Page 43 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

“Two nights ago, My Liege.” He keeps his eyes lowered. I’m guessing he realizes how badly he fucked up today.

“Sebastian?” Aurora turns her head to regard my son. “Take a team and scout the area around the bear’s den. The weather is in our favor. Now, bring back his daughter.” Sebastian leans forward and kisses Aurora’s lips before heading out. “Go with my mate. He will find your daughter. In repayment for this boon, I require your people to guard my people in my absence when wego to war. There shouldn’t be any attacks. The Strigoi are after me, and with me gone, there’s no reason for them to even think about coming here. Do we have a deal?” Aurora’s eyes churn liquid mercury as she watches the leader of the bears. Her hand is extended to him, waiting for him to accept. The man quickly moves forward and takes her hand without a second thought. He shakes her hand firmly, then kisses her knuckles.

“I swear to you, on the last beat of my heart, I will not fail you. We will fight beside you and guard your people as you command.” Aurora nods and looks at me.

“Elena, we seal this the old way: a blood oath.” Aurora’s canines elongate, and her hands partially shift to talons. I bring her a wine glass and hold it out to her, then she quickly cuts her left wrist and drips blood into the glass. Aurora’s tongue darts out and licks her wound, sealing it instantly. She grabs the man’s arm and slits his wrist over the glass. I watch his blood mix with hers. Aurora grabs her other glass and pours some wine into the blood mix, then stands up, holding the glass high.

“I hold my blood and the blood of the bear’s leader in my glass. On this blood, I swear we—the Lycan clan—will help find your missing child.” Aurora takes a sip of the blood wine, then holds the glass out to the bear leader. He takes the glass and raises it up before those gathered.

“I swear on my blood and on the last beat of my heart to serve the last Lycan Queen and to protect her people in times of war without question.” He too, drinks the blood wine, then hands the glass to me. Aurora gives him a nod, and he proceeds to follow Sebastian.

She returns to her throne and runs her fingers through Dominik’s fur. “I heard the prince mid-battle today. He’s placed my scale, and the bond is slowly growing. Dom, shift back, love. I’d like to talk with you.” She smiles softly, caressing his muzzle, and kisses his wolven lips. She shows such reverence toall of her mates. I have yet to see her favor one male over the others. Dominik seems to be her voice of reason. Jayce is the peacemaker and the one that helps her deal with emotions. My son, Sebastian, seems to be her sword and shield, her guardian and protector. I reach back and grab the spare robe I keep near the throne, just in case. I hand it to Aurora, who takes it and waits for her mate to shift. She offers him the robe and he slips it on.

“You can hear him? It must be the dragon bond the scales have forged.” Dominik begins to pace, but Aurora grips his forearm, stopping him in his tracks. She backs him up until he’s sitting on her throne. She smiles, admiring him sitting on her throne. Aurora’s gaze meets mine, and I smile and nod at her. Slowly, she looks back to Dominik.

“You do look rather handsome on my throne, like a conqueror.” I watch Dominik sit up a little straighter, a little prouder, at his mate’s assessment of him. “Each of you have a strength and a weakness. Dom, I have to say your thought process is the most similar to mine: use force only when needed but destroy my target utterly.” Aurora is walking around the throne, watching Dominik. She is studying him closely. His pride isn’t getting in the way, and he just smiles and nods at her words.

“My love, I will be whatever you need me to be. I wish only to be at your side and to be seen as an equal.” His eyes flash to that of his wolf, then back to his human hazel. Aurora smiles, then sits on Dominik’s lap. Her fingers thread through his thick, black hair while her eyes are searching, studying him up close.

“Elena, I wish for you to announce to the pack that we have dragons on our side.” Her eyes close quickly, and she pauses her breathing. Dominik tightens his grip on her, studying her features for any signs of distress. Her eyes suddenly open, and they are the liquid mercury of her wolf. “He has eighteen loyalonly to him. Do not mention the numbers. He’s in flight to the court of his mother’s birth to petition the Gold Dragons for help as well.” Dominik kisses Aurora’s cheek and nuzzles her jawline. Unlike my son, when the dragons are mentioned, I don’t sense any anxiety from him. He’s calm and measured in his thoughts and actions.

