61. Klaus

CHAPTER 61

Klaus

December -

My trip home was super short. Much shorter than I would have liked it to be. So much happened in the short time we were away. Sebastian was killed, which was a freaky bonus. I mean, seriously, I got to watch it through Aurora's eyes. I know I'm not fully bonded to her yet, but still, this gift is creepy as all hell. Creepy, yet super useful. I ponder the last forty-eight hours' events and conclude that my life as I knew it is over. It's not a bad thing really, I'm looking at it as an improvement. Let's face it, all I did before was continuously train and read.

I'm just about done with my decorating and really feel like I accomplished a lot today. I grab ahold of my new book, "Once Upon a Raven" by Serenity Rayne, and head back to the suite I share with my bond mates. It's pretty late at night, so I carefully and quietly open the door to find a giant wolf and bear pile with Aurora sleeping in the middle. Apparently, I'm not the only one watching their little fuzzy snuggle fest. I look up to find Alaric sitting in his favorite recliner, waving at me. "What on Earth did I miss?" I whisper to Alaric, creeping closer to him.

He shakes his head and sits his glass of brandy down next to the decanter. "Apparently, while we were decorating, her animal wouldn't settle down, it is on edge about something. One of the twins shifted first and figured out her animal felt better that way. So everyone that could shift and fit in here did." Alaric looks at the pile-up sadly. I can tell he really wants to be there with our mate.

I grab a glass from the ensuite bar and sit in a chair on the opposite side of the table near Alaric. "If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't fit into the pile-up either." Slowly I raise the glass to my lips and sip at the brandy. It's an excellent year, super smooth and full-bodied. Alaric and I take turns sleeping in shifts throughout the night. Without Aurora telling us what set her animal off, it is better to be safe than sorry.

The next morning comes way too early. Seriously, way too early. The first rays of the sun, of course, decide to land right in my eyes. I really want to yell "I'm blind!", but I value my life and don't want to wake the hellion, otherwise known as my mate. I motion to Alaric that I'm going for coffee and breakfast food. He writes down quickly no eggs. I make the motion for why and he imitates puking and pointing to Aurora. My eyes widen at the news, and I receive the message loud and clear.

It takes me several minutes, and a few wrong turns to finally make it down to the kitchen. I give the cooks the family's order with the request of no eggs. The chef questions that odd request, and I tell them about Aurora puking. Two of the three chefs turn pale-white and start making waffles and bacon for the group.

The older chef takes the time to tell me about when his mate was with child. He gives me fresh, whole ginger root and several bottles of water. He teaches me how to prepare it with the instructions of drinking half the bottle before eating. I prepare one bottle in front of him to make sure I do it correctly. He smiles and pats me on the back, then points to the supply closet. He tells me where everything is if I ever needed more. He is most helpful and I tell him how much I appreciate what he has done. I leave the kitchen and head back to the suite with my cart of assorted foods and drinks.

Before I enter the suite, I go over everything, making sure nothing harmful was snuck into the buffet. Everything checks out fine, so I slowly open the door, silently closing it behind me. I figure the smell of the food should wake everyone's animals up.

Aurora is the first to pop her eyes open; I see her nose twitch as she sniffs the air. "You brought me bacon?" Aurora begins to try to untangle herself from the guys. Alaric and I move over to her quickly, and each take her under one arm, lifting her out of the pile-up. She heads straight to the bacon and the selection of cheesecake pastries I picked out for her.

I move quickly and offer her the fresh ginger water. "Please, love, drink about half of this before you eat, I don't want you getting sick again." I must have pulled off the sad puppy eyes perfectly because she doesn't fight my suggestion. I help her over to the chair I had been in and bring over a folding table, placing it in front of her, then set up all of her goodies. Aurora drinks the ginger water to the halfway point, looks up to me, then over to Alaric. We both nod at her that she was safe to start eating. Slowly she eats everything that is in front of her. We all wait until she has eaten her fill before we eat what is left.

"Aurora? Do you feel up to seeing what we've set up for you?" I move the tray out of the way and offer her my hand. I assist Aurora in standing up and I swear to the gods, her belly has grown again. I watch the other three guys look puzzled at my question.

Alaric must be filling them in through the bond about my surprise because their expressions change to understanding. The twins and Dimitri raise a fist over their hearts at me. It seems to be our way of showing respect towards each other. Alaric takes Aurora's other hand, and we lead her down the hall. When we get to the throne room, I move behind Aurora and place my hands over her eyes. Alaric and Dimitri open the doors, and I carefully move Aurora into the center of the room. I wait until the guys have a chance to look around before I uncover Aurora's eyes.

Aurora moves in a slow circle, keeping one hand on me as she moves. Her eyes widen with wonder as she takes in all that Alaric and I have accomplished. The chefs start arriving, placing tray after tray of assorted cookies and pastries from my home, as well as something from each country the others came from. Dimitri whispers "it was a very Klaus Christmas" and well, that nickname stuck for our first Christmas. It is the guys' way of giving me full credit for what I have pulled together for everyone. I know back home I'm the Alpha of my pack, but here we are equals and I'm okay with that.

