Blake

I open the door as quietly as possible, turning the handle and pushing through without a creak. I worry that she might be awake, like she is almost every night, but as I take one step into the room, I see that Aurora is dead to the world. She's buried under her duvet, blonde and red hair splayed out across the pillow and her breathing quiet and steady. Nights worth of crippling fear and torturous memories must have finally exhausted her. I know the feeling too well.

I step further into the room to switch off the lamp on her bedside table, and I can't help but brush my fingertips over the back of her hand. She twitches and I freeze, but it's the only movement she makes. It's as if she knows it's me.

As if she knows she's safe.

I massage my fingers into my shoulder as I leave the room, the muscles tight and sore along with every limb and joint and muscle I have. It could be worse, I remind myself. It could always be worse.

I don't know why I feel like I need to check up on Aurora, but I do. It's no secret that I've grown to care about her, everyone has gathered that by now, and I can't seem to help myself. Even if she's right there in front of me, brightening the room as she laughs with Maeve or jokes around with Jayden, I sneak one look over at her to reassure myself that she's not on the floor being beaten by that prick. I know exactly what losing Aurora would feel like. It would hurt just as much as when I lost Hattie, maybe even more, or when I was set on fire.

Everyone says that you can't remember pain. Well I fucking do. I remember fighting for my life as the gasoline licked at my skin. I remember yelling as the flames crawled up my arm like a disease, cutting into my flesh and boiling my blood until I was pleading for death. I was practically begging, yelling for them to stop. Telling Storm to just fucking shoot me. I'd rather have my brains dripping out of my head at that moment. Until my throat was ripped and my soul was burning and I finally passed out, only to be brought back to life.

I feel a shake on my shoulder and hear a voice in the distance. Only it's not in the distance. It's Jayden, stood right in front of me. "Bro, snap out of it."

"Shit," I mutter, swallowing the chunk trapped in my throat. "Thanks."

"No worries." He gives my shoulder a pat. "Flashback?"

I nod.

"Well, I have the perfect remedy," he smirks. He pulls out a bottle of cider, seemingly out of nowhere. "Alcohol never fails to get me out of that shit. A bunch of us are drinking downstairs. Wanna join?"

"Why not?"

I start to follow him down the stairs, taking a swig of the cider. Instantly I feel my shoulders relax and the flashback fades into a distant memory.

"I'll tell you why not, man," he says, amusement in his voice. "Claudia's down there."

I groan, almost walking back up the stairs. "Claudia?"

Jayden turns to face me, walking backwards. "I wouldn't worry, though. She was flirting with Zavier before I left to fetch your ass."

"She flirts with everyone," I deadpan, taking another drink. "She would not leave me alone earlier. I would've reminded her that it was her who cheated on me if she let me get a word in."

"She hasn't flirted with me. Maybe I'm not manly enough."

"You do like to steal the girl's dresses and wear them around the house."

"Hey, don't go all toxic masculinity on me." He nudges me in the side. "You used to join in."

"That's true, I did," I say. "I looked fucking good in them, too."

He raises his cider in salute. "Amen to that."

Finally reaching the bottom of the house, Jayden leads me to the main living room. Like the rest of the house, it's huge, with dark wood and rugs and potted plants everywhere. The fire is snapping and cracking in the fireplace, but it doesn't bring back the flashback. If anything, it chases it further away. The fire is there, and I'm here. It won't hurt me.

I pass Danielle and Adam in an armchair, Danielle sat on his lap as they eat each others faces. "Keep it PG, you two."

Danielle pulls away to slap my ass. "I will kill you in your sleep one day."

I chuckle, plonking myself on the sofa next to Ophelia. "I didn't realise that having my brother back meant seeing that," she mutters, leaning closer to me. I can smell the alcohol on her breath and her eyes are half-closed, but I don't blame her. The past week has been rough for everyone.

"Trust me, you get used to it."

I notice that Zavier and Crystal are also here, talking amongst themselves, while Claudia giggles at something that Lilith says, Lilith holding Posie in her arms. It's one of her tipsy giggles, a little more high pitched than usual, and I hate myself for knowing that. Sure, Claudia is a nice, hot girl and we had fun while it lasted, but it didn't work out. I was hardly surprised when I found her kissing another guy at a party the Winter thieves were hosting. 

