The Ivory Queen
Chapter 113

***Salvador’s POV***

No f*****g way is my mate a witch!

“You know in some countries it’s considered rude to stare,” the witch says, a hint of irritation lacing her words. “Americans…” she mutters before continuing her incantations.

Aurora giggles and when I scowl at her, she pretends to find her nails very interesting.

“What did you need, Chava?” She asks, raising an eyebrow when I keep looking at the witch. “Oh have you met Gwen? She’s an Earth witch helping us figure out Tais and Ira’s plans-“

“Earth witch?” I ask, wondering why the hell Aurora would even consider trusting one of them. “Why is she here? How can you trust her?”

“I trust you, don’t I?” Aurora snaps. “After everything you did to me, I’m still willing to forgive you,” she adds, her face hardening. “So why can’t I trust a witch who’s done nothing but help since she arrived!”

Her hands burst into flames, making me stumble back a few paces. At my reaction, Aurora takes a few deep breaths to calm herself and the flames extinguish.

“So what do you need?” She asks calmly.

“Nothing,” I mutter. “I just came to help.”

“Great,” she chirps, tapping the basket in Gwen’s arms. “You can hold these herbs for Gwen while we gather the rest of her supplies.”

When I don’t move, Gwen bursts into laughter.

“I don’t bite,” she chuckles, snorting a little.

Marcos howls in excitement as she approaches me. I hold out my arms, my eyes watching her every movement. When her fingers accidentally brush up against mine, I feel little sparks tingle under her touch. She pulls her hand back in shock, both of us dropping the basket.

“What was that?” She blurts out, caressing her hands while staring at mine.

“What was what?” Aurora asks, pulling out a root of some sort.

“That-that spark,” Gwen replies. “I’ve never felt that before.”

Aurora stops what she’s doing and looks up at us.

“Chava?” she calls out, straightening back up and dusting her hands. A little sparkle lights up her eyes.

She knows…

“Chava?”

“It’s nothing!” I snap, bending down to get the basket we dropped and picking up some of the weird plants that spilled out.

Mate! Talk to our mate! Please! Marcos pleads

When I touch a pink flower, it burns my flesh.

“Ahh! What the f**k!?” I cry out, caressing my hands and pointing to the flower. “What the f**k is that!?”

Gwen grabs my hand to examine it, the sparks soothing the pain. I let her hold my hand despite my disgust and take the opportunity to study her closely. She is incredibly beautiful, her flaming red hair curling wildly against her creamy pale skin. Her green eyes have flecks of gold and she has tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose. She blushes a little when she notices me staring.

“You must be a silver wolf,” she whispers, staring closing at the burn as it slowly heals itself. “So even touching the flowers is dangerous for you…?” she says to no one in particular. “Fascinating…”

“Fascinating?” I snarl, pulling my hand back while Marcos whimpers to let her touch me again. “A flower just f*****g burned my hand and you find that fascinating? Are you sick in the head?”

She scrunches up her nose in indignation. “Listen wolf!” She snarls. “Don’t insult me! I’ve done nothing to you, so don’t project your anger onto me!”

“You witches are inherently evil!” I snap back. “It’s only a matter of time before you stab us all in the back!”

“Chava enough!” Aurora commands, storming over to us. “That is no way to speak to your mate! Apologize!”

Oh for f***s sake Aurora!

“Mate?” The witch asks, lifting a brow in confusion. “What mate?”

Aurora glares at me, waiting for me to answer and when I don’t, she growls.

“I would give anything to have my mate back right now and here you are refusing to acknowledge yours. You’re pathetic, Chava,” she snaps, pushing past us and walking back in the direction of the house. “All of you are pathetic!” She calls back.

“Aurora, she’s a f*****g witch!”

“And you’re an a*****e!” She huffs.

I stare blankly at her, hoping she might understand where I’m coming from.

I can’t love a witch, Aurora. Not after what they did to Mom and Dad…..

Her face softens and she sighs.

