85. Klaus

CHAPTER 85

Klaus

Arnulf turns to his people and screeches several times and they fly off, leaving him behind here at the compound. "I will call them back when we are ready to go to war. For now, all the larger predators are making them uneasy." Arnulf looks at me, then at Jayce. "Do either of you have extra clothes I can wear until my bags arrive tomorrow? I don't mind walking around naked, but I don't believe other females should see me like this now that I have a mate." That one statement from him catches all of our attention. He's going to fit in just fine.

Jayce and I lead Arnulf into the alpha house and into the master suites. Aurora's twins come running over and tilt their little dragon heads. Arnulf looks from the twins, then to me, then back to the twins. "Genetically, they are Aurora's and Alaric's babies. We all claim paternity when it comes to their care." I smile proudly as I look at the hatchlings before me.

"When the babies are in their human forms, we're all called Dad. Alaric is called Daddy; it's the only difference. They accept all of us as their father figures. It's really cool if you think about it. It definitely makes it easier on Aurora having multiple mates to help with the babies, so she's not so exhausted." I toss Arnulf a pair of sweats, and Jayce grabs him a T-shirt. Arnulf quickly dresses then sits on the floor to let the babies check him out.

"Children have become rare with my people. The occurrences of true mates are few and far between. I have been telling the elders that we must start looking outside our borders, to other species if we wish to survive." He sighs softly, the mantle of Alpha weighing heavily upon his brow.

"They fear change, and it will be the death of us. At least with me as Alpha, we have a chance to change our way of thinking, especially when they see me with Aurora and you guys." Arnulf is smiling broadly as he gets tackled by the twins. The rest of my bond mates and Aurora walk in, just as the babies go to attack Arnulf again. He rolls back, catching them gently and falls with them, taking the brunt of the landing. I have to give it to him; he's laughing hysterically at the baby dragons' antics.

Aurora stands there smiling and makes a noise only her hybrid can produce. Quickly, the children run to her and shift to their toddler selves. "Jayce, my love, please dress the children," Aurora says softly. She then moves forward swiftly, catching Jayce off guard and kisses him passionately before he heads off with the children.

"Arnulf, sorry about the..." She motions to where she had bitten him, looking a little embarrassed by her actions. "My beast got away from me. I'm sorry if I was a bit too forward. She did the same to Klaus a few months back. I feel bad when she doesn't wait for consent." Aurora lowers her eyes, looking at her hands as they grip each other, turning her knuckles white.

Arnulf moves swiftly and grips her hands. He tilts his head, trying to get her to look at him. "I am honored your beast chose me. Usually, a male makes a nest and hopes a female deems him worthy. You deemed me worthy without seeing my nest or what I was able to provide for you. Why?" He is genuinely curious as to what made him worthy in her eyes.

Aurora smiles and looks at each of us. She walks up to Alaric and places her hand on his shoulder. "Alaric's dragon called to my dragon side, his promise of protection and his loyal heart sang to my beast."

She next moves to stand beside Dimitri and smiles, looking up at him. "My beloved Great Bear, he has survived me from infancy. We have endured many hardships together and the loss of loved ones that is difficult to recover from." Aurora reaches up and gently caresses Dimitri's cheek; he leans into her caress, smiling at her. "His bear kept me sane, alive and protected. If it weren't for him and our initial bond, I would have been one of the lost ones without a pack. Lost to my animal, never to be human again. Dimitri saved me from me."

Next, Aurora moves over to Dominik and grips his shoulder. "Dom risked his life coming to me when I was my most volatile. I thought I was going to lose his brother and our fragile bond to the man he loved." Aurora's smile is radiant as describes hers and Dom's bond. "Dominik made the decision to ask my father to place him in a confined space with me. It wasn't the smartest move he could have made, but it's what forged our bond. He put my needs before his personal safety."

Jayce chooses now to re-enter with the twins in tow. "My sweet, sweet Omega mate, he guards my heart the fiercest. He's my snuggler and my chocolate hoarder." Aurora gently kisses Jayce's temple, then moves to me.

She looks up into my eyes and smiles softly. "Klaus here sees me as the woman I want to be. He calls me his angel when all I ever feel like is a demon. He leaped across a balcony to catch me before I fell, in my early stages of pregnancy. He knew before I did what we were, damn blood magic stealing precious time from me." Aurora kisses my cheek before turning to face Arnulf.

"Dimitri and Klaus were robbed of precious time with me because of Vladimir's tainted bloodline." She motions to Nicodeamus next. "My father was robbed of his mate because of Vladimir's treachery that knows no bounds. I swear, I will have my revenge, and I will dance on the bones of my enemies." She smiles, and her eyes flash with the power of her beast for a second.