I let my eyes drift to the large windows, watching the wolves chase after one another as I chug my drink. My sneaky glance at Claudia doesn't go unnoticed, unfortunately, as I see her make her way towards me, flipping her curled, brunette hair over her shoulder. She stands in front of me and places her hands on my thighs.

"Hey good looking," she smirks. "Remember me?"

"How could I forget?" My smile is strained and I know she sees through it.

"Ophelia?" she asks sweetly. "Be a babe and get me another drink from the fridge?"

"Sure thing," Ophelia says. She lifts herself up and stumbles away and I miss her as soon as Claudia takes her place, pressing her body against me. She doesn't have a bad body in the slightest, her tight, white dress showing off all her small curves, but my mind wanders to Aurora sleeping peacefully upstairs and guilt unfurls in my stomach.

"I feel like we've barely talked since you've been here," she says. "We used to talk all the time."

I take another drink. "We talked earlier."

I meet Jayden's eyes from across the room and he fails to keep in his laughter.

"Yeah, but you didn't say much. I want to know what's going on between you and Aurora."

"Why?" I ask simply. The real reason I ask is because I don't know what's going on between me and Aurora.

"You've been spending a lot of time with her."

I shrug. "So? She's one of my thieves and I care about her."

Claudia leans forward, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "She's a bit..."

"A bit what?" She better watch her mouth.

"Young."

I sigh. "You'd be surprised with how mature she is." More mature than you, is what I almost add. "Besides, even if I was with her, it's not like it's illegal. I just turned twenty-one, she's about to turn eighteen. That's barely three years between us. You and I both know I've done shit that would have me imprisoned for the rest of my life. And so have you. This is nothing."

She studies me for a long moment. "So you're not with her?"

"I'm not with anyone," I say.

"So she's just a distraction?"

"No, she's a lot more than a distraction."

"So you're together?"

Fucking hell. I should've stayed upstairs.

Thankfully, I don't have to answer, as Lilith makes her way over with Posie. "This cute thing is the heaviest lump, can you take her?" she asks Claudia.

Claudia smiles and takes her, but as soon as she does, Posie wakes up and starts crying. "Christ," Claudia chuckles awkwardly. "I'm the worst with kids, I swear."

I place my cider onto a nearby table and reach out for her. "Give her here."

Placing her on my chest, Posie's cries soon quieten into small whimpers and hiccups. I rub her back, hoping she won't puke on my shirt, and simply enjoy my time with her, ignoring Claudia who watches me intently.

"You're so good with kids," she says eventually. "It's funny."

"Funny?"

"I don't know. You look too intimidating, it's funny seeing you be so loving."

I don't say anything, but she presses on. "Do you want kids one day?"

I feel uncomfortable. I don't like that question. "I don't know."

"You'd be a great dad."

"Mmm-hmm."

"I don't know if I want them either." She settles back into the sofa, stretching her arms up. "I mean, they're adorable, but whenever I hold a baby they end up crying."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," I say, but at this point I'm not really paying attention.

Posie lifts her head to look at me. I don't remember her having the strength to do that. I swear babies get bigger by the day. Her eyes are huge and brown, soft doe eyes that are constantly taking in the world. She makes a noise and I press a kiss to her head.

"I know," I murmur. "I know you want your Mummy."

I love Chelsea. I have since she arrived. It usually takes me a long time to warm up to people, hence why I was an ass to Aurora when she first arrived, but Chelsea automatically became my sister as soon as she walked through the door, her hands smoothing over her huge belly. We all took care of her, none of us exactly knowing how to take care of a baby but being excited regardless. Then Posie was born, and I was one of the first to hold her.

Enoch and Chelsea have been friends for years before then. Enoch basically stepped in as Posie's new dad and I knew he was looking forward to watching her grow up so he could teach her the world with that weirdly intelligent brain he has. They both were.

I've been trying not to think about them. Thinking about them, thinking about what they could be going through, it would tear us all apart. We haven't forgotten them, we'd never abandon them. I know that Crystal and Danielle have been working out a way to save them and Aurora's sister, but I also know that hopes aren't high. They could already be dead. They could have been sold like animals being auctioned off to a farm. We have no idea.

I shut my eyes tightly, the warmth of Posie slowly melting the ice that surrounds my heart, before I notice a beat too late that the room is deafeningly silent.

Everyone is frozen, eyes wide, looking around at one another. What did I miss? What do they know?

A bang. Another one. Then a crash, ricocheting around the house.

Then gunshots.