“Chava, that’s your problem. You hate with such ease.” She shakes her head disapprovingly and I can tell she’s holding back tears. She wipes at her face and puts on an emotionless smile. “Look, I’m no one to tell you how to live your life, so do as you please,” she says. “And Gwen, you can use Oliver’s office to work. Let me know if you need anything else. I have to check on my pack and the transfers.”

Before we can say anything else, she opens a portal and disappears. Gwen and I stand in silence, each unsure of what to do with ourselves and lost in our own thoughts. After a few awkward minutes, Gwen walks over to the garden and starts picking more herbs, tossing them in the basket.

“So I’m your mate?” She asks as she works.

“I guess so,” I shrug.

She sighs, stopping her work to look at me.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she says, wiping her forehead. “But I’ve lived nearly a century without a man and I don’t plan on changing that. I don’t crave a soul mate, nor do I need some possessive wolf telling me what to do. I like my freedom and that’s a concept most werewolves don’t seem to understand. You live in packs, I live a solitary life and I like it that way. So if it’s alright with you,” she sighs, getting up and handing me the overflowing basket. “I’d like to pretend this whole mate thing doesn’t exist. You live your life, I live mine. Deal?” She sticks out her hand for me to shake.

No! Marcos whines. I want my mate!

I stare at her hand hesitantly as Marcos protests her offer.

I can’t love a witch…

“Deal,” I say, taking her hand.

She gasps as the sparks send pleasurable tingles up and down our arms. When she tries to let go, Marcos takes over, doing something incredibly stupid.

Tossing the basket aside, he tightens my grip on her hand and pulls her to my chest. She looks confused as he wraps an arm around her waist and k****s her lips ever so gently. She remains stiff as a board for a few seconds as Marcos slowly devours her lips before she gives in and returns the k**s. Her arms snake around my neck, her fingers gripping my curls.

I have to admit, she tastes so amazingly sweet.

She’s a goddamn witch! I remind myself

I try to fight my way back to the surface but Marcos wasn’t going down without a fight, unwilling to let her go anytime soon. Our lips move in sync and when he slips my tongue inside her mouth, she m***s wildly, making Marcos crave her even more. As the k**s grows hungrier, she seems to come to her senses, pushing her arms against my chest in protest.

Finally regaining control of my body, I release her lips and push her away, wiping my mouth in disgust. We stare breathlessly at each other, both of us trying to understand what happened.

“Well that was umm…,” she mutters, smoothing her blouse. “I don’t understand-“

“There’s nothing to understand lady. That was my wolf, not me,” I snap, furious with Marcos.

“I have a name, you know?” she snaps. “It’s Gwen.”

“Gwen. Lady. Look I don’t really care what your name is,” I shrug unapologetically.

“Stupid wolf,” she mutters, reaching down once more to pick up the basket. She practically chucks it at me, some of those weird pink flowers spilling onto my arms and burning me.

I cry out in pain and she laughs.

“Oops,” she giggles. “Pick those up, won’t you, dear?”

I glare at her. “Pick them up yourself. You dropped them.”

She scowls in return. “Well if you’re not going to help, then shoo. Leave me be. I have a task to complete and I don’t have time to be dealing with an i***t and his horny wolf.”

Marcos laughs at her comment, much to my annoyance.

“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone to do goddess knows what. I’m supervising you, witch. I won’t have you hurting my family.”

“Well them make yourself useful and hold the bloody basket!” she huffs.

***Aurora’s POV***

I spend the remainder of my day speaking with the families of the fallen warriors and helping Carter make the preparations for the Moon Warrior ceremony. Gwen and Chava work on the counter spell in Oliver’s office, Chava refusing to let the witch out of his sight. I hope they take this time to figure each other out. I’m also informed that the Amethyst Lake wolves are being transferred and settling into their rooms with the help of Celina and Valentina. Javier would be bringing the released men to the hospital tomorrow morning. He had to deal with his own pack.

The Moon Warrior ceremony was the highest honor paid to a fallen pack member, reserved only for the bravest warriors who died in combat or wolves who had gone above and beyond to serve their pack. Emiliano had a Moon Warrior ceremony after his death, although I was not allowed to attend.

