Attack (The Aurora Marelup Saga Book 4)

I wake up in a tangle of limbs and Aurora’s head on my chest. We spent several hours last night making love, reassuring ourselves and our animals. Gently, I kiss Aurora’s forehead and then turn to kiss Jayce’s lips. I can honestly say I love this man. He is truly the heart of this family. Jayce blinks several times, clearing the sleep from his eyes before he focuses on me. I smile at him, then motion toward Aurora, and he nods slowly, then manages to extract himself from our nest and leaves the tent. Dimitri is the next to wake. He rolls over and kisses Aurora’s lips, which wakes her up in attack mode. She’s baring her canines, looking for the intruder. Eventually, she realizes she’s safe, then kisses Dimitri back and bites his lower lip.

“Evil female,” Dimitri mutters before he too gets up and leaves.

Aurora looks at Dom and Alaric next and starts laughing. Alaric is spooning Dominik, and Dominik has Alaric’s hand held tightly to his chest. Hmm, I carefully reach over and snap several pictures. Quickly, I send the copies to Jayce and to Dimitri. Aurora carefully leans over and nips Alaric’s lip. He tightens his grip on Dom and starts grinding his cock against his ass. Suddenly, Dom’s eyes fly open, and he starts struggling to get away from Alaric.

Alaric mumbles for Aurora to stay still, unaware of anything wrong, and he tightens his grip again. “Babe, it’s not me you’re holding!” Aurora sings, laughing the entire time.

“What the fuck!” Alaric says when he realizes he’s holding Dom, he rolls away then stands up, adjusting himself.

“Almost time to roll out, love. You need to give the dragons their tasks. Dom, you and Klaus organize the wolves as we discussed.” Aurora moves to the suitcase her father had handed to her when we left the first time.

Within the case is an outfit perfect for Aurora. The pants fit her like a second skin, hugging her every curve. Her top is a simple peasant top with a leather bodice. Aurora catches me watching her, and she winks as she pulls out her sword and scabbard and tightens the belt around her waist. She almost looks like a dystopian steampunk pirate. One thing I notice is she’s not wearing the shoes this time.

“Angel, did you forget to put on your boots?” I hold up her favorite knee-high boots and wave them in the air at her.

Aurora rolls her eyes, then comes over and kisses me on my lips. “No, silly, I can’t swim with those heavy things on.”

I nod slowly, then bend down to kiss her lips again, savoring the moment. “Stay safe, angel. I love you.” My chest hurts thinking about her entering the bowels of the castle alone.

“I love you too. You better stay safe too.” Aurora boops me on the nose then leaves the tent quickly.

I find what I’m planning on wearing for the attack and strap on my sword. My part of the pack is off by themselves. We greet each other and discuss the assault plans for today. My eyes keep looking skyward, checking the position of the sun.

The signal sounds and my Lycans divide up into four groups and head to their positions. We have the task of disarming the traps that have been set around the perimeter of the castle. Mine and Jayce’s teams are escorting Aurora to the flooded tunnels.

Our two teams meet up and look around for our fearless leader. Aurora is up a tree, scouting the area from a higher vantage point. She starts sending one Lycan with one shifted Dire Wolf to disarm the traps she can see through the bond. Jayce and I look at each other, pondering why we are here if Aurora is issuing the orders.

We spot several Lycans that aren’t part of our group heading our way at a full run. Jayce shifts, and I remain as human. I draw my sword, ready to fight. The sight of me holding a sword confuses the Lycans, and they stop in their tracks. Aurora lands silently beside me and draws her sword as well. We charge the attackers and start hacking through them.

It’s obvious to me now that Aurora was correct—some of Vladimir’s forces have no clue how to use a sword. I relay this information quickly to the rest of the Lycans, as well as my bond mates.

Aurora is having the time of her life parrying and twirling out of the way of the attacking Lycans. It’s almost as if she’s dancing while she battles, and then I hear it. She is singing Taylor Swift’s “Look what you made me do” while she’s fighting. Every battle, a song is tagged to it. This battle is no different than any other.

I swear that woman is going to put us all in an early grave. We clear the attackers quickly then return to the task before us. Aurora moves to survey the entrance to the flooded tunnel. My scout goes to stand beside her and goes over his discoveries on his previous mission…

Aurora looks to Jayce and me, then back to the scouts. ‘Guys? Can you come here?’

‘Yes, angel?’ I ask, looking between Aurora and my scout. Jayce shifts back and pulls on his pants.

Aurora’s features give nothing away at the moment. ‘I’ve reconsidered my original plan. Jayce, pick two of your men. Klaus, you do the same. The eight of us will enter through the tunnels.’

Aurora’s eyes take on that ghostly glow as she reaches out through the bond. She tells the rest of her mates her amended plans, and I sense the relief from the others. We start getting updates that Lycan forces have been testing our groups for the last hour. Several hundred have fallen by our swords.

Through the trees, I spot Arnulf coming through carrying his medicine bag. ‘Thank the Gods for Ziploc bags!’ he says, patting his bag. He needs to bless the ground the Strigoi are buried in to weaken or kill them, hopefully.

Aurora turns and approaches Arnulf and kisses him gently. “Are you prepared for everything?” Aurora asks in a soft tone.

Arnulf tilts his head, then smiles. “Yes, my love, I am fully prepared.”

“Good. Jax will be your personal guard. When we find the graves, Jayce will shift and remain at your side for added protection. After all, his venom is unrivaled.” Aurora’s tone holds nothing but love and pride for her mates.

Arnulf nods, then looks at the rest of us gathered. “So, what’s the plan?”

I step forward and motion to my scout. “Gus here was the one that scouted the caverns originally. I figure he will be the one to lead us to the old weapons’ chamber that he discovered. Arnulf, one of us will hold your clothing. We can have you shift and fly through some of the chambers, giving us a little bit of recon before we proceed.”

“Sounds good,” Arnulf says.

Aurora looks to the cavern then back to us again. “Be prepared for anything. Each Lycan must have a Dire with you. My mates will tell you when to shift and climb. If I have to freeze everything, you’ll need to be out of the water.” Aurora looks to the entrance then back to Gus. “Let’s get this party started.”

Gus steps toward the entrance and looks back to Klaus, then steps into the abyss. One by one, everyone follows him into the cold, dark water. Only he knows what we’ll find on the other side. I, for one, am a bit concerned.