Page 143 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Her eyes now focus across the yard at the last tower that hasn’t been touched. Her suffering ends here. Her wait is over; revenge is a short trip across the courtyard. Aurora makes yetanother dragon sound before launching herself out the window and into the air. Thankfully, for my poor heart, I see Alaric come swooping in under her and catches her as she starts to free fall. I can feel the pull through the bond that Aurora is summoning every single solitary ally she has brought with her. Without question, I shift and take to the sky. I will not be the last mate left behind simply because my animal can’t fight. I will be her eyes. I’ll keep watch over her target until she’s in place.

CHAPTER 114

Aurora

The time has finally come,and I can exact my revenge on the man who helped steal my mother from me. I look out the third-story window at what used to be, at one time, a grand castle with a beautiful courtyard. I take several moments to appreciate the architecture that’s before me. Every stone in this structure was cut, chiseled, and placed by possibly one of my ancestors. Every room had a different feel to it as we explored the castle. I can tell that there’d been additions made over time because of the difference in the technique used to place the stones.

Taking Josef’s head, knowing full well that he was probably involved with my abduction, and more importantly, the assault on my mother’s people was immense. His death was just an added bonus that has prepared me for my final battle with Vladimir. Part of me, deep down in my heart, I want to capture Vladimir alive. I want to bring him gift-wrapped to my father. I think that is probably the most selfless thing that I can do. I want Vladimir’s head and heart; I want Vladimir’s skull resting on a pike in my front yard for the birds to shit on for all eternity. My pain is nothing like the pain my poor father has had to endure for the last two hundred and thirty years.

Not only did Vladimir take my father’s fertility, but he also took his arm, his wife, his child, and his freedom all in one fell swoop. He may not have been the one to chop my father’s arm off physically, but he may as well have been for inviting the Strigoi into the castle.

I grip the stones of the windowsill, sinking my talons into the granite that is under me. I howl my death song into the night, unleashing my full Alpha power. I know full well that I am ripping the wolves free from my allies and my mates. I understand it’s an asshole move on my part, but our animals are more in sync when we’re all shifted. We move as one as a pack. It’s much easier for us as a whole when they can anticipate my next move.

I tilt my head back a second time—this time calling to my dragons, summoning them all to me. I’m ready to rain Hellfire down on those who stand against us. I’m out for blood, and my thirst will not be sated until either Vladimir is dead or in my custody. I answer my dragons’ calls when they unleash their breath weapons into the sky as a show of force. I feel the hum of the ancient power that rests within me now. My igniter clicks and I open my maw, unleashing that massive force of energy out of my mouth. I have finally figured out how to combine both of my breath weapons into one massively destructive force. The Force Dragon breath weapon utterly decimates anything that it touches, rendering it to nothing more than dust and ash. The Ice Dragon breath freezes everything it touches. It has varying degrees of cold depending on the intention that I weave with it.

I sense Alaric calling to me through the bond, telling me now is the time to attack. That we must get to the tower before he makes any attempt to escape. I can’t agree with my mate more. I launch myself out of the window, knowing full well that he would never let me fall. I make sure that when Alaric is under me, I protect him by curling my hands so that my talons don’t rip intohis scales. He flies me close to the tower, and I leap off, landing about a quarter of the way up the tower stones. We have several smaller dragon species that would be able to fit climbing up the tower staircases. I send three of them up, accompanied by my mate, Dominik, and five other Dire Wolves.

Through the bond, I show my mates precisely what I intend to do. Klaus volunteers to be the one to go up the stairwell with the dragons behind him to be able to get Vladimir’s attention away from the window in which I plan to go through. I agree, and Alaric goes back quickly, as Klaus makes the jump out of the window, probably scaring poor Arnulf and making him think that the rest of us are absolutely batshit crazy. Arnulf’s eagle starts to circle the tower. Through the bond, he tells me he sees a man sitting at a desk. He’s moving pewter figures around as if he’s still playing out the battle in his head; this bodes well for us.

I wait long enough for Klaus to be in position with the dragons. I advise them to travel slowly so that they don’t alert their quarry that they are on their way. Slow and steady, I sink my talons into the granite of the tower. Foot by foot, I climb, my muscles strain and flex, pulling my half-ton beast up the stone wall. I turn my massive head and focus my eyes on my troops down below. Some of the wolves have discovered an escape tunnel and have gone to explore.

