Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 406

Aurora’s P.O.V

I stared at her, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. The taste of iron filled my mouth from how hard I was biting the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my voice steady. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard—what she had done. My hands trembled at my sides, balled into fists as I slowly stepped forward, eyes wide, searching her expression for any hint of regret, of guilt, of anything that made her feel human. Anything.

“Alice…” My voice cracked. I hated that. I hated sounding so small, but I couldn’t help it. “Do you even have the slightest bit of remorse for what you just did? You hurt a child, for gods’ sake. How do you live with that?”

She didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink. Her gaze locked with mine like iron shackles, unmoving, cold, and terrifyingly calm. Her voice was low but clear—sharp as shattered glass.

“That same child,” she said, “wouldn’t hesitate to plunge a dagger through my heart if the wraiths whispered in her ear to do it.”

I felt something crumble inside me, something soft and vital. My breath hitched, and I actually flinched, like she’d just slapped me. I shook my head, my voice rising now, laced with disbelief and something dangerously close to rage.

“So what? That justifies this? You think she’s beyond saving, that there’s no other way? You’re telling me you couldn’t have used another technique—anything other than violence?”

Alice scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. The faintest twitch of her lip might have been the ghost of a sneer. “You still see hope in them,” she said, her voice cool as frost, “because you haven’t been broken down by the world the way I have. You haven’t had to watch people beg for mercy, only to be torn apart seconds later. You still think you can reason with monsters just because they have small hands and innocent eyes.”

I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to scream. “She’s not a monster. She’s a child.”

But Alice wasn’t done. She stepped forward, lowering her voice like she was telling me a secret.

“You got a soft start, Aurora. Your mate is a werewolf. That gives you protection most of us never had. But others… others don’t get that luxury. Do you have any idea what it’s like out there? There are packs that don’t care why you crossed the border—diplomatic mission, lost traveler, a desperate plea for help—it doesn’t matter. You cross, you die. They rip you apart and leave your bones as a warning for the next fool who thinks there’s a shred of mercy in the supernatural world.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I couldn’t find the words. I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that there was always a better way. But the look in her eyes… It was like staring into a void, one that had seen too much and trusted too little. And still—I couldn’t let her walk away thinking she was right.

“So what now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “We just stop trying? Do we just become like them?”

She tilted her head slightly, studying me like I was some tragic figure in a story she already knew the ending to.

“No,” she said quietly. “We survive. And we end this madness for good. Or we risk losing Riley to them.”

I took a step back, my breath catching as if Alice’s words had hit me like a physical blow. The edges of my vision blurred for a second, and I stumbled away from her, shaking my head slowly as the weight of it all pressed down on me like a sudden storm.

“What did you just say?” I managed, my voice barely more than a whisper. My heart slammed against my ribs, each beat echoing in my ears like the ticking of a countdown I hadn’t even known I was racing against.

Alice didn’t flinch. Her eyes were hard—haunted in a way I hadn’t seen before—but unwavering. She took a step forward, her tone colder now, sharp like steel. “You need to start taking this seriously, Aurora. This isn’t just about you anymore.” She paused, letting those words sit, heavy and brutal.

“The wraiths… they’re watching your brother now.”

My lips parted, but nothing came out. It was like my brain short-circuited, stuck in a loop of denial. Riley? No. No, not Riley. Not the kid who still couldn’t sleep without his nightlight, who ran to me the moment thunder cracked the sky. “They’re watching him?” I repeated numbly, trying to breathe through the sudden rush of nausea curling in my stomach.

“But why—what would they want with him?”

“I don’t know,” Alice said tightly, her voice cracking for the first time. “And that’s what terrifies me. He’s just a child, but something about him… they’ve taken notice. And when they do, it’s never by accident.”

My mind spiraled. And then, like a slap across the face, I remembered it. The fear in Riley’s voice just two nights ago as he clutched my sleeve, eyes wide and tear-filled, whispering about the shadowy figure in the corner of his room. “It had red eyes, Aura… they were staring right at me.” I had tried to reassure him it was nothing, so he wouldn’t be scared, but I knew very well it wasn’t that simple.

A slow, simmering dread began to morph into something else entirely. It twisted inside my chest, hardened, sharpened, and in its place… came resolve. Rage. Fire.

I looked back at Alice then, no longer stumbling, no longer trembling. “I’ll admit it,” I said, my voice steadier now, stronger. “For a moment, my resolve wavered. Everything was moving too fast. I kept thinking about Maggie… Ashton… and I let myself believe, for a second, that they were my family. That they had my back.”

Alice’s brows furrowed, like she wasn’t sure where I was going with this, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

“But they’re not,” I continued, letting out a sigh. “They never were. I got distracted—confused by people who only ever saw me as a tool or a threat. But I’m not confused anymore.” I felt my chest rise with the weight of my breath. “Riley is my family. My real family. My pack—my people—they’re all that matters to me now. I won’t let the wraiths touch him. I won’t let anyone hurt him, or come for those I love, not while I’m still breathing.”

Something shifted in Alice’s expression. A flicker of relief, maybe even pride, but she masked it well. “Then you better start preparing,” she said, her voice softer now. “Because they’re coming, Aurora. Whether you’re ready or not.”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t have all the answers. But I had my fire back. And this time, I wasn’t letting it go out.

#################################################

Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying the new chapters in the final part of the book...because these chapters are only being released here on NovelSnack and associated apps first and foremost...nowhere else! So...Enjoy!!