Page 50 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

“Thanks, everyone, for coming and watching us perform! You know me by now; I needed to vent through my music.” I walk over and hug Dimitri tightly. His partner for the last who knows how many hundreds of years died yesterday. I know the pain of his loss has to be hitting him harder than it’s hitting me. We remain in each other’s arms, silently crying.

“D...” I nuzzle his cheek like I did as a pup. I can’t help but look at him through tear-filled eyes. He’s trying to be strong for me and hide his pain, but I see right through that big, grumpy bear. I kiss his cheek and attempt to smile at him. “We have a murderer to hunt, D. We will hang whomever it is by his entrails and beat him like a piñata.” I get half a laugh out of Dimitri.

“Baby girl, you make me very proud of you. For once, I will not temper your rage. Release the beast and let it shred anything in its wake. We will dance on the bones of our enemies!” Dimitri’s Russian accent is very thick when he speaks. He’s not hiding who he is anymore.

I felt my beast stir when Dimitri called for it. To be honest, I want nothing more than to hunt the fucker that killed Andre. I want to kill everyone and everything that had a hand in his death—my prime suspects at the moment: several high ranking Lycans and Sebastian. Andre went off to gather information on a total of five beings and died before he was able to relay what he found. I’m now positive there is a traitor in our midst somewhere. I will carry on as usual, as not to show my hand yet.

“Back to work, everyone! The war won’t win itself!” Everyone scatters, and all that’s left are my mates, father, and Dimitri. I can tell by how my father is looking at me that he knows something is on my mind. “Guys—dad, Dimitri, and I need to go talk about the old days. I want to learn more about my mother and the castle.” Jayce is the first to smile. He runs up to hug and kiss me. Dom takes his time and picks me up, kissing me passionately before setting me down. Sebastian comes tostand before me, attempting to lock eyes with me—almost in challenge. My beast isn’t having it and makes him turn his eyes away. I lightly grip his jaw and turn his head to face me.

“Please don’t test me.” Sebastian smirks and kisses me, nipping at my bottom lip for good measure. Forever the wise ass. My father approaches and offers his hand to me. The minute I take his hand, I hear his voice in my head.

I know something is plaguing you, daughter. Is this the reason for the walk?My eyes turn to my father briefly, and I barely nod my head. He squeezes my hand to let me know he saw my answer.

“Come on, D. Lets go!” I extend my hand to Dimitri, wiggling my fingers at him. He half laughs and takes my hand. I almost got him to smile.

Okay, guys, I don’t know if trying to talk to both of you at the same time is going to work, but here I go. We have a traitor somewhere here in the compound. I’m not sure who it is, so don’t ask. I had Andre investigate four elders and Sebastian’s family.”My eyes drift between my father and Dimitri as we walk out the door and head toward the stream at the property’s southern edge. I know they heard me by how tense their bodies have become. As soon as we get out of range, I stop and stare at both of them. I let out a slow breath, looking at them expectantly. I can see the gears turning between the two of them.

“What made you come to these conclusions, Aurora?” Dimitri is the first to question me. All I can do is breathe in deeply.

“Some of the older Lycans questioned my bloodline, and I overheard them mention Vladimir. They were speaking as if he’s still around. It kind of makes me wonder..” I look between the two of them, and I see both of their animals surge to the surface. We stand there in silence. There were suspicions that the oldalpha was possibly still alive. We still don’t have confirmation, and Andre would have had that answer.

“Andre was bringing me his findings. I never got the answers I was looking for.” I lower my eyes to look at the ground. I miss Andre so much. He was my confidant and a mother figure. My father nods slowly, taking in all that I’ve said.

“The Elders could be old enough to remember the old alpha. The question is, where do their loyalties lie? Sebastian is a mate, so I seriously doubt he would plot against you; but it could be possible.” Nico rests his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. I force a smile as I look up at my father.

“I was hoping you would say that, Dad. So, we agree to focus on the Elders and try to figure out which of the four houses has it out for me.” My eyes lock on Dimitri, and I watch him straighten up, his shoulders pushed back and chest puffed up. “D, I need you to watch and listen to the ones who are training. Someone might slip and say something. You know how pups talk.” I’ve never seen Dimitri with such a stern look on his face. He’s actually quite menacing looking.

“I will do it gladly, baby girl. Anything for you.” He wraps his thick arms around me and hugs me tightly to him. My arms band around his neck and I squeeze him back. I love my mates, but these are the only two that I can completely trust with behind-the-scenes things. I hate having to be suspicious of my people, but something doesn’t add up. Reluctantly, I let go of Dimitri and motion for us to head back to the camp.

