Three Weeks with the Wolf I Should kill Chapter 04
This Is Necessary
**Aurora’s POV**
I wake up the next morning and force myself to act normal. Every movement feels calculated now, like I‘m performing a role where one wrong word ends everything.
“Morning.” I smile at Kieran, making sure it reaches my eyes.
He’s in the kitchen making breakfast again. When he turns to look at me, his gaze lingers a beat longer
than usual. “Did you sleep okay? You seemed restless.”
“Weird dreams.” I keep my voice casual while watching his reaction. “Nothing I can really remember, just broken pieces.”
His hand pauses over the eggs for half continuing. “What kind of pieces?” a second before
“Random stuff. Blurry images.” I walk over to him, playing the part. “Do you think that means my memory’s starting to come back?”
“Maybe.” His voice softens, but I catch the flicker of worry in his eyes. “Don’t rush it though. These things take time.”
He’s scared I’ll remember. The realization twists in my chest because his kindness is real, but it only exists because I forgot who I am. Once I remember everything, this all falls apart. Except it’s already fallen apart. He just doesn’t know it yet.
During breakfast, I make myself act clingy like usual. When his hand brushes mine, I have to fight every instinct not to pull away. These are enemy hands. The hands of the family that killed my parents. But they‘ re also the hands that saved my life. The contradiction is driving me insane.
The second Kieran leaves for his morning duties, I move. I remember they must have taken my belongings when they brought me here. I start searching the cabin, careful not to leave obvious signs. Finally, deep in the closet, I find my familiar backpack. My phone is still inside.
I lock myself in the bathroom and power it on. The screen lights up with dozens of unread messages, all from Winston. My hands shake.
“Alpha!” Winston’s voice cracks when he answers. Thank god, we thought… everyone thought…”
“I’m fine.” I keep my voice low. “Listen, Winston, this is complicated. I can’t explain everything, but I need you to do exactly what I say.”
“Where are you? Are they holding you prisoner? I can organize a rescue team right now.”
“No.” I cut him off. “Don’t do anything. I’m exactly where I need to be.”
Silence on the other end.
“Alpha, what are you saying…”
“I’m saying follow my orders.” My tone sharpens. ” First, keep the council stable. Don’t tell them I’ve made contact. Just say the Alpha is still recovering and will return soon.
“But they’re already questioning things, especially your uncle Thomas.”
“Let him question.” My voice goes cold. “Second, all tactical adjustments wait for my command. How have we been doing in the border conflicts lately?”
Winston sighs. “Badly. We’ve lost three small skirmishes. I think someone’s leaking our deployments, but I can’t figure out who.”
“What else?”
“Another small pack got wiped out to the west.” His voice drops. “Very few survivors, but the ones who made it said the attackers were organized rogues. At least twenty of them, maybe more.”
I suck in a breath. Twenty rogues working together isn’t random. That’s military organization. That’s premeditated.
“Step up intelligence gathering,” I order. “Focus on rogue movements. And…” I hesitate. “Anything unusual from Ironridge?”
“Nothing. They’re dealing with rogue harassment as well. Lost several patrol units.”
So the rogues are hitting both packs simultaneously. They’re getting bold.
“Got it. Stay in touch, but be careful.” I pause. “Trust me, Winston. This is necessary.”
“I’ve always trusted you, Alpha.” His voice is steady. ” Just… please take care of yourself.”
After I hang up, I lean against the bathroom wall with my eyes closed. Now I have a communication line. I can still lead Nighthollow. But I also have to keep pretending, stay close to Kieran. Partly because I need to know what Ironridge is planning. But the other part, the part I don’t want to admit, is that Ember’s right. The bond between us is real. Even though I hate him, even though logic screams at me to run, my wolf still craves him.
Over the next few days, I start carefully gathering intelligence. When Ironridge holds strategy meetings,
I sit in as the curious mate.
“Rogue activity’s been heavy on the eastern border,” one commander reports. “I recommend we increase patrols there.”
Kieran studies the map spread across the table. “The eastern terrain is rough for large deployments. If we
fortify the north instead, we can flank them if they attack from the east.”
I try to sound casual. “Why not just defend the east directly?”
Everyone looks at me. Some of the expressions aren’t friendly.
“Because there’s a canyon.” Kieran’s patient when he explains. “Narrow terrain. If we get ambushed there, our retreat gets cut off.”
I nod like I understand, but I’m memorizing every
word. Eastern canyon. Narrow terrain. If Nighthollow needs to strike, that’s a weak point.
That evening, I throw in another hook. “I heard someone mention a waterfall to the west today. They said it’s beautiful. Can we go see it?”
Kieran glances at me. His expression shifts, becomes guarded. “You want to go west?”
“Just curious.” I take his hand, playing sweet. “I don’t remember anything. I want to see more of the territory.”
He’s quiet for a moment, then finally agrees. “Okay.
Tomorrow.”
The western region is exactly where Nighthollow planned to expand next. If I can scout it myself, I can give Winston better information. But as these double-
life days stretch on, keeping emotional distance gets harder. Kieran’s gentleness isn’t fake.
One night I pretend to be asleep and feel him kiss my forehead, hear him whisper, “I wish this could last forever.” There’s deep resignation and pain in his
voice. He knows this won’t last. He knows someday I’ll remember, I’ll hate him, I’ll leave. But he’s choosing to treasure every moment anyway. That kind of devotion to a fantasy makes my chest ache.
When I bring up history, testing the waters, his guard goes up immediately. “You and Nighthollow have always had bad blood?”
He’s reading documents but looks up fast, eyes wary.”
Why are you asking?”
“Just wondering. Some of your pack members look at me weird, like I shouldn’t be here.”
The silence stretches. Finally he says, “That war was my father’s biggest regret.”
“What war?”
“The territory war twenty years ago.” His voice gets heavy. “So many innocent lives lost, including…” He stops abruptly.
“Including what?”
“Including the other side’s Alpha pair.” He changes course at the last second, nearly saying “including your parents.”
“You must really hate the person who started it.”
“I hate my father’s choices.” He meets my eyes, and the guilt there is raw. “I don’t want to repeat his mistakes.”
In that moment, I see genuine pain. This isn’t an act.
Kieran Valens truly carries the weight of his father’s
sins. And that makes my hatred so much harder to hold onto, because I can’t hate someone who’s suffering as well.
That night we have sex again, but it’s different. When he enters me, when pleasure crashes through us both,
my mind is at war with itself. Logic screaming that he‘s the enemy, that I shouldn’t want this. But my body and Ember both crying out that this is right, this is our mate.
Kieran is rougher this time, more possessive. He bites my shoulder, growls my name low in his throat. Like he’s trying to carve me into his soul.
Afterward we’re lying there when he asks, “If you could choose, would you stay?”
My heart skips. Is this a test? Or is he being honest?
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I keep it vague.
He stares at me for a long time. Sadness fills his eyes, mixed with hope he’s trying to suppress. Then he sighs and pulls me against him. “I hope so.”
For one terrible moment, I almost confess everything.
Tell him I remember. Tell him I’m confused. Tell him I don’t know what to do. But I can’t. So I stay silent.
And keep playing this cruel game. One where we’re both going to get hurt.