Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 382

Aurora’s P.O.V

Both Caleb and Caroline exchanged another glance, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something—something like relief—before Caleb turned to me, his expression more serious than I had ever seen it.

“How did you know?” he asked, his voice tight with curiosity and apprehension.

I couldn’t hold back a bitter laugh. “How did I know?” I echoed, the weight of the truth settling in like a stone in my gut. “There’s no point in hiding truths anymore, Caleb. I’ve known for a while. And honestly, it’s time we all stopped hiding things from each other. Because, clearly, you had the same suspicions, but choose to stay quiet.”

Caroline’s lips parted, like she was about to say something, but I cut her off, my patience thinning.

“Listen," I said, my voice firm, the need to speak the truth bubbling up. "Let’ forget about the past and focus on the now. I think Ashton didn’t just pass Alice’s test—he cheated it. Somehow, he managed to pull something off, and someone’s helping him. I don’t know who, and I don’t know the how’s either, but we have to find out, and soon.”

Caleb’s face grew pale, and Caroline looked like she was trying to make sense of everything I was saying, piecing it together in her head.

“So you think someone helped Ashton cheat the test?” Caleb asked, his voice quieter now, more tentative.

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “Exactly. He couldn’t have done it alone. Whoever it is, they’re smart, and they’ve been covering their tracks. And it’s not just about the test—it’s about what comes after. They’re planning something. Something that’s going to change everything. And we’re not ready for it.”

“What do you mean?” Caleb’s frown deepened. “You know something else, don’t you?”

“I do.” I nodded. “But I wasn’t sure about it until last night. Because last night, when I woke up in the middle of the night, Maggie and Ashton were gone, and I knew I had to follow them. But here’s the thing—there was a reason I did that.”

Caleb frowned. “What reason?”

I took a step closer, lowering my voice like I was sharing a secret. "Last night…when I went out to follow behind Ashton and Maggie…I remembered the time on the clock. It was past two in the morning.”

“Past two?” Caroline’s brows furrowed even further…before realization slowly dawned on her face. “You mean…?”

“Witching Hour.”

I never could have imagined how much a simple piece of information could turn my world upside down. Avery had warned me, her voice a mix of concern and something else that I couldn’t quite place, when she told me about Ashton and Maggie. The way she said it—like she had been holding this knowledge for a long time and couldn't keep it to herself any longer—stuck with me. She said that every night, around 2 in the morning, Ashton and Maggie would vanish. Disappear. They would return hours later, usually just before dawn. At first, I thought it was some sort of bizarre coincidence or maybe just one of those things people do when they need their own space. But Avery was insistent.

But now, the story was starting to take an ugly turn, because Witching Hour was when a witches powers was said to be at the strongest, and if that was the case, then it could very well mean that Ashton and Maggie never stopped practicing the magic from Harmona’s spell books. But if that was the case, how did using black magic not taint their auras? How did Ashton avoid being detected? The more I thought about it…the more it felt like we had made a huge mistake bringing Ashton and Maggie into the pack.

Caleb and Caroline stared at me as I explained my theory to them, telling them everything that I knew from Avery. The air was so heavy with anticipation that I could barely breathe. They had both been listening intently, their eyes narrowing as I spoke, but it was only when I mentioned Avery that I saw their expressions change.

“Avery… She was standing there, looking at me, and something was off.” I told them. “It wasn’t just the way she held herself or the tension in her body—it was her eyes. The moment I looked into them, I felt the air around me shift, the same eerie glow that I had once seen in Lucas’s eyes. That was the most bizarre part.”