Page 102 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Aurora smiles and looks at each of us. She walks up to Alaric and places her hand on his shoulder. “Alaric’s dragon called to my dragon side, his promise of protection and his loyal heart sang to my beast.”

She next moves to stand beside Dimitri and smiles, looking up at him. “My beloved Great Bear, he has survived me from infancy. We have endured many hardships together and the loss of loved ones that is difficult to recover from.” Aurora reaches up and gently caresses Dimitri’s cheek; he leans into her caress, smiling at her. “His bear kept me sane, alive and protected. If it weren’t for him and our initial bond, I would have been one of the lost ones without a pack. Lost to my animal, never to be human again. Dimitri saved me from me.”

Next, Aurora moves over to Dominik and grips his shoulder. “Dom risked his life coming to me when I was my most volatile. I thought I was going to lose his brother and our fragile bond to the man he loved.” Aurora’s smile is radiant as describes hers and Dom’s bond. “Dominik made the decision to ask my father to place him in a confined space with me. It wasn’t the smartest move he could have made, but it’s what forged our bond. He put my needs before his personal safety.”

Jayce chooses now to re-enter with the twins in tow. “My sweet, sweet Omega mate, he guards my heart the fiercest. He’s my snuggler and my chocolate hoarder.” Aurora gently kisses Jayce’s temple, then moves to me.

She looks up into my eyes and smiles softly. “Klaus here sees me as the woman I want to be. He calls me his angel when all I ever feel like is a demon. He leaped across a balcony to catch me before I fell, in my early stages of pregnancy. He knew before I did what we were, damn blood magic stealing precious time from me.” Aurora kisses my cheek before turning to face Arnulf.

“Dimitri and Klaus were robbed of precious time with me because of Vladimir’s tainted bloodline.” She motions toNicodeamus next. “My father was robbed of his mate because of Vladimir’s treachery that knows no bounds. I swear, I will have my revenge, and I will dance on the bones of my enemies.” She smiles, and her eyes flash with the power of her beast for a second.

“You know what I see when I look in your eyes, Arnulf?” She tilts her head for a moment. “Hope. I see hope for a better future. I see a future where I’m not constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid for my children’s lives.” She shakes her head lightly. “I don’t need to see material things to gauge the man you are. You stood up to my beast when I know your bird wanted to fly. You trusted me enough to know I would never harm what’s meant to be mine.” Aurora smiles and kisses Arnulf on the lips. She lingers there for a moment then pulls away.

“Ok guys, enough mushy shit, I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” There’s the Aurora we all know and love. Her request for food has us all cracking up and heading to the kitchen. Jayce is in charge of dinner tonight; I’m kind of curious as to what he has made for all of us. The kitchen smells divine. Between my mother and Jayce cooking, we will be well fed.

We find my mother and grandmother in a heated discussion, yelling at each other in German. It’s not like German doesn’t sound angry enough, even when spoken calmly. Just as I’m about to say something, Aurora unleashes a blast of her Alpha power that silences the room. Both my mother and grandmother are subjugated before Aurora because of the force she uses.

Slowly, she moves to stand before both women, shaking her head at them. “Enough of the bullshit! Tonight is a night of celebration! If I hear one more jealous or petty word, I swear to the gods heads will roll!” Aurora growls out the sentence as she looks between the women. Jayce chooses now to move behind Aurora and rub her shoulder lightly. Slowly, the oppressivefeeling leaves the room, and Aurora turns away from my mom and grandmother.

Arnulf chooses now to turn to me and raises an eyebrow in question. “I’d love to say you’ll get used to it, but I’d be lying. She’s only getting stronger as time goes on. Each new mate brings a new power and more strength.” I shrug my shoulders as I finish my sentence. I mean, seriously, what can I possibly say at this point?

“I would like to offer a mating present to you, Aurora, and to my new bond mates.” Arnulf looks to each of us in turn, then back to Aurora. “I can help you reach your friend in the spirit world and possibly your mother. If you would allow me to try?” Arnulf doesn’t realize the boon he just offered her.

Aurora’s eyes light up, and she runs to grab Dimitri and Nicodeamus. “Yes, please, can we try after dinner?”

Arnulf smiles and nods his head slowly. “Anything for you, my mate. If it’s within my power, it’s yours.”

