Slowly, the pack begins to gather once they hear the melody coming from my guitar. I know there are dark days ahead of us, and I know the days of peace are limited at the moment, so I do my best to enjoy every second. Just as Sebastian and Dom approach, Jayce wakes up. I switch it up a bit and start playing Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.” Although I sing it for the pack to enjoy, it’s more so meant for my mates.
I make sure to hold eye contact with each one of them. I’m not like Jayce, who wears his heart on his sleeve; I hold my feelings in tight and protected. However, before this battle from Hell, my men need to know and feel what I’m feeling. I play the song in its entirety, all six minutes and twenty something seconds of it. At the conclusion of the song, the guys swarm me. I feel the love they have for me and I revel in it. I also fear for them with the battle to come.
In the distance, I spot Elena and my dad walking hand in hand toward the lake. It's about time both of them find happiness. Jayce is the first to notice that I’m staring at the hillside. He smiles and lets a soft “aw” escape his lips. Unfortunately, his cute reaction draws both Dom’s and Sebastian’s attention. Dom simply shrugs his shoulders and heads back to work, while Sebastian looks like he's beside himself.
He motions toward the hill and shouts, “Our Parents! What the actual fuck!” He drags his hand down his face, then looks to me to do something. I can't help but start laughing. I’m not bothered by them being together, but apparently my big, bad—almost—Alpha mate can’t handle it. I give Sebastian a quick hug and pat his back.
“Don’t worry, Bash. Dad’s castrated, so there’s no fear of any pups being born.” I kiss Sebastian's cheek, then bound down the stairs and go for a walk to check out the new dorm the guys have been working on. I turn back briefly, and the look of shock on Sebastian’s face is really worth it. Dom bounds down the stairs and jogs to catch up with me. He gently takes my hand as we enter the building, and he takes the time to explain the upgrades and little, special features it has. It’s everything I could have wanted for the single males and more: private quarters for sleep, a large living room, and an open kitchen design.
“I’m so proud of you guys! Everyone has done a wonderful job.” I kiss Dom on the cheek as we finish the tour. Since dires are apparently quite well off, Dom and Jayce had extra funds to go into the project, and all of the planning fell onto Dom.
We continue our walk back to the Alpha House. My throne has become the focal point of the main hall, and today, I find flowers left on the table to the right of it. I can tell it’s the children of the pack because there is a single flower from each child—about nine or ten flowers left for me. It brings a smile to my face, thinking about how thoughtful these little ones are. We run into one of the housekeepers, Anna, and her new baby Lia in her arms. I’ve never seen a baby before, so I’m quite curious. Dom looks at me, puzzled.
“Babe, you act like you’ve never seen a baby before.” I remain staring at the little one, then I turn to him.
“I’ve only ever seen them on TV. They never look this tiny.” I lean down to sniff at the baby again and its eyes open. I pull my head back quickly because I wasn't prepared for the baby to look at me.
“Would you like to hold her, my queen?” Anna asks, offering her precious child to me. I look at Anna then back to Dom, tears threatening to fall.
“I don't know what to do. I don’t want to break it,” I say to Dom, alone, through our bond. Understanding flitters across his features as he guides me to sit on my throne. Gently, Dom takes the baby from Anna, then comes to me next. I watch in amazement at how he looks so perfect holding the baby.
“Hold your arms like I am. Trust me, you’ll be fine.” I mimic the position that Dom’s arms are in and he gently rests the child in my arms. I’m honestly frightened I’m going to accidently hurt the baby. My other mates arrive quickly, sensing my anxiety and fear. They suddenly stop, watching me nuzzle the baby I am holding.
Lia grips a lock of my hair and pulls hard. I can’t help but smile at this little being’s strength. She dares to pull the alpha’s hair. I nuzzle her again and make a low, comforting rumble at her. I look up to my mates, my wolf and I in agreeance.
“I want one.” I immediately drop my eyes back down to Lia, when I hear the thud of a body hitting the floor. Sebastian passed the fuck out. I guess he can't handle the day today; way too many changes in such a short amount of time. The twins take this opportunity to approach and stare at the child together.
