Chapter 27

Aurora James - POV

The movement behind the bushes stopped when I let out a sigh. It must be some sort of an animal. I was about to walk back inside when I heard a laugh. It wasn't loud to alert anyone, but I heard it. A man walked out of the tall bushes. 

He was wearing a torn red t-shirt with a balaclava mask on his face, hiding his identity, but I still managed to see a scar that ran through his left eyelid and deeper into his face. I was paralyzed in fear as I stood staring at the man. For some reason, I had this sickening feeling that he was the same rogue who killed that woman last night. 

"You are dead." His voice was rough and deep as he said those words and vanished into the forest. 

How did he come inside the pack again without alerting the warriors?

I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump. "Aurora, are you alright?" I turned around to see Mrs. Kennedy standing behind me. I let out a deep breath and nodded my head. "You look like you have seen a ghost." 

"It's nothing, Mrs. Kennedy," I told her as I wiped off the thin layer of precipitation that formed on my forehead. I can still hear my heart pounding, as we walk back inside the restaurant. 

"Are you sure everything is all right, dear?" Mrs. Kennedy asked me again as we took a seat on the table, and she placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. 

"Is it possible for rogues to come inside without being noticed, Mrs. Kennedy?" I asked her when I saw her hands tighten around the coffee mug. The smile on her face wavered, and I saw a single teardrop slide down her cheeks. 

"They say it is the safest pack in this country, but I am starting to doubt that right now." She began as she finally looked at me. I didn't understand what changed between us when I remembered the attack last night. 

"Mrs. Kennedy," I placed my hand on hers when she looked at me. "Did you know her?" I asked. I didn't have to specify because, from the way the light dimmed in her eyes, I knew she figured out whom I was speaking about. 

"She was my sister's daughter, and from the moment I lost my sister and her husband in that tragic car crash when she was just five, I embraced her as my own. I didn't have children of my own, so raising her felt fulfilled that void within me." 

"What was her name?" 

"Rachel." 

"I tried to save her, Mrs. Kennedy, but…"

"I know, dear. Alpha Lopez told me, and I don't think I can thank you enough for putting your life at risk to save her," she exclaimed when she squeezed my hand. "I know Alpha Lopez would find that rogue soon, so that is the only hope I am clenching into." 

"He will be caught, Mrs. Kennedy," I told her when silence descended between us. Even though Mrs. Kennedy told me that I did the best I could, I was still unable to put away this guilty feeling. If I had just informed someone from the pack, then help would have been there, and she wouldn't have died. 

"You wanted to know about Beta Perez?" Mrs. Kennedy asked me, breaking me out from my train of thoughts, as I nodded my head. 

"I heard he already found his mate, so where she is now?" I asked her when a nostalgic smile formed on her face. 

"I don't know what happened between them, but one day, I heard the news that she broke the mate bond with Beta Perez and left the pack." Mrs. Kennedy said, and I nodded my head, but I already knew that part. "Do you know that everyone claims that the moon goddess never makes mistakes when pairing her creations?" Mrs. Kennedy asked me after a long pause. 

"But second-chance mates exist," I said when she nodded her head. 

"The reason was because sometimes her pairing goes wrong, so she grants the person a second chance." 

"How was the beta female when she was here?" 

"She was a proud woman, Aurora. I think that was bound to happen because she was the daughter of an alpha. Everything was fine between them for the first few weeks, but then small fights began, and I think Beta Perez had enough." 

"What sort of fights?" 

"She hated kids, and despite being the beta Female, she thought of herself as the Luna of this pack. She wouldn't even show respect to the pack members, and there was once when she broke an omega's hand when she accidentally spilled her coffee on the floor." 

I couldn't believe everything that Mrs. Kennedy was saying, but there must be something big for Beta Perez to reject his mate. 

"So Beta Perez rejected her for that?" 

"She rejected him on the day of her initiation ceremony. He was fuming in anger, but he didn't say anything as she walked out of the pack. All sorts of rumors began to spread, but he didn't try to stop them either. It was Alpha Lopez and Gamma Acosta who calmed the situation. But ever since then, he never sets foot out of his pack. Some warriors claim that he has become ruthless in his training as well." 

"It must have been painful to be rejected," I said when I felt the fathom pain of my rejection cloud my mind. 

"He used to come here every day, but ever since she left, he stopped coming here as well." Mrs. Kennedy said. We didn't talk much after that, and once I was done with my coffee, I got up ready to leave. 

"Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Kennedy," I told her, and when I was about to walk away, she called out my name. 

"I like you, dear. I hope you change him," she said. I didn't know why she said that, but I didn't stay there long to ponder on her statement as I walked out of there.