Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 404

Aurora’s P.O.V

I stood by the wall with my arms folded across my chest, the dull throb of anticipation pulsing through me like a second heartbeat. It had been half an hour—thirty long, silent minutes that stretched and dragged with the weight of worry. The sterile scent of antiseptic hung in the air like a ghost that refused to leave. My foot tapped anxiously against the tile floor, and I kept my eyes fixed on the door, praying that Maggie was okay. Every second without news chipped away at the fragile calm I was desperately trying to hold together.

Then finally, the door creaked open. I straightened up so fast it made my head spin, and when Maggie stepped out—bandaged and leaning a little to one side—I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. Relief flooded through me, warm and dizzying, and I rushed forward just as Demitri, one of our pack’s doctors, followed her out.

“She’s alright,” he said, his tone calm and measured, but with a quiet weariness that only someone who’d seen too much could carry.

“The shards didn’t do much internal damage. A few missed the artery by inches—she’s incredibly lucky. She’ll need rest. No exercise, no training. Just… rest.”

Ashton moved past me without a word, his whole body taut with tension. He reached for Maggie’s hand, his fingers lacing through hers like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go.

“Thank you, Doctor,” he murmured, nodding at Demitri, who gave a tired smile and a small nod before moving back to give them some space.

I took a slow step closer, wanting to say something—anything—but the knot in my throat made it hard to find words. Maggie looked pale, but her eyes met mine, and there was a soft smile on her lips. “I’m okay,” she whispered.

I nodded, swallowing back the wave of emotions crashing in my chest. “You scared the hell out of me,” I said, my voice cracking just a little.

Then, the moment shattered.

Jade’s voice cut through the corridor like a blade. “What the hell is going on?”

We all turned, startled. He stood at the end of the hallway, his eyes darting from face to face until they landed on Maggie. The change in his expression was almost instantaneous—his panic turned to rage, his whole frame going rigid.

“How did this happen?” he barked, stalking toward us. “Who let this happen?”

“Jade—” I started, stepping forward instinctively, but he barely looked at me.

Alice raised her hands in defense, speaking quickly. “It was an accident during training—she slipped, and the glass—”

“You let her train unsupervised?” he snapped, rounding on her like a storm. “She could’ve died!”

“It wasn’t unsupervised,” Ashton cut in sharply, stepping in front of Maggie like a shield. “It was an accident. No one’s to blame.”

But Jade wasn’t listening. His eyes were wild, his chest rising and falling too fast, like he’d been running for miles before crashing into this scene. I stared at him, truly seeing him for the first time in weeks, and something in me sank.

He looked… wrecked.

His hair had grown out, the dark strands curling slightly at the ends like he hadn’t bothered with a brush. His stubble had thickened into something close to a beard, unkempt and uneven. And his eyes—gods, his eyes—there was something fractured in them, something I hadn’t seen before. Like a man who’d wandered into a forest and never found his way out. The Jade I remembered was always collected, precise, sharp as a blade. This Jade looked like he’d been through a war and was still fighting ghosts.

“Jade,” I said gently, taking a step closer. “She’s okay. Demitri said she’ll be fine.”

He turned to me slowly, his eyes narrowing like he was trying to figure out if I was lying. “You expect me to just be okay with this? Maggie’s hurt. What if—” His voice cracked, and for a heartbeat, he looked younger. Lost.

“I know,” I whispered. “I know you’re worried. But she’s alright. That’s what matters.”

He opened his mouth like he was going to argue again, but then Maggie’s voice—quiet, hoarse—cut in.

“Jade… I’m fine.”

He froze. Like the sound of her voice had anchored him in place. Slowly, he turned to look at her. Her hand was still in Ashton’s, but she gave Jade a tired smile.

“I’m alright, Jade,” she added softly. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

That seemed to pull something loose in him. He stepped back, as if realizing for the first time how tightly wound he was.

But I just stood there, watching the pieces of the person I used to know fall into a shape I couldn’t quite recognize.

I stood there, silently watching him from the other side of the room, and for the first time in months, I didn’t recognize the man in front of me.

“Jade,” Alice said gently, glancing between him and Maggie, “it was just a minor misfire. These things happen during practice. You know how unstable magic can be sometimes—”

“You call that normal?” he snapped, the edge in his voice slicing through the air like a blade. Alice’s eyes widened and she stumbled over her words.

“Jade, I—”

“Do your job properly, Alice,” he hissed through clenched teeth. His tone wasn’t loud, but it struck like thunder. “If you can’t keep a bunch of students safe from their own spell-craft, maybe you shouldn’t be supervising them at all.”

My breath hitched. That wasn’t Jade. That wasn’t him. Jade didn’t snap at people. He didn’t blame others like that. He would’ve been the first to console Alice, to pat her shoulder and tell her not to be too hard on herself, that magic is unpredictable and every caster has scars to prove it. But now… now he looked at her like she was just another loose variable in his chaotic equation, one he couldn’t afford to trust anymore.

Alice’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. She just nodded stiffly and stepped back, her hands trembling. I wanted to say something. Anything. But before I could gather the courage to move, he was already walking toward Maggie.

Without another word, Jade scooped her up gently, with all the tenderness of a broken man clutching the last thing he hadn’t ruined. For a moment, just a brief flicker of time, I saw the old Jade again—the protector. The older brother figure. The one who loved too deeply and held everything too close to his chest. But even that disappeared the moment he turned back around.

“I’m taking her,” he muttered, eyes not meeting mine.

“Jade—”

“She doesn’t belong here. Not anymore. None of us do.”

And just like that, he was gone. Out the door, into the hallway, with Maggie in his arms and whatever demons he was carrying shadowing his every step.

I didn’t follow him. I couldn’t. My legs wouldn’t move. I just stood there, surrounded by the stunned silence that followed his storm, and the echo of a version of him that no longer existed.