Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 445

Aurora’s P.O.V

Caroline’s steps were slow, careful, almost too quiet for the chaos unfolding around us, and I watched with my breath stuck in my throat as she edged closer and closer to Avery. Alice and I exchanged a glance, and in that silent second, we both knew what needed to be done, we needed Maggie’s mind to falter, to crack, even if just enough.

“Maggie,” I called sharply, my voice slicing through the heavy air. “Don’t you see it? Don’t you hear the way he talks? Ashton isn’t protecting you, he’s using you. He always has.” Alice jumped in immediately, her tone fierce, pushing at Maggie’s breaking point.

“He lies, Maggie. He’s lied about everything. If you keep following him, you’ll end up like the rest, just another pawn, another piece sacrificed for his cause. Is that what you want?” Maggie’s jaw clenched, her eyes flashing, but she didn’t move.

And just then, Caroline finally reached Avery. My heart leapt as her trembling hands fumbled with the bindings, and Avery’s groans of pain turned into choked gasps of relief as the ropes loosened and fell away.

“You’re free, Avery,” Caroline whispered hoarsely, her hands shaking as she helped her steady herself, before the two of them turned to Riley. But my focus was already pulling away, caught by something else, something far more terrifying. My eyes widened, my chest tightened, and before I even realized it, a sharp gasp tore out of my throat.

Everyone froze, every head turning toward me, and with a trembling finger, I pointed.

“Look, there!”

The air shifted as if the room itself shuddered. And there it was…the wraith, Harmona’s shadow, not merely floating near Jade but curling, weaving, seeping into him. Its tendrils coiled around his shoulders, sliding into his skin like liquid darkness. Maggie’s scream ripped through the silence.

“No! No, Jade…you promised me! You swore this wouldn’t happen!”

Jade’s body jerked, his mouth twisting as if he wanted to say something, but Ashton’s voice cut through Maggie’s cries, sharp and merciless.

“Shut up, Maggie!” he barked, spittle flying as he clutched his arm and sneered at her.

“Do you not understand? The eclipse is ending. Time is running out. Our mother needs a vessel, and if it’s Jade she’s chosen, then so be it!”

Maggie’s entire body trembled as the truth slammed into her, and I saw it, the breaking, the shattering of her denial. Her eyes widened, glossed over with horror, and then she let out a scream so raw it made my own stomach twist.

“No! No, I won’t let her take him! I won’t…”

She bolted toward Jade, desperation fueling her every step, her hands outstretched as though she could rip the wraith away with her bare fingers.

“Jade! Fight it! Please, fight it!”

“Don’t!” Ashton roared, lunging forward, but his injury slowed him.

My feet were already moving before I even thought. “Maggie, wait!” I shouted, chasing after her, the sound of her sobs like a knife cutting through the noise around us. My pulse thundered in my ears, every instinct screaming that if Maggie reached Jade alone, it might already be too late.

“Maggie, stop!” Alice yelled behind me, her voice cracking.

But Maggie didn’t hear, didn’t care, her world was collapsing in front of her eyes, and all she could see was Jade being swallowed whole by Harmona’s darkness. And I could feel the same dread pulling at my chest as I forced my legs to move faster, to close the gap before it consumed us all.

“Jade!” Maggie shrieked again. “Don’t you dare leave me!”

And I was right behind her, breathless, terrified, and yet unwilling to let her face that monster alone.

Alice’s voice trembled with the weight of her spell, words spilling out like fire as she threw her hand out, and I felt the shimmer of her shield form around Maggie and me. Ashton, stubborn as always, dragged himself to his feet, his arm bleeding, his face twisted with rage as he tried to lunge forward. But Alice caught him, throwing him back hard with a spell, and he cursed.

“Damn you, Alice! Let me through! She doesn’t know what she’s doing!” He struggled against the shield, his face pressed close to it, and I could see the hatred and pain swimming in his eyes.

“You’ll only make things worse, Ashton! Stay down before you ruin everything!” Alice spat back at him, her voice sharp.

Maggie didn’t care about them; she had already rushed to Jade, her arms out as if she could physically pull him back from the darkness clinging to his body. The wraith’s shadow crawled up his chest, fingers stretching toward his throat, and Maggie screamed, her voice breaking, “Let him go! You hear me? Let him go, damn you!” Her desperation tore through the air, and I stepped closer, shaking my head because I knew pleading meant nothing to a creature like this.

“Maggie,” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended, “Stop wasting your breath. It won’t listen to you.”

She turned to me with wide, desperate eyes, tears pooling, her lips trembling as she begged, “Aurora, there has to be a way, there has to! We can’t just stand here and watch him be ripped apart!”

I clenched my fists, fighting the ache in my chest as I forced the words out. “If you really want to save him, then you have to kill it.”

“No!” she screamed instantly, shaking her head furiously. “No, you don’t understand! If I kill it… what if Jade goes with it? What if it takes him down, too? I can’t, I can’t risk that!”

“Maggie, listen to me!” I shouted back, stepping forward, my voice cracking with the weight of it. “It’s already inside him. Every second you hesitate, it’s taking more of him away. If you wait too long, there won’t be a Jade left to save!”

Her knees buckled as she clutched at Jade’s arms, her voice breaking apart. “I can’t kill him, Aurora! He’s all I have left! Don’t ask me to do this, please, I’ll find another way, I’ll…”

“There is no other way!” I snapped, my own throat tightening, my eyes stinging because I knew what I was asking of her.

“You think I want this? You think I want to watch you put a blade through the only person who matters to you? But if you don’t, then Jade will be nothing more than a puppet for that monster. And then we’ll all be dead!”

Alice’s voice broke in from behind, her shield flaring as Ashton smashed against it again, his fury unrelenting.

“Aurora’s right, Maggie! It’s him or all of us, choose before it’s too late!”

Maggie sobbed, clutching Jade tighter, shaking her head violently. “No, no, I won’t do it, I can’t! Jade, fight it! Please, just fight it for me! You’re stronger than this, don’t leave me, not like this!”

Jade’s lips trembled, a guttural sound escaping him as if something deep inside him was struggling to push through, and for a flicker of a second, I thought I saw him. But then the wraith hissed through him, a voice not his own, “He’s mine. You’re too late.”

Maggie’s face crumpled as she looked at me, her whole body trembling. “Aurora, please… tell me there’s another way.”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to hold her gaze even though every part of me wanted to look away. “There isn’t. If you love him, Maggie… then save him the only way you can.”