Page 145 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Our eyes raise up, looking skyward; dawn’s early light casts a multitude of colors across the clouds. It’s then, I see them. Alaric is in the lead, flanked by Dante and Edgar, with Marco, the Black Dragon, bringing up the rear. Dante appears to have something in his hand, but he’s staying higher in the sky than the others. Alaric lands gracefully, and my daughter leaps off of his back.She shows me Josef’s head and tells me about the battle. Dimitri shows Aurora the Elder Dame’s head, which is probably one of the most romantic moves I’ve witnessed my old friend do.

Aurora is up to something as I see Alaric move to stand behind me. His hands cover my eyes, and I hear movement around me and a thud. Helle gasps, and I feel her hand on my left side. “Release him, Alaric,” Aurora says, her voice so commanding and powerful, and I am already beaming with pride until I see what she has brought for me.

“Vladimir...” Frost begins to coat the ground around me as I stare at the one man who destroyed my life. My dragon wants to break free and plunge this bastard into a block of ice. Meanwhile, my daughter has the most sadistic smile on her lips that I have ever seen on her. It concerns me to see her like this. Alaric looks concerned, as well as her other mates.

Aurora cuts the gag free from Vladimir and drives him to his knees. Her taloned gauntlet keeps applying pressure to his left arm. I see what she’s contemplating already, an eye for an eye. I look at her other mates, and I’m pretty sure they have no clue what’s going on in that pretty little head of hers.

“Father?” is all Aurora says, and I give her a nod. Without a second thought, she slices through Vladimir’s shoulder like a hot knife through butter. Her talons are covered in permafrost, and she cauterizes the wound as she amputates his arm. His severed arm falls to the ground, making a sickening thud.

In an uncharacteristic move for Aurora, she bows her head to me in submission and backs away from a cursing Vladimir. Dimitri stands between Vladimir and me, holding a pillow with my sword and a second sword. I remove my sword and test its balance several times before standing en garde. Vladimir makes the connection and grabs the other sword. Aurora had evened out the playing field by removing one of his arms. Now she stands on the sidelines, watching over my mate and her children.I know I will not fall in battle today; Daddy’s little Hellion would never allow it.

Vladimir is angry, and we all know you should never fight angry. You become sloppy and make mistakes that if you were level-headed, would never have happened. He isn’t used to fighting and only using one arm to balance himself. Welcome to my hell for the first twenty years of my imprisonment. I’ll be honest. I’m toying with him, enjoying watching him suffer. “You are the last of your bloodline, Vladimir. How does it feel?” I ask him as I cut his calf.

“You bastard, Nicodeamus! Coward! You have your abomination of a daughter wound me!” he screams, practically foaming at the mouth. His rage is palpable in the air, and no matter how hard he tries to shift, he can’t, and it’s just making him angrier.

“Actually, I did that for the fuck of it, you bastard. I should really have castrated you like you did my father. But alas, you won’t live long enough for it to matter much,” Aurora says, staring Vladimir down, her eyes taking on that ethereal glow. The ancient power of the Force Dragon starts crackling through her long, white hair.

Vladimir is frozen in place, staring at Aurora as she starts letting the power she contains possess her fully. Frost and the crackling of that purple energy begin to radiate from her. The influx of power is to the point her mates pull my mate and her children away from her. Through the bond, I can feel the rage and pain in her heart. She stares down at the man that took so much from her. She suddenly throws her arms out at her side, and a wave of frost hits Vladimir full-force and sends him flying into a tree.

“I hold you responsible for my mother’s death. I hold you responsible for the deaths of Dimitri’s people. I hold you responsible for my father’s imprisonment. I hold youresponsible for making me the monster I am today.” Aurora starts to laugh, and I think she’s become unhinged the way she’s looking at him.

“I have a fate planned for you far worse than death, Vladimir.” Aurora tilts her head several times, side to side, as she watches him cower.