We spend the rest of the day tasting all of the desserts brought in by the chefs. Granted, it isn't a traditional Christmas this year because of everything that's going on. The greatest gift of all is growing within Aurora's womb. We each take turns sitting next to her and bringing her different food trays from our own homelands.

Dimitri seems like the biggest child of all. I found out from Nicodeamus the name of the town that Dimitri was born in. Luckily for me, one of the chefs in the kitchen initially came from a town not far away from there. He helped me pick out desserts from when he was young. The look on Dimitri's face is completely worth the extra effort. I now know the true meaning of what a bear hug is; that big guy practically squishes me. About mid-afternoon, Grandma Elsa decides to show up and pisses in my Cheerios.

"Klaus! Your mate should not be eating all these sweets! She needs a balanced diet, especially with meat; she's a carnivore." Grandma's arms are flailing around as if she was doing a flag routine on top of a destroyer trying to get a plane to land.

Now grandma makes the grievous error of looking at me with her eyes shifted to that of her wolf. It just so happens that Aurora is sitting next to me at the moment. Carefully, she stands up and steps towards my grandmother. We all watch in horror as the scales ripple up and down her forearms. She apparently has had enough of my grandmother's domineering ways.

"Ma'am, I don't know how things are done where you're from, but when you're a guest in someone's house, you do not yell at their mate. I'm trying to control my temper here, but this is the last straw. Klaus is the alpha of your pack, yet you decide to stand here and chastise him like he's a five-year-old pup that stole a cookie out of the cookie jar." Aurora narrows her eyes while looking at my grandmother.

Fear starts to build in the pit of my stomach. "Have some bloody respect for the man. This was a present they have done for me since none of us have been able to get out to do any kind of shopping. Klaus brought me a well-balanced breakfast with meats and cheeses and those horrid vegetables that you want me to eat, for your information." Aurora makes a yuck face after talking about the veggies. "Everything that should have been eaten has been eaten for this morning. I'm going to kindly ask you to back the fuck off, leave the goddamn room and not bother us till this evening's check-up." Aurora's eyes are glowing. We can feel the room's temperature dropping quickly. We can see the frost starting to form and gather on her long, white hair. She is doing everything she can not to shift and not lose her temper on my grandmother.

My grandmother stands there slack-jawed, looking between Aurora and myself. She is in complete shock at the way she was just spoken to. Finally, my grandmother looks around the room to see if anyone will support her and what she is trying to accomplish.

One by one, the guys look away from her and will not maintain any kind of eye contact with her, not showing any semblance of support. A gentle knock is heard at the door. All eyes are on it as it slowly opens. Unfortunately, my grandmother's assistant poking her head where it really doesn't belong, while Aurora is already mad.

Aurora attempts to start going towards the door, Alaric and I end up holding onto her tightly. We yell for the assistant to run quickly. She closes the door and we hear her steps running down the hallway. Dimitri brings over one of the pastries from his country that seems to be one of Aurora's favorites in a move of absolute brilliance. He waves the pastry in front of her face until her appetite overrules her anger. Exertion equals hunger, so the big bear figures based on what we are feeling would cause her to be hungry again.

Eventually, Aurora stops struggling between Alaric and me and grabs the pastry out of Dimitri's hand, gives him a kiss, and then pushes Alaric to sit. Once Alaric situates himself on the bean bag that we brought in for Aurora this morning, she plops down on his lap.

"Grandmother, all the pastries that are here have been made with healthy fruits and berries known to be excellent antioxidants. As well as being high in Vitamin C and other various trace minerals that you suggested she should be eating." I smile at her, being the epitome of calm and serenity. "The flour, eggs, and other ingredients are all organically sourced. Aurora is not eating anything with any kind of preservatives or chemicals in it. If the meat wasn't killed by one of us or hunted by one of us, it's not being served to her." I motion to my bond mates one by one to emphasize my point.

"We are taking the utmost caution to make sure that she's getting the best of everything. Unlike the females in our pack that only have one or two mates, she has five, plus a legion of dragons and a horde of various species of wolves." Ever so slowly, my grandmother bows her head to me and apologizes for the first time in my life.

I officially think hell has frozen over, or this is some sort of alien, and my grandmother's been abducted. We watch the old crone leave, and I close the door silently behind her. I'm congratulated, swept up in hugs and back-pats, high fives, you know, typical guy shit. Aurora is sitting on Alaric's lap, laughing her ass off. Apparently, she thinks the display between myself and the guys is the most hysterical thing she has ever seen in her entire life. I honestly don't believe that Alaric notices that while Aurora has been sitting there, she braided one side of his head. This causes the other three mates and myself to laugh hysterically right along with her.

The big, tough king is sitting there with tons of braids on the left side of his head. Then again, I think Aurora could sit there and draw dicks on his cheek, and he wouldn't care. The celebration continues well into the night, each of us trading out every hour or so, allowing Aurora to use us as her personal chair.

Aurora finally starts yawning around eleven or so, and it is time for all of us to go to bed. I can see the scales rippling along her arms, on her cheeks, and under her eyes. Her beast obviously is worried about sleeping. "I have an idea. Alaric, how big is the grand ballroom?"

