Attack (The Aurora Marelup Saga Book 4)

At least I know I like one of my mothers-in-law, I say to myself as I throw the last of my supplies into the carriage that I’ll be riding in. I’m not fond of the idea of hiding myself but let’s face it, with my white hair, I stand out. Jayce has opted to ride with me for this section of the trip. I hate being contained, and it’s a known fact that he’s about the only one capable of getting me to relax.

I lie on the bench with my head in Jayce’s lap with my eyes closed. I’m listening to our traveling companions talk amongst themselves. Ellis and Dante are in here with two others from Klaus’s pack. Ellis and Dante are having a contest of what’s the most fucked up Aurora moment you’ve witnessed to date. Dante has Ellis beat by a long shot, but he’s sworn not to speak of me breathing fire.

“Man, when I tell you Alaric and Aurora are perfect for each other, I kid you not,” Ellis says with his usual dramatic inflection for everything.

“Why would you say that, marshmallow man?” Dante asks and motions to me. Yeah, I let him in on that one. I can hear Ellis’s bear rumble, and as soon as the rumbling stops, I crack an eye open to turn and look at him, waiting for him to say something to Dante.

“Um, well…They’re fucked up! Sending presents of meat and skulls and then the trippy cutting a scale into their own flesh… That was the icing on the cake for me. They fucking scare me,” Ellis says as he glances between Dante and me.

Dante starts laughing and looks at me, then points to Ellis. “Damn, marshmallow doesn’t understand the significance of those presents and gestures. Do you wish to explain, my Queen, or shall I do it for you?”

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 the eagles. 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 that no 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 priority now. 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 mouths Ladon? 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.

We travel for several hours before Ellis finally has enough courage to ask the question that’s been plaguing him. Ellis clears his throat and looks between us. “Is there something I need to know that no one has bothered to tell me.?”

Dante looks to me, and I give him permission to tell Ellis since he was absent from the previous explanation. “It’s like this, Ellis; we are literally walking into the bowels of hell. Fire will rain down from the sky, and the dead will walk the earth. You see, the Strigoi will be strongest on their home turf. It’s something about fighting on the soil where their bodies were buried. Now, if we can find the actual burial ground and turn it into consecrated ground, they would lose most of their power if not just turn to ash.”

“Hold up! Back that motha-fuckin’ train up. The Strigoi that are vampires, like old school horror movie vampires, would be affected by blessing their graves?” Ellis always did have a way with words.

“Yes, Father found something in an ancient tome that mentioned such. It’s not exactly clear who would have to do it, but it’s clear as to what’s needed for it to be done,” I say as I look between Dante and Ellis.

Dante starts to pace back and forth within the wagon. “I’ve seen the damage a horde of Strigoi can do. They can tear through their victims in seconds. When you are killed by a Strigoi, the legend says you may return as one if you lived a life of sin. Those who fall in battle must be burned to ash just in case.” Dante crosses his arms over his chest, standing firm with his beliefs.

Aurora’s eyes shift to her beast’s for a moment, then back to human again. “Father says we can also drive a nail into the forehead of the fallen so a proper burial can be performed.” Aurora pauses dramatically before continuing. “As for the graves, he thinks they are along the wall. So we need to bless water and pour it on the soil. We can bless oil and set it on fire before the attack, and whatever Strigoi comes in touch with the smoke will be burned by it. Maybe, if we’re lucky, even be killed.”

 “We’re almost at the first campsite for tonight. Once we arrive, let’s make sure everyone is settled, and we can research more before bed,” Dante says.

I move to the front of the wagon and peek out of the blinds to see the makeshift campsite we have for tonight. It’s going to be interesting with everyone out in the open. I’m not very comfortable with the situation, but I know it’s needed to be done. We’re at the halfway point of our journey, and soon enough we’ll be going to war. I can only pray that we make it out with as few losses as possible.