Page 156 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

“My heat is over, and well, all of you took very good care of me,” Aurora says, smiling. “We’ll know for sure in a few weeks.”

Klaus and I look at each other before he takes off running towards where Dante is. Dante strips and shifts almost immediately, and they take off. I start laughing hysterically. “I guess he’s a bit excited.” I lean in and kiss Aurora’s cheek.

“I bet you all are as excited as I am.” Aurora leans into my side before kissing my cheek and heading back inside.

Slowly, I make my way over to where Dimitri and Alaric are. They are looking over plans for the reconstruction. “Need any help, guys?”

Alaric lifts his head, and a knowing smirk crosses his lips. “So?” He starts to chuckle. “How was your first heat?” Alaric can barely contain his chuckle at my expense.

Exhaustion is evident on my and Dimitri’s faces. There are dark circles under our eyes; we’ve both lost weight. Generally, we look worse than we did when we went to war. “How often does this happen?” I ask as I run my hands down my face.

“About every three to four months, give or take a few weeks,” Dimitri says on a yawn. “That is unless she’s given birth. Then we’re safe until the babies are done being breastfed.” Dimitri rolls his eyes then runs his hand down his face.

“My children didn’t need to be breastfed long, so her heat came back three months later,” Alaric says, then tilts his head. “There are herbs we gathered while we were away that will stop Aurora from going into heat. Well, that is until she wants to.” Alaric starts to laugh again. “Depending on who managed tohave a baby this time.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I figure we have at least four more heats and vacations for me.”

Honestly, I never thought about it that way. I look around the courtyard at the various other mates that are present. Any one of us can be the father this time. Granted, Dimitri and Klaus have the best chances since they were with her first and tended to last the longest.

Then again, you have the twins, so it’s twice the chance that the child is a wolf. I don’t mind either way; I know that eventually, my time will come and I will have a child as well. I’m just happy to belong to a family that is so loving and caring. Alaric doesn’t have to leave to make sure that each of us has a chance at fatherhood, but he does.

“I’m going for a flight. I’ll be back for dinner,” I say to my bond mates before stripping out of my clothes. Carefully, I fold them and leave them on the nearby bench. Shifting to my Eagle is always so freeing for me. For now, I’ll scout the area, making sure there’s nothing left uncovered.

CHAPTER 124

Aurora

Life is technically backto status quo. My heat is finally over, and I’m able to regain some semblance of control of my life outside of it. As I descend the stairs going into the castle’s main hall, my mind wanders to those I left in hibernation. There are about a dozen to a dozen and a half young males that I spared during the assault. I believe today is the day that I will go and determine if they live or die.

At the foot of the stairs, my beloved enforcer and mate, Dominik, waits for me. “What’s your desire for today, my love?” He flashes me that debonair smile of his and leans upon the banister.

As I reach the foot of the stairs, I gently cup his jaw and draw him to me. Softly, I press my blood-red lips to his till I hear his wolf grumble at me. A smile plays gently upon my lips as I pull back to look him in the eyes. “I need you to come with me; we need to attend to those young males that I spared.” I start walking down the hallway holding Dominik’s hand as we head towards the dungeon. “It’s not fair or conducive for them to spend their life behind bars.” I shrug my shoulders, then sigh softly. “I truly detest being judge, jury, and executioner for such young ones.”

Dominik stops me suddenly, and comes to stand in front of me, blocking my path. Gently, he grips both of my hands and holds them together in between us. “Do you wish for me to take that burden from you?” he asks softly, not wanting to overstep his bounds.

“I would do it in a heartbeat, without question, just to make your life is easier and spare you some pain.” Dominik’s eyes flash to that of his wolf, and I can see how sincerely he wishes to shoulder the pain that I’m sure to feel.

It’s moments like this I realize that I am truly blessed. Someone somewhere has really been looking out for me. I go from being an orphan with no parents to finding my father, finding my mates, to having children of my own. Through Arnulf, I got to meet my mother. It’s moments like this that I start thinking about all the little things others take for granted. Gently, I nuzzle Dominik’s cheek then kiss his lips again. “My love, just you being with me is a blessing. Your desire to shield me from pain and unsavory situations means the world to me.” I shrug my shoulders lightly. “I know I don’t express this often, but I love you, and I’m grateful for everything that you do for me.”

Dominik smiles and draws me close to him again, holding me tightly to his broad chest. “You’ve come a long way Aurora. You’ve gone from barely able to show any affection to being the best mate a male could ask for.” He gently presses his lips against my temple and stays there for a few moments before pulling away.

“It’s nice to hear the words every once in a while, but I feel it in my heart and my soul how much you love me.” He gently places his hand over my heart and smiles at me.

“I know I have a place in here, and that’s all that matters.” Dominik grabs my hand again, and we begin the long descent into the dungeon.

Alaric has long since woken the young males up from their slumber. Most prowl the cage lost and confused. A couple look angry, almost too aggressive for their years. My gut tells me that at least four of these young males will not submit and will die by my talons.

After releasing Dominik’s hand, I step forward and place my hands on the bars before me. My eyes shift to that of my beast as I observe each of these males within the cage. I hate the fact that we have to have them caged up, but I also don’t know if we can trust them outside of it. One young male comes to the cage’s edge and stares at me. He’s a bold one; this should be interesting.

I start unleashing my Alpha power little by little, watching the rest of the young males cringe and submit. The one still standing at the bars is a potential Alpha, therefore a threat to my mates. I increase the amount of power that I’m using, slowly watching him buckle before me. It doesn’t take all that long to drive him into submission, but he has not yet gained my trust.

By the time I drive this one male into submission, Marco and Edgar have arrived with Dante in tow. Dominik fills them in on what I’m doing, and one by one each of them takes out one of the young males to stand them before me. I step up to the first one and lock eyes with him. Almost immediately, his eyes drop and he whines. “Do you accept me as your Alpha?” I question. In silent submission, he rolls his head to the side and exposes his throat to me. I give Edgar a nod, and he walks off, removing the young man from the dungeon.

Next, I move to Marco and the young male that he’s holding. This young male doesn’t even attempt to look me in the eyes and rolls his head to the side. “I accept you as my Alpha,” he says quickly and without hesitation. I study him for a moment longer and decide by scent he’s an Omega like my Jayce. I give Marco a nod, and he walks off with the young man.

Dante just so happens to hold the male I had to drive into submission. He’s still being a bastard. The defiant look in his eyes just tells me he’s going to be nothing but trouble. “I don’t even have to ask you if you accept me because you don’t,” I say with as much venom as I can muster.

“I would ask if you yield, but I know that you won’t.” The young man just smirks at me.

“I grant you the gift of death eternal.” Without hesitation, I lunge forward and sink my canines into his throat. Instantly, I inject him with as much venom as I can pump into him. Stepping back, I look at him, my lips covered in his blood as it drips onto my chest. His body starts to convulse in Dante’s grip. The venom is fast-acting, causing almost a seizure-like condition before all the blood vessels in his body explode. Dante drags the corpse off into an empty cell then goes for a new male to test.

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