9. Sebastian

CHAPTER 9

Sebastian

Both wolves run through the woods far away from the village of my birth. The sun is starting to set as we come upon the place called Mirrored Lake. The water is so calm and still it's like looking at a mirror laid flat on the ground. The surrounding area has heavy timber as well as an apple tree grove that has fruit available. I come to a stop at the edge of the water before shifting back to my human form. Aurora cautiously approaches the water's edge then shifts back to her human form. She slowly tilts her head to the right and studies the area... it's absolutely breathtaking. You can tell she's watching the sun setting over the mountain tops. The sky is streaked with reds, blues, purples, several shades of oranges and yellows. I move and lightly place a hand on her lower back before gently kissing her cheek.

"I hope this is acceptable to you?" I was nervous about my choice of where to take her. This particular place held so much meaning for me; it's where I made my first kill and learned to shift and fight. Aurora smiles at me and moves in closer, resting her head on my chest.

"It's beautiful, Sebastian! Can we stay here for a while? I can't wait to see the moon upon the lake's surface." Her smile made the long run worth it. Gently I guide her to a small grove of apple trees. Under the oldest tree, I have camping gear and a cooler set up for us. Aurora begins to bounce up and down. Apparently, I have chosen wisely. "Awesome, I've never been camping before; this will be an adventure!" She bounds away from me to look around at all I have prepared for our first night together.

Suddenly she freezes and begins to growl. Her wolf bursts forth from her body and takes on a defensive stance as she begins to back up towards me. Seeing my mate shift so quickly, I decide to shift as well. My sizable black wolf moves to stand at her right flank, staring in the direction she is. A pale being reeking of death, decay, and sulfur begins to amble through the woods towards us. Its face looks like the being from the old black and white movie Nosferatu.

Aurora's eyes narrow; she knows what it is. It's a Strigoi—the same creature that had a hand in the destruction of her bloodline. Silent communication passes between us. I shift back to my human form and look for the phone I packed. Quickly I call Dimitri and tell him what is standing before us. It was Dimitri's worst fear. The Strigoi sensed when Aurora came into power and began to hunt her. I keep my eyes on Aurora as she circles the Strigoi, sizing it up. Dimitri gives me detailed instructions as to how to destroy it.

"Aurora, we must take its head! And don't let it bite you; it's poison!" I yell as loudly as I can. Quickly I shift back to my wolf as I spot a second creature approaching. I know this is going to be a fight to the death. Aurora's guardians are on their way to help us, just in case. Backup isn't far behind, now we need to dispatch these two before it gets too dangerous.

Aurora charges at the Strigoi, making sure to stay out of range of its swiping distance. Her talons sever its left arm from its body—blackened blood pulses out of the artery poking out of the remnant of the creature's arm. The second Strigoi starts going nuts, smelling the blood from its companion. Its dark eyes, burning red like blood, have taken on an unearthly glow before it lunges at me. I dodge, barely getting out of the way of the crazed creature.

My taloned hand reaches out and catches the back of the Strigoi as it passes me, ripping its flesh to ribbons. Blood pours down its back, and its movements are slowed from the strike I delivered. Both Strigoi are moving slower from blood loss. The one Aurora is fighting now has a massive chunk of his thigh missing and can barely remain standing.

Dimitri's bear is seen breaking over the top of the ridge. Damn, that male is freaking huge; he makes a Kodiak look small. He charges forward and into battle, knocking Aurora's Strigoi to the ground and ripping its head off. While Dimitri is busy with the first one, Aurora joins me with the second one. Both of us now circle the lone Strigoi, it screams—calling for help—but no one answers.

The last Strigoi doesn't stand a chance being trapped between Aurora and me. Her eyes flair to life, and the liquid mercury of her eyes seems to glow brighter for a mere moment. Suddenly she lunges forward, her taloned hand extended with her fingers splayed wide as she aims for the Strigoi's throat. With a flick of her wrist, the Strigoi's head is severed from its body. Blackened blood sprays in an arc, painting the once green grass onyx. The body falls with a thud at her feet, blackened blood oozes from the severed arteries, coating the ground. The thump of the severed head landing near draws our attention away for a moment, before our eyes refocus upon the remains in front of us. The threat is now over, and the Strigoi bodies turn to ash and blow away with the wind.

