The Ivory Queen
Chapter 116

***Aurora’s POV***

I feel Evan lift me into his arms and carry up to my bedroom, gently tucking me under the covers and kissing my forehead.

“I’m so sorry,” he whimpers. “I’m so so sorry.”

I feel a few of his tears spill onto my cheeks before he pulls away.

“I’ll stay with her,” Celina murmurs. “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“I’ll stay too,” Mia offers. “I’ll keep the nightmares away while she rests.”

I hear the door click shut and wait a few seconds, going through the plan in my head before sitting up and grabbing my shoes.

“Aurora?” Celina asks wide eyed. “You passed out-“

I raise a hand to stop her and peer at Mia who nods furiously.

Without a word, I open a portal to Oliver’s office, leaving it open for Mia and Celina to follow me through it. Inside the office, Chava and Carter are waiting for me.

Chava pulls out two glass vials with black liquid from his pocket. He runs his hand through his hair nervously. “Are you sure about this?”

“Well it’s too late now for second thoughts.”

Carter rushes to me, kissing my hands in gratitude. “Thank you, Luna. Thank you for not giving on her. On them.”

“I would never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to bring them back-“

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Celina snaps, looking around in confusion. “What you guys talking about?”

I take the vials from Chava’s hand and turn to face my sister, prepared to explain the events that unfolded the previous day.

“It all happened after the Alpha meeting.”

***FLASH BACK to yesterday morning***

“You didn’t fail me,” I whisper as I hug Gwen.

I hold onto her for a while, the decision made by the Alphas slowly sinking into my bones. Gwen leans into my ear, her words echoing in my head.

“Top drawer on the left,” she whispers.

Not fully understanding, I continue to hug her, hoping to hear more when Celina’s voice interrupts us

“Come on, Aurora. Let’s get you dried off,” Celina says as Wesley drapes his coat over my shoulder.

I make a run for the woods, easily evading them all as they chase after me. Opening a portal, I disappear from sight, making sure no one knows where to find me. I keep running on the other side until my lungs burn and it hurts to breathe, until I no longer hear my thoughts call after me. I run and don’t stop until I reach the western border where the old oak tree between River Moon and Lluvia Blanca stands.

Sitting beneath its branches with my back against the trunk, I finally let myself cry, burying my face on my knees.

Why couldn’t I just be happy?

Suddenly, I hear a tiny hoot in the distance, my head shooting up instantly to look around the perimeter. In a tree just a few feet away, the black owl sits patiently upon one of its branches, its gold eyes peering at me curiously. I scramble to my feet, anger boiling in every cell or my body. It’s eyes glow crimson and it grins.

“Poor little wolf,” the owl snickers. “All alone looking for her mate.”

I charge up a lightning bolt in my hand, no longer caring about their threats. They had taken all that mattered to me. What more could they take?

“So what’s it going to be Aurora?” The owl smirks.

I aim the lightning bolt at it, but miss as it jumps out of the way in time to avoid being destroyed.

“If you think it ends with just Rosalie and Oliver, you’d be wrong, mutt,” the owl sneers, the glow in its eyes brightening. “It’ll never stop. We’ll take everyone from you. Every single person you love will meet their end because of you.”

I feel tears well up in my eyes. Why me?

“The choice is so clear, my dear,” The owl smiles. “You don’t have one.”

If looks could kill, that owl would be dead a 1000 times over as I glare at it. I’ve had enough of their nonsense. I was an Ivory Twin for goddess’ sakes and I was going to make them pay for every moment of pain they’ve inflicted.

“Fine!” I snap. “You win! I’ll give you what you want. But you leave my pack and my allies alone and out of your plans. That’s my condition.”

The owl grins. “You’re in no position to bargain but I will grant you this little request. Wouldn’t want you to think I’m cruel.” The owl spreads out its wings. “At midnight, take the chalk I gave you and write NO on any surface. That should throw your allies off our tail. I’ll take care of the rest. Just make sure you get outside at 11 pm. I’ll have something prepared for you to trick your allies. Meet me at the fort just after 11:30 pm tomorrow with your sister and the medallions. And remember, no escorts. You come alone or we kill them all. Understood?”

I purse my lips together and nod before it takes flight. I sit against the tree once more, memorizing the owls instructions and carefully planning out my next moves. I would need to trick my allies and my sister if I wanted this deal to play out in my favor, but I knew I could not I do it alone. As I think, Gwen’s words replay in my head.

Top drawer on the left… what could the mean?

That’s when it clicks. Oliver’s office! She had been working in Oliver’s office!

Eager to get to figure out her littler clue, I start to open a portal when the landscape morphs into a sunflower meadow.

Mia…

“Mia let me out,” I shriek, looking aimlessly around at the field of tall flowers. “I thought I was clear, I don’t like you messing with my head!”

The world returns to normal and I find Mia and Chava standing in front of me.

“Sorry,” Mia apologizes. “I just didn’t want you to escape.”

“Aurora, we want you to know that we’re here to help. Whatever you need, we’re here. I promise,” Chava says.

Can I really trust them? I think to myself.

Goddess, who cares? Reyna snaps. They want to help. Let them!

Desperate, I wave them over and open a portal to Oliver’s office, letting them follow me in. We find Carter sitting on the floor, downing a bottle of vodka. Rushing to him, I take the bottle from his hand and he growls at me.

“Give it back, Aurora.”

“No, ” I snap, handing the bottle to Chava. Grabbing the sides of his head, I begin to heal his drunken stupor against his will.

He looks at me with pain in his eyes. “I’m going to lose them both,” he whimpers.

“No you won’t, not if I can help it. I made the deal. I’m getting her back.”

Straightening up, I run to Oliver’s desk, pulling out the top drawer. My eyes fill with tears when I find a small black velvet box, two vials of black liquid and a small note sitting inside. I open the box to find a diamond ring, the magic question gleaming on its surface.

