Page 29 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Aurora’s dad, Nico, has been fabulous with me. He worries about if I’m taking care of myself while I tend to his daughter. That’s what a father is supposed to be like. Not like the monster Dom and I had for a father. I was so happy when Aurora and Nico killed him. Dare I say best day ever? For the first time in years, I saw Alex smile, like really smile. There was a noticeable weight lifted off of Dom’s shoulders as well. After all, he was next in line for the political mating. Ugh, the bitch he was supposed to get was a hag. I hope my brother realizes just how blessed we are. Sadly, it took my mate almost dying for me to see how truly wonderful she is.

When Aurora wakes up, everything is going to change. No more being a chicken shit and hiding. Instead, I’m going to face my feelings. I love her with all that I am. I will lay beside her all day and all night for as long as I can. The guys have been incredible, letting me stay and not enforcing the rotation rule with me.

At the end of day one—yesterday—her father’s blood had brought back a lot of color to her skin. We are so thankful that Elena knows what she’s doing when it comes to poisons. Pint after pint, her color has improved, and at one point, her hands moved. I keep talking to her, and the guys look at me like I’m nuts.

Elena gives me that motherly smile and touches my shoulder. “Don’t worry, prince, she’ll wake up.” She gently runs her fingers through my hair in a soothing manner. “Keep talking to her; she needs to know you’re waiting for her. Right now, her wolf is in protection mode, making sure she heals right.” Elena leans over and kisses my temple, and hugs me. “I’ll get you dry shampoo and a brush for her hair. And I’ll show you how to use it, so she wakes up not feeling gross.”

Elena makes a final check of everything and leaves to go procure the goods. I wave for Sebastian to trade out with me; I need to stretch my legs and hit the men’s room. I don’t think I’ve ever pissed so fast in my life as I had since last night. My chest fucking hurts being away from Aurora for too long. My wolf feels like he’s trying to rip free of my body to get back to her. I can’t blame him; I feel exactly the same way. It’s never easy for an omega to deal with the alpha being injured. We tend to go into nurture mode and mother the hell out of them until they recover.

Elena returns with all the hair care and skin care products she could find. The boys and I all watch as she explains what each is for and how to use it. We all want to help with her care; some of us are just more in tune with our nurturingside than the others. I can see how uncomfortable Sebastian is with everything, and I snicker out loud. The boys only really hung around for the bed-bath portion of the care instructions. Figures, right? I smile and copy everything that Elena showed me. I feel like I’m really making a difference in how Aurora feels.

We slept peacefully last night, and I wasn’t bothered. Sebastian and Dimitri were like sentries watching over us as we slept. Kind of creepy, but with everything that’s happened, it’s a necessary evil at this point. I wake up to them prepping Sebastian for his donation and fresh coffee. I sit up and start fussing with Aurora’s hair and cleaning up her face, making sure she is ready for the day. I made sure I explained to her what was going on with Sebastian.

My hands shoot to cover Aurora’s nose when I smell Alexis’s arousal. Thankfully Sebastian and Elena handled it before I said something. Slowly I begin Aurora’s bed bath, making sure every inch of her body is cleaned and dried. The first bag of Sebastian’s blood is hooked to her IV and is flowing into her. I can already see tiny differences in her color and skin texture. I can’t help myself. I cover her up and lightly touch her face before I lean over and kiss her gently.I miss her so much.

Without any warning, her hand grips the back of my head, holding my lips firmly to hers. The rumble from her wolf makes me hard in a second as she holds me in place. I surrender to her completely in this very moment. My heart is pounding in my chest; I feel as if this kiss has gone on forever. She manages to nip my bottom lip, drawing blood. I feel her suck at my bleeding lip, and flick her tongue over the wound before her hand and teeth release me. I’m panting from the intensity and the passion I felt. I can’t bring myself to look at the others just yet. I know in my heart this was her way of telling me that she’s going to be okay, and I just have to be patient.

Slowly I turn and look at the guys. I can’t help the lovesick puppy look I have on my face—the single most significant moment of my life. I return to giving her the sponge bath and whistle while I work. Sebastian comes to sit next to her once all three pints are taken from him.

“Love, I found and killed the person that shot you. I took their head and heart to give to you as a gift.” Sebastian’s eyes drop to Aurora’s hand, and he picks it up, holding it. “If you can hear me, baby, please squeeze my hand. I beg you.” I feel so much sympathy for Sebastian. He’s an alpha without his mate. Alphas usually don’t do well when they are separated from their mate for any reason. I can see Aurora’s fingers twitch in his hand then close slowly. Part of me is pleased as punch that she reacted stronger to me.

But on the other hand, I feel horrible that he’s not receiving just as strong of a reaction from her. There are no words of comfort in moments like this. We tend to beat ourselves up when bad things happen.

An audible sigh escapes Aurora’s lips, and she moves her entire body, adjusting her position. Dimitri runs off, yelling down the hallway for Elena. Aurora is fighting so hard to wake up. Her eyelids flutter, and her eyes move rapidly. “Come on, baby, you can do it. Please open your eyes.“ I can’t help but prompt her. I can’t resist urging her to return to us.

One eye pops open first, then the other. She blinks them rapidly and yawns. “Did we win?” she croaks, her voice scratchy from lack of use. Of course, Aurora worries about victory at a moment like this.

