Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

SOLARIS

A s soon as the men’s heads were displayed, I helped Aurora get cleaned up. I could feel how her heart was lighter. Even if it was only a little, it was enough to know that, at some point, the shadows of the past would be totally wiped away.

I explained the next stage of what I wanted to do, and even though her father had been a raging asshole to her, I could still see the hesitation in her eyes. I promised to leave her mother and siblings unharmed, but I couldn’t let her father live, and she agreed.

Leaving a few guards behind to watch over our home, a large portion of my army set out toward her family’s land. She rode me until we stopped to rest for the night. I guided her away from the group to a secluded spot by a waterfall where I’d sat more than once contemplating my life.

“Rora, I want to do something. It may hurt, but only the first time,” I said, and she looked down at my cock, making me laugh. “No, it has nothing to do with that. Well, at least not yet.”

“I don’t understand.”

With her hands in mine, I looked out at the mist rising into the air. It felt so fresh and clean as it blanketed us. I took a deep breath as I collected my thoughts.

“Your heat is almost here. I can smell it, and I can’t mate with you properly in human form.” She swallowed hard. “I want to awaken your moose. I want to pull her from where she’s been pushed down and force you to shift.”

Aurora’s eyes went wide. “You can do that?”

I nodded. “I can. I have had to help others shift for various reasons, and I can reawaken your moose. I can smell her, and as I said, the heat could hit any minute or day, and I don’t want to end up shifting in the middle of something in our human forms because I suddenly can’t control myself. A heat can drive mates mad, and I never want to hurt you.”

She cast her eyes down and nibbled on her bottom lip. A tremor of nervousness ran through her body. I tipped her chin up and softly kissed her.

“You have trusted me so far. Have I lied to you or let you down,” I asked, and Aurora smiled.

“No, you haven’t. It’s just that my first shift was very painful, and I fear what this will be like.”

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit. You’ve already endured more than most ever could handle. I know you can do this.”

She lifted her head, and I loved how the color was fully back in her cheeks, the hollows less defined with the regular meals. She was unbelievably stunning, and looking at her made my heart ache with a need that would never be quenched because no matter how hard we tried, our souls couldn’t become one.

“I live to love you, protect you, and protect our herd.” Taking her hand, I laid it over my heart. “You know this. I know you can feel it in me.”

Her fingers trailed down my cheek much like she’d done at the riverside, and tears filled her eyes. “You’re right, and I want to do this. I want my moose back and to be able to mate. If the Goddess sees to it, I want to have children one day. What do you need me to do?”

I kissed her again and tasted the sweet grass on her lips, already picturing running through the forest with her by my side.

“Close your eyes, relax, and picture what it was like to shift,” I said.

Calling upon my abilities as Alpha, I pushed my essence into her body. She gasped as it searched for the moose within her. As soon as my power found her, I wrapped it around her spirit like a blanket and began to pull back. I could feel the edginess of her moose. She was keen but also reluctant after all the pain.

“Shift,” I commanded and poured my energy into her. Aurora sucked in a gasp, her hands tensing in mine before her body started to shimmer. “Shift for me, Rora.”

Letting go of her hands, I stepped back. The dominance of my power pulled on Rora, and her body arched, her arms opening as her head fell back and her mouth opened in a silent scream. I hated that this was hurting her.

Our bond was already strong, and I could feel her moose racing to the surface now that I’d unlocked her from the cage she’d placed herself in. I eagerly watched as Rora smoothly shifted with the help of my ability and our bond.

She snorted and raised her nose to the air before stomping her foot at me. I smirked at my stunning mate, who was as sexy in her animal form as she was in her human skin. There was still a hint of blue in her eyes, marking her as unique.

Aurora rubbed her muzzle on my cheek, and with just a thought, I shifted and stood with my mate.

Hello, my sexy monarch.

Communicating telepathically could only be established once we were both in animal form. Rora rubbed her body against mine and tucked her head under my neck.

It feels incredible. Like I’m finally whole again.

So, you’re not angry that I forced you to do this?

No, I couldn’t be angry with you for giving me this gift.

I love you, Rora.

I love you, Sol.

Would you like to stretch your legs and go for a run?

Yes.

Aurora huffed excitedly, and I nudged her with my muzzle playfully before taking off. I looked back, and Rora was on my heels, our long strides eating up the ground as we galloped through the forest and weaved through the trees. We stopped and ate some berries, and we rutted for the first time under the moonlight before collapsing in human form to the soft, dewy grass in a tangle of sweaty limbs.

I held Aurora to my body as I stared at the stars in the clear night sky and thanked the Goddess for her gifts. What I’d once seen as a punishment, I now realized, was only a test for something far more significant. If given the choice, I would do everything in my life the same way all over again if it meant that I would end up right here holding my mate and the love of my life. Closing my eyes, I let the sounds of the night fill me with the knowledge that only with time came understanding, and that was the real power.

AURORA

We stood among the early morning shadows, and I looked upon the lands that I’d known as a child. The yelling started moments ago as my new herd took the guards by surprise, and the clash of the soldiers began.

Solaris stood beside me, his rack held high, his breaths rising into the air as his keen eyes took in the battle coming swiftly to an end in our favor. He let out a mighty trumpet, his deep tone echoing off the trees, signaling our second wave to move in.

From the time we arrived to the moment of our victory, the siege lasted less time than it took for me to get dressed in the morning. It was shocking to me how weak my old herd had become, or maybe always was.

Solaris looked at me and stepped closer so that his warm body was pressed against my side.

Are you ready to end this where it all started?

He tilted his head, his ears twitching as he waited for me to respond.

I was ready the day that he sold me off for his debt. But it was only in meeting you that I realized it. Although he is my blood, it is your side that I will stand by.

As I will stand by you.

We stepped off the high rise that we’d used as our perch to watch the fight unfold, and our strides were as in time as the hearts beating in our chests. Sol was mine, as I was his, and together, we were Vicious Winds.