Page 154 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

“Define okay. I’m exhausted in the best way possible.” My eyes drift to Aurora for a moment, then back over to Klaus. “Honestly, I think my balls are just shooting dust at this point.” We share a good chuckle over my situation.

“Anytime you’re ready to tap out big guy, I’m your man,” Klaus says and then points both of his thumbs at himself with a big smile on his face.

“I may just take you up on that. As much as Great Bears are known for their stamina, a bitch in heat can definitely push you beyond your limits.” A yawn escapes my lips. I just can’t. I’m done. I’m beyond done. I think I’ve honestly invented a new level of being done.

Klaus tilts his head, looking at me and then over at Aurora. “This may just end up being a team effort. If she’s wiped you out already, I’m worried for the rest of us.”

I nod my head in agreement with Klaus’s statement. “I just need a couple of hours to rest without being attacked.” Carefully, I slide myself off the bed, hopefully without disturbing Aurora. “I’m going to go oversee the construction and destruction of the main courtyard.” I shrug my shoulders as I look from Klaus to Aurora.

“Try and nap, man, it may take all of us to keep her sated.” Klaus moves and sits on the bed, his back to Aurora. “Without Alaric here, we all have a shot at fatherhood.” Klaus smiles broadly, looking at me. He’s just as excited as I am.

A yawn escapes my lips, and I quickly raise a hand to cover my mouth. “Maybe a nap is in order before I check things out.” I clap Klaus on the shoulder. “Good luck, brother.”

As I start to leave, Aurora awakens, unbeknownst to Klaus. He’s so focused on me that he’s caught off guard when our mate pulls him back to her. I can’t help but laugh at the look of shock on his face as I leave the room.

Several minutes later, I find myself in the courtyard, and I start assessing everyone’s progress. Dominik is the first to approach me, and his pupils dilate almost immediately. “It’s that time again?” he asks as his eyebrows shoot up.

“Yes,” I say tersely, just before yawning yet again. Lord help us over the next three days.

“That explains Alaric’s swift departure sometime last night. He took Nico, my mom, and the kids with him to the summer palace.” I watch Dominik pace in front of me as he ponders the gravity of it all.

“He was truly serious when he said he would leave to give us all a fair shot at fathering a child.” I smile then bro-hug Dominik. “Klaus is up there now, and she was already voracious this morning. You may want to check on him in about an hour,” I say smiling at him, knowing full well Klaus may tap out in about two hours.

“Thanks for the heads up, D. Maybe I’ll grab Jayce and bring him with me.” Dominik shrugs, still smiling like a fool.

“Do what you feel is best. Aurora’s going to be of a singular thought until her heat is over. We need to work in shifts.” I start laughing like a madman. I’m completely serious about working in shifts, and Dominik knows it.

“I’ll check on him in about two hours and bring Jayce with me. I’ll let Arnulf know to check in about three to four hours after we head up.” Dominik smirks, knowing full well that this isn’t going to end well for any of us.

“Sounds good to me.” I dip my head slightly to him before heading off to talk to the dragons in charge of knocking down the walls. We decide structurally it’s safer to remove the walls and the towers and rebuild if Aurora wants the walls back. Knowing my mate, she won’t want the walls. She’s more of an open floor plan kind of gal. I find a place in the courtyard that’s untouched, where a large, old apple tree stands alone. Slowly, I walk around the tree and find the spot I had carved my name into its bark. Carefully, I climb up into the branches and find a good place to rest. I’ll close my eyes for a little while, then go grab something to eat. I hope the others fare well while I rest.

CHAPTER 123

Arnulf

It’s beenthree days of switching out to take care of our mate’s needs. I feel like such a wuss. I can only last a little over an hour before tapping out. Eagle females don’t go through heats. Twice a year, if we are lucky, they are fertile and that’s it. Not this every three months insanity that poor Aurora goes through. Poor Aurora, who am I kidding? Poor us! I mean, it’s fun for the first day or two. After that, it’s like is it over yet?

Slowly, I drag my exhausted ass out of Aurora’s room and head towards the kitchen. Upon arrival, I find my other bond mates all hunched over their cups of coffee, trying to wake up. “Morning,” I mumble as I flop into my usual seat.

Klaus shoves the bacon down towards me. “Eat up. Try to regain your strength,” he says, sounding beyond exhausted.

“Look at poor Dimitri. He looks like he’s lost weight.” I say and flail my arms around. Stressed out doesn’t even begin to sum up how I’m feeling.

“Good news is her heat has ended. I don’t smell her anymore,” Klaus says on an exhausted exhale.

Dominik’s eyes shift to his wolf, then back to his hazel-green. “Alaric has been informed. They’ll be back by lunchtime.” He starts to laugh softly. “I elect Alaric to be on Aurora duty.”

It’s pretty much unanimous that we all need a vacation from the last three days. I pick at my breakfast; exhaustion is real. My bacon is delicious. I just barely have the energy to eat it. Several times I catch my head falling towards the plate.

Jayce comes over and snuggles up to me and holds me tightly. “You need sleep, brother. Take a quick nap.” Jayce leads me over to the window bench that we built for Aurora. He sits down and places my head in his lap. “Close your eyes for a little bit. I’ll watch over you,” Jayce says as he runs his fingers through my hair.

His gentle strokes soothe me to the point I fall asleep quickly. My sleep for once is dreamless and fulfilling. In my dreams, I see the babies to be born. A bear and I believe a Lycan pup and a third I can’t see clearly. Wow, Aurora is going to be upset carrying three babies at once. Then again, my visions haven’t always been one hundred percent accurate.

Blinking several times, I finally open my eyes to find Jayce leaning back against the wall, also napping. Carefully, I remove myself from his lap and gently lay a throw blanket over him. Smiling softly, I lean forward and kiss his forehead. You honestly can’t help but love Jayce. He worries about everyone and takes care of them without any prompting. He just knows when you need him, and he’s there.

I glance around the kitchen and grab some pastries before heading to check in on Aurora. Silently, I creep down the hallway and reach Aurora’s door. I open it a crack and peer inside. She’s nowhere to be seen; perhaps she’s left already. I close my eyes and reach out through the bond to locate everyone. Alaric is back with the children and is in the courtyard. Aurora and the guys, minus Jayce, have joined them. Gently through the bond, I reach out to Jayce and rouse him from his slumber.

As I wander the hallways, I notice the signs of reconstruction that’s been taking place over the last week. We still haven’tsettled on where we are to live yet; I’m sure that we will make that decision in the upcoming days. Once I arrive in the courtyard, I get tackled by Tia and Ladon. I can’t help but laugh as I fall back, cradling both children to me. “I missed you two so much!” I rub my face against theirs, letting my bird whistle its greeting to them.

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