87. Arnulf

CHAPTER 87

Arnulf

A dragon's roar sounds in my head as if he's overhead. I move away from Aurora quickly and begin to search the surrounding skies for the enraged dragon. Aurora shifts the moment the dragon's roar sounds; her massive beast locks eyes with me, and in my head I hear her animal's call. I'm lost in her gaze. In my mind's eye, I can see Alaric's dragon calling and Aurora's beast roaring back up at it.

To be able to watch these two titans in our mate link is insane. Alaric calms down then turns his massive dragon head to face me. He dips his head once in my direction, then fades from view. That was more than just the mate link; I believe I was just pulled into an astral plane—the mental realm that dragons can create to communicate over great distances and see each other. I've heard stories of the mythic beasts being able to do this, but to witness it for myself is massively impressive.

Aurora's beast stalks towards me, and up to this point, I've never gotten to appreciate the beauty of her. Several blinks of my eyes and we are back on the mountainside, and her beast is standing before me like in the astral plane. Cautiously, I walk around Aurora's beast and note its dragon and wolven features. It's a miracle that the two species produced a child in the first place. The delicate scales that adorn her eyes almost act like eyeliner. Her muzzle is thick and strong with bony plates similar to Alaric's dragon. Her beast has the size of Dimitri's bear but the Lycan body like Klaus's. I'm not sure where the twins' Dire Wolves come into play, but I'm sure it's just as impressive.

Aurora locks eyes with me again, and I hear her voice clear as day. Let's hunt. It's another astonishing development to be able to speak to each other without words.

I nod my head and shift to my eagle quickly. I fly a small circle around Aurora until she raises an armored gauntlet to me. I watch her turn her arm, so the smooth inner scales face up for me to land on safely. Apparently, it's my turn to be inspected by her.

Once I'm settled on her arm, I watch those dragon slits roam over my feathered form. Hesitantly, she presses her nose to my feathers and inhales deeply, learning my bird's scent. Soft rumbles resembling a purr sets my animal at ease. We both know she would never harm her mate. Aurora and I look at each other for several moments before I take flight, scanning the hillside, looking for quarries big enough for Aurora's beast to hunt. All I spot are several roe deer and what looks like other Lycans on the mountainside, heading our way fast.

Panicked, I call to Aurora through the newly-formed bond. I hear Alaric and Dimitri telling me they are on their way with the others. On a good headwind, it will easily take them over an hour to get here. I can't help but feel so useless. I don't have the weapons or the size of her other mates.

I watch in horror as the first two large Lycans reach Aurora. Honestly, I think her beast is smirking, looking at the much smaller black Lycans. They come to a sudden stop when they realize how much bigger my mate is than they are. Aurora is biding her time as I update her on how many Lycans in total are on their way up. When half of the rogue pack breaks into the clearing, they go on the offensive and attempt to attack Aurora from all sides. I'm in a state of panic. I screech into the wind, attempting to summon my people. It doesn't work; we are too far away for my voice to carry far enough to receive aid. So I change tactics and start knocking branches and pieces of trees down onto the attackers.

An odd sensation comes over me as the other mates' concern floods my system with emotions that are not my own. Alaric demands that I land and focus my eyes on the fight so they can see. How in the ever-loving hell is that supposed to work? I do as I'm told and watch Aurora rip a Lycan in half right before my eyes.

Her great white beast roars as blood sprays, drenching her white fur, painting it crimson. She throws the halves of her previous attacker at its pack mates, covering them in a viscous fluid. The other mates are cheering in my head, and I feel like I'm in the middle of some paranormal gladiator pit. I'm not sure what's more disturbing: the tingle in the back of my head because I'm basically live broadcasting the fight or the fact I'm able to.

By the time I can focus on everything again, Aurora has two more Lycans decapitated, and the fifth one is giving her a hard time. The guys are easily still thirty minutes out, and there are three more still climbing up the hillside to join their pack mates. The Lycan that was giving Aurora trouble is now headless and on the ground. Aurora tilts her head back and howls her death song into the wind.

I watch her ears swivel, picking up the rest of the rogue Lycans' footsteps approaching from the south. Aurora's beast seems to live for moments like this. Leisurely, she lowers her massive frame to the point that her talons dig into the blood-covered soil below her. Aurora's tail swishes side-to-side, impatiently waiting for the last of the Lycans to arrive.

The final three make it to the battle scene only to find their pack mates in various states of decimation. Aurora's beast is borderline in a frenzy from all the blood in the air. Its coppery tang hangs heavily in the air to the point I can taste it way up here. Aurora is clearly gearing up for something huge. I can see the frost gathering in her fur; her voice rings out in a roar-howl-like tone.

Aurora rises from her lowered stance, and without warning she throws her taloned hands up into the air. Ice spikes shoot up from the ground under the Lycans—impaling them where they stand. The bodies twitch and are frozen in a state of shock. They kind of remind me of those puppets on the sticks I use to play with as a child. I don't know if I'm more terrified or impressed with my mate right now.

Aurora's rage is palatable in the air as her beast throws its head back and howls its death song yet again. My eagle wants to fly and hide even though she's our mate. The fight-or-flight instinct is almost overwhelming. Alaric's dragon's roar answers Aurora's beast. She throws her head back a second time and lets loose a location call to help Alaric find us easier. In the meantime, Aurora is ripping the heads off of her attackers and piling them up.

It's now I notice that she's wounded, but from what I can see it's nothing life-threatening and barely bleeding now. Alaric's dragon lands hard on the mountainside, and the ground shakes from the impact. Aurora moves to stand before his dragon, and he bathes her in his flames. My eagle makes us hesitate briefly, still shaken up from the battle that had occurred. Eventually, we settle down enough and fly down to meet up with our bond mates. I shift quickly and fill everyone in on the events that transpired before they arrived—besides what they were able to see through my eyes.