“Dad, I have a question for you.” I turn to face him and tilt my head to the side, thinking about how to phrase the question. “Before the ascension, why was my wolf insanely jealous of Dimitri having a sexual relationship with anyone? She pretty much claimed him as hers but didn’t physically claim him.” I watch Dimitri’s cheeks burn flame-red from embarrassment. He wasn’t the only one embarrassed, but I needed answers. Afterall, my animal’s possessiveness of Dimitri ended the minute she smelled Sebastian. Nico simply laughs. He laughs so hard he’s bent at the waist with his hand on his thigh.

“Sorry, daughter… That’s a very dragon trait. You were magically bound to Dimitri, so your young animal confused it for the mating bond. It’s an honest mistake. In truth, without that bond, you probably would have gone insane and took me with you.” Nico slowly stands up and regains his composure, still smirking at Dimitri. “I know the stories you told me, old friend, and I’m sorry it happened. If I was able to be with my daughter from the beginning, that bond never would have existed.” Nico looks down after the words leave his mouth. He realizes what he said was a tad insensitive. “I am grateful for all you’ve done for us. I am sorry if my words were cruel.” Nico furrows his brows. I’m betting my father isn’t used to apologizing when he messes up. Dimitri lets the comment roll off his back. It doesn’t even look like it phased him. He moves closer to my father then gives him one of those side bro-hug things with the exaggerated back-patting and everything.

“We’re good. We better get back before the others get suspicious.”

I roll my eyes and start walking back, ahead of the guys. I listen to the sounds of battle going on in the training grounds. Yup, that’s where I’m headed. Why not? I mean, seriously, I have three smoking hot mates who could potentially be shirtless. Shirtless and sweaty with beads of sweat rolling down their well-defined abdomens... Damn, I need to get laid.

I creep through the shadows, observing all the guys in their half-naked glory. Dom and Pete are sparing, using bow staves. Dom’s muscles elongating and flexing then tightening has me mesmerized. I am so lost in my own little wet dream, I don’t even notice when Elena comes up beside me. When I do notice, I scream like a little girl and claw half-way up the tree. I’mhanging from the tree by my talons when I look down and notice it’s only Elena. She’s legit laughing her ass off at me. Dom is now also under the tree, trying not to laugh, along with several others. Just to be an ass, I let go of the tree and fall, so Dom has to catch me. What a crying shame! He’s half-naked and holding me. What’s a girl to do? Dom lets out a heartfelt laugh then kisses my cheek.

“Crazy wolf! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” He smiles and kisses my cheek again. His lips find my neck, and he nips me gently. Then Dom lets out a primal growl and starts to walk away with me. Our forward momentum is suddenly halted by Dimitri, who steps in front of us, and my father places his hand on Dom’s shoulder.

“I know that growl, lad. I can’t let you follow your instincts. We need Aurora at full strength for this journey and the battles ahead.” Nico isn’t budging until I’m released from Dom’s grasp. My feet hit the floor, and I look between my father and Dom. Then it dawns on me; that was a short two months. I step away from the guys, disappointed that I was denied dick. But my father is right; I will slow everyone down if I am heavily pregnant.

“Elena, I need the tea again. Dad, Dimitri, can you two watch over me?” They both smile and nod. Dimitri grabs my hand and starts leading me to his small cabin set off away from everyone. I didn’t know the shack he chose was so little. He deserves better. I make a mental note to improve his living conditions when this is all over.

CHAPTER 42

Aurora

Dimitri leadsme into a room off the main one and I freeze in my tracks. It was Andre’s room. I walk in slowly. There are so many pictures of us over the years that I didn’t know existed. I stare in wonder, watching myself grow up in the photographs—birthdays, holidays; they are all here. I quickly look back to Dimitri, who’s in tears like I am.

“He kept a photo album of you growing up. I know he would have wanted you to have it.” Dimitri reaches into a drawer, pulls out the album, and sets it on the table beside the bed. Elena’s in the doorway, listening to our exchange with tears freely flowing down her cheeks. She can’t bring herself to speak and offers me a cup of special tea. I look down at the contents and sniff it. Something’s different. My beast surges to the surface, and I shove the tea at her.

“You drink it!” I stare at her, my instincts on high alert. Something isn’t sitting right. Elena takes the cup from me and sniffs it, and all the color drains from her face.

“Princess, no! I didn’t do this! Someone must have tampered with my herbs.” Dimitri’s bear makes his presence known as fur ripples down his arms and recedes just as quickly. My father comes up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Old friend, we will just have to keep Aurora isolated, that’s all. I will try to put her into a frost slumber. It’s a state of torpor that some Ice Dragons use to leapfrog through time. If it doesn’t work, I’ll turn this house into one huge ice cube.” My father shrugs his shoulders like it is no big deal. Then again, to him, it probably isn’t a big deal.

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