

"Are you telling me that Shane is having the same problems too? Just like everyone at the party?" I couldn’t…I didn’t want to believe it. But I had to know.

Caleb shook his head, but his expression was grim. "No…we don’t know for sure. We don’t know where he’s gone to since this morning, but he’s not responding. And the link to the rest of the pack has gone silent. It’s like... like we’re disconnected. Like the link’s been severed somehow."

The weight of his words crushed me. The link wasn’t just communication—it was everything. It was the pulse that kept us connected, that kept us grounded. Without it, we were isolated, separated. And I didn’t want to imagine what that might mean for any of us.