“Soon as the war is over, you can have as many as you want.” Dom proclaims. Deep down, I know that’s the smartest course of action. I keep sniffing and nuzzling the baby. She’s such a miracle. Fertility is becoming rare among the lycans. To birth a daughter is nothing short of a miracle. I carefully shift my arm under Lia and pluck a single scale before shifting back. I look to Anna and hold the scale out to her.
“Give this to Lia when she’s old enough to understand the boon I have given her. I will come for her no matter where or when. That is my promise to this baby.” I lean down and kiss Lia’s forehead before offering her to her mother. “She is the first daughter born in a long time. She has my protection.” Anna, practically in tears, looks from me to her baby. I have a gut feeling that she will be pivotal to one of my sons when they are born. I look up to see that my father and mother-in-law have returned. Apparently, they witnessed the whole exchange.
“Child, are you okay?” My father asks softly. I know why he’s asking; I feel the power of my beast pulsing. She tapped into some part of the dragon’s power that she can’t access alone. I snuggle into my father’s embrace and look up to him.
“I held the baby and felt that she has a part in my children's future. I know it sounds strange, but my beast just knew.” I search my father’s features for answers. A slow smile creeps over his lips and he nods slowly. Gently, my father kisses my forehead, then walks me back over to my mates.
“The first time I met Dominik, I knew he would play a role in your future. Our dragon side is very intuitive like that. I suspect that once you mate with the prince, your dragon side will become better balanced with your lycan side.” My father briefly hugs me before letting go. I walk over to a prone Sebastian, and decided to sit on his chest and stare down at him.
“Hey, Bash!” Quickly, I poke his chest several times before I receive a response. He’s still kind of pale, definitely looking off kilter a bit. “What happened to you?” Dom helps me off Sebastian, then passes me over to Jayce so he can help Sebastian stand up again. A quick look over, and Sebastian is back to normal.
“Ever experience déjà vu? I mean, really experience it. I saw you, Aurora, with a baby nursing on each breast. One with white hair and one with black; one boy and one girl. It was really fucking surreal.” I blink several times, looking at Sebastian, then back to my father. Nico walks closer to the group.
“I see Aurora’s dragon side is gifting everyone with visions. It’s a rather unique situation.”
The weight of my father's words hit me like a freight train. My hand flies up to the prince’s scale on my chest. Gently, I rub the scale, tracing the unique shape of it against my soft flesh. I have been feeling a bit different since it was implanted on me; a little stronger, a little faster. But the biggest change I’ve noticed is that I’m not as quick to go straight to murder anymore. My gaze lands on my father and he’s smiling at me. He raises his finger and taps on his temple. Apparently, I’ve come to the same conclusion as he had. My eyes roam over my other mates, slowly assessing them one by one. Other than Sebastian, no one else has had any noticeable changes. I’ll have to keep a very close eye on them. I love them too much to make them worry.
Watching Aurora with the baby and seeing the look of wonder on her face made my heart melt. I feel her desire for a family though the bond, along with another entity entirely. It’s faint, but it’s there. Just like her father pointed out, I believe it's the prince as well.
Sebastian and I have been working
on training the lycan troops day and night. We run drills and shift to fighting against each other so they can see the difference in the species approach in battle. Dimitri, against Aurora’s wishes, has been fighting with the groups so we are prepared for the polar bears. In order for him to train the dires before they head to Siberia with us, I’ll need to sneak him out of the compound later today and put him on a plane to head to my brother’s. I don’t know how anyone thinks going against Aurora’s wishes is a good thing, though. I mean, seriously? Do we all have a freaking deathwish?
I never thought I’d say this, but the ferals are a godsend. Their animals are so primal that they can outlast the regular lycans. It’s definitely something to study for the future. I text my brother, Alex, to catch him up on all that’s been going on here. I send him the videos of Aurora opening the present and the placement of the scale. Immediately, my phone blew up since I’m now apparently in a group chat with my brother and some guy named Ellis. Ellis is beyond excited and can't wait to tell his friend the news. They are supposed to meet up before the attack and plan out what they can do to help. I remind Alex about sending Dimitri down later today. He, too, is concerned for Dimitri’s health and doesn't want to face Aurora’s wrath. Honestly, no one wants to face Aurora when she’s in rage mode. I text over the supply request that Dimitri has for training.
