50. Aurora

CHAPTER 50

Aurora

I have no bloody clue what time I went to bed last night. But shit, if I could get about three more hours of sleep and a giant pot of coffee, I'd be golden. I look at the assembled group in front of me; we are well-rested and fed. None of us really know what we're walking into today.

What I do know is that Alaric is quite anxious this morning. I raise my hand and start rubbing his scale, trying to soothe him like he's done for me so many times already. I feel him relax, and I honestly think, somehow, he knows what I'm planning to do. It really doesn't matter though. It needs to be done. Without air support during the attack, we're sitting ducks.

I know my strengths and weaknesses. I don't think the boys understand entirely how strong I truly am. And I don't mean physical strength, I mean strength of will, drive, and integrity. After everything, my father has shown me about attacking the dragons. I know their weak spot is their neck—especially if I can get up close to the head just under its jaw and sink my talons in there. The scales there are so tiny and spread out that it'll be easy for the tip of my talons to get in and start ripping. I just have to figure out how to land the fucker. I wonder if I can make dragon surfing a sport?

I better not say anything about that to the guys because they'll really start to panic. It's bad enough I slept in a twin taco last night, neither one of them wanting to let me move. I really do understand their level of concern, but if I have the opportunity, why not take it?

Through my dreams last night, when Alaric visited me, he said he wouldn't be far away. I'm counting on it. But again, if more dragons than what he's expecting shows up, then dang, I guess I'm going flying. Either my father's going to have to launch me into the air, or Alaric will have to carry me. That way I'll only have to dive-bomb off Alaric and onto the dragons below him. Either way, I fully intend to get the job done.

That fucking rat bastard Sebastian... I swear to the gods if I see him, I am ripping his fucking head off. His head is going on my goddamn wall right beside his fucking mother's. Between the two of them, they have stolen way too goddamn much from me, and I will never forgive them for that. They better hope and pray I'm not the one who finds them first because unlike the others, I'm going to make it fucking painful. I growl as I work through my inner monologue, and everybody's head whips to look at me and see what exactly is going on. I smile and wave and start to laugh. Yeah, I just had a Harley Quinn moment. Oops.

I find my twins standing together and talking by the fire. Gently, I touch Jayce's shoulder and get him to turn to me. I kiss him deeply and passionately, making him growl. His fingertips dig into the meat of my ass as he lifts me off the ground.

I smile against his lips and whisper, "I love you." He returns the passionate kiss and tells me he loves me too. Slowly, Jayce lowers me to the floor. I don't even have both feet on the ground before Dom twirls me around and aggressively kisses me. Damn, I love when he tries to get all dominant with me. I growl and bite his lip before I start giggling. I whisper against his lips, "I love you." In no way am I saying goodbye. In my mind, I'm just making sure they know they are loved. Hesitantly, Dom lowers me to the ground.

I smile at both of my mates before I head off to find my father. When I find him, he's in an in-depth discussion with Dimitri and Klaus. I run my fingers up Klaus's back as I pass him on my way to my father. Klaus makes a soft growl in the back of his throat. I stop and turn to look at him. His wolf's eyes are beautiful; they're gold in color. I break eye contact and move to my father and hug him tightly. I'm not sure who needed it more, him or me. Gently, I place a kiss on my father's cheek and tell him I love him. In turn, my father kisses my forehead and tells me he's proud of me and loves me.

Just to fuck with Dimitri, I go to Klaus next to hug him and kiss his cheek. I thank him for coming to our aid and being there for me. He smiles at me then gently kisses my cheek. Klaus's hand slides through my long, snow-white hair, his smile radiating affection. Does he wish for more than just my allegiance? It doesn't really matter right now; Sebastian's false bond won't let me find my real mate. I break away from Klaus and move toward Dimitri.

Dimitri appears nervous, which isn't like him. I move slowly toward him and circle around him, looking him over. He's definitely a handsome man. His shoulders are so broad and thick, and I can't help but run my fingers over them. Dimitri's frame tenses the minute my fingers make contact with his shoulders. It's not fear that makes him tense, so what could it be?

When I move to stand before Dimitri, he's not looking at me like he usually does. That fatherly look of adoration is gone. Now, his hazel eyes move over my frame, almost caressing my flesh. Quickly, my eyes dart to my father, and he just smiles at me. I seek out the twins, and they're smiling too.

What the fuck is going on around here? I start to back up, and Dimitri wraps his large hands around my elbows to stop me. I stare at his hands and notice how gently they grip my arms. I draw in a deep breath then look up to meet his eyes. Dimitri slowly raises his left hand to cup my right cheek, and I lean into his touch.