“That’s fantastic news, love! The prince seems to be very generous and concerned for your safety. That means the world to Jayce and I. I’m not too sure if we should fill Sebastian in on how strong the bond is yet. Elena, he’s your son. What do you suggest?” Dominik and Aurora turn as one to face me.

“I believe your assessment is correct. I don’t think my son can handle the idea of the bond growing stronger. We’ll have to break it to him slowly when it gets closer to the start of the war.” Sadly, I feel the need to hide things from my son, especially the role I play in this scenario. Honestly, he’s a bit immature with this whole situation. He knew from the start that Aurora was destined to have a harem. I know he secretly dreamed of his mate as only his. But if he keeps fucking up and pissing her off, Aurora just might add his skull to her collection—mate or not. I sigh softly. My poor son always feels like he’s on shaky ground with Aurora. He doesn’t realize she treats them all equally, that no one is favored over the other.

My cell phone pings, alerting me to a message. I look down to find a text from Nico saying they are at the airport. He felt a shift with Aurora and is wondering if she’s okay. I text him back, filling him in on what has transpired. He sends back a heart and a thumbs-up emoji. I guess he’s almost caught up with everyone else.

“The guys have made it to the airport. Jayce is on his way back.” Aurora nods slowly and turns to look at Dominik; her eyes bleed liquid mercury as their gaze locks. His eyes are nowthe gold of his wolf. I’m not sure what I’m witnessing, but it’s impressive as all hell to watch.

“Jayce is stopping at the store to get me more ice cream. He says everything went fine at the airport. It took him almost twenty minutes to explain to my dad what a plane is though.” Aurora shakes her head and rolls her eyes, laughing softly to herself. “My dad wants to know what enchantments are on the metal beasts to make them fly. Since they can’t use their phones on the plane, I told him I’ll watch a video about it in a bit so he can watch too.”

“Wait a second, you can speak to your father as well as your mates?” This is exciting news to me. I’ve heard of dragons dream walking, but communication on this level is scary. Scary, but useful.

Aurora shrugs her shoulders, but Dominik says, “It freaked me out in the beginning as well. It comforts Aurora’s wolf in stressful moments when her father’s dragon can reach out and soothe her.” Dominik smiles and brushes a lock of Aurora’s hair behind her ear. “The communication thing is definitely a dragon gift. For years, her father was dream walking to train her before seeing each other for the first time. As mates, if Aurora concentrates hard enough, we can see through each other’s eyes.” Aurora’s smile turns gentle just before she kisses both of Dominik’s cheeks.

“We were talking to Jayce together and planning dinner. He wanted our opinion of a cut of beef, so we took a look,” Dominik says like it’s the most natural thing in the world. I guess for them, it has become that way. I never experienced that with Sebastian’s father. Ours was a true mating, but not a fated mating. Only the animals loved each other; the humans, well, we barely tolerated each other. Deep down, I have to admit I’m a bit jealous of Aurora. She knows and feels precisely what her matesare feeling. In her lifetime, she will never have to question where she stands with them. Honestly, it’s a thing of beauty.

I look outside, and the sun is beginning to set, painting the sky in so many vivid colors. Tonight is the first night of the Hunter’s Moon. It’s a beautiful, crisp October evening, and soon the moon will rise high in the sky and illuminate the ground. The Hunter’s Moon is typically when the pack goes to hunt elk on the ridge. I watch as families gather and prepare for the hunt. Young ones, finally into their teens, prepare for their first hunt with the pack.