All of us turn to watch Aurora still under Alaric's flames. Dimitri is the first to say something. "You never get used to seeing that. Amazingly, she can withstand the heat of his fire." Dimitri lays a large hand on my shoulder and pulls me in for a side hug. "Welcome to the family, Arnulf. We're just a little different from your average family, but it works for us."

As Aurora walks out from under Alaric's flames, I nod slowly, listening to Dimitri. She's back in her human form and looking at the surrounding carnage. "Fuckers ruined the nice evening I had planned. I wanted to hunt, feed, and fuck our way back home. But nooo, these assholes had to go fuck things up." Frost gathers around Aurora, and ice spikes randomly impale the headless corpses around the mountainside.

Jayce is the first to move to Aurora's side, and he nuzzles the back of her neck. We watch the tension leave her shoulders, and her stance relaxes as she melts into Jayce's embrace.

"Alaric, why didn't you go to Aurora? Or any of you for that matter?" My eyes shift to that of my eagle as I study the scene before me. Whatever power Jayce has over Aurora, it's working; she's calm and relaxed now.

"That's easy to answer," Dominik says, then moves to stand before me.

"Jayce is a natural-born Omega and built emotionally to be able to comfort. He's not a threat in any way, shape, or form. You'll learn each of our roles in this dynamic in time. I'll give you a crash course while he's soothing her. So…" Dominik moves and rests a hand on Alaric's bicep. "Alaric, our resident dragon, is an Alpha just like Aurora. Their word is law, and they rule fairly together. In moments of intense emotion, he's not able to soothe her, but she's able to soothe him as his mate."

Dominik moves over to Dimitri next. "Dimitri and I are what you would call Betas. We're second in command, so to speak. We plot and maintain defenses for the family. We're strong enough to keep the packs together but not strong enough to rule alone." Dominik taps his finger on his chin as he looks at everyone.

"Okay, so let me put it this way. If Alaric and Aurora are considered tactical nukes, we're the ones pushing the buttons," Dominick states. His military analogy makes perfect sense, so I nod along.

Dominik moves over to Klaus next. "Poor Klaus here, is a kind of anomaly. By birthright, he's Alpha of the German Lycan pack. But he's not strong enough to physically or emotionally hold the title. But he's not exactly Omega material either. I guess you can classify him as a Gamma. Not exactly a Beta, not exactly an Omega. He is also ready to jump into battle like the rest of us." Klaus nods along with Dominik's explanation.

Aurora and Jayce come walking over together just as Dominik finishes his explanation. Aurora is wearing Jayce's flannel shirt, and each male takes turns sniffing and nuzzling her neck. Alaric decides not to wait any longer and takes charge; he grabs hold of Aurora and leans her back against his chest. Aurora smiles at his possessiveness and sighs softly, finally fully relaxing.

"Now my brother, my twin Jayce, is an Omega through and through. But don't let his sweet disposition fool you. He has a toxic bite that can either kill you or make it so you can't summon your animal. Jayce is basically the bomb squad sent in to diffuse the nukes. Since he's an Omega, he's not perceived as a threat by the Alphas and allowed to enter their space." Jayce starts to laugh.

"Basically, what my overly-brutish brother is trying to say is that when either Aurora or Alaric are homicidal, I'm the only one with enough balls to approach them." To prove his point, Jayce moves over and snuggles right up to Alaric and Aurora.

"Arnulf, my guess is that you're also an Omega or maybe a Gamma in our family dynamic," Dominik says and shrugs his shoulders lightly. "Only time will tell, my friend."

I turn around to find Klaus and Dimitri gathering up the wolves' heads into several bags. "What are you two doing?" I ask.

"It's a dragon thing," Alaric answers before Dimitri has a chance to. "We tend to like to horde the skulls of our enemies. It serves as a warning and a reminder to those in our presence that we are much stronger than we look." Alaric smirks then looks back to Aurora, who's snuggled up with Jayce. "She likes decorating with skulls. Who am I to argue with her?"

Alaric turns his back to me and walks down to where he landed earlier. I feel the pull through the newly formed bond as he waits to have our attention. When Alaric senses he has our full attention, he walks away from the group and shifts, ready to carry us all back home. Aurora and Jayce take off running to Alaric for lord only knows what reason. Dimitri and Klaus carry their bags over to Alaric's dragon's talons and offer them to him to carry.

Aurora and Jayce are already sitting behind the crown of horns on the top of Alaric's head. Klaus and Dimitri have found spaces along the spines on Alaric's back to sit. Dominik takes his time, and I run to catch up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not a fan of heights. Don't get me wrong, I trust Alaric with my life. I just don't like heights. Unfortunately, flying was the fastest way to get to Aurora and you." He shrugs his shoulders then looks up at the space left for him between Dimitri and Klaus.

"They try to make me feel safe, and it helps, but I still don't like flying." I can tell that Dominik is putting on a brave face as he approaches Alaric, ready to take his place.

Wow. I never expected someone so strong to have a fear, or a dislike, as strong as he does. I watch Alaric stand with a fluid grace I didn't think a being his size could manage. Carefully, he turns his body in the tight space and takes off running until he's able to clear the trees and spread his wings. Several strong flaps and he's off the ground and heading back to camp. My shift is swift, and I flap furiously to catch up to him. Alaric slows to gliding on the thermals, noticing I am having a hard time keeping up.

Aurora's eyes glow white as she looks back at me. I watch her shift her left arm to her gauntlet and stick it out for me to land on. I finally catch up and take advantage of the offered perch. Aurora carefully draws her arm in and rests me against her chest for the ride home. I am so very blessed to have mates concerned for me; I really got lucky to have joined the family they have created.