Page 39 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to break it, I say to Dom through our bond. Understanding flitters across his features as he guides me to sit on my throne. Gently, Dom takes the baby from Anna, then comes to me next. I watch in amazement at how he looks so perfect holding the baby.

“Hold your arms like I am. Trust me, you’ll be fine.” I mimic the position that Dom’s arms are in and he gently rests the child in my arms. I’m honestly frightened I’m going to accidentally hurt the baby. My other mates arrive quickly, sensing my anxiety and fear. They suddenly stop, watching me nuzzle the baby I am holding.

Lia grips a lock of my hair and pulls hard. I can’t help but smile at this little being’s strength; she dares to pull the alpha’s hair. I nuzzle her again and make a low, comforting rumble at her. I look up to my mates, my wolf and I are in agreement.

“I want one.” I immediately drop my eyes back down to Lia when I hear the thud of a body hitting the floor. Sebastian passed the fuck out. I guess he can’t handle the day today; way too many changes in such a short amount of time. The twins take this opportunity to approach and stare at the child together.

“Soon as the war is over you can have as many as you want,” Dom proclaims. Deep down, I know that’s the smartest course of action. I keep sniffing and nuzzling the baby; she’s such a precious gift. Fertility is becoming rare among the Lycans; to birth a daughter is nothing short of a miracle. I carefully shift my arm under Lia and pluck a single scale before shifting back. I look at Anna and hold the scale out to her.

“Give this to Lia when she’s old enough to understand the boon I have given her. I will come for her no matter where or when. That is my promise to this baby.” I lean down and kiss Lia’s forehead before offering her to her mother. “She is the first daughter born in a long time. She has my protection.” Anna, practically in tears, looks from me to her baby. I have a gut feeling that she will be pivotal to the pack one day. I look up to see my father and mother-in-law have returned. Apparently, they witnessed the whole exchange.

“Child, are you okay?” My father asks softly. I know why he’s asking; I feel the power of my beast pulsing. She tapped into some part of the dragon’s ability that she can’t access alone. I snuggle into my father’s embrace and look up to him.

“I held the baby and felt that she has a part in the pack’s future. I know it sounds strange, but my beast just knows.” I search my father’s features for answers. A slow smile creeps over his lips, and he nods slowly. Gently, my father kisses my forehead, then walks me back over to my mates.

“The first time I met Dominik, I knew he would play a role in your future. Our dragon side is very intuitive like that. I suspect once you mate with the prince, your dragon side will become better balanced with your Lycan side.” My father briefly hugs me before letting go. I walk over to a prone Sebastian and decide to sit on his chest and stare down at him.

“Hey, Bash!” Quickly, I poke his chest several times before I receive a response. He’s still kind of pale, definitely lookingoff-kilter a bit. “What happened to you?” Dom helps me off Sebastian, then passes me over to Jayce so he can help Sebastian stand up again. A quick look over and Sebastian is back to normal.

“Ever experience déjà vu? I mean, really experience it. I saw you, Aurora, with a baby nursing on each breast. One with white hair and one with black; one boy and one girl. It was really fucking surreal.” I blink several times, looking at Sebastian, then back to my father. Nico walks closer to the group.

“I see Aurora’s dragon side is gifting everyone with visions. It’s a rather unique situation.” The weight of my father’s words hit me like a freight train. My hand flies up to the prince’s scale on my chest. Gently, I rub the scale, tracing the unique shape of it against my soft flesh. I have been feeling slightly different since it was implanted on me; a little stronger, a little faster. But the most significant change I’ve noticed is that I’m not as quick to go straight to murder anymore. My gaze lands on my father, and he’s smiling at me. He raises his finger and taps on his temple. Apparently, I’ve come to the same conclusion as he has. My eyes roam over my other mates, slowly assessing them one by one. Other than Sebastian, no one else has had any noticeable changes. I’ll have to keep a very close eye on them. I love them too much to make them worry.

CHAPTER 32

Dominik

WatchingAurora with the baby and seeing the look of wonder on her face made my heart melt. I feel her desire for a family through the bond, along with another entity entirely. It’s faint, but it’s there. Just like her father pointed out, I believe it’s the prince as well.

Sebastian and I have been working on training the Lycan troops day and night. We run drills and shift to fight against each other so they can see the difference in the species’ approach in battle. Dimitri, against Aurora’s wishes, has been fighting with the groups, so we are prepared for the Polar Bears. In order for him to train the Dires before they head to Siberia with us, I’ll need to sneak him out of the compound later today and put him on a plane to head to my brother. I don’t know how anyone thinks going against Aurora’s wishes is a good thing though. I mean, seriously? Do we all have a freaking death wish?

