Page 87 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Oberon offers her his hand, and he assists her down off the pedestal. “You are ready, Young Queen. Remember, hide your true potential until your final battle. You don’t want anyone preparing for what you can accomplish.” Oberon leans forward and kisses Aurora’s forehead, then vanishes into a shimmering mist.

Aurora looks serene. It’s quite scary to see her like this. She seems at peace, settled. I’m happy but concerned at the same time. “Aurora, you seem a bit different. Is everything alright?” I tilt my head to the side and look at her, waiting for her to answer me.

With a fluid grace I haven’t seen before, Aurora seems to glide over to me. Gently, she lays her hands in mine and looks up at me, her steel-grey eyes focused on me. “Oberon helped settle my dual nature. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of you, I technically shouldn’t exist. Well, what I mean is I shouldn’t exist as I am, being an almost equal split of both species.” She tilts her head to the side smiling softly.

“Oberon said my dragon side is the most dominant. He used some old elvish magic to help my animal sides be more at peace and work together. I know we’re not separate beings, but thedual natures and instincts sometimes confuses the hell out of me. Oberon said that’s why my temper has such a short fuse. It’s because I couldn’t handle the mixed signals.” Aurora shrugs her shoulders and just smiles up at me like it’s that simple. To be honest, it really is. If her dual nature was causing her homicide-switch to flip, and he just fixed it, well, that’s the best news ever.

“What did Oberon mean by which path you’ll choose?” I lean forward and gently kiss Aurora’s full, blood-red lips. Nicodeamus takes Aurora’s hand and leads her over to the tall stool for her to sit on.

Aurora draws in a deep breath, then looks back to me. “I’m not the first of my kind; I’m actually the second one to be born like this. The first was a Black Dragon and Lycan hybrid. He went insane from the power of the two bloodlines. It took an entire army of elves and other dragons to take him down.” Aurora looks down, then at her own hands, shifting them to her beast’s gauntlets.

“Oberon says I’m more deadly than that male was because my beast literally took on the most dangerous traits from each mated species. I have Jayce’s venom and can release it in either form. I have Dominik’s agility and his night vision. From Klaus, I have his added speed and ability to jump to great heights. Dimitri, oh gods he was a deadly addition. I gained the mass and strength of his bear and its height. Alaric, my love, I gained your immunity to both types of fire. You’ve also given me the ability to breathe fire, which is unheard of.”

Aurora slowly shifts her hands back, looks back up, and smiles. “I gained a lot of good traits as well from Jayce: his soft heart and compassion. Dominik gave me the ability to assess a situation quickly and pick the best course of action. I gained an almost extrasensory perception—Oberon said the older species of Lycans just know things. I got that gift from Klaus.”

She smiles then turns slightly to look at Dimitri. “From Dimitri, I gained his infinite patience, and now that my beast is settled, I can use it. From you, Alaric, I gained a stronger will than I had before and a higher value on life.” She reaches out and grips my hand and gives it a squeeze.” All of these extra gifts were hidden by how unsettled my beast was. Oberon blessed our babies and me so that we all can be at peace.” She glances down for a moment before looking up again making eye contact with each of us.

“I choose the path of the benevolent leader, not the bloodthirsty tyrant. Well, that is, I will. After I kill Elena and Vladimir, then take back my family’s castle.” Aurora takes the offered drink from Jayce and looks at all of us.

I’m honestly floored by all that Aurora has said. To think, all this time, she’s been struggling with an internal war, and none of us knew about it. I feel horrible that our mate was possibly in her own private hell and never told any of us. Our servant comes in and alerts us to the fact that the guests are starting to arrive. Aurora rises up ever so gracefully and walks over to where the twins are curled up, sleeping as their dragons.

Aurora shocks me by making dragon sounds at the twins to wake them. I look to the guys, and yup, we’re all surprised to watch and listen to what she can do now.

Tiamat and Ladon have almost doubled in size over the last few weeks. We attribute their rapid growth to the fact that they spend more time as their dragons than as babies. Aurora believes they are safer as their dragons, and I hate to admit it but she’s right. Aurora bends down and picks up Tiamat, passing her to me. She then reaches down and picks up Ladon holding him close to her breasts. Slowly, he climbs up and wraps himself around her shoulders, preferring to sit up there so he can see better.

Tiamat, having seen what her brother did, also climbs up on my shoulders and lies down. I guess this is how we’re presenting the babies to the world: as their animals. Through the bond, Aurora reaches out to all of us.I want our babies to have a happy childhood. People cannot abduct children whose faces they have never seen. They are the first children born of me; those seeking to snuff out my bloodline will go for the children first, not me.I hate to say it but Aurora’s logic completely makes sense. We each take a turn kissing Aurora, then line up to head out.

Dimitri and Klaus take point, Jayce and Dominik following behind us. Aurora has her hand resting on my forearm as our children happily chatter with each other. We enter the grand ballroom to find Nicodeamus already standing on the platform near all of the thrones.

