78. Dimitri

CHAPTER 78

Dimitri

March-

Morning has come, and Aurora is asleep with her head on my chest. Jayce is curled up behind Aurora so tightly. I honestly hate disturbing both of them, but I'm kind of anxious about seeing my clan's descendants. Gently, I kiss Aurora's lips, and I can feel the rumble from her beast. I still get concerned when I hear it; that thing makes me feel small. Slowly, her eyes open, then she rolls to kiss Jayce awake. He immediately pouts because he knows it's time for us to leave. Sleepily, he extracts himself from the bed and heads out of the room. "Are you ready, Aurora?" I ask her softly, my thick accent rolling off my tongue like silk.

Aurora smiles up at me, then lunges and kisses the tip of my nose. "Yup! Let's go!" Aurora climbs over me to get to the other side of the bed. Apparently, walking around the bed was too much trouble for her.

Aurora disappears into the walk-in closet and comes out fifteen minutes later wearing an all-leather outfit. There's thicker leather on the inside of her thighs and the crotch, like those fancy equestrian pants. Her jacket is perfectly tailored and makes her tits look phenomenal. I watch Aurora struggle with braiding her hair, so I go over to where she is and knock her hands away.

Aurora smiles up to me sweetly and offers me her brush. Fuck, I think I just got played. She runs over and sits in a chair, waiting for me to come over and braid her hair for her. I do two french braids in her hair, parting it right down the middle. "Let's go; the dragons are probably waiting for us to arrive at this point."

Aurora points over by the door. "My go-bag has been packed and ready since yesterday; I even packed yours, D. You're welcome." She sings the last part, like the Hawaiian demigod in that kid's movie she loves so much.

I can't help but start to sing the song in my head. Andre and Aurora drove me absolutely nuts with that fucking movie. Andre . I honestly haven't thought about my best friend in a very long time. I've been so focused on revenge and Aurora that I haven't had time to wallow in my grief over his loss. I follow Aurora out where the second biggest dragon I've ever seen is lying in the field. This dragon isn't as big as Nexus was, but fuck, he's damn close to it.

Aurora strides up like it's nothing and rubs his nose gently. Alaric is at her side, giving directions as Dante and Edgar make lazy circles in the air waiting for us. I approach the dragon and look at all the spines along his back. There's one spot before his wings that I'll fit in. "Alaric? Where's Aurora sitting?" I look over the length of the dragon, then back to Alaric.

"She'll be riding up on his head behind his horns, so she can direct him easily. Don't worry, big guy, she'll be safe up there." Alaric smiles, not a single worry in his mind. Me, I'm ready to freak the fuck out thinking about all the danger she'll be in without me.

I turn to watch Aurora's eyes take on that haunting look as she stares up at Marco. His amber eyes glow faintly as he stares back down at her. Fuck, is she talking to him? What the fuck can't she do these days besides fly? Marco lowers his massive head to the ground and moves his wing forward. Aurora steps onto his wingtip and gets lifted up to the crown of horns on his head.

I watch her find a comfortable position and sit down like she's done this a hundred times before. Hesitantly, I move over to his side and look up to where Alaric suggested I sit. "Baby girl? How am I supposed to get my fat ass up there?" I look back to where I'm supposed to sit, then back to Aurora. The next thing I know, I get slapped on the back of my head by Alaric. "What the fuck did you do that for?" I practically growl out at Alaric.

"Brother, Aurora said to do it because she doesn't like you calling yourself fat. She thinks you're perfect just the way you are." Alaric shrugs his shoulders then looks back to Aurora.

"Climb on Marco's wing when he extends it, then walk along the bone to his back. Try not to step on the leather of his wing; that will hurt him," Alaric says, then pats me on the back before backing up.

Marco extends his wing, and I examine the scales along the bone. They could be used as stairs the way they overlap along the bone. I carefully climb along the scales on his wing bone, being very mindful not to step on his wing's leather. I reach his back, and trust me, I'm fucking thankful I made it up here.

Great Bears are not known for being the most graceful creatures. My eyes move along the planes of his massive back and see the area where I was instructed to sit. I finally get myself situated when the dragon starts to stand up. I hold onto the spine for dear life. Aurora, on the other hand, is standing up, leaning back against the spine behind her. I see her hands are shifted, and she has a good grip on the horns in front of her. Aurora lets out a call that's a true mixture of her dual nature; it's a cross between a roar and a howl. The moment her call is done, Marco launches us into the air. I feel my stomach head towards my ass from the sheer power of Marco's take-off.

Aurora is laughing hysterically, enjoying the wind in her face. I can feel through the bond the worry from Jayce and Klaus; Dominik is playing it cool. Alaric is the only one I'm not really sensing.

A few moments later, I see exactly why I'm not sensing him. He has shifted to his dragon and has decided to escort us to the edge of the pack lands. Aurora is smiling and waving at Alaric as he flies beside us. With a dragon Marco's size, we should reach the bear territory's outer edge in about forty-five minutes. Alaric roars his goodbye at the edge of the region. Aurora turns her head and calls back to him; I can see a sadness there. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of the bond that they share. Alaric and Klaus have the best understanding of her beast's nature. I have the best understanding of whom she is.

Marco starts making a clicking noise, and I see Aurora nod. Slowly, that crazy female makes her way back towards me. Aurora is walking down Marco's back like she would around the porch on the house. "D, we're getting ready to land. I came back here to help you through the landing. Unlike last time you rode in the carriage box, this is much different. You need to stand up." Slowly, I slide my way up the spine I'm leaning against, then look to Aurora for the next step. "Okay, so here's the easy part, brace yourself between the spine behind you and the one in front of you. Marco will lower his head before he starts the descent, so that will give you a warning to brace. Alaric said that Marco is going to take every precaution to make the landing as soft as possible."

