Page 10 of The Aurora Marelup Complete Saga Omnibus

Aurora draws in a deep breath and opens her maw to bite at the muscle between his neck and shoulder. Her taloned hands rest on his shoulders, careful not to slice him to ribbons. Sebastian’s blood could be scented in the air but not seen. When she feels she held him long enough, she releases her grip on his shoulder. Gently, she cleans his wounds, sealing them instantly. A pure white ring of fur covers her mark upon his shoulder. Both wolves turn to face me.

“I bless this union. May their lives be filled with love and longevity… and many pups!” I had to throw that in. The look on both of their faces is priceless. In the corner, Aurora’s guardians stand there like sentinels. Poor Andre is having a hard time with his little girl growing up. He’s an emotional mess but still standing tall and proud, even with his puffy eyes. Aurora and Sebastian bow to me before they leave the hall out the back door. Now is the time for their hunt and the true mating to occur. At least some things are still kept private, thank the Gods. I move towards her guardians and shake both of their hands. “Gentlemen, we have succeeded in our missions. Aurora has ascended and found her first mate. I call that a win.”

I watch Dimitri rubbing the spot where the binding mark once was. His eyes eventually find mine. “Da, we did. Now it’s just a matter of time before time catches up to Andre and me. Don’t get me wrong, we are grateful for the extra time, but nowwe know the end is near. We just hope we live long enough to help her ascend the throne and take her rightful place.” Dimitri hugs Andre to him and holds the overly emotional bird to his great chest.

I study them closely, and the sands of time have begun the run. Delicate wrinkles now grace the creases of their eyes. A sprinkle of grey hair can be seen on their temples. A soft sigh escapes my lips as I watch them. I feel horrible about what’s to come. My sister’s magic gave them the extra time, and perhaps I can extend it again. I leave them to have their moment and walk back to my hut to start studying my sister’s notes. Maybe I’ll find a solution for them. I can only hope.

CHAPTER 9

Sebastian

Both wolves runthrough the woods far away from the village of my birth. The sun is starting to set as we come upon the place called Mirrored Lake. The water is so calm and still it’s like looking at a mirror laid flat on the ground. The surrounding area has heavy timber as well as an apple tree grove that has fruit available. I come to a stop at the edge of the water before shifting back to my human form. Aurora cautiously approaches the water’s edge then shifts back to her human form. She slowly tilts her head to the right and studies the area... it’s absolutely breathtaking. You can tell she’s watching the sun setting over the mountain tops. The sky is streaked with reds, blues, purples, several shades of oranges and yellows. I move and lightly place a hand on her lower back before gently kissing her cheek.

“I hope this is acceptable to you?” I was nervous about my choice of where to take her. This particular place held so much meaning for me; it’s where I made my first kill and learned to shift and fight. Aurora smiles at me and moves in closer, resting her head on my chest.

“It’s beautiful, Sebastian! Can we stay here for a while? I can’t wait to see the moon upon the lake’s surface.” Her smile made the long run worth it. Gently I guide her to a small grove of appletrees. Under the oldest tree, I have camping gear and a cooler set up for us. Aurora begins to bounce up and down. Apparently, I have chosen wisely. “Awesome, I’ve never been camping before; this will be an adventure!” She bounds away from me to look around at all I have prepared for our first night together.

Suddenly she freezes and begins to growl. Her wolf bursts forth from her body and takes on a defensive stance as she begins to back up towards me. Seeing my mate shift so quickly, I decide to shift as well. My sizable black wolf moves to stand at her right flank, staring in the direction she is. A pale being reeking of death, decay, and sulfur begins to amble through the woods towards us. Its face looks like the being from the old black and white movie Nosferatu.

Aurora’s eyes narrow; she knows what it is. It’s a Strigoi—the same creature that had a hand in the destruction of her bloodline. Silent communication passes between us. I shift back to my human form and look for the phone I packed. Quickly I call Dimitri and tell him what is standing before us. It was Dimitri’s worst fear. The Strigoi sensed when Aurora came into power and began to hunt her. I keep my eyes on Aurora as she circles the Strigoi, sizing it up. Dimitri gives me detailed instructions as to how to destroy it.

“Aurora, we must take its head! And don’t let it bite you; it’s poison!” I yell as loudly as I can. Quickly I shift back to my wolf as I spot a second creature approaching. I know this is going to be a fight to the death. Aurora’s guardians are on their way to help us, just in case. Backup isn’t far behind, now we need to dispatch these two before it gets too dangerous.

Aurora charges at the Strigoi, making sure to stay out of range of its swiping distance. Her talons sever its left arm from its body—blackened blood pulses out of the artery poking out of the remnant of the creature’s arm. The second Strigoi starts going nuts, smelling the blood from its companion. Its dark eyes,burning red like blood, have taken on an unearthly glow before it lunges at me. I dodge, barely getting out of the way of the crazed creature.

My taloned hand reaches out and catches the back of the Strigoi as it passes me, ripping its flesh to ribbons. Blood pours down its back, and its movements are slowed from the strike I delivered. Both Strigoi are moving slower from blood loss. The one Aurora is fighting now has a massive chunk of his thigh missing and can barely remain standing.

Dimitri’s bear is seen breaking over the top of the ridge. Damn, that male is freaking huge; he makes a Kodiak look small. He charges forward and into battle, knocking Aurora’s Strigoi to the ground and ripping its head off. While Dimitri is busy with the first one, Aurora joins me with the second one. Both of us now circle the lone Strigoi, it screams—calling for help—but no one answers.

