Page 96 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Nicodeamus herds the babies into the cavern then instructs Marco to move some of the stones back on either side of the opening. That way, if they are attacked, the enemies will be funneled right where he wants them. My father-in-law is a brilliant tactician. Dominik and Jayce strip and carry their clothes into the cavern with them. I see the glow of both sets of Dire Wolf eyes staring back at me through the darkness.

I’d hate to see what would be left of the fool that tried to attack my family. Nicodeamus sticks his head partially out of the cavern, inspecting what was done. I hear the click of his ignitor and then see the blue flames lick the ground. The entire area outside of the cavern is a huge skating rink. He then proceeds to make icicle bars to mostly seal off the cavern. There’s enough room for a good airflow, but it’s enough to slow any invaders down. Once I’m sure my babies, bond mates, and father-in-law are secure in the cavern, I take to the sky, my guards flanking me on the way back to the camp.

CHAPTER 81

Alaric

April-

Tonight’s a night of retribution; Aurora is out for blood. To be perfectly honest, so am I. The memories she’s shared with me, and the pain that she buries down deep... I’m ready to burn the world to the ground and hear the screams of my enemies as they burn to death. The flight back is much quicker than the initial flight out.

Aurora is standing in the middle of the field, waiting with the other dragons as we breach the horizon. I notice at Aurora’s feet is the box with the wing suits in it. Surprisingly, the box looks untouched. I circle the field twice before I land and shift back to human. “Hey, babe, let’s get your present on you so we can take off.” Aurora looks to me curiously, then back to the box, then back to me again before she tears into the box.

In the box, there are four wing suits, two black and two blue. Aurora squeals and starts trying to slip into the suit. I know for a fact she knows what it is since she’s been begging me to order her a few so she can experience flight. I help her with the final straps and buckles and then have her open her arms to make sure the membranes are properly stretched out for her. After several minor adjustments, I send her up with one of the smallGold Dragons so that she can get the hang of the suit. Aurora glides around catching the thermals, and manages to stay in the air much longer than I had initially anticipated. When she finally lands, she runs up and kisses me passionately. Score one for me.

I break away from my beloved mate and smile softly at her before shifting to my dragon’s form. Carefully, I lie down and she quickly climbs up and onto my back. Surprisingly, she sits just before my wings instead of up by my head like she usually does.Is everything okay, love?I question her through the bond, unsure of her decision of where to sit. Did I do something wrong?

I hear Aurora’s laughter through the bond, and then I hear her.Everything is perfect! I get to drop down out of the sky and kill my enemies when they least expect me. Best day ever!She starts singing the song “Architecture of Aggression” by Megadeth. Yup, she’s in her homicidal mindset for this mission.

I take off and join the other seven dragons flying towards the camp where Elena is hiding. I see Marco come towards us, and he lines himself up under me. Before I can question Aurora, she runs and jumps off my back and clings to Marco’s Black Dragon. Through my mind’s eye, she shows me her plan, and fuck me, it’s solid. I didn’t think about the fact that my dragon may be spotted because of its light color.

Marco expresses his concern and says he’s sorry, but he can’t disobey Aurora. Honestly, I can’t blame him; after all, she took down an ancient Black Dragon almost twice his size alone. I watch them take a different path to the camp than the rest of us are.

Aurora enters my head again, telling me more of her plan, that the other dragons and I are the distraction. Marco will drop her within gliding distance, then he’s going to lay down a circle of acid around the camp so no one can escape.

I’m almost stunned at the brilliance of the plan that Aurora has come up with. I know Aurora’s false mate Sebastian had gifted her with a battle strategy, I just didn’t realize she would still retain the gift after the bond was severed and he died. It’s quite a curious state of events that I must investigate with Nicodeamus once this mission is over with.

I fly with the rest of the assault force and start laying waste to the camp that Elena thought that she had hidden so well. I get the pleasure of briefly watching my mate gliding through the air, then shifting last second to land upon what looks to be the Alpha House. Her giant, white Lycan visible only for the briefest of moments before she leaps off the roof.

Screams and the sounds of fighting fill the air; white snow turns crimson as my mate goes on her rampage. She calls to me through the bond. Apparently, Elena has a bunker underground and Aurora can’t lift the lid. I land just as Marco starts to lay his ring of acid down around the campsite. Bloodcurdling screams fill the air as unsuspecting rebels step into his black acid fog. I pause in my forward momentum to watch that acid of Marco’s melt the flesh off of whomever it touches.What a way to go!

