Chapter 243

AURELIA’S POV The walls had become my world. It wasn’t fear that kept me here anymore. No, fear had long since turned into something quieter, heavier—a resignation. What was the point of stepping outside? Once, I used to wander the pack grounds whenever I could, slipping away to breathe, to pretend I had freedom even if it was an illusion. But now… I knew I wouldn’t feel it. Not with guards shadowing my every step, not with eyes waiting to judge me the moment I left the threshold. Kael and Darius were always there. Always. At first, I thought I would suffocate under their constant presence. But to my own surprise, I’d grown used to it. Kael especially was… easy. He teased, he argued, he found ways to spark fights over the smallest things, and somehow it lightened the crushing weight in my chest. Darius, though sterner, always ended up stepping in to dissolve the tension, his calm voice grounding the sparks Kael and I threw at each other. It had become… a rhythm. One I didn’t mind. One