*~Leon’s POV~*
"I asked you a question," she said, stretching her arms out defensively, her eyes narrowed.
But I couldn’t speak. My throat went dry. Why was she acting like this? Why was she so... different? Was she out of her mind? Or worse—was this even Aurora at all?
"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice rising before I could stop it.
"I should be asking you that!" she snapped back. "Why would you ask who I am when you’re the one acting weird? And—wait a minute..." Her gaze dropped to the red gown she was wearing. Her brow furrowed. "Why am I in a wedding dress?"
I froze, watching her confusion deepen.
"Am I getting married?" she murmured. "Is there sothing wrong with my head? I can’t rember anything..."
"Yes, Aurora. You were—"
"Oh my God!" she suddenly gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "Where is my husband?"
"What?" I blurted out, utterly thrown.
"I was getting married, right?" she said, gesturing at her gown. "For to be in this, I must’ve been getting married. Where is he? Where is my husband? He must know what’s going on!"
She started walking away, but I quickly grabbed her arm.
"Where are you going?"
"I’m going to find my husband!" she snapped, jerking against my grip. "Maybe we were in the middle of our wedding and sothing happened that made forget everything. Maybe he knows!" She turned to sharply, eyes flashing. "Are you my husband?"
I blinked, stunned.
"Answer !" she demanded. "Are you my husband?"
"No, I—" I stopped. The sound of demons echoing through the trees grew louder, closer. I didn’t have ti for this.
"Yes," I said quickly, grabbing her shoulders. "Yes, I’m your husband."
She froze. "What?"
"I’m your husband, Aurora. It’s ."
Her confusion only deepened. "How are you my husband?"
"I’ll explain later," I said urgently, glancing toward the sound of footsteps closing in. "Right now, we have to move."
"Then why aren’t you in your wedding clothes?" she asked, suspicious.
"Because I changed," I lied quickly. "I was looking for you. You ran off before we could finish the ceremony."
She frowned, eyes darting around. "What happened to ? Where’s my headband? My mom and dad? My sister? Why am I even getting married? And why are you suddenly protecting ?"
I grabbed her hand tightly. "I’ll explain everything, Aurora. I promise. But right now, if we don’t leave, we’re both dead."
Without giving her the chance to argue, I scooped her up again and took off running—faster this ti. Her body tensed, but she didn’t fight . Not like before.
I kept going, not stopping until the forest broke open and the faint lights of civilization appeared ahead. The sll of pine gave way to the scent of salt and smoke.
When I was sure we were far enough, I stopped and set her down gently.
She stumbled slightly, her eyes wide as she looked around. "Where... where is this place?"
I turned and stared at the massive sign just ahead, my chest heaving as I caught my breath.
Painted in bold, chipped letters were the words:
"Welco to California."
My breath hitched.
I scanned the area—streets lined with small shops, humans mingling with wolves, and faint traces of pack markings on the walls.
We’d made it out.
And from the scents around us, I could tell..Most of them were wolves.
I imdiately halted and stopped one of the nearby wolves walking past us.
"I’m sorry," I said, trying to sound calm, "please—where are we?"
The wolf turned, his piercing yellow eyes scanning from head to toe. Then his gaze shifted to Aurora, and his expression darkened. He took a cautious step closer to , lowering his voice.
"You’re in California—the Riverdale Pack," he said. "You seem to be a visitor."
I nodded. "Yes. I just... found myself here."
He leaned closer, his tone dropping to a warning whisper. "Then I’ll give you so advice, brother. That lady behind you will bring you nothing but trouble."
"What?" I frowned, glancing back at Aurora. "What do you an?"
He gave her another sharp look. "I can sll it on her. She’s a witch."
My chest tightened.
"This pack hates witches," he continued firmly. "If they find out she’s here, she won’t last long. Take my word for it—leave her while you still can. I can tell you’re not from around here, but I can also tell you’re a wolf. Don’t let her ruin your life."
He gave one last look, his eyes filled with grim warning. "I’ve seen what happens to people who protect witches. Don’t make that mistake."
And with that, he walked away, disappearing into the crowd of wolves passing by.
I turned to Aurora.
"Husband," she called, looking up at with that sa wide-eyed innocence. "What did he say?"
My throat tightened. I couldn’t tell her—not yet.
"We need to leave here," I said firmly.
