The Ivory Queen
Chapter 119

*** Aurora***

“You b***h!” Karina sneers as she shifts back into her human form and pins Valentina down with her arms.

A clone materializes behind Karina and knocks her over the head, sending her crashing to the ground with a grunt and allowing the real Valentina to scramble to her feet. She tries to climb on top of Karina but Karina lifts her leg under Valentina and flips her onto her back, grabbing a piece of debris and raising it over her head.

Before Karina can delivery the deadly blow, someone throws a dagger at her, the blade nicking the side of her neck. Karina gaps as a river of b***d immediately gushes from the wound and tries to stop the bleeding with her hand, but the b***d loss is too much for her to handle. I turn to see who threw the dagger and find Chava standing perfect still, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Chava?” Karina gasps as she stumbles back on her butt.

She whimpers as Chava slowly walks up to her, helping her sit up against the stone table.

“Chava…” Karina cries, cupping her son’s cheek.

He removes her hand from his face, his eyes a flurry of emotions.

“It’s time for you to go, Karina,” he says quietly.

“I’m so sorry, Chava,” She cries, her face growing pale. “I’m so sorry.”

Chava closes his eyes, clenching his jaw and taking deep breaths to calm down.

“Chava, I’m cold,” Karina pants, her body shivering as her breaths grow ragged.

Mia returns from calming down William and kneels beside her mother. Karina lifts up a hand to stroke her daughter’s cheek but Mia winces, moving her head to dodge her mother’s touch.

Karina’s eyes fill sadness. “It’s so dark… I’m scared. I don’t want to die in the dark,” she whimpers, reaching for her daughter’s hands.

Mia looks down at the hand holding hers, tears welling up in her eyes as she struggles to decide what to do. Karina’s breaths begin to slow down, the ending inevitably near.

“I l-love yo-“

Karina takes one last haggard breath before her eyes go still and her hand falls onto her lap. A small whimper escapes Chava’s lips as he wipes his hand over her eyes, closing them for her.

“Goodbye Karina,” he mutters, straightening up wiping his tears.

Dragging his feet, he collapses on his knees in front of me, despair lingering in his eyes as he stifles a sob with a his hand. Mia comes up behind him, tapping his shoulder and spreading her arms wide. She pulls us both into her arms and our emotions pour out like an stream on each other’s shoulders. Our parents were gone… and we were all that was left of them.

I had loved Karina. She was the only mother I knew and for a while, she was the best I could have ever asked for. But the Karina I knew had died long ago and I was only now able to mourn her death.

As we hug, my eyes grow heavier and I lean on Mia for support.

“Oh goddess, Aurora! You’re bleeding!” Mia shrieks.

I look down at the wound on my chest and the bite on my side, both injuries still leaking a bit of b***d. Mia lays me on her lap and Valentina rushes to my side.

“It’s okay, mija. You can rest now,” she coos, stroking my hair.

I fight to keep my eyes open. “But Oliver-“

“Gwen is taking care of him,” Valentina shushes me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Just rest.”

“I have to see him,” I pant. “Please…”

Valentina stares at me before nodding in agreement. She sends an electric jolt of energy through my body, my wounds slowly starting to heal. The pain of the poison slowly evaporates and I let out a heavy sigh of content when she’s finished.

Thanking her, I desperately look around the prison for my blue-eyed king. Mia chuckles, sensing my eagerness to see my mate once again. Chava projects a cloak for me and wraps me up before lifting me in his arms and carrying me over to a group of people gathered around Gwen and someone else.

When Chava and I approach, Gwen and the boys step aside, letting Chava carry me through to the beautifully disheveled man laying in the center of the group. His blue eyes look up at me, making the entire world stop.

“Aurora…” Oliver croaks, attempting to sit up.

Tears blur my vision as I stretch out my arms to him, desperate to hold him again. Chava sets me down on his lap and I immediately burst into tears.

“Olivier!” I sob, cupping his face to make sure he’s real and not some illusion I was imagining.

“I’m real,” he chuckles, grabbing my hand and kissing my fingers.

As if to prove his point, sparks tingle up and down my arms.

“I’m real. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs.

I dig my fingers in his hair, pulling him into a k**s. His stubbly chin tickles my own and I laugh through my tears. He was back, he was real, and he was all mine.

Every k**s fills me up inside with a joy I feared I’d never feel again and I savor every moment. When I pull back for a breath, I bury my face in his neck, inhaling the scent I would never grow tired of.