"You know what I see when I look in your eyes, Arnulf?" She tilts her head for a moment. "Hope. I see hope for a better future. I see a future where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid for my children's lives." She shakes her head lightly. "I don't need to see material things to gauge the man you are. You stood up to my beast when I know your bird wanted to fly. You trusted me enough to know I would never harm what's meant to be mine." Aurora smiles and kisses Arnulf on the lips. She lingers there for a moment then pulls away.

"Ok guys, enough mushy shit, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?" There's the Aurora we all know and love. Her request for food has us all cracking up and heading to the kitchen. Jayce is in charge of dinner tonight; I'm kind of curious as to what he has made for all of us. The kitchen smells divine. Between my mother and Jayce cooking, we will be well fed.

We find my mother and grandmother in a heated discussion, yelling at each other in German. It's not like German doesn't sound angry enough, even when spoken calmly. Just as I'm about to say something, Aurora unleashes a blast of her Alpha power that silences the room. Both my mother and grandmother are subjugated before Aurora because of the force she uses.

Slowly, she moves to stand before both women, shaking her head at them. "Enough of the bullshit! Tonight is a night of celebration! If I hear one more jealous or petty word, I swear to the gods heads will roll!" Aurora growls out the sentence as she looks between the women. Jayce chooses now to move behind Aurora and rub her shoulder lightly. Slowly, the oppressive feeling leaves the room, and Aurora turns away from my mom and grandmother.

Arnulf chooses now to turn to me and raises an eyebrow in question. "I'd love to say you'll get used to it, but I'd be lying. She's only getting stronger as time goes on. Each new mate brings a new power and more strength." I shrug my shoulders as I finish my sentence. I mean, seriously, what can I possibly say at this point?

"I would like to offer a mating present to you, Aurora, and to my new bond mates." Arnulf looks to each of us in turn, then back to Aurora. "I can help you reach your friend in the spirit world and possibly your mother. If you would allow me to try?" Arnulf doesn't realize the boon he just offered her.

Aurora's eyes light up, and she runs to grab Dimitri and Nicodeamus. "Yes, please, can we try after dinner?"

Arnulf smiles and nods his head slowly. "Anything for you, my mate. If it's within my power, it's yours."

The winner of the best and safest answer to date is now Arnulf. We all gather around the table, passing the bowls and baskets around. For now, the looming danger of the outside world is forgotten. Right now, everything is right in the world. We know the war is on the horizon, but it's nice to forget that part of life for a little bit.

Aurora chooses now to come to me and sit on my lap at the dinner table. She absolutely cracks me up at times. I don't think there's a single dinner that she's sat in her own chair the entire meal. Dimitri says it's because her beast needs contact to feel secure enough to eat in new places. Let's face it, this isn't her home, and we don't plan on staying here once the castle is liberated from the Strigoi.

Apparently, tonight I'm not allowed to feed myself; neither is Dominik. Aurora takes a huge helping of her favorite foods and alternates between me, Dom, and herself. Jayce starts laughing at Aurora's antics, and she flings a scoop of mashed potatoes at his head. Son of a bitch. Jayce moves just in time to catch the scoop, mostly in his mouth.

Aurora is cracking up, laughing at Jayce, who in turn flings some mashed potatoes at her. You know it's my luck that she moves at the last moment, and I get a glob of mashed potatoes on my face. Aurora is still laughing, looking at me before she starts to lick the potatoes off of my face.

The table silences as they watch Aurora lick my face clean. She turns and looks at everyone, who promptly starts to pretend like they weren't watching. "Oh, come on, guys, that was not the weirdest thing you've caught me doing," Aurora says, not skipping a beat. Poor Dimitri almost chokes on his drink. Alaric needs the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the chunk of meat from his throat.

Jayce looks like he is going to say something for a moment, then he thinks better of it. Arnulf looks at Aurora and me and shrugs his shoulders. "They think it's odd for a mate to preen the other? I thought wolves are pack animals?"

"We are," Aurora says, then turns to look at the others. "They don't complain when I run my tongue in other places. But apparently, licking Klaus's face isn't normal," Aurora says with a sarcastic tone. I look at my bond mates, and their faces are various shades of red. "Don't act innocent, you heathens. You know you love it!"

This time it's poor Nicodeamus that almost drowns at the table. He's having one hell of a coughing fit. Dimitri is quick to pat Nicodeamus on the back, trying to help him clear the fluid from his lungs.

I decide to take this time to finally be a wise-ass. Then again, I have Aurora on my lap. Who in their right mind would fuck with me right now? "Welcome to the insanity, Arnulf!" I raise my glass to toast to our new bond mate. Poor guy has no clue what he just got himself into!