Page 105 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

It’s now I notice that she’s wounded, but from what I can see it’s nothing life-threatening and barely bleeding now. Alaric’s dragon lands hard on the mountainside, and the ground shakes from the impact. Aurora moves to stand before his dragon, and he bathes her in his flames. My eagle makes us hesitate briefly, still shaken up from the battle that had occurred. Eventually, we settle down enough and fly down to meet up with our bond mates. I shift quickly and fill everyone in on the events that transpired before they arrived—besides what they were able to see through my eyes.

All of us turn to watch Aurora still under Alaric’s flames. Dimitri is the first to say something. “You never get used to seeing that. Amazingly, she can withstand the heat of his fire.” Dimitri lays a large hand on my shoulder and pulls me in for a side hug. “Welcome to the family, Arnulf. We’re just a little different from your average family, but it works for us.”

As Aurora walks out from under Alaric’s flames, I nod slowly, listening to Dimitri. She’s back in her human form and looking at the surrounding carnage. “Fuckers ruined the nice evening I had planned. I wanted to hunt, feed, and fuck our way back home. But nooo, these assholes had to go fuck things up.” Frost gathers around Aurora, and ice spikes randomly impale the headless corpses around the mountainside.

Jayce is the first to move to Aurora’s side, and he nuzzles the back of her neck. We watch the tension leave her shoulders, and her stance relaxes as she melts into Jayce’s embrace.

“Alaric, why didn’t you go to Aurora? Or any of you for that matter?” My eyes shift to that of my eagle as I study the scene before me. Whatever power Jayce has over Aurora, it’s working; she’s calm and relaxed now.

“That’s easy to answer,” Dominik says, then moves to stand before me.

“Jayce is a natural-born Omega and built emotionally to be able to comfort. He’s not a threat in any way, shape, or form. You’ll learn each of our roles in this dynamic in time. I’ll give you a crash course while he’s soothing her. So…” Dominik moves and rests a hand on Alaric’s bicep. “Alaric, our resident dragon, is an Alpha just like Aurora. Their word is law, and they rule fairly together. In moments of intense emotion, he’s not able to soothe her, but she’s able to soothe him as his mate.”

Dominik moves over to Dimitri next. “Dimitri and I are what you would call Betas. We’re second in command, so to speak. We plot and maintain defenses for the family. We’re strong enoughto keep the packs together but not strong enough to rule alone.” Dominik taps his finger on his chin as he looks at everyone.

“Okay, so let me put it this way. If Alaric and Aurora are considered tactical nukes, we’re the ones pushing the buttons,” Dominick states. His military analogy makes perfect sense, so I nod along.

Dominik moves over to Klaus next. “Poor Klaus here, is a kind of anomaly. By birthright, he’s Alpha of the German Lycan pack. But he’s not strong enough to physically or emotionally hold the title. But he’s not exactly Omega material either. I guess you can classify him as a Gamma. Not exactly a Beta, not exactly an Omega. He is also ready to jump into battle like the rest of us.” Klaus nods along with Dominik’s explanation.

Aurora and Jayce come walking over together just as Dominik finishes his explanation. Aurora is wearing Jayce’s flannel shirt, and each male takes turns sniffing and nuzzling her neck. Alaric decides not to wait any longer and takes charge; he grabs hold of Aurora and leans her back against his chest. Aurora smiles at his possessiveness and sighs softly, finally fully relaxing.

“Now my brother, my twin Jayce, is an Omega through and through. But don’t let his sweet disposition fool you. He has a toxic bite that can either kill you or make it so you can’t summon your animal. Jayce is basically the bomb squad sent in to diffuse the nukes. Since he’s an Omega, he’s not perceived as a threat by the Alphas and allowed to enter their space.” Jayce starts to laugh.

“Basically, what my overly-brutish brother is trying to say is that when either Aurora or Alaric are homicidal, I’m the only one with enough balls to approach them.” To prove his point, Jayce moves over and snuggles right up to Alaric and Aurora.