A tapping catches my attention now, and I look down to my pissed off impatient hybrid mate. Fuck! I reach my taloned hand over and grip the stone disk and lift it free of its resting place. Several series of tunnels are below, each leading in a different direction. I watch Aurora look skyward, and then Marco circles and lands next to me. Aurora locks eyes with Marco then motions to the hole.

I hear Marco’s ignitor click several times before he lowers his head and starts releasing his acid fog into the tunnels. Smart thinking on Aurora’s part, the fog will creep along the floor and swiftly move through the tunnels. Aurora comes over to Marco’s side and pats his cheek; his ignitor clicks again, and more acid fog comes out, this time thicker. Once that round finishes, hemoves away and takes flight again. Now, we wait and listen. Eventually, we hear Elena screaming. The acid has found her. Aurora drops down on all fours and lowers her head to the opening. I hear the click of her ignitor, and Aurora breathes her blue flames onto the acid fog. Aurora leaps back quickly as the highly flammable acid ignites and the flames race along the mist. Elena’s screams and cries are muffled then silenced.

Aurora nods her great wolven head then starts heading towards the building that suspiciously just went up in flames. Once reaching the porch, Aurora kneels down, sinks her talons into the wood, and starts freezing the house, effectively putting out the fire. By the time the house is frozen, I raided a house nearby and stole pants for myself to wear.

Aurora looks back at me then proceeds into the house cautiously. I feel like we are walking into a trap with each step we take. Aurora pauses and looks around; something catching her attention. I can watch her wolven ears moving in several different directions before focusing on a door. Her talons come up, and she cuts through the burned door with ease. The scent of burned flesh permeates the air that drifts up to us. Most of the staircase is missing, and what’s left doesn’t look safe to climb. Aurora kneels down and motions for me to climb onto her back. Hesitantly I wrap my arms around my mate’s thick neck and my legs around her beast’s waistline.

Without warning, Aurora drops down into the house’s basement. Her head scans the area then she backs up a bit. I feel the vibration of her ignitor when it clicks to life, and she starts breathing her blue flames around the room. I follow the path of her flames, and she is burning away the last of the acid fog pockets. Slowly she crouches down, and I slide off of her back and begin to look around.

Lost artifacts from her mother’s castle are here in what I’m guessing is a safe house for Vladimir’s secret forces. I hear Danteand Edgar calling for us, so I holler and let them know we’re fine. They leap down and motion to Aurora, still in her beast’s form. “Something still isn’t right; she won’t shift back until the area is clear.”

I motion to the walls, and the look of recognition flitters across both War Dragons’ faces. “We need to secure all the treasures housed here. Send for others to come back and carefully pack this stuff up.” Both guys nod, and we watch Aurora stalk down the hallway in full stealth mode.

The three of us are no more than ten feet behind her when she raises her tail and crouches low. A muffled moan and whine reaches us. Aurora’s ears flicker, catching the sound. Slowly, her wolven head tilts as she listens to the room carefully. My gut tells me that Elena is in the room.

Aurora shifts back to a mostly human form, leaving herself three-quarters of the way shifted. Her taloned hand slashes at the damaged door, sending splinters flying in every direction. Bodies litter the floor and yet somehow, Elena is untouched at the back of the room behind the pile of charcoaled corpses. A guttural growl escapes Aurora’s lips, the reverberations shake the walls in the room. Elena visibly pales, staring at Aurora in her partially shifted form.

“You killed my son!” Elena yells at Aurora.

The clicking of Aurora’s talons is the only sound besides our breathing that can be heard. It’s almost as if time has stopped. Shaking her head slowly, Aurora begins to prowl the room as the guys and I block the only exit. “You’ve caused so much damage and told so many lies, yet you dare yell at me, witch!” Aurora says witch with so much venom in her inflection the old woman cringes at the tone.

A brief huff of a laugh escapes Aurora’s lips as she stares at Elena. “You meddled in the Elder God’s plans for us, damaged sacred bonds, and falsified a bond for your own benefit.”Smirking, Aurora crosses her armored arms over her ample chest.

“There shall be no Elysium for you or your bloodline, Elena. I swear on my blood and the blood of my ancestors I will make your bloodline go extinct.” Aurora’s long, white tail thrashes violently behind her as she stalks forward. Elena doesn’t bother begging for forgiveness or mercy. Death has come for her in the form of the last Marelup.

Time slows to a crawl as Aurora moves forward, extending her taloned hands towards Elena. The tips of those long, white, curved talons press into the soft pink flesh of Elena’s skin. As a last-ditch effort to save herself, Elena attempts to shift into her Lycan to try to break free of Aurora’s vice-like grip. Black fur erupts all over Elena’s body as it bends and breaks, trying to transform before she meets her demise.

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