Chapter 129: Suspecting Him
Aurora’s POV
I lay on my bed, the silence of my apartment feeling as if it were crushing me. It was late, and Oliver hadn’t called me since he dropped me off this morning. A part of me wondered if he was busy with Pack business, or if he was still angry that I had chosen to go to my own place instead of staying with him.
I picked up my phone, my fingers shaking as I dialed his number. I just needed to hear his voice—the kind, gentle voice of the King—to drown out the memory of the Monster’s growl.
It rang and rang. No pickup.
I tried again. Then a third time. My heart hammered against my ribs, a cold knot forming in my stomach.
"Maybe he’s just busy," I whispered to the dark room. "He’s the Alpha King. He has a whole Pack to run. What do I expect?"
I set the phone down and stared at the ceiling. A wave of guilt washed over me. What would Oliver think if he knew? If he knew that only hours after we had made love, I was pinned to a desk by a masked assassin, begging for more?
Should I come clean to him?
I shook my head violently. No. Never. If he found out I had been with another man—especially a man like Raymond—he would never forgive me. He would see me as the betrayal I was.
I eventually fell into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares of that tragic day. When my alarm went off the next morning, I reached for my phone before my eyes were even fully open.
Nothing. No missed calls. No texts. Not even a "Good morning, love."
I frowned, a pit of anxiety opening in my chest. This wasn’t like him. Oliver always checked on me. I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. As the hot water hit my back, the steam made the hickey on my shoulder stand out in a bright, ugly purple.
I looked at it in the mirror and felt sick. I had to hide this.
I dressed in a high-neck blouse, checking every angle to make sure the fabric didn’t slip. I did my makeup with extra care, trying to hide the dark circles under my eyes. I wasn’t going to wait for a call anymore; I was going to the Packhouse. I would see him at the office and demand to know why he was ghosting me.
I grabbed my bag and headed out, my mind already rehearsing the lies I’d have to tell if anything came up.
I reached the Packhouse, my heart doing a nervous dance in my chest. I felt like every guard I passed could see right through my high-neck blouse and know the shame I was hiding underneath. I rushed to the elevator and took it straight to the office floor.
When the doors opened, I froze. There was a new desk set up directly across from mine.
"Good morning, Aurora," Elias said, looking up from a stack of papers.
"Elias?" I blinked, trying to keep my voice steady. "What’s going on?"
"I’m working here now," he explained with a small smile. "I’ll be taking over the secretarial duties, but don’t worry, you’re still Alpha Oliver’s personal assistant. I’m just here to lighten the load."
I nodded, feeling a strange prickle of unease. "I see. Good morning. Where is... where is Alpha Oliver? Is he inside?"
Elias shook his head, his expression turning a bit thoughtful. "He hasn’t come to the office yet. It’s unusual for him to be this late."
I nodded again, my throat feeling dry. I sat down at my desk and tried to look busy, but my mind was a million miles away. Elias began to talk, filling me in on the morning’s schedule and some new pack matters, but I wasn’t concentrating on a single word he said.
My eyes kept darting to the clock. 10:00 AM. 10:30 AM. 11:00 AM.
The door to Oliver’s private office remained shut and silent. The silence felt heavy, echoing the silence of his phone last night. Was he avoiding me? Did he know? No, he couldn’t possibly know.
"Aurora?"
I snapped my head up. Elias was watching me, his head tilted to the side. "You haven’t heard a word I said, have you? You look like you’re waiting for the world to end."
"I’m just... tired," I lied, gripping my pen so hard.
Elias softened. "You look so worried and distracted. Why don’t you go check on him at the main building? He might still be in his quarters."
I hesitated. Going to his private rooms felt awkward. What if he wasn’t in a good mood? Perhaps he was still angry at me?
But the need to see him, to make sure he was still my Oliver, was stronger than my fear.
"Maybe I should," I whispered. I stood up, smoothing down my blouse one last time to make sure the hickey was hidden. "I’ll be back in a bit, Elias."
I walked toward the main building, my palms sweating. I was about to face the man I loved while wearing the mark of the man I hated.
I took the elevator up to the private quarters, feeling so nervous. I made my way up the grand stairs, and as expected, none of the staff stopped me. To them, I was the Alpha’s woman.
As I reached his door, it swung open. A young maid scurried out, her head down and her face pale. She looked absolutely terrified, her hands trembling as she clutched a serving tray. Her hair was scattered and messy, with loose strands sticking out everywhere as if she had been running her hands through it in a panic. Or maybe someone was running his hands through her hair.
A sharp, poisonous spark of jealousy flared in my chest. Why did she look like that? It was the look of a girl who had just been caught doing something she shouldn’t. A silly, intrusive thought flashed through my mind: Did he just fuck her?