Alaric stands there tapping his finger on his chin, looking around the inside of the throne room, then back over to me. "About twice the size of this room, why?"

"If we have the servants clear what furniture is there and push it against the wall, do you think your dragon would fit in there?" Alaric's eyes light up as Nicodeamus's head whips around to look at me, intrigued by my query.

Nicodeamus approaches and places a hand on my shoulder, smiling broadly at me. "Absolutely brilliant, my boy. Two dragons and all of your animals can easily fit in that room. I can turn the doors and windows to ice to make it more secure, so that way my baby girl can rest without worry." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aurora going from mate to mate, hugging everyone. She announces she needs to go get changed into her pajamas, and she'll join us in a few moments. Jayce and Dominik escort Aurora out of the room and back to our chambers.

The rest of us practically race down the hall heading to the grand ballroom to rearrange it. By the time Aurora comes in, the room is all settled. Alaric and Nico are in their dragon forms. Dimitri and I are waiting in our human forms to assist Aurora with whatever she needs. In typical Aurora fashion, she arrives making a statement. She is riding on the back of Dominik's dire wolf. Jayce is walking alongside her in his human form, making sure she doesn't slide off. If dragons could laugh, the noise that Nicodeamus and Alaric are making would qualify as laughter.

"What?! I'm tired!" Aurora states as she looks between all of us standing there, watching us try not to laugh our asses off. Jayce helps Aurora slide off of his brother's back and onto the ground. Her eyes move between Alaric and her father, and they light up instantly. She walks over to both dragons as they turn and lower their heads to her.

She reaches up and strokes both of their maws, as well as placing a kiss on each of their cheeks. Ever so carefully, she moves between the two great beasts, trying to figure out exactly where she wants to sleep tonight. Alaric and Nicodeamus's heads turn and follow Aurora's movements. Aurora places her hand on Alaric's wing and looks up at him. "Love, can I sleep under your wing tonight?" Aurora tilts her head left then right, looking into Alaric's dragon's eyes.

Alaric's body shifts slightly so that he is leaning back a bit more than before. Ever so carefully, he lifts his wing out of the way to allow Aurora to step under it. Dimitri moves and helps Aurora up onto the top of Alaric's hind leg. The way he is lying creates the perfect area for her to lay safely. Once Dimitri is sure she is safe where she is, he gets out of the way, and Alaric lowers his wing. Aurora is wholly encased in Alaric's thick leather wing. I honestly don't think she could get much safer.

"What's causing Aurora's need to sleep with our animals?" I cautiously ask the others. Nicodeamus shifts back to his human form and pulls on his robe that he had sitting nearby.

"I have several theories about that, Klaus. The first, it's a safety thing. Her beast knows that she can't shift fully anymore. It's concerned for its baby's safety. The second, I think that Ulrick being here, as well as the damage that Sebastian has already caused here, behind the scenes has her on edge." Nicodemus begins to pace the room in front of us, pondering what may be setting his daughter off.

"Another issue is that she has no idea, exactly, where Elena is. I think if we could figure out where she's hiding, Aurora may settle down just a little bit." Nicodeamus taps his chin several times. "I highly doubt it though, because she is who she is. My poor daughter has been hiding since the moment of her birth. Now that she has revealed herself, she's constantly hunted or having to battle to protect herself. It's not the life I wanted for my child, but we couldn't have known the level of dissension in the ranks. We couldn't have predicted that we had enemies living amongst us that would turn on us when they did." He stops pacing and turns to face us.

"Right now, if half my thought process is correct, without knowing exactly who here is, friend or foe, she is not going to settle down. Growing up without her mother, everything from the Ascension to now, she's had to figure out on her own. It's probably a terrifying journey for her, and it's more than likely the reason why she's always quick to shift and jump into a defensive stance." He shakes his head from side to side, looking sad over what his daughter has been through.

"Being a hybrid doesn't make it any easier either. As much as she looks more wolven than dragon, her tendencies are all dragon. I never would have guessed she would have taken after me more than her mother. In one way, she and I are both in the same boat, dragons unable to fly. However, she does have the advantage of a mate with wings, and for that Alaric, I thank you for being by her side." Alaric bows his head to Nicodeamus in thanks, then he curls up tightly, making sure that Aurora is well protected.

I pay attention to everything that's being said by Nicodeamus, and his words bear great wisdom. Being the only Lycan here, I genuinely don't fit in with the others, except for Aurora. I do feel like the odd man out, being the last to join this ragtag bunch. There's been so much betrayal and heartbreak for this poor woman that my chest aches thinking about it. I know it's only a matter of time before she fully claims Dimitri and me. Once that's been accomplished, she will be at full power, and whatever other gifts that she shall gain from Dimitri and I will only help her cause in the future.

We make sure that all the doors to the Great Hall are locked, all the windows are sealed and blocked before we get ready to settle in for the night. I have a feeling, sleeping in here as our animals will soon become routine. Aurora will need us to keep her calm and allow her to feel safe as she rests. There are only two months left until she gives birth, hopefully, less. Even though the actual holiday is still only a few days away, I spend it here with Aurora and my bond mates every day it feels like Christmas.