“For now, it does my heart good to watch my father kick your worthless ass.” Aurora flops down onto the ground and pulls her babies to her.

Everyone is in a state of shock over how quickly the switch flipped with her. Aurora begins to run her fingers through Tiamat’s light-blonde curls as Ladon does the same to his mother’s long, white hair. I’m not sure who is soothing whom, but Aurora seems calm at the moment. Arnulf hands her a flask of something.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vladimir begin to charge me. I parry every attack he makes. The blades caress several times, and I have to admit, I didn’t think he still had it in him to fight like this with as sick as he seems.

Laurel appears out of nowhere and passes popcorn out to my family as she goes to take a seat next to Aurora. Vladimir is an accomplished sword fighter, and I’m genuinely enjoying myself fighting him. He’s all anger, and I am as cool as a cucumber, taking my time making sure that I block his every attack. Helle is being held by both of her sons as she watches me fight. I feel like a knight back at court trying to impress all the young maidens. Who knows, I might get a little extra lovin’ tonight after my decisive victory in the ring.

Apparently, I got a little too cocky too soon; Vladimir manages to disarm me. Just as his blade starts to head for me, Aurora stops the sword with the scales of her gauntlet.

“Remember, I said you were going to die an excruciating death?” Aurora asks with a very soft and seductive tone. A light, playful smile plays upon her full blood-red lips.

Vladimir is frozen in fear as I feel the Force Dragon gift of intimidation being pressed upon him. His wolf’s eyes skip between this blade and her gauntlet. I watch as the fur starts to ripple over his body. I see the look of concern on Arnulf’s face as he watches Vladimir begin to shift to his Lycan.

Aurora unleashes the full magnitude of her Alpha power on Vladimir. “You will not shift!” Her voice booms as she stares at him with her beast’s eyes. He attempts to resist her command but ends up falling to his knees—still human. He’s panting hard, holding his chest, her power physically hurting him.

“You’ve stolen so much from me, Vladimir.” She reaches down, grabs him by his jaw, lifts him off the ground, and starts encasing his body in an ice prison.

“You’ve stolen my mother from me; my father could have healed her if he was by her side instead of fighting the Strigoi.” Aurora’s talons press into the soft flesh of his cheek a little more. His skin flexes, straining to hold up against the sharpness of her talons.

“You stole my father from me. I could have turned out so much different if you didn’t betray your own people.” Her eyes narrow as she tightens the ice prison a bit. The tinkling noise of the ice as it moves and constricts can be heard.

“Your sister damaged my bond with my mate, Dimitri, at your behest. I thought I was insane because of you.” Aurora is scarily calm as she speaks to him. Her talons lightly cutting into his face now. Rivulets of blood slowly flow from around her talons and drip onto the ice below.

“Payback is a bitch, Vladimir... It just so happens I am that bitch.” Aurora’s eyes begin to take on the ethereal glow; scales ripple up and down Aurora’s nose and cheeks. The bone plates inher face begin to shift and move. It is as if her beast is about to break free at any moment.

Suddenly, she grabs Vladimir and lifts him off the ground, breaking him free from his ice prison. Her talons sink swiftly into his flesh. He appears frozen in a state of horror. What is my daughter about to do?

CHAPTER 116

Aurora

The bone platesin my face start to shift and move. I feel as if my beast is about to break free at any moment. Suddenly, I grab Vladimir’s throat roughly and lift him off the ground, breaking him free from his ice prison. My talons sink swiftly into his flesh. He appears frozen in a state of horror. His eyes are open wide, and his mouth hangs open in a voiceless scream. I watch the color drain from his face as he realizes how deep of shit he is now in.

I feel the rage boiling under my skin as I hold him off the ground, looking into his pale blue eyes. This thief has stolen so much from my family and me. Without hesitation, I throw him away from me towards the center of town and stalk slowly after him. I hear the gasps and whispers of my family around me. Part of me knows this isn’t something my children should bear witness to.

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