He pulls my head from his neck and wipes my tears with his thumbs. His blue orbs stare back at me with unadulterated love.

“Marry me,” he whispers. “Marry me, please. I don’t care about anything else right now. Just please say you’ll marry me.”

Fresh tears blur my eyes and the sob in my throat makes it hard to speak, so I just nod my response and pull him into another k**s.

“Is that a yes?” he laughs.

I nod again, my heart soaring from my high. I shower him with k****s, not caring about the several wolves present who were blushing as we showed our affection for each other. My mate had proposed to me and nothing else mattered but him.

Unfortunately for me, though, the joy doesn’t last very long.

“Adeline is missing,” Celina says, interrupting my k**s.

“What?” Oliver and I snap, both of us looking up at her.

I could feel my b***d come to a boil. That b***h had tried to come between my mate and I and I was determined to make her pay for every single second she robbed me of being with him. Reyna comes to the surface and begins barking orders.

“Gather up a search party and search the entire perimeter for that b***h and bring her back alive,” Reyna commands Evan. “No one touches her. She’s MINE!”

“Yes, Luna,” Evan replies before disappearing, leading Chava and Mia down the corridors to search.

My breathing starts to accelerate in anger at the thought of that b***h running free after all she had done to me.

“Down girl,” Oliver smiles, stroking the side of my face. “We’ll find her soon enough. She won’t get far.”

I take back control and lean into his hand, letting his touch calm me down. Carter carries Rosalie over, her wounds healed thanks to Valentina’s handiwork. She reaches out her hand and grabs my own.

“Thank you,” she weeps, putting my hand to her lips and kissing it in gratitude. “Thank you for saving us,” she adds, rubbing her belly while Carter k****s her forehead tenderly.

I turn to David’s body laying on the floor besides Karina’s.

“He made his choice,” Rosalie says. “And he paid the consequences.”

“I know,” I sigh.

Oliver leans into my ear, pulling my hand back from Rosalie’s and interlocking our fingers

“Let’s go home.”

***Simone’s POV***

It started in my chest. Small at first, but it grew and kept growing until it consumed me. My wolf, Ava, howled in pain. She howled and screamed, begging the Moon to return him to us. But we both knew he would never come back. He would never hold us again. Never tell us how much he loved us.

And it was all her fault.

David was gone… and I was all alone now.

When Oliver and Rosalie returned, the entire pack came out to celebrate, happy to have their Luna and Alpha reunited. But I could not share in their joy. Not so long as she reined beside him. Not as long as she poisoned his mind against me, his own mother.

As news spread about what David did, I knew River Moon would turn its back on me too. I had to go. I had to get out this hell hole before it destroyed me too.

Aurora was like a virus. Harmless at first, but within a matter of weeks, she infected not only River Moon, but also the Allies. It was only a matter of time before they officially crowned her their Queen and I would certainly not bow down to that b***h. Never again.

Grabbing my luggage and stuffing it with clothes, some photos, and my documents, I sneak out to my car and leave without so much as a second glance. Oliver and Rosalie didn’t need me anymore. I had nothing left to hold me back. I had to go.

In the morning, I go to the bank and empty out my accounts before hitting the road again. I don’t know where I’m going but I know one thing for sure: Aurora Altamirano was going to pay.

***Aurora’s POV – Christmas Day***

The sword, having been created by a God, it was deemed indestructible. Our only choice was to keep it hidden, locked away in an block of silver that I buried in the center of the earth where it could never take another soul again.

Things were slowly starting to return to normal after the battle against the witches, but not everything was going as desired.

Despite scouring the entire territory and the underground prison system, Adeline was still missing and it put me on edge knowing that that lunatic was alive and free. Simone was gone too and while Rosalie and Oliver said nothing, I know their mother leaving hurt.

What’s more, I still had the Amethyst lake wolves and the new freed rogues to deal with. They all needed homes and the pack hospital was quickly running out of rooms. I needed to get Amethyst Lake up and running again soon.

As if those problems weren’t enough, things with the allies were a little rocky too. Jonathan and Patrick were still upset with me for tricking them. I feared they might not trust me enough to lead as their Queen.

As I think of all the problems we had yet to overcome, Oliver pulls me from my thoughts, wrapping a coat around me to keep me warm for our little family trip to Lluvia Blanca. The house still smells of champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate beverage) and bûche de noël (French Christmas cakes), Christmas cheer lingering in the air.

