Page 182 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

“To be fair love, chronologically, she’s only a year and a half going on maybe two.” I shrug my shoulders lightly, watching Aurora and the baby.

“You know, I keep forgetting that,” Aurora says as she rocks the baby gently. “Her size throws me off every time,” she says softly. I can see that wistful look in her eyes as she remembers Tia at the same age as Luna.

“I know, my love, but we did what we had to do to make sure that they were safe growing up,” I say softly, my voice filled with some regret. “Looking back, I regret keeping them shifted for as long as we did. But it all worked out in the end.”

“You’re right, Jayce. Our people are free, Vladimir and Tomas are dead, and our family is safe.” She smiles as she slowly stands and brings Luna back over to me. “The lunch wagon has two more stops yet.” She smirks as she deposits Luna in my arms. Playfully she moos as she walks out of the room.

Slowly, I stand up and head over to the recliner and sit down. I lay Luna in my lap for a moment while I remove my shirt. Carefully, I unsnap the top she’s wearing and lay her bare chest on mine for skin-to-skin contact. I grab the baby blanket I had on the table and lay it over her. Slowly, I lay the chair back and wedge myself and Luna in with pillows. It’s time to nap with my number one girl. Tiny rumbles from her puppy make me giggle, and I kiss the crown of her head gently. My mom is still in the room with us as I decide to sleep for a little bit.

CHAPTER 142

Alaric

The last fewdays have been a giant swirl with all the hustle and bustle revolving around the three new babies in our lives. My two children have taken a great interest in the new offspring. It brings me great pride and comfort that both assist their mother in caring for the new little ones. Tia seems to be exceptionally attentive to Luna. It was a shock to us all that Luna was born an Omega. I would have assumed that given Aurora’s dominant DNA, that daughter would have been an Alpha, just like her.

This afternoon, Ladon and I are starting his swordplay practice. Gus had given us a roe deer for lunch that we ate over an open fire with the rest of the bond mates. And then we went into town and got two wooden swords made by the blacksmith of all people. We walk back out to the training circle that we all usually spar in and take our stances.

Ladon attacks with force, strength, and precision for someone so young. I smile at his boldness as well as his tactical thought process. What he does not have in size, he makes up for in speed and agility. My father-in-law, Nicodeamus sits on the sideline with his mate, Helle, watching his grandson spar.

We take turns attacking and blocking for almost thirty minutes. Nicodeamus steps in and takes my place about halfway through the match. Ladon looks up to his grandfather, smiles and bows gently to him then stands en guard. Nicodeamus mimics Ladon’s moves, and soon the strikes rain down furiously. I watch my son’s footing and start to notice a pattern. His stance, his moves, and his reactions are exactly like his mother’s. I tilt my head to the side, watching him even closer, now replaying in my mind all the times I’ve watched Aurora duel.

He mimics his mother, which means he will be a very formidable opponent at some point. Klaus casually strolls up next to me and takes a seat to observe the matches. “How’s baby Kirra doing?” I ask him with a smile.

A bright, wide smile crosses Klaus’s lips. The amount of pride that he has for his daughter is probably the same as I have for my children. “She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s more perfect than I ever thought possible.” He smiles broadly and then pulls out his cell phone and starts showing me pictures that he’s taken of his daughter. The baby isn’t even a week old yet, and I’d have to say almost half of the pictures on Klaus’s phone are of his child. Honestly, I can’t blame him. I’ve ended up having to get more memory chips for mine.

Suddenly, in the middle of the match, Ladon stands stock still. An ethereal white glow surrounds his eyes as he stares off into nowhere. He whispers his sister’s name,Tia, before dropping his sword and takes off running. I don’t feel a disturbance in the bond, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. Klaus and I look at each other and then over to Nicodeamus, and the three of us run off chasing after Ladon.

It doesn’t take long before Aurora joins in the chase. Klaus looks at Aurora, puzzled. “I thought you had Kirra?” he questions.

“No, I left her with you,” Aurora says with fear in her tone. We start to run faster, trying to catch up with where Ladon has gotten to. By the time we do, we’re deep in the woods by one of the streams. Klaus’s mother Agnes is frozen solid.