Aurora and Dominik walk onto the front porch to send off the hunters tonight. It is tradition that the stag head is returned to the alpha in offering. This kind of ritual is right up Aurora’s alley, especially with her impressive skull collection. Aurora and Dominik share a look, then lean their heads back and howl, signaling the start of the hunt. The pack splits into three teams and runs off in different directions. Both of them watch as the last of the pack members disappear from sight. Aurora stops moving rather suddenly and looks at Dominik. In the distance, the sound of a car crash can be heard. Smoke rises up into the sky, marking the area of the impact.

“Jayce!” Aurora screams before shifting to her beast to run toward the accident.

CHAPTER 35

Aurora

The sudden burstof adrenaline that sets my blood on fire is unlike anything I have ever felt before. One minute I get to appreciate the beautiful sunset with Dom, the next, I’m running as fast as my wolven form can carry me. My shift came so quickly, the fear for my mate overtook any sense of self-preservation I had. Anger begins to flood my thoughts. The fucking bears, they had to have set this up as a last-ditch effort to please the Strigoi. As I get closer, I see the Strigoi and bears circling Jayce. Oh yes, all those fuckers are going to die. Quickly, I break through their ranks, using my talons to rend flesh from their bones as I pass. Blackened blood and fur from the bear’s pelts fly through the air as I battle my way through their ranks to get to Jayce. I am of a singular focus, destroy anything that comes between Jayce and me.

Dom, Elena, and several other Lycans are in the distance. I lay a taloned hand on Jayce’s side before I start freezing the ground around us. Jayce leaps up onto the hood of the car as the ice spreads, rooting some of the Strigoi in place. Through the bond, I warn Dom not to get too close. He obeys and steers Elena and the other Lycans to fight on the edge of the group. After I make sure Jayce is safe, I systematically shred and rip the headsoff the Strigoi closest to me. I’m in a rage, betrayed by the bear clan after swearing a blood bond. There would be no bears left standing after tonight. This I swear on the blood of my mother. I know Jayce is injured from the accident; his jerky movements are a dead giveaway.

With most of the Strigoi dead, I move on to the bears. The largest Black Bear charges at me—a fatal mistake on his part. I know this particular one is the leader, but if he’s here, where is Sebastian? When the leader gets close enough, I sink my talons into his pelt and encase him in ice. I need him alive for now. Once he’s neutralized, I move on to the next bear. He charges as well, yet another idiot in the group. I show no mercy and sink my talons deep into his chest and wrap my fingers around his beating heart. The bear is clawing at me, fighting for his life as I stare into his eyes. Slowly, I tighten my grip on his heart, making it harder for the muscle to beat. Blood pumps out around my arm and down to my elbow before dropping onto the ground. The light in his eyes slowly fades away as the blood pumps out of the hole in his chest. Violently, I rip the still-beating heart from his chest and drop it to the ground.

Several bears still live, but not for long. Jayce is off the car now and fighting a bear with his brother, Dom. It’s interesting to watch the two of them fight together. A second bear joins their fight, and now I see the change in Jayce: toxin drips yellow-green from his canines as he charges the bear. Because I’m distracted from watching the twins, I get blindsided by another bear. This fucker is going to die.

I roll onto my feet and remain low with my hands flat on the ground. The bear attempts to circle me, but I mirror his movements easily. I watch how he favors his one foreleg, and I realize he has a weakness on his right side. He goes to charge, and I leap out of the way only to land on his back. I sink my talons deep into his pelt until I feel his ribs. One by one, I startsnapping them. I feel no remorse as it becomes harder for him to breathe. My wolven muzzle comes down and clamps onto the back of the bear’s neck, applying as much pressure as I can. I listen to the tendons snap, and bones crack under the pressure I’m exerting. A quick twist of my head snaps the bear’s neck. I call it a mercy killing.

My eyes turn back to the leader, who—in his only smart move—has shifted back to his human form. Jayce, Dom, and Elena have him surrounded. I shift back to my human form with every step in his direction. I leave only my hands and forearms shifted, so my gauntlets and talons are at my disposal.

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