Dimitri shifts back first and walks over to us. "You both did well. Congratulations on your first Strigoi kills." He claps his hands briefly. "It's been over two hundred and twenty-nine years since I've seen these fuckers. It's only going to get worse from here." His eyes move skyward, watching Andre's Golden Eagle circle overhead. He is doing lazy circles in the air, keeping watch for any more surprise visitors.

Aurora, still in wolf form, walks away from the group heading towards the water. Her normally snow-white fur is now spotted like a Dalmatian from the Strigoi's blood. Once in the water, she shifts back to her human form and begins to wash away the blood from the battle. I watch her, hypnotized, my eyes transfixed on everywhere her hands touch.

"Sebastian?" Dimitri says, trying to draw my attention back to him. "Shift back, we need to talk." Dimitri is all business all the time, and the look on his face at the moment proved that this is about to get serious.

Quickly I resume my human form and move my hands over my erection, trying to cover it—I'm failing miserably. "Thanks for getting here so quickly. How the fuck did those things find us so fast? I thought we had time." My voice held concern as I look between Aurora in the water and Dimitri before me. I'm not panicking, just shocked that the Strigoi arrived so quickly.

"Andre and I will stay within howling distance tonight. You must complete the bond. She will gain power from you and you from her." Dimitri's eyes drift to Aurora and linger there longer than I think would be decent. My own heated gaze caresses every single visible inch of my mate's curvy form.

"Each mate she adds, she will gain a gift from them, and thus it spreads to the others as well. Your mother told us where the local Dire Wolf pack is." Dimitri tilts his head, making a very stern face at me. "So, when you two get your act together, that's where we're heading next. They are somewhere in the Grand Canyon in some old Indian dwelling." Shortly after Dimitri finishes speaking, Andre lands.

All you can see is Andre shaking his head and throwing his arms about. "Wait! We have to play hide and go fucking seek to find her mates? Do I look like the dude from Pickers ?" Andre has a what the fuck face on as he looks between Dimitri and me. We both crack up over the frazzled look that Andre gives us.

The laughter carries to the water, and Aurora's head snaps up as she stares at us. Slowly she walks out of the water. Rivulets of water caress her curves in a hypnotizing manner. Each droplet catches my attention, my eyes follow their path hungrily. Aurora smirks, looking at my state of being—my poor penis is rock solid, the head is turning purple and leaking. Aurora raises an eyebrow looking at it, then up to me. "That looks painful. What'd you do? Slam it in the cooler lid, or did one of those things hit it?" And there you have it—her innocence on display. Dimitri's and Andre's jaws drop. I honestly don't know what to say. Aurora just smiles at me then moves to grab a towel.

"As for the others. We'll find them, and I'll take what's mine." She raises her hand and taps a finger on her plump lips. "Speaking of which, Dimitri and Andre, you need to leave." She waves her hands, making a shooing motion. "I have a mate to claim, and I refuse to do it in your presence." She crosses her arms over her chest, staring at them. Dimitri and Andre almost fall over each other trying to leave. Andre takes to the skies, and Dimitri shifts back to his bear and lumbers into the woods.

"So, Sebastian, how do we do this?" The look on my face must be priceless. Aurora flat out asked me what we needed to do to complete the bond. Dimitri and Andre are long gone, so there was no one to use as a distraction.

"Well, Aurora, I was hoping to ease into this to make it special for your first time." My eyes drop to the ground at my feet. I've had sex so many times I've lost count, but this time means something. My eyes meet hers for a brief moment before looking down and away again. This is my mate, the one I'd be spending the rest of my life with. Aurora's hand gently caresses my jaw, raising my gaze to meet hers.

"I won't lie to you, Bash; I'm nervous. Instinctually I know what I need to do. But instincts and practical application are two different things." I watch her shift her weight nervously. "But I trust you. You're my mate, my forever, and I know it's insanely soon... but I feel like I love you already." She leans in and gently kisses my lips. "Don't tell the guys I'm a big softie; they'll never let me live it down." She smiles and winks at me before moving to sit on the picnic blanket.

