Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 444

Aurora’s P.O.V

I watched as Ashton clutched his arm, his face twisted with rage and pain, spitting curses at me through gritted teeth. His voice was sharp, venom dripping from every word.

“Damn you, Aurora! You’ll pay for this, you don’t know who the hell you’re dealing with!”

I didn’t flinch. My dagger was steady in my grip, my chest heaving, and my voice came out harder than I expected even though he’d just choked the life outta me. “How long have you been alive, Ashton?”

He froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing, then he let out a harsh laugh, bitter and laced with fury. “What difference does it make, huh? What the hell are you gonna do with that information, Aurora? Do you think it changes anything?”

“Answer me!” I snapped, my voice sharp enough to slice through the tension choking the air. I stepped closer, my eyes locked on his. “Don’t play games with me. Answer me, Ashton!”

His jaw clenched, and for a long second I thought he’d keep taunting me, keep circling me with his lies. But then he spat out the truth, his tone low and angry. “Over five centuries. I’ve been alive for over five damn centuries. Satisfied now?”

The words struck me harder than any blade could, and even Maggie, who had been creeping forward, ready to lunge at me, froze mid-step. Her eyes went wide, disbelief painting her face as she whispered, “Five centuries? Ashton… no. No, that can’t be true.”

He whipped his head toward her, his face contorted in fury. “Maggie, don’t you dare waste time gawking like a fool! Grab her! Take that dagger from her hand so we can finish this ceremony before it’s too late!”

But Maggie didn’t move. Her body was rigid, her gaze locked on him in horror. “You told me you were only two centuries old… that you’d been in this skin for only a decade. You—” her voice cracked, trembling with betrayal. “You lied to me?”

His teeth ground together, his voice exploding with impatience. “This isn’t the time for your dramatics, Maggie! Damn it, I said grab her! Do it now!”

She shook her head slowly, her hands trembling at her sides. “You’ve been alive for centuries, and you never told me? You let me believe… all this time… Ashton, why?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation!” he barked, his fury boiling over. “None of that matters right now. What matters is that dagger in Aurora’s hand and the ceremony we need to complete before everything we’ve worked for crumbles into dust!”

Maggie’s voice rose, breaking through his orders, trembling with a mix of rage and grief. “Don’t you dare dismiss me like some child! I’ve stood by your side, trusted you, fought for you, bled for you! And all this time—you’ve been lying to me about what you are, about who you are!”

“Enough!” Ashton roared, his face dark with frustration. “You think this is the moment for you to unravel, Maggie? For you to whine about your wounded pride? If you don’t act now, everything we’ve built will be gone! Don’t be a fool!”

I saw her falter, her body torn between loyalty and shock, and I seized my chance. My grip tightened on the dagger, my heart hammering as I stepped forward, my voice sharp as steel. “Keep arguing, Ashton. Keep shouting at her. The more you talk, the more time you give me.”

His eyes darted back to me, burning with fury. “You—” he started, but Maggie cut in, her voice breaking.

“All this time, Ashton. All this time, and you never told me the truth.”

Ashton’s face twisted, a mixture of desperation and rage, but I could see it now—Maggie wasn’t moving. She wasn’t obeying. She wasn’t his weapon anymore.

And I knew I had to seize this chance.

I looked straight at Maggie, my chest rising and falling sharply as I tried to hold myself together.

“Maggie,” I said, my voice shaking but still firm, “if Ashton can lie about the simple details, even when he is your full-blooded brother, then tell me, what else can he lie about? What else is he already lying about right under your nose?”

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head immediately. “No, Aurora, don’t twist this. You’re making it sound worse than it is.”

I stepped closer, pointing at her with a trembling hand. “Am I? Maggie, those details that Ashton purposefully left out are what’s killing Jade right now. You think I’m being dramatic? Tell me are you absolutely sure he’ll even spare Jade when this all ends? Because everything that’s happening to him right now… all of it… it’s because of those damn wraith possessions!”

Maggie flinched, biting her lip before raising her chin defiantly. “You’re lying. Ashton wouldn’t do that. He promised me, he swore he would never hurt Jade. Not him. Not ever.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “And you believed him just like that? Just because he looked you in the eyes and said the words? Maggie, promises mean nothing if he’s already broken the truth over and over again.” Before I could go on, Alice’s voice cut sharply through the room, stronger and colder than mine. “Enough. Stop deluding yourself, Maggie. Ashton and those wraiths have already hurt Jade. Do you really not see it? Every time they take him, every time they claw their way into him, Jade suffers for it too. If he’s possessed one more time, just one more…he’ll lose his wolf completely. And when that happens, he’ll rot away from the inside out.”

Maggie’s lips parted, her voice stumbling over itself. “That’s not true. You’re just trying to turn me against him…”

Alice stepped forward, eyes narrowing, her tone cutting like a blade. “Do you think I want to stand here and say this? Do you think I like watching Jade’s body fail him piece by piece? His wolf is already screaming, already tearing apart inside his mind. Ashton isn’t saving him, Maggie. He’s the one dragging him closer to the edge.”

Maggie’s eyes welled with tears, and she shook her head again, covering her ears like she could block out Alice’s words. “Stop it, stop saying that. Ashton knows I love Jade. I love him more than anything. He would never…”

I snapped at her, unable to hold back the rage boiling in me. “Then why is he the one lying in agony while Ashton hides behind excuses? Why is he bleeding for Ashton’s mistakes while you stand here defending him? Open your damn eyes, Maggie, before Jade pays with his life for your blind loyalty!”

Alice leaned closer, her voice lowering but sharper than before. “If you keep holding onto his promises, Maggie, then you’re no better than him. Because when Jade’s wolf dies inside him, it won’t just be Ashton’s fault, it’ll be yours too.”

Maggie gasped, tears spilling down her face as she looked at me, then at Alice, like she wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words. “You don’t understand… you don’t understand him like I do,” she whispered, but her voice cracked under the weight of it.

I stared at her, my hands clenched into fists. “Then make me understand, Maggie. Because right now, all I see is that Jade’s suffering and Ashton’s lies are tearing us apart.”