What use to be the arena is now a full blown training grounds. Alex is trying to erase the years of fear the arena held by turning it into a positive place for our people. One of the biggest moves my brother pulled off, with the help of a video from Aurora, was the ending of the forced matings. It freed so many females from matings they didn't want anything to do with. The females were moved into a protected wing of the den and guarded 24/7. Several males have been locked up and await Aurora’s sentences. Think of it as death row, where the death isn't a threat, it's a promise.
Apparently, my pacing has drawn my mate’s attention. I look up to see Aurora, standing there and holding Lia again. I wonder to myself if Anna knows Aurora has her baby.
“Hello, love.” I gently kiss her cheek. ”Does Anna know you have Lia?” Aurora smirks at me, then kisses the baby’s forehead.
“Yes, she said she needed to ride the pony. It's been a while, whatever that means.” Aurora shrugs and continues to rock the baby in her arms.
“Um, babe? It means she went to go fuck her mate.” Aurora makes the “oh” face, then laughs. “Anyway, I’ve been talking to my brother. We are doing well with preparations for the journey. Alex feels the dires would benefit from seeing Dimitri’s bear and learning how one moves.” Aurora stops rocking Lia and stares at me, her eyes churning liquid mercury. Oh god, I pissed her off. Not good. Aurora cracks her neck and takes a deep breath.
“I understand where you’re coming from, Dom. I really do. But, I worry about Dimitri’s health and what the extra strain may do to him. I know he’s willing to die for me.” Tears break and roll down her cheek. I see Sebastian and Jayce come out of the dorm. I raise my hand to stop them, and thankfully, they listen. “Is this what he truly wants, Dom?” As Aurora looks up to me, Dimitri walks up behind her and kisses the top of her head.
“Cub, I’ll be fine. Poppa bear has always done what's best for the defence of the family, haven’t I?” Aurora nods slowly, with that innocent little girl look going on. “I’ll be fine, cub. Besides, now that you’ve ascended, I think you can kick my ass.” Dimitri smirks at her and noogies the top of her head. Aurora growls at the noogie and smirks, looking at Dimitri.
“Be safe, old man. I love you! Train the dires well. I don't want any losses on our side if we can help it. Remember, there will also be dragons. Perhaps you can take my father with you so he can work with the dires as well.” I could practically see the gears turning in Aurora’s mind as she sorts out what needs to be done. “Make sure you and father leave Sebastian and Dom a list of what needs to be worked on in your absence. In about three weeks, we’ll be flying the lycans to Germany, and the dires here. The second dorm will be completed before their arrival.” Aurora’s eyes turn toward me, and she notices I’m recording her directions. She gives me a curt nod. “Did I miss anything Dom?”
I answer her from behind the phone. “No, love. I believe everything is sorted. I’ll send this video to Alex and arrange transport for everyone.” Aurora shakes her head no at me. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her.
“No offence, love, but Jayce does much better at arranging these kinds of things. You get back to training the others, and if you're a good boy, I’ll give you a massage later.” Aurora places a hand on my forearm and kissed my cheek before walking away with Lia.
“Shit, that went better than I expected.” I look over to Dimitri. Damn, that bear is a fucking huge man. “Well, we have our marching orders straight from the princess herself. We better hop to it before she hands that baby back to Anna.” Dimitri shakes his head at me, and I see sadness briefly cross his features. I know the future isn’t certain for anyone, but for him and Andre, they are living on borrowed time.
Slowly, I move through the compound, watching all the citizens move about without a care in the world. I kind of miss those days, to be honest. But in those days, I didn't have Aurora. So yeah, as much as I miss the simple life, I wouldn't change it for anything. In my wandering, I find Aurora leaning over Jayce’s shoulder as he works on his laptop. It’s nice to finally see my brother happy for once in his life.
Time seems to move in slow motion as I watch the events unfold before me. Sinclair comes out of nowhere, dagger in hand and heading toward Aurora. I start to scream when Aurora’s sixth sense seems to kick in. She shifts so fast it’s terrifying. The blade hits the scales on her forearms and glances off, causing no damage. Aurora's taloned hand grips Sinclair by his throat and lifts him off the ground. He’s kicking and thrashing, trying to pry her hand from around his throat. Aurora’s lycan beast walks with Sinclair dangling in the air like it’s nothing.
