Page 117 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

I carefully sit myself up and look at Ellis. I can see he’s nervous by the way he’s fidgeting with the edge of his sweatshirt. “The skull, Ellis, was to show that Alaric is worthy of having a mate.” Ellis’s phone rings; it’s Alaric, and he wants the phone to be put on speaker so he can be involved in the conversation.

I begin again once the phone is set up. “Alaric sent me his scale to show how serious he was about wanting the alliance with us. I followed tradition and implanted the scale over my heart.” I show Ellis and Dante Alaric’s scale alive and well on my chest.

“As you can see, scale lives. Which, if you didn’t know, it would only live on a suitable mate. A true mate, to be exact. I had Dimitri retrieve my wendigo skull from my collection. Besides my cougar skull, it was my most valuable possession. I sent to Alaric, as you already know, the skull, one of my scales, and a braid of my hair.”

I look down for a moment and smile. “Instinct told me to send the braid. To this day, I still don’t know what prompted me to do it. Do you, Alaric?” I tilt my head to the side, waiting for his response.

I hear Alaric laugh a little, then clear his throat. “Well, as Dante can tell you, it was your animal’s way of scent marking me so that other females know I’m being courted. It’s a little different with dragons than wolves and bears but similar to theeagles. The females, since there’s so few of them, choose the males they deem worthy.”

I raise my eyebrows and look to Dante; he nods, agreeing with what Alaric just told me. “Wow, that’s an interesting take on things. I kinda like it. Especially since I will raise Tiamat to be like me and not take anyone’s shit and torch a fucker if they deserve it.” I nod to punctuate my seriousness, then smile.

Dante nods along with me. Ellis, on the other hand, looks like he’s panicking. “Are you fucking serious? Alaric, please, no! The world can’t handle two Auroras in it. One is terrifying enough!”

Poor Jayce almost chokes on his water from laughing. I gently pat his back and look at Ellis just as Alaric’s voice booms through the phone. “What do you have against my mate, bear?”

I can feel through the bond Alaric is extremely aggravated. “Aurora, do something; I feel like his dragon is going to rip free any moment,” Jayce says softly as he leans in close to me. Jayce’s wolf is whining in response to Alaric’s dragon.

I wink at Dante and close my eyes as I gently rub Alaric’s scale. I concentrate on how much I love him, and I beg his dragon to forgive the silly marshmallow. His dragon is pissed that he dared to speak ill of his hatchling and his mate. I nod as I listen to man and beast at once.

I feel them settle, and then I turn to look at Ellis; my eyes are churning mercury with my black dragon slits pulsing as I stare at him. “My mate and his dragon are mad that you spoke ill of our angel, Tiamat, and me. I strongly suggest you apologize and mean it, furball.”

Ellis audibly swallows and picks up his phone, taking it off of speaker, and walks to the back of the carriage to speak to Alaric. I look at Dante and wink again, making the coo-coo motion then pointing to Ellis. Dante laughs softly and nods in agreement. He then turns to look at Jayce, who now has his head in my lap,attempting to keep me calm. “How are you holding up, Your Highness?”

“Um, I’m okay, I think?” Jayce looks up to me, and I smile at him.

“You’ll get used to the title, love. Dante is here for our protection. Marco switched out with one of the bears at the last minute and is riding up front. Alaric is bound and determined to make sure we are kept safe when we’re separated from him.” I run my fingers through Jayce’s thick hair, trying to soothe his nerves.

Jayce sighs and closes his eyes as he attempts to relax. “I know, love; it’s just when you and Alaric get angry, it’s intense. I feel like my wolf wants to rip free of me and go on a rampage. Which, for me, isn’t normal. I’d rather be in the background than the forefront.” Jayce opens his eyes and looks up at me, smiling.

Dante shakes his head as he looks between Jayce and me. “If only your mother could see the woman you’ve become, Aurora. You have her power, her will, and her presence. But you are one hundred percent a daddy’s girl when it comes to vengeance and the need to crush your enemies.” Dante raises his fist to his heart and bows to me.

“I am honored to be able to protect you. Thank you for letting me serve you.” Dante is very sincere and smiling at me; he almost brings tears to my eyes.

“Thank you, Dante; I can’t picture trusting another team outside of yours to keep my family safe. You must promise me one thing, above all else.” Jayce scoots out of the way, and I lean forward towards Dante.

“Anything you wish for, Aurora, if it’s within my power, it shall be done.” Dante’s visage changes, and he’s back to being the serious warrior I know him to be.

Ellis returns with the phone back on speaker so I know Alaric will hear what I say next. “Dante, I need you to swear to me thatno matter what happens to my mates or me, you will protect my children. They need to survive, no matter what happens.” I swallow down the sob that threatens to escape as tears freely roll down my cheeks. “I know there are dark days ahead, and right now, my babies are my priority.”

I hear Alaric agree in the background as Dante slides forward and takes my hands in his. We turn one palm up, slice into the flesh, and put the wounds together. “I swear on my blood that your children will be protected until my last breath. I will put their safety above all others and spirit them away in times of danger to ensure their survival,” Dante says with such a finality that there is no room for misunderstanding his intentions.

We remain with our hands pressing together for several moments, just staring into each other’s animal eyes. Our animals, apparently, are in their own meeting of sorts. I feel the wagon stop. The back flap opens and I sense Alaric enter. Carefully, we release our grip then turn to Alaric, and he nods slowly.

I stand swiftly and leap into his arms, burying my face against his neck. I’m not afraid for myself, but more so for my children. Alaric’s dragon croons to me, trying to settle me down. But honestly, I’m in pain. I feel as though my heart is breaking. My children somehow scurry into the wagon and sit at our feet.How did they get here?

I release Alaric and kneel down in front of my babies. “Little ones, mommy’s precious angels. Uncle Dante is in charge of your safety. If he or his dragon calls and says it’s time to go, you go. There are too many evil people left in this world that want to harm us.” I tilt my head as I swallow down the emotions that are attempting to well up.

“Uncle Dante is a strong and able warrior, which is why I have sworn a blood oath with him. You two are his prioritynow. If he ever comes for you, you need to go with him without question.” I watch my children for understanding.

Tiamat and Ladon look between Dante and me, hesitantly they move and climb up onto Dante’s lap. I nod, then look back to Alaric. In the back of my mind, I hear his whispers—he’s proud of the decision I made for our children. “I will guard these angels with my life, my King and Queen.” Dante gently hugs my children, looking at both of them. He points to the little dragon with the high eye-ridges and mouthsLadon? I can’t help but laugh and nod, agreeing with him.

“What the actual fuck?” Alaric says, looking between the two babies then back to Dante. “How the fuck did you do that? Seriously! I have a hard time telling them apart.”

Dante shrugs and starts laughing. Alaric moves forward and grips Dante’s hand. “Thank you for this, brother. I know my children will be safe in your hands.”

Both men shake hands, then Alaric comes back over to me and pulls me flush with his chest. “It was wise of you to enlist his help for the babies’ protection. Remember, Aurora, I love you. Till death do we part.” Alaric kisses me passionately then leaves the wagon as quickly as he had arrived. I can’t help but sigh over his romantic gesture.

Nicodeamus arrives swiftly when I reach out to him that his charges had given him the slip. My father shakes his head at the twins and reaches out, taking one at a time out of the wagon to head back to camp where they belong. We didn’t get too far from the Lycan camp, so my father’s trip home would be a quick one. Edgar offers to fly them back, allowing us to travel quicker to make up for the lost time.

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