Tia is clutching baby Kirra who is soaking wet to her chest. She’s shaking violently, holding her little sister, trying to keep her warm and to comfort her. Ladon moves in slowly and snuggles up next to his sister. Gently, he runs his fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her. “Tia, what happened”? Ladon asks softly

“I saw Grandma Agnes take Kirra off of Daddy Klaus while he was sleeping. Grandma Agnes never liked Mommy,” Tia says, firmly gritting her little teeth as we watch tiny scales ripple along her skin.

“I didn’t trust her,” Tia says firmly. “So, without her knowing, I followed her. I did like Mommy does and I climbed the trees using my talons.” To punctuate her statement, she shifts her free hand to her talons. “I stayed up high and watched everything that Grandma Agnes was doing.” Tears start to roll down Tia’s cheeks as she swallows deeply, looking up into both of her parents’ eyes and then over to Klaus.

“I’m sorry I froze your mama,” Tia says ever so softly, sniffling, trying to contain her tears. “But your mama tried to throw my baby sister into the water that’s too deep and too fast. She called her an aboma-something.”

Tia sniffles weakly again and snuggles her little sister, holding her as tightly as she can. “I did what I had to do, and I’m sorry,” Tia says between sobs. “I froze your mama, Daddy Klaus, before she could kill my Kirra.”

Aurora swoops in quickly and picks up Tia and baby Kirra all in one swoop. “You did good, baby girl, and I’m sorry you had to do such a big person thing.”

Klaus moves over instantly and takes Tia from Aurora, leaving the baby with her mama. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, little one. You did exactly what needed to be done. I wish with all of my heart that I could take this pain and memory from you,” Klaus says softly as he rests his forehead against Tia’s.

“I can help with that if you will allow me to do it.” Arnulf, who apparently followed, says softly. “It’s old magic, but not difficult to be done.” He walks over to Klaus, gently touching the back of Tia’s head. His eyes move over to Aurora, looking to receive her blessing. Reluctantly, Aurora nods her head, and Klaus hands Tia over to Arnulf.

I sigh softly, feeling like I’m on the outside looking in, that this is all just one giant, surreal nightmare. My baby girl, my innocent little daughter, just had to kill to protect her sibling. Part of me, I’m very proud of her for being able to do what had to be done. But as a father, I fear for her mental well-being over this. No child should have to carry the weight of having to kill. I walk over and gently rest my hand on Arnulf’s shoulder and draw in a deep, slow, steady breath.

“If it’s possible brother, please make her forget the kill, but let her remember that she saved her sister.” Arnulf nods at his understanding and slowly starts to walk away with Tia, heading back towards the house.

Klaus is beside himself, looking at his mother, who is completely frozen in ice. Roughly he’s running his hands through his hair, obviously not able to comprehend what she had attempted to do. I motion for Aurora and Nicodeamus to head back to the house. Nicodeamus gives me a firm nod and then wraps his arm around Aurora’s shoulder and starts leading her back.

I approach Klaus and just pull him into a hug. There are no words to express how he must be feeling at this moment, torn between the love of a son or the love of a father. Whose lifeholds more value and whose doesn’t? There’s never a clear-cut answer when there’s just family involved. It’s either the person that gave you life or the one that you helped give life to. Myself, I’ve already proven this, will always side with that of my child.

Klaus looks up to me weakly; sad, broken, lost, and confused. “I don’t understand,” he says flatly. You can tell the amount of emotion waging war within him with the look of despair upon his face. “Why my daughter?” he asks as he drops his forehead to my shoulder.

“I have no answer, my friend. The only thing I know is that your mom was never fond of our mate.” I hold him tightly to me, trying to give him comfort. It doesn’t take long before Jayce comes bounding through the woods and steals Klaus from me. Our sweet little Omega is the perfect one to try to heal Klaus’s wounds. I listen to them speak as we walk back to the house. Klaus is filling Jayce in as to what had occurred. Jayce’s explaining to him that Tia had made the best decision at the time. Klaus knows and understands that to be true, but it’s still rough knowing that your mother attempted to kill your child.

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