My pack tells me of their findings, and I pause my climb to direct them on how they should proceed. Alaric is concerned that I am hanging off the tower’s side, having a full-blown conversation instead of finishing my ascent to the window. I shake my head and send my love to the big guy. I know he means well, but my people needed me, so I answered.

Klaus reaches out to me through the bond and tells me that he’s three-quarters of the way up the stairs and asks about my progress. I look up, then back down, and realize I’m holding the group up. I laugh softly to myself and begin to climb again. Myheart is pounding in my chest—not from fear but excitement. The end of this journey is so close I can almost taste it.

The wind shifts slightly, and I can finally catch the male’s scent. It’s not much different from Sebastian’s and Elena’s scents. Vladimir’s scent isn’t the usual woodsy scent of most of the Lycans. It’s a perversion of dragon and rot. He’s sick from whatever experiment he’s been doing to himself to live past his species’ years.

Father?I call out through my bond with my father. I need answers, and I need them now.

Yes, daughter? Nicodeamus’s voice echoes in my head. I feel his love and pride when he addresses me.

Vladimir’s time has come. I am within striking distance of him. He smells sick. Like rotting dragon blood and death. Is it safe for me to bite him, or should I place my toxin on my talons and cut him?I don’t wish to make myself sick in the process of capturing my enemy.

I feel that familiar hum of his dragon, its pensive noise, and the feeling that I know he’s in deep conversation with his beast. Though we are one with our animals, sometimes they have secrets that we don’t know about.

Don’t risk biting him. Cover your talons with your toxin. We are not sure what he’s done to himself. It’s better to be safe than sorry,Nicodeamus says with a finality that only my father can pull off.

Slowly, my father leaves our connection. Before he goes, I feel his love and pride over who I have become, flooding the bond one last time. Quickly, I reach out to the packs and horde, telling them of what I just learned. I warn Klaus to be extra careful around Vladimir.

Several moments pass, and I am poised just below the window. Everyone is in position; my dragons are waiting for my signal. Carefully, I lift one hand at a time off of the stones andrun my talons along the length of my canines, covering them with the toxin Jayce has gifted me with. Once I am sure each talon is sufficiently coated, I tell Klaus to knock on the door.

The moment of truth is upon us. I hear Klaus knock and then the shuffling of papers on the desk. A chair slides along the wooden planks of the floor. And the sound of a lock being disengaged prompts me to climb up to the windowsill and slide silently into the room. In my head, I can hear the guitar intro for “Hail to the King” from A7x. The lyrics fill my head as I sing it through the bond.

The world seems to move in slow motion from this point on—pivotal times seem to do that. I watch Vladimir’s hand extend and grasp the doorknob and turn it to the left. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, almost drowning out the music. Vladimir opens the door; inch by inch, I begin to see Klaus. My beast looms over Vladimir, looking down on his sickly form. I can tell by his bone structure he was once an impressive male. Now he’s a sick and twisted husk walking around due to unnatural magics used to extend his lifespan.

The door opens fully, and I see Klaus standing there with his sword drawn and dripping with venom. Vladimir backs up and walks into my beast. My taloned hands rest now on his shoulders as I sink the tips into his flesh. My growl is deep—almost demonic sounding because of the mix of dragon and wolf. I fling the once-mighty ruler across the room and into the bookcase on the opposite side. A sickening crunch is heard as his body breaks the wood and probably several bones.

While he lies on the floor, I shift back to my human form and steal Klaus’s flannel shirt from him. I dress quickly, roll the sleeves up above my elbows and turn my forearms and hands back to my gauntlets. From past experience, I know I look like my mother. I know the only real difference between us is my hair color. Other than that, I am almost a carbon copy of her.

Klaus comes to stand beside me, and we both wait and watch Vladimir stand slowly. He dusts himself off and then turns to look at me. Sebastian had the very same color blue eyes. I can see the similarities; the eyes, nose, and lips are the same. It makes me ponder precisely how much inbreeding was encouraged to keep his bloodline “pure.”

“Greetings, daughter,” he says with a sneer.

“Vladimir…” I say, practically snarling at him. I maintain my human eyes for the moment. I let him see my mother’s trademark steel-grey eyes stare at him.

“You look so much like her,” Vladimir says with an almost sense of wonder in his voice. “My baby Aurora.”

I narrow my eyes at him, and my beast rumbles. Its tone is a perfect blend of dragon and Lycan. “You mean Seraphina, don’t you, Vladimir? After all, that’s the name mother wished to give me.” I smirk as I lean back against Klaus. I will not kill Vladimir, but I will enjoy pissing him off for a bit before sending him to the horde.

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