41. Aurora

CHAPTER 41

Aurora

The next morning, I wake up alone in Dom's room. He and Jayce must have woken up early to get everyone started on their tasks. Silently, I return to my room and pull on a pair of leggings and a Bad Wolves T-shirt from my closet. My guitar amp is by the door, offering me solace from the pain I'm in. Yeah, I need to play something straight from the heart this morning. Pete is standing in the meeting hall, dusting my throne.

"Hey, Pete!" He jumps at the sudden noise. After realizing it's me, he smiles and approaches me.

"Morning, My Queen. What can I do for you today?" Pete is ever so eager to please me. It helps that he's an omega, and their drive to please their alpha is all-consuming at times.

"I need you to grab your bass and grab our drummer. I need to play this morning." My eyes well up with tears that threaten to break. Pete looks panicked, then runs off to do my bidding. I walk around the main hall to open all the windows and set up my amp by my throne. I start to tune my guitar, preparing to play a song that embodies my feelings right now. Footsteps fill the hall, and I look up to see Pete and the usual crew ready to play together. To achieve the perfect acoustics, we turn our amps to face the halls. The guys look at me expectantly as I move to take my spot in the middle of the room.

" Cemetery Gates from Pantera. Pete, be prepared to take over vocals if I falter during the song." Pete gives me a nod before I start the opening riff of the song. I climb onto my throne and keep the tone going. When it comes to the lyrics, they flow from me, dripping with the pain I'm feeling. My voice is almost raw with emotion. I swallow hard as I go into the riffs between lyrics, pouring my heart and soul into nailing this song and making it perfect.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the guys move around as they play along. My guys and several others file into the hall as I sing. My eyes close as I tilt my head to the ceiling, tears escaping out of the corner of my eyes rolling freely down my cheeks. I hear Dimitri enter and sniffle. My eyes open and I slide off my throne then begin to walk toward him. My eyes shift to that of my beast, and I feel scales ripple up my arms then recede. When I pronounce the word gates before the big solo, the word is growled out with the voice of my beast—its fierceness coming through strongly. At the end of the song, I practically howl out the word gates . My guitar cries, holding the final tone until I finally release it. I feel a little better after playing that song. It happened to be one of Andre's favorites.

Next, I decided to do another favorite of his. I choose to play Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine. I have to say, it's hard to play this song as well as the great Tom Morello does, but I give it my all. I end up jumping around the room and jamming out as Pete tries to scream the lyrics like they should be. The song changes the room's feel from the gloom that my first song invoked to a bouncing, playful tone. It doesn't last as long as I'd like it to. Unfortunately, now I have adulting to do—damn responsibilities.

"Thanks, everyone, for coming and watching us perform! You know me by now; I needed to vent through my music." I walk over and hug Dimitri tightly. His partner for the last who knows how many hundreds of years died yesterday. I know the pain of his loss has to be hitting him harder than it's hitting me. We remain in each other's arms, silently crying.

"D..." I nuzzle his cheek like I did as a pup. I can't help but look at him through tear-filled eyes. He's trying to be strong for me and hide his pain, but I see right through that big, grumpy bear. I kiss his cheek and attempt to smile at him. "We have a murderer to hunt, D. We will hang whomever it is by his entrails and beat him like a pi?ata." I get half a laugh out of Dimitri.

"Baby girl, you make me very proud of you. For once, I will not temper your rage. Release the beast and let it shred anything in its wake. We will dance on the bones of our enemies!" Dimitri's Russian accent is very thick when he speaks. He's not hiding who he is anymore.

I felt my beast stir when Dimitri called for it. To be honest, I want nothing more than to hunt the fucker that killed Andre. I want to kill everyone and everything that had a hand in his death—my prime suspects at the moment: several high ranking Lycans and Sebastian. Andre went off to gather information on a total of five beings and died before he was able to relay what he found. I'm now positive there is a traitor in our midst somewhere. I will carry on as usual, as not to show my hand yet.

"Back to work, everyone! The war won't win itself!" Everyone scatters, and all that's left are my mates, father, and Dimitri. I can tell by how my father is looking at me that he knows something is on my mind. "Guys—dad, Dimitri, and I need to go talk about the old days. I want to learn more about my mother and the castle." Jayce is the first to smile. He runs up to hug and kiss me. Dom takes his time and picks me up, kissing me passionately before setting me down. Sebastian comes to stand before me, attempting to lock eyes with me—almost in challenge. My beast isn't having it and makes him turn his eyes away. I lightly grip his jaw and turn his head to face me.

"Please don't test me." Sebastian smirks and kisses me, nipping at my bottom lip for good measure. Forever the wise ass. My father approaches and offers his hand to me. The minute I take his hand, I hear his voice in my head.

I know something is plaguing you, daughter. Is this the reason for the walk? My eyes turn to my father briefly, and I barely nod my head. He squeezes my hand to let me know he saw my answer.

"Come on, D. Lets go!" I extend my hand to Dimitri, wiggling my fingers at him. He half laughs and takes my hand. I almost got him to smile.