Aurora leans forward and kisses me softly before she turns and runs back up to her position on Marco's head. Aurora raises her arms over her head like we are on a roller coaster, then it happens. I watch Marco's head lower, and I feel like the ground is coming out from under me. I hope I don't embarrass myself by puking. Quickly, the falling feeling lessens, and I'm okay with the speed we are going. I'm guessing Aurora said something to Marco because he changed his approach.

We land softly on one of the higher hillsides overlooking the forest of my youth. I smile, breathing in the air of my homeland. Things have changed since I was last here; there's actually a dirt road leading towards where our camp used to be. I slide off Marco's back and look around at the hill's grass and dirt. The bear prints I find are old, but it's a good sign my people are nearby. I look at my right forearm and roll up my sleeve. I have the brand of my clan and the brand of the house of Marelup as a royal guard. If we find my people, I will have to show them my brands to validate who I am.

Aurora eventually goes and talks to Marco, and he takes off, leaving us till we need him. "Ready to play hide and go seek, D?" Aurora smiles at me as she adjusts the straps on the backpack she's brought with her.

I slowly take my pack off of my back and start to strip. "I'm going to shift so it's easier for me to track my people. Besides, each family covey has specific markings as their bear. I may be the last of my bloodline, or maybe not. Either way, they will accept who I am much faster as my animal than if we both approach as humans." Aurora nods in understanding as I remove the last of my clothing. I feel her eyes roam all over my body. It's times like this I am thankful for all the extra training I do.

Aurora finishes stuffing my clothes into my bag then waits for me to shift. My bones break and realign slowly. Unlike the wolves, unless I'm angry my shift is slow and methodical. When my shift is finally over, I stand on my hind legs and roar, alerting the others to my presence. It's a cultural thing for a dominant boar to announce his presence before entering another boar's territory. I lower myself back down to four legs and listen for any kind of a response. In the distance to the north, I hear an answering roar. For now, we are welcome in his territory. I swing my head back to Aurora and lie down; carefully, Aurora climbs onto my back. She manages to clip the two packs together, arranging them to rest over my shoulders so she doesn't have to support their combined weight.

Slowly, I start to head in the direction of the roar I had heard. The silver fir trees along the main game trail randomly bare the dominant boar's claw marks. Aurora looks at the marks then back down to me. He's not as large as I am; if anything over time, my people may be no bigger than the common brown bear. I say to Aurora through the bond.

"Do you think he's smaller than I am, D?" Aurora asks. I'm pretty sure she is just testing me. Her beast rivals mine when I'm on my hind legs.

It's safe to say. I believe he's smaller than both of us, I say to her through the bond again. If my bear were able to smirk, we would definitely be smirking right now. The game trail leads us through some of the most beautiful sections of the forest. Aurora is enjoying our journey; she's looking in all different directions, catching all the new scents. I can tell she's trying to resist the urge to hunt the roe deer, as well as the chamois.

We come up to a water crossing, and I stop then lie down. Aurora takes the hint and slides off my back, taking the bags with her. Slowly, I wade into the water to test its depth. It's not bad at all, and for the most part I'll be able to keep her dry. While I stand in the stream, I notice a good-sized wild trout population swimming in and out of the current.

Quickly, I plunge my head under the water and catch a medium-sized trout. I whip my head to the side to throw the trout towards Aurora on the bank. She starts to laugh hysterically as she catches the fish when it hits her on her chest. "Lunch!" Aurora yells as she moves back a bit, then smashes the trout's head with a rock, ready for me to catch another. I haven't seen her so happy being in the outdoors in such a long time. I throw three more fish to her, and she's having giggle fits over it.

I climb back up onto the bank and shake out my fur, sending water flying everywhere. Aurora is still laughing, now over the water getting to her from way over here. I shift back to my human form and grab my pants from the bag. It felt good to hunt for my mate and to provide for her as my bear. He's so proud of himself right now it's not even funny anymore. Aurora has shifted her hands and started to use her talons to gut the fish.

I pull the fire starter out and make a small fire to cook our fish. I turn around to find Aurora already eating one of the fish raw. I just end up double blinking as I watch her. I was not aware that she can still tolerate raw fish. "What? I was hungry, and cooking would take too long," Aurora states so matter of fact, like it was the most natural thing in the world. I just start laughing and join her in eating my fish raw. I'm just thankful one of her natures just made this trip a fuck-ton easier. We enjoy our meal in relative silence before going and discarding the skeletons far away from where we stopped.

Aurora cleans up quickly, then walks over to me and kisses my lips softly. "Thank you for lunch, D. I haven't had fresh fish since the last time I went hunting. Trust me when I say fishing is not in my wheelhouse. I missed more fish than I came close to catching. My only really successful fishing trip was in the birthing cavern," Aurora says, shrugging her shoulders. "If you want a deer, I'm your girl. Fish, yeah, we'll starve before I catch one." She starts laughing at herself. At least she knows what her strong suit is.

"Let's get going. It's going to get cold when the sun sets. I'm hoping we find the camp before then." Aurora nods, agreeing with me, so I begin to strip so I can shift and carry her. My shift is smooth and comfortable; it feels great to spend so much time as my bear. After I stretch out, I lie down and make it easier for Aurora to load the bags and get back on. Once she's situated, I rise up onto my paws and start walking towards the stream. After having fished the stream, I know where the shallow parts are. I take the higher route to keep Aurora dry.