The winner of the best and safest answer to date is now Arnulf. We all gather around the table, passing the bowls and baskets around. For now, the looming danger of the outside world is forgotten. Right now, everything is right in the world. We know the war is on the horizon, but it’s nice to forget that part of life for a little bit.

Aurora chooses now to come to me and sit on my lap at the dinner table. She absolutely cracks me up at times. I don’t think there’s a single dinner that she’s sat in her own chair the entire meal. Dimitri says it’s because her beast needs contact to feel secure enough to eat in new places. Let’s face it, this isn’t her home, and we don’t plan on staying here once the castle is liberated from the Strigoi.

Apparently, tonight I’m not allowed to feed myself; neither is Dominik. Aurora takes a huge helping of her favorite foods and alternates between me, Dom, and herself. Jayce starts laughingat Aurora’s antics, and she flings a scoop of mashed potatoes at his head. Son of a bitch. Jayce moves just in time to catch the scoop, mostly in his mouth.

Aurora is cracking up, laughing at Jayce, who in turn flings some mashed potatoes at her. You know it’s my luck that she moves at the last moment, and I get a glob of mashed potatoes on my face. Aurora is still laughing, looking at me before she starts to lick the potatoes off of my face.

The table silences as they watch Aurora lick my face clean. She turns and looks at everyone, who promptly starts to pretend like they weren’t watching. “Oh, come on, guys, that was not the weirdest thing you’ve caught me doing,” Aurora says, not skipping a beat. Poor Dimitri almost chokes on his drink. Alaric needs the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the chunk of meat from his throat.

Jayce looks like he is going to say something for a moment, then he thinks better of it. Arnulf looks at Aurora and me and shrugs his shoulders. “They think it’s odd for a mate to preen the other? I thought wolves are pack animals?”

“We are,” Aurora says, then turns to look at the others. “They don’t complain when I run my tongue in other places. But apparently, licking Klaus’s face isn’t normal,” Aurora says with a sarcastic tone. I look at my bond mates, and their faces are various shades of red. “Don’t act innocent, you heathens. You know you love it!”

This time it’s poor Nicodeamus that almost drowns at the table. He’s having one hell of a coughing fit. Dimitri is quick to pat Nicodeamus on the back, trying to help him clear the fluid from his lungs.

I decide to take this time to finally be a wise-ass. Then again, I have Aurora on my lap. Who in their right mind would fuck with me right now? “Welcome to the insanity, Arnulf!” I raise myglass to toast to our new bond mate. Poor guy has no clue what he just got himself into!

CHAPTER 86

Arnulf

Never in thehistory of my people have any ever chosen a mate outside of our own kind. Many live their lives alone or paired up with another, with no hope of ever having a hatchling of their own. Aurora fiddles with her phone and puts on “Silent Lucidity” from Queensryche, saying it was one of Andre’s favorite songs. It’s midnight now, and we gather around the fire in the tent that we had erected in a hurry.

Aurora sits next to me with some of Andre’s belongings clutched to her chest. She anxiously fiddles with each item looking them over carefully. Nicodeamus has a single black braid in his hand. His sorrow is evident with how haunted his eyes appear. The hollow depths seem to almost stare through the braid in his hands. I watch him as he runs his fingers over the hair. I can only assume it’s from Aurora’s mom.

I start to toss the herbs into the flames, and they begin to change colors. Extending my hand, I reach out to Aurora on my right ,and Jayce who is on my left. One by one, we take each other’s hands and form a circle. “Please close your eyes till we make contact.” Slowly, we close our eyes as I begin the ancient rites to summon an ancestor.

After several moments of chanting, there’s a soft scent of cologne in the tent, and I hear Aurora gasp as she grips my hand tighter. I open my eyes, and the ancestor that had guided me here stands within the smoke before me. His eyes sweep over everyone gathered, then locks on my mate. A fatherly gaze sweeps over her this time as he smiles softly.

“Baby girl.” Andre’s voice is like a whisper on the wind. His smile broadens as he tilts his head to the side, watching her reaction. At the sound of his voice, everyone opens their eyes. Aurora almost instantly starts to cry, looking at Andre. Dimitri and Nicodeamus are crying as well at the sight of their old friend.

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