"No," she said, spinning slowly in a circle, her eyes full of wonder. "Look at this place—it’s so beautiful! We can’t go back into that scary forest with those... cute creatures chasing us."
"Cute?" I muttered under my breath.
She giggled softly, her voice so childlike it made my heart ache.
If there was any reason Aurora wiped her mory, it had to be this—to start over. To find peace. And maybe... maybe she deserved that chance.
I couldn’t deny her a fresh start. And honestly, I couldn’t return to New Orleans either. Sophia, Hazel, the council—every ounce of pain I left behind was waiting for there.
But here... here was different.
Maybe and her could start again.
No more guilt. No more begging for forgiveness. No more broken pasts. Just a new beginning— being the man she needed, not the one I used to be.
She smiled at brightly, tugging on my sleeve. "Co on, let’s go!"
"Wait," I said, catching her wrist gently. "It’s dangerous for you here, Aurora. You’re a witch. This place doesn’t accept witches."
She shrugged playfully. "Well, they won’t know. I haven’t started using my powers yet, so I doubt anyone will find out."
"You are a witch," I reminded her carefully.
"Am I?" she asked, tilting her head, almost like she was trying to recall a distant dream. "Hmm... I guess I am."
I realized then—she’d forgotten almost everything. The trauma, the power, the pain. Maybe even . All that remained were fragnts of innocence.
"Well," she said suddenly, her eyes bright with mischief, "witches are mostly girls, right?"
I blinked. "Yes?"
"So, if I dress like a man, nobody will really know!" she said, grinning. "Even if they feel sothing weird around , they’ll just shrug it off—thinking it’s nothing. I could just be a normal man. A human man."
I blinked, processing her words—and then it hit . That must be why the real Aurora cut her hair before she ran.
It was all part of her plan to disappear.
"That... actually makes sense," I admitted quietly.
She gave a proud smile.
"Well then," I said, glancing around, "first things first—we need to get you out of here and find you sothing else to wear. Sothing... less witchy."
Aurora nodded eagerly. "And sothing that makes look like my father " she said.
I couldn’t help but smile faintly. "Yeah," I said softly. "Exactly that."
....
"How do I look?" she asked, stepping out from behind the curtain, wearing the most manly clothes she could find—a jacket two sizes too big, a crisp shirt, and pants that sohow made her look both awkward and adorable.
I blinked, then chuckled softly. She actually pulled it off.
"You look... manly enough," I said, walking over and brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "Manly and... well, still kind of cute."
She turned to the mirror, examining herself with a mock-serious frown, then stomped one foot and growled, "I really look like my father."
The growl made bite back a laugh. She sat down on the small bench, tugging on the hem of her jacket.
"I wonder where he is now," she said quietly, almost wistfully.
My chest tightened. Her father... her parents were long gone. But I couldn’t tell her that. Not now. Not when she looked so peaceful for once.
"He must be sowhere," I said instead, forcing a reassuring smile.
"Yeah," she nodded, a faint glimr in her eyes. "I can’t wait to see them again."
I swallowed hard. She really didn’t rember. And whatever reason she had for wiping her mory—I had to respect it. Maybe this was her way of healing.
Then she looked up suddenly, her face lighting up. "So, husband," she said teasingly, "how did we et?"
I hesitated, unsure how to answer. "Uh... we t randomly."
"Randomly?" she pouted. "Ouch. I used to imagine I’d et my husband under a tree when it’s raining. I’d be stuck under the tree, trying not to get my hair wet, and then he’d appear like a knight in shining armor—put his jacket over my head and save , the poor damsel in distress."
I froze. My heart actually stopped.
Because that was exactly how we t.
She’d been standing under the tall oak tree in front of the High House, drenched and shivering, too afraid to step inside because the wolves had locked her out—because she was a witch. I’d taken off my jacket and put it over her head, shielding her as I led her inside.
She blinked, snapping back to the present. "What?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, clearing my throat.
She smiled to herself, humming softly. "That was a really good imagination, wasn’t it?"
"Yeah," I said, my voice soft. "Really good."
Then she tilted her head. "What’s your na again?"
I blinked. "I’m Leon."
She repeated it, slowly, like she was tasting the sound. "Leon..." Her lips curved into a small smile. "That na sounds really familiar... and cute."
I smiled faintly, trying to hide the ache in my chest.
"Yeah," I murmured. "You’ve said that before."
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