Aurora’s PO.V

After we finished, I took him to his room, pulling back the covers so he could crawl in. He watched me quietly as I fucked him in, his small hands gripping the nket tightly.

b‘/bWill hee tonight?” he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper.

1 hated that he had to ask that. I hated that he even had to think about it. But I refused to lie to him, so I just brushed his hair again and said, “Even if he does, he won’t be able to get to you, baby. I promise.”

His lips pressed together as he nodded, but I could see the fear still lingering in his eyes. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead, murmuring “Sleep tight, okay? I’ll be right outside.”

After locking his door, my hands lingered on the knob for a moment before I slowly backed away, my eyes burning with unshed tears. I couldn’t afford to cry now. Not when I had to be strong for Riley. Not when I had to make bsure /bthat even if our father came back–drunk, furious, looking for something to break Riley would be safe.

I kept the candle glowing on the table, in case bI /bneeded toe downstairs in the middle of the night, so that the room wouldn’t be shrouded in darkness. F took another candle with me, so I could get some rest.

Three more days. Just three more daysb. /b

I just had to survive until then.

h

The house was silent, bsave /bfor the asional creak of the old wooden floors beneath my feet as I made my bway /bbup /bto the attic. bIt /bwas my bspace/bb–/bsmall, isted, and away from everything else, but I had never minded that. It bwas /bmy sanctuary, a ce where bI /bcould escape, where I could breathe.

The air in the attic was stuffy, the heat of the day still trapped inside, pressing against my skin. I crossed the room and pushed open the windowb, /bbthe /bnight air rushed in, cool and crisp against my faceb. /bI sighed, resting my arms against the windowsill, my beyes /btrailing over the dark expanse of trees stretching behind the house.

The woods had always been there, tall and foreboding, an ever–present boundary between home and the unknown. But tonight, something felt different. The air carried a strange weight, an unnatural stillnessb, /bbas /bthough the world itself bwas /bholding its breath. And then I saw it.

At first, I thought my eyes were ying tricks on me, that the shadows were shifting, bending under the dim moonlight. But then the figure moved–slowly, deliberately. Arge, hulking shape, too big to be a normal dog, too fluid to be anything else bI /bcould make sense of.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

My breath caught in my throat as its glowing amber eyes locked onto mine, piercing through the darkness like twin embers, burning, watching. It bwasn’t /bjust looking in my direction–it was looking at me. My stomach twisted into knots, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs, an instinctive fear rising from deep

within me.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up, my hands flying up to m the window shut. The blinds came down in a single paRoaned motion, my fingers fumbling over the cords as I forced myself to take deep, shaky breaths.

bI /bstepped back, my pulse roaring in my ears. It bwas /bbjust /ban animal, I told myselfb. /bMaybe a stray, maybe a wolf that had wandered too close to the house. But I knew better.

Something about it wasn’t right. Something about the way it looked at me,

the way it didn’t moveb, /bjust stood there–waiting. Watching.

bI /bswallowed hard, forcing myself to nce bback /bat the window, half expecting to see those glowing eyes still staring at me through the ss. But there bwas /bnothing. bJust /bthe dark stretch of trees, the stillness of the night. It was gone.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides, trying to ground myself, trying to convince myself that I hadn’t imagined it, that it hadn’t bbeen /bbs /bexhausted mind ying cruel tricks on me. But deep down, I bknew/b.

Something had been there. And it had seen me.

m