The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King Chapter 212

AURORA

For three weeks, I've been getting text messages from different one-time numbers. Each one more threatening than the last. Dad has pulled every resource to track them down but found nothing.

I glanced at my phone, rereading yesterday's message:

[Time's running out. You'll both get what's coming to you.]

I sighed, placing a hand on my swollen belly. One, maybe two weeks before our son would arrive. Lawrence barely let me out of my sight these days. Today was a rare exception—he had training duties, so Atlas volunteered as my shadow.

"Got everything?" Atlas asked, struggling with three shopping bags as we finished in the baby store.

"I think so." I surveyed our purchases—tiny clothes, diapers, blankets. "Just one more stop."

Atlas raised an eyebrow. "More baby stuff?"

"No. It's Lawrence's birthday tomorrow. I ordered something special for him."

His eyes lit up with understanding. "The necklace is ready?"

I nodded, feeling excited. "The jeweler called yesterday. It's titanium with our birthstones. Greta added some natural magic so it won't break when he shifts."

"I'll put these bags here," Atlas said, setting them down. "I'll contact some Omegas to bring them home, then we'll go get your gift."

I watched as he closed his eyes, establishing a mind link with pack members.

"What else did you put on it?" Atlas asked as we walked toward the specialty shop.

"'My eternal love' engraved on the back," I admitted. "Inside, there's our photo on one side. The other side is empty for whatever he wants to add."

Atlas pretended to gag. "You two are disgusting."

I punched his arm playfully. "Just wait until you find your mate."

The shop came into view—a small stone building tucked away from the main shopping area. Something felt... off. The usual purple "OPEN" sign was replaced with a plain white one.

Inside, instead of Klaus's friendly greeting, a young man I'd never seen stood behind the counter.

"Hello," I said. "I'm here to pick up an order."

"Of course," he replied, his accent slightly strange. "Let me check in the back."

As he disappeared through the curtain, Atlas moved closer to me.

"I don't like this," he whispered.

"Probably just Klaus's new assistant," I said, though my instincts disagreed.

Minutes passed. The man was taking too long. Atlas stood rigidly beside me, his body tense.

The bell chimed. Three men entered, stopping when they saw us. They exchanged glances but said nothing.

The young man finally returned with a small velvet box. Inside was Lawrence's necklace—exactly as we'd designed it. The titanium was smooth, our birthstones bright against the metal. I ran my finger over the engraving, imagining Lawrence's face when he opened it tomorrow.

"It's beautiful," I murmured, paying quickly and slipping the box into my hoodie pocket.

"Ready?" Atlas asked, placing a protective hand on my lower back.

I nodded, turning toward the door—then felt a sharp sting in my arm.

Spinning around, I saw the clerk holding a syringe, his eyes now cold and menacing. Atlas lunged forward but suddenly staggered, two darts protruding from his neck.

My vision blurred. Atlas collapsed beside me, his eyes wide with panic.

"Aur..." His voice faded as darkness swallowed me.

LAWRENCE

I burst into Jace's office, my pulse racing wildly. Aria sat on the couch with the twins, all three red-eyed and silent. Jace stood by the window, his posture rigid.

"Any trace of them?" The words scraped my throat raw.

Jace turned, his eyes harder than I'd ever seen them. "Nothing. They masked their scents. We found Klaus unconscious. The old man was injected with wolfsbane extract. Doctors are trying to save him."

My fists clenched so tight my knuckles cracked. "Who did this?"

"We don't know yet. Greta and two top trackers are searching, but..." He shook his head. "Aurora and Atlas's phones are turned off. No signal."

The walls seemed to close in. Rocky howled in agony inside me, demanding we tear apart whoever had taken our mate and unborn cub.

"I promised her I'd keep her safe," I whispered, self-loathing filling my mouth with bitter taste.

Aria's quiet sobs cut through me like silver blades. The twins huddled closer to her, their faces buried in her shoulders.

"This isn't your fault," Jace said firmly. "This was planned. They even accounted for Atlas being there."

"We'll find them," he continued, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. "No one stops searching until we do."

I nodded mechanically, struggling to think past the panic. Aurora was so close to giving birth. If anything happened to her or our son...

"Stay here tonight, Lawrence," Aria said softly. "I'd feel better knowing you're not alone."

"I'm not sleeping," I said, already moving toward the door. "I'm going to help search for any clues we might have missed."

Jace gave Aria a look that silenced her objection.

As I reached the door, Bree called after me, her voice breaking. "Kill those bastards. For her and Atlas."

I didn't answer, just nodded once before stepping into the night.

Twenty minutes later, I stood outside the jewelry shop, police tape fluttering in the breeze. Two trackers—father and son—waited for me. The father had been named Best Tracker for ten consecutive years. His son had earned Jace's trust during the last rogue attack.

"Show me everything," I said, my voice barely human.

As they led me inside, my eyes fixed on a small droplet of blood near the counter. Aurora's blood. My vision went red as Rocky's rage merged with mine. I breathed in deeply, trying to catch any scent the kidnappers might have left behind. Nothing. They'd used chemicals to mask their trail.

I knelt beside where Atlas had fallen, touching the floor where my mate had stood just hours ago. The memory of her smile this morning—the last time I saw her—flashed through my mind. She'd kissed me goodbye, her belly pressing against mine, our son between us.

"The shop owner's scent stops abruptly here," the older tracker said, pointing to the storage room doorway. "They must have taken him by surprise too."

His son crouched near the window, examining the frame. "They disabled the security cameras first. Cut the wires from outside."

"I'll find you," I whispered, a promise carried on the night air. "Both of you."

Whoever took my mate would soon learn what happens when you steal from a wolf who spent his life alone—until he found something worth dying for.