A gentle pat was given to the spot next to her for me to join her. I laugh and move quickly to be at her side. Aurora opens the basket and starts spreading out the food I brought for us. There are several types of meats and cheeses, two kinds of wine, and water. For dessert, there is a homemade apple pie. The amount of thought I put into this moment pleases Aurora and her wolf.

Ever so carefully, Aurora dishes out food onto plates for the two of us. With a deep cleansing breath, she lifts the plate for me and offers me my food first. Her eyes remain locked on me until I begin to eat. Once the first morsel is swallowed, Aurora begins to eat.

"Why did you serve me and wait? We are equals." I am puzzled by Aurora's actions, so why not ask?

"Well, Dimitri and Andre both said tradition dictates I should serve my first mate before myself." She shrugs her shoulders. "It's the way things were done back when my mother ruled and her mother before her." Her eyes drop to her lap, where her hands are tightly clasped. "I'm sorry if I didn't do it correctly. The guys did their best trying to teach me, but I'm stubborn and willful, and honestly, don't give a shit half the time." She raises an eyebrow and looks up at me to find me smiling and trying not to laugh. My smile must be contagious because soon, Aurora begins to laugh. "What's so funny?" She cants her head to the side.

I reach out and pull Aurora onto my lap. "Fuck tradition! We'll make our own as we go along!" I nibble on her throat and make her giggle. I reach out and grab a piece of meat, then offer it to her. Ever so gently, Aurora takes the offered meat and eats it. Her own hand reaches out and grabs a piece of meat to offer it to me, and I take it in my mouth and eat it. An hour passes as we take turns feeding each other. We are so relaxed with each other, it is just what we need to settle our nerves.

I pick Aurora up, making her squeal. I have her now straddling my lap, facing me. Her eyes move over my body, then back up to my face. I lean forward and capture her lips, kissing her slowly, savoring the moment. Breaths between us begin to deepen as the kiss grows in intensity. Aurora starts to paw at my shoulders, leaving fingernail tracks from my spine to my biceps. She doesn't understand what she wants, but instinctively she knows what she needs. A deep approving rumble reverberates deep in my chest. Aurora's scent thickens with her arousal as she starts to become more aggressive.

I can't hold back anymore, and my wolf demands I take our mate now. My erection is throbbing, thick and hard as steel, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. I grab hold of Aurora and flip her onto her back and come to lay down over her. I'm not about to give in completely to my wolf. I refuse to be rough and set a punishing pace her first time. No, the man was in control, no matter how much my wolf howled in the background. My lips come to rest against Aurora's.

"Baby, this may hurt, I'm not a small man." I kiss her again, looking into her eyes for some sort of acknowledgment. Slowly she nods and nips my jaw. "I'm going to go slow. Stop me if you need to." I'm worried about her comfort; I love her too much even to cause the slightest bit of pain. My hand slides between her thighs to position myself at her entrance. Aurora is soaked, absolutely beyond wet. I slide myself through her moist lips, coating my length before starting to enter her.

Aurora inhales quickly as she adjusts to my girth. Her eyes lock with mine, and she nods again, showing she is okay. I stop when I meet with resistance. Hesitating, I know this is the part that is going to hurt her. My mouth drops to her shoulder over my mating mark, I sink my teeth in hard as I slam forward, breaking the barrier. Aurora grips me tightly, wiggling from the pleasure my bite is bringing her. Slowly I begin to move, setting the pace for our mating. The slapping of skin, pants, and moans can be heard in the distance. Aurora is whining, sounding more wolf than woman as she approaches her climax. When she finally cums, her screams morph to a long haunting howl. My own howl soon joins hers as I, too, reach my peak.

We lay there cuddled up, tangled within each other's arms for what seems like hours. We consummate our mating many times throughout the night, deepening our connection and strengthening our bond. In the morning, it will be time to begin the hunt for the dires and whatever may come after that.