"Aurora," he says in his deep husky voice. I can't help but feel like my insides are on fire with how he's looking at me. "Your father and I suspect that Elena cast a spell to keep us apart. We believe she used blood magic to stop our bond from forming." Dimitri gently rubs my cheek as his eyes beg me to understand. I stop breathing the moment everything Dimitri says clicks. Frost begins to spread from the spot I'm standing and starts to coat the entire cavern.

"I wasn't crazy? My wolf was right?" I start crying; I can't help it. The tears flow freely down my cheeks, and all I can do is stare up into Dimitri's eyes. I have loved this man before me for the better half of a hundred years. All that time, I thought I was insane, that my wolf was wrong and tricked by the binding. Dimitri quickly pulls me flush with his chest and holds me tightly. I feel the rumble of his bear in his chest, trying to soothe me like he used to. I push back lightly so I can look back up at Dimitri again.

"I swear you will have Elena's head. I will give it to you." I feel my canines descend, and my eyes churn to liquid mercury. Dimitri chuckles just before he kisses me on the lips for the first time ever. I can sense Jayce and Dom approach, but they don't interfere. My hands slowly slide up Dimitri's broad chest, and I rest my palms on his cheeks and hold him to me. I can feel him smiling mid-kiss, then I slowly pull back to look at him.

"Kill the witch, break the spell. Easy enough. Then, off to storm the castle!" Poor Dom facepalms again and complains it's not going to be that easy. I tilt my head to the right then give Dom the middle finger.

I start to turn away from Dimitri before I make my announcement. "I am the Poke-master! I have collected them all !" I scream all because Dimitri slapped my ass, hard. Quickly, I spin to face him as I rub my poor ass cheeks.

"Remember, princess, you collected the others. I've been right here waiting for you." Dimitri's dominant attitude is kind of a turn on, and I start laughing as I look at him. He went all cheesy on me by quoting one of my favorite eighties songs: the Richard Marx song about the guy waiting for his love to return. Damn emotional wolf; fucking tears start rolling down my cheeks. What the fuck? I'm starting to turn into a freaking wuss. I roughly wipe the tears away, then look to the pack, who's trying to act like they didn't see anything.

"We leave in ten minutes, so be fucking ready!" I head off to my part of the cavern. I can still hear the guys congratulating Dimitri. I slowly turn around to look at him, and he has a giant grin on his face. I haven't seen him smile so much in so long. He deserves to be happy. Several moments pass and I decide it's time to shift. Quickly, I consume the last of the rations I hoarded away for myself before I head to the gathering point.

We have our marching orders from Nico, and we break off in our assigned groups to head toward Siberia. The larger one of the two Diomede Islands separates our forces. I feel Alaric's anxiety spike just as our groups pass the second island. I clamber up my father's back and start to watch behind us, keeping an eye out for any enemies. Knowing those sneaky scum bags, they'll attack from behind. Through the pack link, I order the group to converge and form a circle. Once everyone is in place, we have eyes in all directions.

What we didn't account for was a Red Wyvern swooping down to snatch me off my father's back. Stupid move grabbing me. The wyvern continues gaining altitude; I'm guessing it's planning on dropping me. Without warning, I reach up and cut the tendons on one foot. Once it loses its grip on me, I reach up and grasp onto the remaining foot. With my free hand, I slash at its exposed abdomen. The wyvern screams in pain as I continue to disembowel it. Blood and intestinal contents coat my scales as I continue to rip. In the distance, I sense Alaric gaining ground. He should reach me once I start to fall.

Now, I grip both legs of the wyvern and hold on tight. It's only a matter of time before it bleeds out. In my head, I start singing Limp Bizkit's Break Stuff . It seems entirely appropriate right about now. Suddenly, the wyvern begins to fall from the sky. I use my talons to climb up onto its back and hold its wings open to slow our descent.

I feel Alaric before I see him. His giant, taloned dragon hand comes down and gently grips me, and I release my hold on the wyvern's corpse. I gently rub my muzzle on Alaric's scales as he carries me. Then I notice he has a group of dragons flying with him in formation. Once the wyvern corpse reaches the ground, we watch it take out some of the enemies' Lycan forces. Yes! Two for one! Alaric's nest mates break off to fight the remaining wyverns.

We gain speed as we approach a Black Dragon. This thing is fucking huge—it dwarfs Alaric's dragon. I pat his hand to get him to drop me onto the monster's back, but his dragon only shakes his head no at my idea. Through the bond, I push my plan to him. Hopefully he sees it's the only way to take out that acid breathing monster. I can hear him huff before he changes course. Honestly, I can't believe I won that discussion.

He aligns himself over the center of the Black Dragon's back. While a small Gold Dragon keeps him occupied.

I do the unthinkable, I drop down from twenty feet above him and land on his back. Time to get to work.