“Yes, love, we won. You were shot by a poisoned arrow. If it wasn’t for Mom taking pints of blood from your dad and me, I don’t think you would have lived.” Sebastian’s voice cracks, mentioning her near-death experience. His eyes well up with tears, and he lets them run down his face.

Dom and I share the same side of the bed as we observe Aurora. Her eyes lock with each of us in turn until she gets to me. “Thank you, Jayce, for keeping me clean and telling me about the day. Thank you for keeping me warm at night.” She reaches out and grabs my hand. ”Thank you for remembering to treat me like I was awake and here.” Tears roll down her cheeks as she smiles at me. She truly appreciates all that I have done for her.

“Anytime, my love, anything for you... anything you want, it’s yours.” I mean every word. I lift her hand and kiss the back of it, looking into her eyes as I do.

“Jayce, when I’m stronger, I want you in my bed, just the two of us. We need to finish our bond. I love you so very much.” She makes the motion with her lips like she wants a kiss. Who am I to deny her? I lean forward and let her control the kiss. It starts sweet and tender until she bites my lip again and licks my wound. I can’t help but smile. I am the happiest wolf on the planet at this point.

I reluctantly move out of the way for the others and let everyone in to show our girl some love. I feel so relieved and scared at the same time. I am scared because as soon as she heals, it’s going down! Or should I say I’m going down? Crap, most incredible, and worst day ever. Performance anxiety? Absolutely. My eyes catch the movement of Sebastian leaving the room quickly. I wonder what the cheeky bastard is up to.

Sebastian returns, carrying something with a towel over the top of it. Nico strolls in right beside him with his hand on the edge of the towel. “My love, I present to you the head and heart of the man that attempted to kill you.” Sebastian drops to one knee next to the bed and holds the covered platter out to Aurora. Nico removes the towel with a practiced flourish. The smile that creeps across Aurora’s face is worth witnessing this disturbing scene. Who in their right fucking mind gives a head and heart as a present?

It fucking must be a Lycan and dragon thing because Aurora is elated. Nico beams with pride and Sebastian is smiling. Meanwhile, Dom and I are looking at each other likewhat the fuck just happened? We’re confused as all hell by this display, but it makes Aurora happy, so it’s worth it.

“Elena? Mom?” Aurora calling ElenaMombrings tears to the old lady’s eyes. She moves forward and sits on the opposite side of the bed as her son.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Aurora rests her hand on Elena’s. “Can you please prepare the skull to hang with the others? It deserves a place of honor in our home.” Elena nods and motions for a Lycan male to enter the room and take the tray from Sebastian.

“Aurora, I took the liberty of taking your skull pile and sent them to be cleaned as well,” Elena states plainly. Well fuck... The look all three of us give Elena and Aurora is one of shock.Has Sebastian’s mom finally wholly lost her shit?How is it that this skull hoarding is now a thing?

Nico clears his throat. “It’s a dragon thing to horde the skulls of your enemies. The more skulls, the stronger the dragon. I didn’t think my baby would have that instinct.” He sniffles and wipes his eyes with a handkerchief. “I’m so proud right now, I can’t handle it. Please excuse me.”

Aurora waves everyone off, and her father comes to sit before her; she holds him tightly as they both cry together. Perhaps her odd behavior isn’t so odd after all. She’s merely following the instinct of her dragon side. That explains a lot. Well, maybe not, but it makes a little more sense. “Daddy, will you show me how to make a menacing display of my trophies?”Seriously? I must be in the twilight zone. Nico nods and smiles before getting up and leaving the room.

“Guys, I’m famished. Can I have steak and pasta and something cold to drink?” Everyone scrambles about while I move and sit beside Aurora again. I’m not letting this girl out ofmy sight until the bond is dead solid. I pull Aurora into my lap and nuzzle her neck. Fucking instincts, of all the times for them to kick in, now isn’t it. Aurora giggles and snuggles in closer, holding on for dear life. “You’re a good fighter, Jayce. You held off a lot of Strigoi after your brother had fallen. I’m very proud of you.” She kisses my cheek gently and rests her head on my shoulder.

Everything is right in the world other than my mate collecting skulls. It’s something I’m going to have to adapt to and overcome. Gently I run my fingers through her hair and carefully massage her scalp. A soft sigh escapes her lips as she relaxes into the massage. With a giggle and a flop, she ends up with her head in my lap, looking up at me. Those stormy grey eyes shine with love and happiness. Deftly I seek out the knots in her hair and remove them with my fingers. Gently I move my fingers and start massaging her temples and forehead. The sounds she’s making—lord save me—go straight to my cock.

I’m praying she won’t notice my erection, but let’s face it, she is right there, inches from it. Her eyebrow raises, and she looks right at it. “Someone’s happy to see me.”

That devilish smile has Dom stopping in his tracks in the doorway and raising his eyebrow at me. I wave at him to enter, which may or may not have been my brightest idea. I would sit here suffering from the boner from hell until I knew she was fed and strong enough. Fucking bastard has a mind of his own at times. After helping Aurora sit up, Dom and I set up the table for her and watch her eat. I never in a million years thought I would take pleasure in watching someone else eat. But here I am, watching our mate eat like it is the most beautiful sight.

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