“Stop worrying, nena” He murmurs, resting his chin on top of my head and pulling me close to his body. “They’ll come around eventually. We just need to give them some time to cool off and think. Sooner or later, they’ll realize you are more than fit to lead this Alliance.”

When I say nothing, he k****s my cheek. “Come on, babe. Let’s go celebrate. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I nod, looking down at the two gifts I wrapped carefully earlier in the day.

“We’re ready too,” Valentina says as she, Danny, Diego, Celina, Gwen, and Eric arrive.

“Where are Rosalie, Carter and Evan?” Oliver asks.

“Have no fear,” Evan announces as he bursts into the foyer dressed in a Santa Clause costume. “The sexiest Santa Clause is here!”

Oliver rolls his eyes and I burst in laughter at Evan’s silly antics. Oh Mia, you’ve got your hands full with this idiot.

Rosalie and Carter descend down the stairs and I open a portal to the Lluvia Blanca cemetery. Javier, Mia, and Chava are already waiting for us on the other side, all of them bearing gifts. I try my best to keep my emotions in check as we walk together to Emiliano’s grave.

Over five years after his death, I was finally granted my biggest wish: to visit my father’s grave. As we approach the headstone, I feel my legs begin to shake and tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks. Oliver pulls me close, kissing my forehead to calm me down.

“We’ll give you some space okay?” he says and I nod my head.

The group steps back while Valentina and I march forward to the grave for some alone time.

“Ay, Emi,” Valentina chuckles to herself when we reach the site. “It’s good to see you, brother.” Tears roll down her cheeks as she kneels down on the ground. “You were too good for this world, the best of us all.” She pauses as a small sob gets caught in her throat and her l*p begins to quiver a little. “That’s why the Moon had to bring you home,” she adds, wiping at her eyes and forcing a smile. “But we’ll be okay. You rest now. I’ll take care of them.” She k****s her fingers and place her them on the stone. “Feliz Navidad, Emi. Te amo.”

Standing back up, she closes her eyes, listening to the wind blow through the trees in the distance. “I can still feel you,” she whispers with a smile. “I love you.”

Looking back at me, she places a hand on my shoulders. “Your turn, mija. He’s listening.”

I wipe at my eyes and kneel before the grave.

“Hi Daddy,” I murmur, my emotions threatening to spill onto my cheeks. “Merry Christmas.”

I place his gift in front of me and slowly unwrap it, revealing a beautiful stone carving I had made of a wolf and placing it in front of his headstone.

“I have so many things to say to you, I don’t even know where to begin, so I guess I’ll just … say it. Thank you, Dad… Thank you for every memory we shared, for every ounce of love you gave me, and for never letting me feel alone… Thank you for giving me home…a-and a family,” I sob, covering my mouth to calm myself. “I miss you everyday… I miss you so much,” I add, wiping my tears. “And I am grateful, I am so grateful to have been your daughter.”

“And I want you to know that you can rest easy now. Mia, Chava and I… we-we’re going to be okay. So you rest, Dad,” I smile, patting his headstone. “I love you.”

Closing my eyes and feeling the earth, I grow some poinsettias around the grave for him and place a small ornament on the wolf’s ear. Oliver comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I think it’s time you open your present,” he murmurs, handing me a small envelope.

I furrow my brows but take the envelope from him, opening it slowly to find two separate itineraries.

“You gave me a plan?”

“Read it,” Oliver insists, refusing to explain any further.

I study the pages and my heart almost bursts with joy.

Flight ——— San Francisco, California, US ——> Tampico, Tamaulipas, MX.

Hotel ——— Reyes Hotel

“Oliver…”

“I’m taking you to see your father’s cave,” he whispers, kissing my cheeks. “We’re going to the beach.” He turns me a round so I face him, taking the second itinerary from my hand. “But first, we’re going to the snow,” he says, waving the itinerary in my face. “We deserve snow.”

Flight ——— San Francisco, California, US ——> Roanoke, Virginia, US

Hotel ——— Hilton Hotel

I pull away from his arms and grab my gift for him. “I think I should give you mine too then.”

He rips through the wrapping paper, revealing a blank adventure book I made.

“We’ll fill it with all of our adventures together,” I say, pressing my lips against his. “Merry Christmas.”