I never thought I’d say this, but the ferals are a godsend. Their animals are so primal that they can outlast the regular Lycans. It’s definitely something to study for the future. I text my brother, Alex, to catch him up on all that’s been going on here. I send him the videos of Aurora opening the present and the placement of the scale. My phone immediately blew up sinceI’m now apparently in a group chat with my brother and some guy named Ellis. Ellis is beyond excited and can’t wait to tell his friend the news. They are supposed to meet up before the attack and plan out what they can do to help. I remind Alex about sending Dimitri down later today. He, too, is concerned for Dimitri’s health and doesn’t want to face Aurora’s wrath. Honestly, no one wants to face Aurora when she’s in rage mode. I text over the supply request that Dimitri has for training.

What used to be the arena is now a full-blown training ground. Alex is trying to erase the years of fear the arena held by turning it into a positive place for our people. One of the most significant moves my brother pulled off, with the help of a video from Aurora, was the ending of the forced matings. It freed so many females from matings they didn’t want anything to do with. The females were moved into a protected wing of the den and guarded twenty-four-seven. Several males have been locked up and await Aurora’s sentences. Think of it as death row, where the death isn’t a threat; it’s a promise.

Apparently, my pacing has drawn my mate’s attention. I look up to see Aurora, standing there and holding Lia again. I wonder to myself if Anna knows Aurora has her baby. “Hello, love.” I gently kiss her cheek. ”Does Anna know you have Lia?” Aurora smirks at me, then kisses the baby’s forehead.

“Yes, she said she needed to ride the pony. It’s been a while... whatever that means.” Aurora shrugs and continues to rock the baby in her arms.

“Um, babe? It means she went to go fuck her mate.” Aurora makes theohface, then laughs. “Anyway, I’ve been talking to my brother. We are doing well with preparations for the journey. Alex feels the Dires would benefit from seeing Dimitri’s bear and learning how one moves.” Aurora stops rocking Lia and stares at me, her eyes churning liquid mercury. Oh god, I pissed her off. Not good. Aurora cracks her neck and takes a deep breath.

“I understand where you’re coming from, Dom. I really do. But I worry about Dimitri’s health and what the extra strain may do to him. I know he’s willing to die for me.” Tears break and roll down her cheek. I see Sebastian and Jayce come out of the dorm. I raise my hand to stop them, and thankfully, they listen. “Is this what he truly wants, Dom?” As Aurora looks up at me, Dimitri walks up behind her and kisses the top of her head.

“Aurora, I’ll be fine. I’ve always done what’s best for the defense of the family, haven’t I?” Aurora nods slowly, with that innocent little girl look going on. “I’ll be fine, sweetheart. Besides, now that you’ve ascended, I think you can kick my ass.” Dimitri smirks at her and gently caresses her cheek, forcing her to look deep into his eyes. Aurora whines softly as her eyes flicker between human and liquid mercury. Heartache echoes through the bond, almost like she’s already in mourning for Dimitri.

“Be safe, old man. I love you!” She turns her head briefly and kisses the palm of his hand before backing away. “Train the Dires well. I don’t want any losses on our side if we can help it.” Lightly she taps her chin as she ponders what to say next. “Remember, there will also be dragons. Perhaps, you can take my father with you so he can work with the Dires as well.” I could practically see the gears turning in Aurora’s mind as she sorts out what needs to be done.

“Make sure you and father leave Sebastian and Dom a list of what needs to be worked on in your absence. In about three weeks, we’ll be flying the Lycans to Germany and the Dires here. The second dorm will be completed before their arrival.” Aurora’s eyes turn toward me, and she notices I’m recording her directions. She gives me a curt nod. “Did I miss anything, Dom?”

I answer her from behind the phone. “No, love. I believe everything is sorted. I’ll send this video to Alex and arrangetransport for everyone.” Aurora shakes her head no at me. I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her.

“No offense, love, but Jayce does much better at arranging these kinds of things. You get back to training the others, and if you’re a good boy, I’ll give you a massage later.” Aurora places a hand on my forearm and kisses my cheek before walking away with Lia.

“Shit, that went better than I expected.” I look over to Dimitri. Damn, that bear is a fucking huge man. “Well, we have our marching orders straight from the princess herself. We better hop to it before she hands that baby back to Anna.” Dimitri shakes his head at me and I see sadness briefly cross his features. I know the future isn’t certain for anyone, but they are living on borrowed time for him and Andre.

Slowly, I move through the compound, watching all the citizens move about without a care in the world. I kind of miss those days, to be honest, but back in those days, I didn’t have Aurora. So yeah, I wouldn’t change it for anything, as much as I miss the simple life. In my wandering, I find Aurora leaning over Jayce’s shoulder as he works on his laptop. It’s nice to finally see my brother happy for once in his life.

Time seems to move in slow motion as I watch the events unfold before me. Sinclair comes out of nowhere, dagger in hand and heading toward Aurora. I start to scream when Aurora’s sixth sense seems to kick in. She shifts rapidly to her beast, so fast it’s terrifying. The blade hits the armored scales on her forearms and glances off, causing no damage. Aurora’s taloned hand instinctually grips Sinclair by his throat and lifts him off the ground. He’s kicking and thrashing, trying to pry her hand from around his throat. Aurora’s Lycan beast walks forward with Sinclair dangling in the air like it’s nothing.

---