Not only did Aurora make sure each mate has a crown upon his head, but she also made sure they have a throne. We walk in time with the music that Nicodeamus has chosen for this momentous event. I feel Aurora’s hand tighten on my forearm, and she begins to look around the room slowly. Something isn’t right and she’s on high alert. I look up to see Nicodeamus with his eyes shifted, looking around. Aurora’s breathing has slowed as she uses her father’s vantage point to look around. At the very last second, she shoves me out of the way and catches a knife in her now-shifted hand.

I feel the room shift, along with Aurora’s temper. She’s commanding the dragons under her rule to seal the room. Carefully, she hands Ladon off to Dimitri and turns to walk through the crowd. Aurora stops before a female Red Dragon. She is one of the females my father tried to force me to take as a mate. “You threaten my mate? Your king?” Aurora’s voice is a mix of her beast, with hints of her human tone. You cansee Aurora’s canines descend, as well as hear her talons clicking together in agitation.

“Abomination! You do not deserve a dragon like Alaric. He is to be mine!” The female screams at Aurora and shifts her forearms to her gauntlets. I compare the two quickly, trying to assess the situation. The red female has nothing on Aurora in the weapons department. “I challenge you to the pit. Beast on beast for the king’s hand.”

Aurora just starts to laugh hysterically at the female before her. “You? Wish to fight me? I killed Nexus by myself. Besides, if I die...” Aurora moves her hair aside to reveal my scale upon her chest. “Alaric will follow me into the great beyond, to the land of our ancestors. However, you will be left alone here, in the land of the living, having killed a monarch and sentenced to death. Your soul will never go to Elysium. Oh no, a far worse fate awaits you, my dear.” Aurora bows her head lightly to her father. “Prepare the pit! Tonight, I get to stretch my talons and add another head to my throne.” Aurora’s words have struck fear into Camile, and she comes running over to me, dropping to her knees.

“Please. Spare me! Forgive my trespass!” Camile grovels at my feet, kissing the tops of my shoes. Before I have a chance to answer, Nicodeamus comes up to my side and rests a hand on my shoulder.

“At the stroke of midnight, on the Ides of March, your wish to battle the new Blood Queen shall be granted. Be happy she didn’t call for the horde to descend upon you.” Nicodeamus speaks like the King of old, like the man he used to be before losing his mate. Tiamat moves and climbs onto her grandfather’s shoulder, then breathes fire at Camile, sending her scurrying backward away from us. In typical Nicodeamus fashion, he tells Tiamat how proud he is and she’s such a good girl.

All I can do is shake my head at him, then look up at Aurora sitting upon her throne. She’s switched crowns to hergreat-grandmother’s, and she’s owning the title her father has bestowed upon her. I approach Aurora, and she smiles at me like nothing has happened. Dimitri sits to her left and me to her right; Ladon now sits upon his mother’s lap watching the celebration. We have fifteen days until the battle. Camile will sit in a cell waiting for death during that time. Tonight, we celebrate our children and the successful birth of a princess and a prince.

CHAPTER 74

Jayce

March-

It’s been fourteen days since the last attempt on anyone’s life. Since then, life has been pretty good. The babies are growing quickly. Especially since if we leave our chambers, they return to the forms of their animals. Aurora and the children are in the main landing area today because the babies keep trying to fly. Alaric feels it’s time for them to start learning. So, he’s lying down, letting the babies climb up him and jump off of his head. Aurora and Nicodeamus are cracking up, catching the babies when they don’t quite get the lift they need. Ladon seems to get the longest hang time when he jumps.

Aurora doesn’t have a care in the world right now. Well, all she cares about is her mates and babies. Alaric is nervous, but he won’t say anything to Aurora. Klaus and I are terrified for Aurora; we don’t want her to die. Klaus comes over to join me at the bench, carrying the laptop and drinks for us.

We sit side by side, booking the last of the flights for my people, as well as the American Lycans my brother feels are loyal. This morning, Alex sent word that he had to put almost a dozen Lycan down because they tried to cause an uprising.Without their Alpha, they are more prone to their base urges and for Lycans, it’s to battle.

Ten hours until battle time, and my nerves are shot. Klaus, Dimitri, and I spent a good three hours in and out of bed with Aurora this morning, trying to dickmatize her into not wanting to battle. Her answer was that honor dictates she answer the challenge. I get that. I really do, but she’s a mom now and they should come before honor and duty. Currently, Dominik and Dimitri are in the pit, making sure it can withstand what will happen tonight.

Several hours pass, and it’s dinner time. We decide to dine alone in our private chambers so Aurora can relax. The babies are the size of toddlers, walking around all wobbly. Still babbling since their human vocal cords haven’t fully developed yet. Ladon has learned to speak through the bond, mostly through direct contact with the family’s non-dragon members. Tiamat doesn’t even try since Ladon speaks for both of them most of the time. His parents and grandfather can hear him over a distance through the bond.

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