With the preparations completed around 11 pm, I go to my room to change into a customary white linen dress for the occasion. The allies had held their own Moon Warrior ceremonies the night before and they agreed to help us celebrate the lives we lost in the battle. I gather my wolves outside the pack house where Carter and Evan distribute small torches to the families of the fallen and candles to the rest of the pack and allies. Several toddlers, including Taylor rush to hold my hands as a we all walk together to The Meadow, a field of night phlox in the eastern part of our territory where our dead are laid to rest. A small creek runs through the field and when midnight approaches, a sweet fragrance fills the air as the flowers begin to bloom.

Fourteen pyres are built along the water’s edge of the creek, each one carrying the body of a fallen pack member. The bodies were washed in special oils, wrapped in linen, and adorned with night phlox flowers before being placed on the pyre.

I stand before my pack and allies, a little nervous to address the people I was responsible for.

Just speak from the heart, Reyna encourages.

Right, speak from the heart.

“Two nights ago, fourteen warriors gave their life for their pack, fighting until their final breaths to protect the people they loved. And while they are gone, their sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

I look at the crowd of mourning pack members, hoping my words can help soothe their pain.

“My dad once told me brave people are never truly gone,” I smile, thinking of Emiliano. “They live among the stars beside the Moon, watching and waiting for us to join them.”

I had spent many nights looking at the stars, imagining him watching me from the night sky. I would speak to the stars when I was afraid or sad and I knew in my heart, he heard every word.

“Life does not end with death,” I continue. “So tonight we will dance beneath the stars. We will remember all the laughs and joy brought to us by our loved ones. We will rejoice that they are now with Moon Goddess and we will sing our love to them. Most of all, we will remember their sacrifice. They helped save 150 wolves from tyranny and pain, and for that we must be proud. So smile. They are watching us tonight.”

Carter brings forth a bowl of ashes and one by one, each pack member dips in their fingers for the marking ritual.

Every member leaves an ash mark on the bodies of our fallen members to represent each pack member they died protecting. By the end of the ritual, all the bodies are covered head to toe in ashes.

Next, the family members step forward to say their own goodbyes, placing flowers on the bodies before using the torches to set the pyres ablaze. The pack stands back to allow the family members to shift, howling to the moon and wishing their loved ones a safe journey to the stars.

After a few minutes, several of us shift and join in the howling, while others gather around to tell stories of the members we lost. Children play and sing songs of remembrance in the field of flowers, several asking me to grow them flower crowns. The night fills with smoke and the sweet smell of night phlox and we can almost feel their spirits joining in the celebration. We laugh and rejoice; our pack members finally returning home to the kingdom of Moon Goddess. United as one entity, we celebrate life in our own way. We were in pain but we were also honored for the time we were given on this earth with those we lost.

When the sun begins to rise and the pyres begin to die down, we gather the remains of our loved ones, placing them in urns before we make our way over to the pack cemetery to bury their remains. Carter had managed to get 14 temporary headstones for the occasion, the official ones coming in later in the week. After a moment of silence, I walk over to the graves, growing little vines of multicolored flowers to decorate them. When I’m finished, lilies, poppies and apple blossoms fill the gravesites.

As we gather around for a final goodbye, a large shadow flies over us. My b***d runs cold when I look up to see none other than the despicable Owl sitting in a nearby tree, it’s red eyes watching me.

“Luna Aurora, my sincerest condolences,” it smirks. “But do your pack members know you are to blame for all of their misfortunes?” the owl chuckles, looking at the crowd of confused faces. “Not only did your dear Luna and her sister disrespect us, but she also brought in a witch who’s been casting all sorts of spells without our permission,” it pouts. “Well that simply won’t do.”

It flaps its wings, fluffing up its own feathers. “The witch has to go. You have 3 hours to remove the barrier spell and make her disappear or your precious pack will pay the consequences. I don’t make threats lightly so act quickly.”

The owl looks at Carter and I, grinning from ear to ear. “And don’t forget,” It sneers. “You have until midnight to give me your answer.”

The owl takes flight, disappearing into the woods. I turn to see my pack members staring at me with fear. They were scared.

“Luna Aurora,” Alpha Patrick says worriedly. “I believe we need to hold a meeting.”