Okay, guys, I don't know if trying to talk to both of you at the same time is going to work, but here I go. We have a traitor somewhere here in the compound. I'm not sure who it is, so don't ask. I had Andre investigate four elders and Sebastian's family." My eyes drift between my father and Dimitri as we walk out the door and head toward the stream at the property's southern edge. I know they heard me by how tense their bodies have become. As soon as we get out of range, I stop and stare at both of them. I let out a slow breath, looking at them expectantly. I can see the gears turning between the two of them.

"What made you come to these conclusions, Aurora?" Dimitri is the first to question me. All I can do is breathe in deeply.

"Some of the older Lycans questioned my bloodline, and I overheard them mention Vladimir. They were speaking as if he's still around. It kind of makes me wonder.." I look between the two of them, and I see both of their animals surge to the surface. We stand there in silence. There were suspicions that the old alpha was possibly still alive. We still don't have confirmation, and Andre would have had that answer.

"Andre was bringing me his findings. I never got the answers I was looking for." I lower my eyes to look at the ground. I miss Andre so much. He was my confidant and a mother figure. My father nods slowly, taking in all that I've said.

"The Elders could be old enough to remember the old alpha. The question is, where do their loyalties lie? Sebastian is a mate, so I seriously doubt he would plot against you; but it could be possible." Nico rests his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. I force a smile as I look up at my father.

"I was hoping you would say that, Dad. So, we agree to focus on the Elders and try to figure out which of the four houses has it out for me." My eyes lock on Dimitri, and I watch him straighten up, his shoulders pushed back and chest puffed up. "D, I need you to watch and listen to the ones who are training. Someone might slip and say something. You know how pups talk." I've never seen Dimitri with such a stern look on his face. He's actually quite menacing looking.

"I will do it gladly, baby girl. Anything for you." He wraps his thick arms around me and hugs me tightly to him. My arms band around his neck and I squeeze him back. I love my mates, but these are the only two that I can completely trust with behind-the-scenes things. I hate having to be suspicious of my people, but something doesn't add up. Reluctantly, I let go of Dimitri and motion for us to head back to the camp.

"Dad, I have a question for you." I turn to face him and tilt my head to the side, thinking about how to phrase the question. "Before the ascension, why was my wolf insanely jealous of Dimitri having a sexual relationship with anyone? She pretty much claimed him as hers but didn't physically claim him." I watch Dimitri's cheeks burn flame-red from embarrassment. He wasn't the only one embarrassed, but I needed answers. After all, my animal's possessiveness of Dimitri ended the minute she smelled Sebastian. Nico simply laughs. He laughs so hard he's bent at the waist with his hand on his thigh.

"Sorry, daughter… That's a very dragon trait. You were magically bound to Dimitri, so your young animal confused it for the mating bond. It's an honest mistake. In truth, without that bond, you probably would have gone insane and took me with you." Nico slowly stands up and regains his composure, still smirking at Dimitri. "I know the stories you told me, old friend, and I'm sorry it happened. If I was able to be with my daughter from the beginning, that bond never would have existed." Nico looks down after the words leave his mouth. He realizes what he said was a tad insensitive. "I am grateful for all you've done for us. I am sorry if my words were cruel." Nico furrows his brows. I'm betting my father isn't used to apologizing when he messes up. Dimitri lets the comment roll off his back. It doesn't even look like it phased him. He moves closer to my father then gives him one of those side bro-hug things with the exaggerated back-patting and everything.

"We're good. We better get back before the others get suspicious."

I roll my eyes and start walking back, ahead of the guys. I listen to the sounds of battle going on in the training grounds. Yup, that's where I'm headed. Why not? I mean, seriously, I have three smoking hot mates who could potentially be shirtless. Shirtless and sweaty with beads of sweat rolling down their well-defined abdomens... Damn, I need to get laid.

I creep through the shadows, observing all the guys in their half-naked glory. Dom and Pete are sparing, using bow staves. Dom's muscles elongating and flexing then tightening has me mesmerized. I am so lost in my own little wet dream, I don't even notice when Elena comes up beside me. When I do notice, I scream like a little girl and claw half-way up the tree. I'm hanging from the tree by my talons when I look down and notice it's only Elena. She's legit laughing her ass off at me. Dom is now also under the tree, trying not to laugh, along with several others. Just to be an ass, I let go of the tree and fall, so Dom has to catch me. What a crying shame! He's half-naked and holding me. What's a girl to do? Dom lets out a heartfelt laugh then kisses my cheek.

"Crazy wolf! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He smiles and kisses my cheek again. His lips find my neck, and he nips me gently. Then Dom lets out a primal growl and starts to walk away with me. Our forward momentum is suddenly halted by Dimitri, who steps in front of us, and my father places his hand on Dom's shoulder.

"I know that growl, lad. I can't let you follow your instincts. We need Aurora at full strength for this journey and the battles ahead." Nico isn't budging until I'm released from Dom's grasp. My feet hit the floor, and I look between my father and Dom. Then it dawns on me; that was a short two months. I step away from the guys, disappointed that I was denied dick. But my father is right; I will slow everyone down if I am heavily pregnant.

"Elena, I need the tea again. Dad, Dimitri, can you two watch over me?" They both smile and nod. Dimitri grabs my hand and starts leading me to his small cabin set off away from everyone. I didn't know the shack he chose was so little. He deserves better. I make a mental note to improve his living conditions when this is all over.