“Arnulf, my guess is that you’re also an Omega or maybe a Gamma in our family dynamic,” Dominik says and shrugs his shoulders lightly. “Only time will tell, my friend.”

I turn around to find Klaus and Dimitri gathering up the wolves’ heads into several bags. “What are you two doing?” I ask.

“It’s a dragon thing,” Alaric answers before Dimitri has a chance to. “We tend to like to horde the skulls of our enemies. It serves as a warning and a reminder to those in our presence that we are much stronger than we look.” Alaric smirks then looks back to Aurora, who’s snuggled up with Jayce. “She likes decorating with skulls. Who am I to argue with her?”

Alaric turns his back to me and walks down to where he landed earlier. I feel the pull through the newly formed bond as he waits to have our attention. When Alaric senses he has our full attention, he walks away from the group and shifts, ready to carry us all back home. Aurora and Jayce take off running to Alaric for lord only knows what reason. Dimitri and Klaus carry their bags over to Alaric’s dragon’s talons and offer them to him to carry.

Aurora and Jayce are already sitting behind the crown of horns on the top of Alaric’s head. Klaus and Dimitri have found spaces along the spines on Alaric’s back to sit. Dominik takes his time, and I run to catch up. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not a fan of heights. Don’t get me wrong, I trust Alaric with my life. I just don’t like heights. Unfortunately, flying was the fastest way to get to Aurora and you.” He shrugs his shoulders then looks up at the space left for him between Dimitri and Klaus.

“They try to make me feel safe, and it helps, but I still don’t like flying.” I can tell that Dominik is putting on a brave face as he approaches Alaric, ready to take his place.

Wow. I never expected someone so strong to have a fear, or a dislike, as strong as he does. I watch Alaric stand with a fluidgrace I didn’t think a being his size could manage. Carefully, he turns his body in the tight space and takes off running until he’s able to clear the trees and spread his wings. Several strong flaps and he’s off the ground and heading back to camp. My shift is swift, and I flap furiously to catch up to him. Alaric slows to gliding on the thermals, noticing I am having a hard time keeping up.

Aurora’s eyes glow white as she looks back at me. I watch her shift her left arm to her gauntlet and stick it out for me to land on. I finally catch up and take advantage of the offered perch. Aurora carefully draws her arm in and rests me against her chest for the ride home. I am so very blessed to have mates concerned for me; I really got lucky to have joined the family they have created.

CHAPTER 88

Jayce

The flight is much fasterwith Alaric flying than anyone else could have made on their own. Aurora decimated her enemies without breaking a sweat, yet again proving herself to be a phenom in battle. Alaric’s dragon roars, alerting the camp to his arrival. Over the clearing in the center of camp, he opens his talons, dropping the bag of rogue Lycan heads. Elsa moves forward and sets some younger pack members to work removing and cleaning the skulls.

Alaric circles and lands gently in the field behind the Alpha house. Several of the maidens that work in the Alpha house come out holding seven robes, not knowing how many we may need. They are fully prepared for anything that may have happened. Everyone carefully disembarks Alaric’s back and heads towards the maidens. Aurora moves first and takes three robes, then waves the women off. She passes the robes to Alaric, and Arnulf then puts the last one on herself.

“I was having a great time till those fuckers came and ruined it,” Aurora grumbles as she shoves her arms almost violently into the sleeves of her robe.

Arnulf finishes tying his robe around his waist and then looks between Aurora and Alaric. “You would have been muchsafer with one of your other mates. I was completely useless in battle.” Arnulf sighs as he kicks the dirt under his bare feet. His shoulders are almost curled in on themselves. His stance screams that he’s mentally beating himself up.

Alaric moves forward and stands in Arnulf’s way. “Not everyone can be warriors. You are skilled in the mystic arts, which we need in the coming battles.” Alaric pulls him in for a bro-hug and then turns to head toward the house after the others.

Once inside the Alpha house, Aurora’s agitation hits a new level and Dimitri is trying to talk to her. Suddenly, Aurora is standing on top of a chair in the middle of the room. I’m waving a leg of lamb at her, and Dimitri is asking her to calm down.

---