The last Strigoi doesn’t stand a chance being trapped between Aurora and me. Her eyes flair to life, and the liquid mercury of her eyes seems to glow brighter for a mere moment. Suddenly she lunges forward, her taloned hand extended with her fingers splayed wide as she aims for the Strigoi’s throat. With a flick of her wrist, the Strigoi’s head is severed from its body. Blackened blood sprays in an arc, painting the once green grass onyx. The body falls with a thud at her feet, blackened blood oozes from the severed arteries, coating the ground. The thump of the severed head landing near draws our attention away for a moment, before our eyes refocus upon the remains in front of us. The threat is now over, and the Strigoi bodies turn to ash and blow away with the wind.

Dimitri shifts back first and walks over to us. “You both did well. Congratulations on your first Strigoi kills.” He claps his hands briefly. “It’s been over two hundred and twenty-nine years since I’ve seen these fuckers. It’s only going to get worse fromhere.” His eyes move skyward, watching Andre’s Golden Eagle circle overhead. He is doing lazy circles in the air, keeping watch for any more surprise visitors.

Aurora, still in wolf form, walks away from the group heading towards the water. Her normally snow-white fur is now spotted like a Dalmatian from the Strigoi’s blood. Once in the water, she shifts back to her human form and begins to wash away the blood from the battle. I watch her, hypnotized, my eyes transfixed on everywhere her hands touch.

“Sebastian?” Dimitri says, trying to draw my attention back to him. “Shift back, we need to talk.” Dimitri is all business all the time, and the look on his face at the moment proved that this is about to get serious.

Quickly I resume my human form and move my hands over my erection, trying to cover it—I’m failing miserably. “Thanks for getting here so quickly. How the fuck did those things find us so fast? I thought we had time.” My voice held concern as I look between Aurora in the water and Dimitri before me. I’m not panicking, just shocked that the Strigoi arrived so quickly.

“Andre and I will stay within howling distance tonight. You must complete the bond. She will gain power from you and you from her.” Dimitri’s eyes drift to Aurora and linger there longer than I think would be decent. My own heated gaze caresses every single visible inch of my mate’s curvy form.

“Each mate she adds, she will gain a gift from them, and thus it spreads to the others as well. Your mother told us where the local Dire Wolf pack is.” Dimitri tilts his head, making a very stern face at me. “So, when you two get your act together, that’s where we’re heading next. They are somewhere in the Grand Canyon in some old Indian dwelling.” Shortly after Dimitri finishes speaking, Andre lands.

All you can see is Andre shaking his head and throwing his arms about. “Wait! We have to play hide and go fucking seek tofind her mates? Do I look like the dude fromPickers?” Andre has awhat the fuckface on as he looks between Dimitri and me. We both crack up over the frazzled look that Andre gives us.

The laughter carries to the water, and Aurora’s head snaps up as she stares at us. Slowly she walks out of the water. Rivulets of water caress her curves in a hypnotizing manner. Each droplet catches my attention, my eyes follow their path hungrily. Aurora smirks, looking at my state of being—my poor penis is rock solid, the head is turning purple and leaking. Aurora raises an eyebrow looking at it, then up to me. “That looks painful. What’d you do? Slam it in the cooler lid, or did one of those things hit it?” And there you have it—her innocence on display. Dimitri’s and Andre’s jaws drop. I honestly don’t know what to say. Aurora just smiles at me then moves to grab a towel.

“As for the others. We’ll find them, and I’ll take what’s mine.” She raises her hand and taps a finger on her plump lips. “Speaking of which, Dimitri and Andre, you need to leave.” She waves her hands, making a shooing motion. “I have a mate to claim, and I refuse to do it in your presence.” She crosses her arms over her chest, staring at them. Dimitri and Andre almost fall over each other trying to leave. Andre takes to the skies, and Dimitri shifts back to his bear and lumbers into the woods.

“So, Sebastian, how do we do this?” The look on my face must be priceless. Aurora flat out asked me what we needed to do to complete the bond. Dimitri and Andre are long gone, so there was no one to use as a distraction.

“Well, Aurora, I was hoping to ease into this to make it special for your first time.” My eyes drop to the ground at my feet. I’ve had sex so many times I’ve lost count, but this time means something. My eyes meet hers for a brief moment before looking down and away again. This is my mate, the one I’d be spending the rest of my life with. Aurora’s hand gently caresses my jaw, raising my gaze to meet hers.

“I won’t lie to you, Bash; I’m nervous. Instinctually I know what I need to do. But instincts and practical application are two different things.” I watch her shift her weight nervously. “But I trust you. You’re my mate, my forever, and I know it’s insanely soon... but I feel like I love you already.” She leans in and gently kisses my lips. “Don’t tell the guys I’m a big softie; they’ll never let me live it down.” She smiles and winks at me before moving to sit on the picnic blanket.

A gentle pat was given to the spot next to her for me to join her. I laugh and move quickly to be at her side. Aurora opens the basket and starts spreading out the food I brought for us. There are several types of meats and cheeses, two kinds of wine, and water. For dessert, there is a homemade apple pie. The amount of thought I put into this moment pleases Aurora and her wolf.

Ever so carefully, Aurora dishes out food onto plates for the two of us. With a deep cleansing breath, she lifts the plate for me and offers me my food first. Her eyes remain locked on me until I begin to eat. Once the first morsel is swallowed, Aurora begins to eat.

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