*~Leon’s POV~*
Boom!
A violent jolt ripped through me, and suddenly, I wasn’t in that hell anymore.
I blinked, my chest heaving, my ears ringing from the noise. The smell of rain hit me next. Cool air. The sound of rustling trees.
And then I looked up...The High House stood before me, tall and looming in the fading light.
My breath caught in my throat. "Wait... what?!"
I looked down, expecting to see her, Aurora beside me. My heart froze when I didn’t. My hands were empty.
"Aurora?" I whispered.
There was no answer...She was gone.
I could still feel the faint warmth of her touch lingering on my skin, She must’ve known she couldn’t teleport us both. And yet—she’d done it anyway.
She’d chosen me.
It hit like a blade to the chest. Aurora chose me. She stayed behind.
I stumbled forward, scanning every shadow, hoping—begging—to see her appear beside me. "Aurora!" I screamed. "Aurora!"
"Leon? Is that you?"
The voice pulled me around. Lilith stood at the gate, wide-eyed, clutching one of the twins in her arms. Relief flooded her face.
"Leon’s back!" she shouted. "He’s back!"
Within seconds, the doors of the High House burst open. Hazel, Caspian, Cayden, came rushing out, their expressions a mixture of shock.
"Where is Aurora?" Hazel demanded, her voice trembling.
I shook my head. "I—I don’t know. She was holding my hand. She cast a teleportation spell. I thought she’d bring both of us back, but..." My words tangled in my throat. "She must have only had enough power to move one."
Hazel rushed at me the moment the words left my mouth.
"What?!" she screamed. "Are you saying Aurora is still with them? And you couldn’t bring her back? How could you, Leon? How could you?"
Her voice shook the hall. I couldn’t even look her in the eyes. My hands trembled as I sat heavily on the bench, staring at the floor.
"I promise you..." My voice cracked. "I don’t know what happened. I swear, I tried."
Hazel’s sobs filled the room. Caspian and Cayden hurried to her side, trying to calm her, but she was inconsolable.
That was when Sirius moved closer. His steps were quiet—too quiet—but his eyes were blazing.
"Hazel," he said, his tone firm but steady. "Let me talk to him."
She turned away, tears streaking her face.
Sirius faced me fully, his jaw clenched tight. "I don’t like seeing my wife in that state," he said. "So, please—get yourself together and tell me exactly what the hell happened. How did you get back here? And how did the twins manage to return on their own?"
I swallowed hard. "When you all chose to split up and search the roads," I began slowly, "I knew it wouldn’t work. So I went to Christian. I knew somehow he’d be able to locate his sister. And he did. He took me to her."
Their eyes widened, but I continued.
"Magic took me to wherever Aurora was," I said, voice shaking. "And... that same magic brought me back."
I rose suddenly from the bench, the weight of realization crushing me. "We need to find her immediately. She’s not safe."
I could still hear Darius’s words in my head, the threats, the promises of what he’d do to her. My stomach burned with rage and dread.
"This is bad," I muttered. "This is hell. We have to go now."
"So what are you saying we should do?" Alice asked. "How do we find her? Through Christian?"

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Fated to the Alpha–And His Triplet Brothers