Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 393

Aurora’s P.O.V

Everything suddenly felt too loud. The walls of the room were closing in on me, the air thick and heavy, suffocating me like I was drowning in a sea of my own thoughts. My chest tightened, my ears rang, and I could feel my heartbeat pounding like a war drum against my ribcage. Caleb was still talking to Damien, but I couldn’t hear a single word.

His voice sounded far away, distorted like it was coming from underwater. My hands trembled, and I clutched the edge of the table, trying to anchor myself, but even that wasn’t enough.

“I need air,” I whispered, barely managing to get the words out. My voice cracked, and my eyes stung. I didn’t wait for him to respond. I turned and bolted.

“Aurora—” I heard him call out behind me, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.

I tore through the hallway, past the pack members who stared at me with wide eyes, but I didn’t care. My vision blurred, not just from the tears welling up, but from the sheer weight pressing down on my mind. I pushed open the front doors with all the strength I had left and took off into the woods, the cool evening air hitting my face like a slap.

Branches scratched my arms, thorns tugged at my jeans, but I kept running. The forest floor was uneven, but I didn’t slow down. I needed to get away—from the accusations, the pressure, the voices in my head that wouldn't shut up. The wind rushed past me, tangling in my hair, but it still wasn’t enough. My lungs screamed, begged me to stop, but I didn’t listen.

Then I saw it.

The shoreline.

It shimmered in the distance like a promise—wild, free, un-judging. My legs moved faster, almost on their own, as if they knew it was the only place left for me to go. My feet hit the sand and finally, finally, I collapsed. I dropped to my knees and then to my side, curling into myself as the sobs finally came.

Hard, ugly, painful sobs that racked my whole body. I was drenched in sweat, the salt from my tears mixing with the ocean breeze, and I didn’t know what part of me hurt more—my body or my heart.

It felt like the world was pressing down on me, like I had to remember how to be a person again. The sand stuck to my skin, gritty and cold, but I didn’t move. I didn’t want to be touched, I didn’t want to be asked if I was okay. I wanted to scream at the sea, but I didn’t even have the energy to lift my voice.

I looked up slowly, my vision hazy, and stared at the waves. They were crashing violently tonight, wild and angry. Persistent. Free. My limbs feel heavy, like they didn’t belong to me, but I managed to sit up, trembling as I did. My fingers dug into the sand as I forced myself to my feet. The wind pulled at me like a familiar hand, guiding me forward.

I started walking toward the water, each step slow and unsteady. I didn’t know what I was doing—I just knew I couldn’t stay still. The sea pulled at something inside me, something desperate and aching. I wanted to drown in it. Not to die, but to disappear, even if just for a moment. I wanted it to wash away everything: the fear, the pressure, the identity that felt too heavy for me to carry. I wanted to feel weightless again.

Just a moment. Just one moment where I didn’t have to be anything for anyone. Is that too much to ask?

The wind howled like a wounded animal, whipping my hair across my face as I stood at the edge of the shore. The sky above was a smudged painting of gray and blue, and the waves were crashing like they had a personal vendetta against the earth. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t care. My feet sank into the cold, wet sand as I stepped forward, deeper into the water. The chill of the ocean bit at my skin, but I welcomed it. At least it was something. Something to feel. Something to remind me I was still alive.

I didn’t realize how far I’d gone. Or maybe I did, and I just didn’t care. The waves roared and pulled, almost like they could sense the storm inside me and wanted to merge with it. I let myself go under. I didn’t resist. The water was heavy, but oddly gentle, cradling me as everything else disappeared—the voices, the memories, the ache in my chest. All gone.

And then, suddenly, something—no, someone—grabbed my arm.

I came up coughing and sputtering, my eyes stinging with saltwater as I was hauled back through the surf like a rag doll. Cold air slapped me across the face, and the next thing I knew, I was back on the sand, my chest heaving as I tried to breathe again. The sky spun. My heart pounded. And then I heard him.

“What the hell were you thinking, Aurora?” Caleb’s voice cracked like thunder, rough and desperate. “You could’ve died out there!”

I blinked up at him, his face twisted with fury and something far deeper—fear. His hands were shaking, still wet from the ocean, and his eyes were wide, wild. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t trying to die. Not really. I think. I just—needed a break from the pain.

“I…” My voice was barely a whisper. “I didn’t realize. I wasn’t thinking. I just—I feel so numb, Caleb. Everything hurts, and nothing makes sense anymore.”

He stepped back, dragging a hand through his soaked hair, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. “So you decided to walk into the ocean during high tide? Is that how you deal with it now?” His voice cracked. “You didn’t think for one second what it would do to me if I lost you?”

My eyes welled up. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

He knelt beside me, gripping my arms tightly, like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go. “Have you really been so overcome by grief and confusion that you forgot I’m still here? That I still need you? That I would have to wake up tomorrow knowing I couldn’t save you?”

That did it. The wall I’d so carefully built crumbled, and the sobs tore out of me without warning. I folded into myself, my face in my hands as everything poured out—everything I’d kept buried for so long.

“Any family I think I have… they just end up hurting me,” I cried. “They use me, lie to me, twist everything until I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m so tired of being let down. Of feeling like I don’t belong anywhere.”

Caleb didn’t say anything at first. He just wrapped his arms around me and held me like he was piecing me back together. His warmth anchored me, even as the wind screamed around us.

“You’re my mate,” he said finally, his voice soft but fierce. “I’m your family too, Aurora. I’ve been here. I’ve always been here. And I’m not going anywhere. You hear me? I don’t care how broken you think you are. I’m not giving up on you. I won’t ever betray you.”

I clung to him, my tears soaking his shirt as the winds howled in the distance, but for the moment…it didn’t hurt as much anymore.