Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 466

Aurora’s P.O.V

I walked into Caroline’s room with the little gift wrapped in brown paper pressed tightly against my chest, my knuckles tapping lightly on her door even though I knew I never needed to. Caroline’s voice rang out, a little muffled but still sharp.

“Come in!” When I stepped inside, I found her crouched over her suitcase, stuffing in another folded top with that usual neatness she had. She looked up at me and immediately frowned, her lips curving into a half-smile. “Why are you knocking? Since when do you knock? You usually just barge in and scare the life out of me.”

I laughed softly and held up the gift. “I didn’t want to disturb… just in case Damien was over.”

Her eyebrows shot up, and she let out a small chuckle as she rose from the floor, brushing her hands on her jeans.

“Really, Aurora? If Damien was here, you think I’d let you just walk in after knocking? Please. I’d bolt the door and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign.”

I snorted, shaking my head as I extended the gift toward her. “Well, lucky for me you didn’t. Here, I brought you something.”

Caroline’s eyes softened as she took the little package from my hand, but instead of unwrapping it right away, she reached for my wrist and tugged me toward her bed. “Sit with me first,” she murmured.

I nodded, sitting down at the edge of her bed, and she settled right beside me, close enough that our shoulders brushed. She turned to look at me, her expression growing serious, her voice quieter. “Aurora… are you really okay?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat closed up, and before I could stop it, I felt hot tears spilling down my cheeks. I quickly pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes, shaking my head. “I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely. “I tried not to cry, Caroline. I swear I tried. But I can’t help it.”

Her hand slid over mine, gently pulling my hands away from my face so she could see me. “Hey, don’t apologize,” she said softly. “You don’t ever have to apologize to me for feeling something.”

“I just…” My voice cracked, and I took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to make this harder for you. You’re leaving in two weeks, and I know it’s supposed to be exciting. California, college, a new start. I don’t want to weigh you down with my stupid tears.”

Caroline squeezed my hand tighter, her own eyes glistening though she blinked quickly, refusing to let them fall. “You’re not weighing me down, Aurora. You’re part of why I’m even strong enough to do this. Don’t you get that?”

I sniffled, staring down at our interlocked hands. “But what if when you go… things change between us?”

She leaned forward, her forehead almost touching mine. “Things will change, yeah. They always do. But not us. Not the part of me that belongs with you. I don’t care how many miles there are between us, you’ll still be the first person I call when I can’t sleep. You’ll still be the one I tell everything to. Don’t you dare think distance is going to erase you from me.”

I let out a broken laugh, wiping at my cheek with the back of my hand. “You make it sound so easy.”

I watched as Caroline stepped forward, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and before I could even say anything, her arms were already around me. She pulled me into a hug so tight that for a moment I couldn’t breathe, and her voice trembled when she whispered against my shoulder,

“Aurora, I know how difficult this is. I swear, it’s difficult for me too. I don’t want to leave. You think I do, but I don’t. Hell, I remember when I was so terrified of even accepting Damien as my mate because I knew what it meant. It meant leaving my pack, leaving everything I ever knew behind.”

She pulled back slightly, her hands still clutching my arms, as though she was afraid if she let go, I’d disappear. “But now… now I feel like I have to. I want to grow. I want to find out who I am outside of all of this. I want to explore my chances, explore myself, explore who I truly am as a person.”