I have to get him back so he can ask. I have to.

I quickly stuff the box back on the drawer and focus instead on the note.

“25 minutes to fully absorb. Not a perfect antidote, but it will do the trick. Do what you need to do.”

Goddess, I love that witch!

“What’s that for?” Chava asks as I clasp the vials to my chest.

“I’m getting Oliver and Rosalie back,” I say with determination. “And you three are going to help me do it. I’ve got an idea.”

***END FLASHBACK ***

“Gwen figured out how to protect us from whatever serum those witches try to use on us during the meeting ,” I announce, unscrewing the lid off one of the vials. “This will take 25 minutes to fully absorb into our bodies, so during that time, the witches will think we’re powerless.”

“Aurora, Oliver is dead. What do you need this for?” She asks pointing to the vials.

“Oliver’s not dead. I would have felt it through our bond. That was just an illusion Tais and Ira made to make you and the Alphas believe the deal was off. Mia also messed with your heads a little and made you think Simone and David showed up when they did. I needed to get outside so Tais could get the USB drive to me and it seemed like a perfect solution. You sure thought it was real. Now that everyone thinks that Oliver’s gone and I’m emotionally unstable,” I say, “I can move on to phase two of my plan.”

“What? How could you – are you f*****g kidding me?” She screams. “You actually want to give them your b***d?”

“No,” I snarl. “I want theirs.”

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” She argues. “They’ve managed to our smart us all!”

“By whatever means necessary”

Celina’s face fills with concern. “Aurora. You can’t be serious.”

“They’ve taken everything from me!” I snap. “And they’ll never stop taking!” I take a moment to collect myself. “I’m not losing anyone else. I’m not.”

She places a hand on my shoulder for comfort.

“I need to try Celina. Even if it’s the last thing I do, I can’t give up,” I murmur. “Please help me.”

She stares at me for a moment and I let down my walls for her see me, the real me. Tears spill onto her cheeks as she takes in all the pain I had carefully tucked away from the rest of the world, afraid it would consume me if I let any of it poke through.

“Ok,” she nods, taking one of the vials from my hand. “Let’s do this.”

She removes the top from her vial and drinks it in one go, scrunching up her nose and gaging in disgust.

“That’s f*****g disgusting,” she whines.

I swing mine back too, it’s bitter and pungent taste activating my gag reflex. That was nasty.

“You’re going to need this,” Chava says, cupping something in his hands.

A tiny black fruit fly sits in the center of his hands, flicking its wings and gazing around the room.

“Umm care to explain that part of the plan?” Celina chuckles as the fly lands on her finger.

“Those witches said to come alone,” Chava smirks, pointing at the fly. “So they’ll never see this little guy is following you around to lead us to you when they take you. No matter what happens, I’ll have eyes on you.”

I glance out the window, the stars lighting up the sky. It was time to go. I open a portal to the path leading up to the fort. If this was a trap, I wanted to be ready.

“Ready?” Celina asks, swallowing hard.

I stare into the wooded path. “I’m coming for you, Olivier.”

Hand in hand, we walk through the portal, taking deep breathes to calm our racing hearts. This was it. I would finally be coming face to face with my parent’s killers, with the monsters hell bent on destroying everything I loved.

With careful steps, we march forward, eyeing our surroundings in case of an ambush, the fly buzzing just behind us. As we approach the fort, we hear child like singing in the distance.

I recognize the voice instantly, my heart filling with dread. Tugging on Celina’s hand, I drag her into the clearing, finding little Taylor by the swing pushing Mrs. Cotton. Behind her, Emma sits with her back against the trunk, watching her daughter play with her toy.

“Luna!” Taylor squeals excitedly as she grabs Mrs. Cotton and races to me.

I get on my knees, spreading my arms out wide for the child.

“Taylor, Emma. What are you guys doing here?” I ask, looking around the empty clearing for any sign of the witches.

“Taylor wanted some fresh air. With everything going on, William has been very strict,” She chuckles sheepishly. “We’ve been holed up and I was going a little crazy. I know this is the Alpha’s place, but I didn’t think we would bother anyone,” she adds. “We can leave, though if you want-“

Celina and I look around some more, no longer paying attention to Emma and the child in my arms.

“Luna?” Emma asks, looking curiously at me. “Is something wrong?”

Snapping back to my senses, I look over at Emma. “Sorry, but you guys shouldn’t be here. You have to go now-“

We hear the crunching of leaves in the woods to our left, drawing all of our attention. Suddenly a large black wolf with flaming red eyes emerges from the trees, displaying its canines. The air fills with the sweet scent of honey and green apples, causing my heart rate to skyrocket.

“Michael…”

Moving at the speed of sound, Michael lunges at Emma, pinning her to the ground and sinking his canines into her neck.

“Mommy!” Taylor cries wriggling in my arms to free herself.

Oh goddess.

I squeeze Taylor harder, holding her head against my neck to shield her from the gory scene. Celina springs into action, stepping on her hind leg before releasing a sonic scream.

The force of the sound sends Michael flying through the air and crashing against a tree. Celina rushes to Emma’s aid, placing both hands on her neck to stop the bleeding.

“Sit still, sweetie. I’ve got you,” she whispers as she begins her healing session.

While she works on Emma, I focus on the earth and grow a few vines, wrapping them around Michael’s paws to keep him locked in place.

“M-my baby,” Emma chokes out, reaching out a hand.

Celina attempts to soothe her. “Shh, hold sti-”

She gasps suddenly and I turn just in time to see Emma plunge a needle into Celina’s neck.

“Celina!” I scream.

That’s when I feel a prick on my own neck, accompanied by a tiny giggle in my ear.

“Surprise.”