Chapter 5 Landing Into Him

AURORA

The steady hum of the airplane engines filled the cabin, but it did little to quiet the storm raging inside my head.

I stared out the window at the endless stretch of clouds beneath us, my fingers tightening around the armrest.

What if he came after me?

The thought had followed me since I boarded the flight, circling my mind like a warning I couldn’t ignore. What if Victor was furious enough to hunt me down? What if the humiliation I caused him had been the final straw?

A shiver crawled down my spine.

No. He couldn’t.

Victor didn’t know where I was going. He didn’t know America was my home. He didn’t know anything about my family. There was no way he could find me… right?

My chest tightened anyway, the question lingering like a shadow that refused to leave.

Slowly, I closed my eyes and called out to Ember, but there was only silence in return the same silence that had haunted me for years.

My wolf hadn’t truly spoken to me since Victor started hurting us. At first, she had fought God, she had fought. Every bruise, every slap, every cruel word, she pushed against my skin, begging me to fight back. But I never did. I always stopped her. Always. Instead of letting her defend us, I used her strength to heal again and again and again, until there was almost nothing left of her.

The guilt twisted painfully inside me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the words barely audible. A passenger across the aisle glanced at me before quickly looking away, and I lowered my head as hot tears blurred my vision. “I’m so sorry,” I repeated, my throat burning. “I thought he loved us… I thought he was our mate… I thought things would finally be different.”

But they weren’t. They never were.

I wiped my eyes and leaned back against the seat as the memories came rushing in anyway five years ago, London.

I had arrived carrying a broken heart and a suitcase full of regrets. After Ethan shattered me, I needed a fresh start, needed distance, needed something anything to keep me from falling apart completely. The memory of his rejection still stung like an open wound. “You’re just a sister to me, Aurora.”

I could still hear those words, still feel the way my heart stopped for a moment, still remember forcing a smile while something inside me broke apart. So I left. I buried myself in school, took extra shifts, worked long hours anything to keep my mind occupied.

That was when Victor walked into my life.

I remembered the grocery store clearly: bright lights, endless shelves, the smell of fresh bread drifting through the building. I was organizing products when a deep voice spoke beside me. “Excuse me.”

I turned and nearly forgot how to breathe.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. A smile that could make any woman stare.

Victor stood there holding a shopping basket, his blue eyes locked onto mine.

“I’m looking for something,” he said.

I pointed him toward the correct aisle, and he followed me there. When I handed him the item, he smiled. “Thank you.”

I nodded politely. “No problem.”

I expected him to leave.

He didn’t.

He stayed, watching me, and after a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever done my own grocery shopping,” he said.

I blinked. “That’s not what I expected.”

“Really?” he asked.

He nodded casually. “My maid usually handles it.”

I laughed softly. “Then what happened?”

His expression shifted, growing more serious. “Her pup is sick.”

The concern in his voice caught me off guard. Most wealthy men I knew barely remembered their employees’ names, let alone worried about them. But Victor looked genuinely unsettled.

“That’s unfortunate,” I said quietly.

“It is.”

An awkward silence settled between us, stretching for a moment too long, until he spoke again. “Do you work here?”

I stared at him slowly, very slowly then looked down at my uniform before meeting his gaze again.

His lips twitched.

The bastard was trying not to laugh.

A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. “Obviously.”

His grin widened. “Just making conversation.”

I rolled my eyes, but then he asked the question that changed everything. “Can I take you out sometime?” My smile disappeared instantly. “No.” The answer came out too fast and too sharp, leaving no room for thought.

Victor looked surprised at first, then amused. “That fast?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said flatly.

“Not even a little consideration?” he pressed.

“No.”

His grin only widened at that. “Harsh.”

I shrugged, already done with the conversation. “Goodbye, Victor.”

I thought that would be the end of it… but I was wrong.

The next day, he came back. Then the day after that, and the day after that. Flowers, chocolate, coffee, books anything he thought might make me smile. I rejected every single gift, every single time, but he kept showing up anyway.

A month later, I finally snapped. “Fine.”

Victor looked up from the checkout counter, his eyes brightening immediately. “Fine?”

“One date.”

His smile turned blinding. “One date.”

“After that, you leave me alone.”

He offered his hand. “Deal.”

I should have walked away. I should have ignored him. I should have listened to the warning Ember kept giving me.

But I didn’t.

Because that date felt like something out of a dream. He listened when I spoke, made me laugh, opened doors, remembered tiny details I didn’t even realize mattered. By the end of the night, I was smiling more than I had in years.

And that was when I discovered he was an Alpha.

Oddly enough, it didn’t scare me.

It comforted me.

For the first time since Ethan broke my heart, hope returned. Maybe I could love again. Maybe someone could love me back. So I gave Victor a chance. One date became two, two became three, and eventually I bonded with him the worst mistake of my life.

A voice suddenly crackled through the cabin speakers, announcing that the plane had begun its descent into New York and instructing passengers to fasten their seatbelts, stow their tray tables, and return their seats to the upright position. My stomach tightened at the word America. Home. It felt strange on my tongue, foreign and familiar at the same time.

Outside the window, city lights glittered beneath the darkness, scattered like fallen stars, and a lump formed in my throat as the reality settled in. I was really back.

Minutes later, the plane touched down with a heavy jolt, wheels striking the runway as passengers immediately began reaching for their bags. And then, as I sat there gathering myself, a familiar warmth brushed against my mind soft, fragile, weak, but undeniably there.

My breath caught. Ember?

There was silence for a moment… then a whisper so faint I almost missed it.

We’re home.

Tears instantly filled my eyes. My wolf my beautiful wolf after years of silence, after years of pain, she was finally speaking again. A shaky laugh escaped me as I whispered, “We’re home,” the words feeling unreal on my tongue.

I grabbed my small bag from overhead, the only luggage I had now, everything I owned reduced to a single suitcase. That was what running away looked like.

The airport buzzed as I stepped through the arrival gates people rushing past, families reuniting, children laughing, announcements echoing overhead. I searched the crowd, my brother said he would be here, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. Face after face passed me, nothing familiar, until suddenly my steps froze.

The air left my lungs.

No.

A tall figure stood near one of the pillars dark hair, familiar green eyes, broad shoulders. Five years had passed, but I would know him anywhere.

Ethan Cole.

My brother’s best friend. My first love. The man who shattered my heart without even realizing it.

His gaze lifted and locked onto mine.

Everything around us vanished the noise, the crowd, the airport gone. For one horrible second, it felt like those five years had never existed.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

Out of everyone in America… why him? Why was he here? And why wasn’t my brother the one waiting for me?