Everyone starts gathering as soon as Jayce starts screaming at the top of his lungs. I’ve never seen my brother so angry. I can see the toxin dripping from his canines. Fuck, Jayce is partially shifted, and his canines are bared as he yells. Wow, Hell has officially froze over—Jayce is in a rage. All it took was him to find his mate and for her life to be threatened. Aurora throws Sinclair into the practice ring and stares him down. Jayce prepares to charge in, but Aurora grabs him and shakes her massive head no. Jayce only nods and steps back.
“Still doing the mix breed bitch’s bidding. She’s going to bring death to all of you. Kill her now and the strigoi will forget this camp exists!” There’s the reason for his boldness. Apparently Tomas found the weakest link in the Dire camp and its Sinclair. He hasn't realized he just signed his death warrant and no one here will stand against Aurora.
Sinclair, in a move of absolute stupidity, shifts and charges at Aurora. Our mate looked positively bored until he moved. Sinclair leaps into the air, his mouth wide open and toxin dripping from his mouth. He latches onto Aurora’s armored forearm, attempting to bite though the dragon scale. You can see the look of “you've got to be fucking kidding me” on Aurora’s wolf’s face as she watches Sinclair attempt to harm her. Aurora suddenly whips her arm up, then drops to one knee as she brings the arm with Sinclair down hard and fast. The thud of his body and the audible crunch of bone breaking gives me shivers down my spine. Sinclair’s wolf whines, broken on the ground and unable to stand or move.
Aurora shifts back to her human form and stands over Sinclair, her head tilting from left to right. Her eyes lift to Jayce as if waiting for his judgement. Before he’s even at Aurora’s side, Jayce shifts into his wolf.
She threads her fingers through his thick fur and says, “I can end him for you, love. You don't have to do this.” Shockingly, Jayce growls and snaps at Aurora, making her jump back a bit. Jayce suddenly lunges at Sinclair and bites into his throat, thrashing his head violently from side to side. The sound of flesh tearing and tendons p
opping was almost sickening. Eventually, Jayce severs Sinclair’s head from his body. He bites into Sinclair’s fur one last time to lift his head up and carry it to Aurora. He drops the head at her feet, then stares up at her. Aurora touches the offered head, then wraps her arms around Jayce’s thick neck, hugging his wolf tightly. I’ve never seen my brother so violent, but then again, he's never had someone he's loved so much to fight for. Aurora slowly stands and grips the fur of Sinclair’s head to pick it up.
“I’m going to go take care of Jayce. He needs me.” Aurora’s tone is sad. Watching her sweet, innocent Jayce must have hurt something in her. I’ll talk to her about this later to see where she’s at emotionally. I know my brother isn't in a good place either, having to kill an old love to save his mate. It’s a sight to see: Aurora holding Sinclair's head with her hand on Jayce's back. I still feel Jayce's anger and Aurora's sorrow. It's very odd for the roles to be reversed with them. I move over to where Sebastian and Dimitri are standing. We’re still shocked over what we just witnessed.
"Dom, what got into Jayce? That was way out of character for him." I know Sebastian is feeling what I am, but Dimitri can't.
"I'm guessing watching Aurora with Lia made something snap in him. He's always loved children, and I guess the threat to Aurora's life and the possibility of him losing the chance at pups pushed him over the edge." I shrug my shoulders. After all, I'm only speculating at the moment.
"I can see that," Dimitri says, not missing a beat. "He constantly worries he's not strong enough to protect his mate. He completely forgets he has the toxic bite that, by itself, makes him lethal." The matter-of-fact way Dimitri says it is kinda frightening.
"Sebastian, can you do me a solid and drive Nico and Dimitri to the airport? I really need to make sure Jayce is okay with everything that just happened." Sebastian nods and claps Dimitri on the back. They head toward Elena's house to collect Nico. I head back to the Alpha House and go straight to Jayce's room, and I’m not particularly shocked to find it empty. I arrive at Aurora's room, where I find candles lit and soft music playing. Then, I hear the water running in shower. I decide not to waste any time and strip before I enter.
Hunt Little Wolf: The Aurora Marelup Series Page 5