The Ivory Queen
Chapter 47

***Aurora’s POV***

His question makes me nervous as I remember the last time we fought over a secret. He notices and softens his face.

“Babe, whatever it is, I promise I won’t be mad. I won’t hurt you.”

He grabs my hand, kissing the knuckles lovingly and I feel at ease.

Don’t worry I won’t tell him I’m an Ivory Twin just yet, I tell Reyna.

I don’t get a response from Reyna which bothers me but not as much as keeping this from Oliver.

“Oliver, my wolf has made it very clear that she doesn’t want you to know everything just yet, but I hate lying to you,” I start, grabbing the box from my night stand and placing it in my lap. “What I have to say isn’t bad or anything, it’s just a little … shocking.”

Oliver nods and scoots closer to me. I place my fingers on the edge of the box. My fingers trace the design on the lock of the box while I think.

“Aurora, don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not, I just- I don’t know how to say this,” I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “My real name is Aurora Salome Altamirano-Reyes. I am the daughter of Sofia Isabel, Luna Queen of the Sol de Oro kingdom and Mateo Salvador Altamirano, Alpha King of Sol de Oro.”

Oliver stares at me in shock, so I decide to push through.

“There was a war and my birth parents instructed Emiliano, my uncle, to bring me here to the U.S. to protect me.”

I concentrate my energy on the box, making the lock glow red and popping it open. I take out the photograph and hand it to Oliver.

“These are my parents,” I say, pointing to Mateo and Sofia. “They’re gone now.” I add quietly.

“Aurora this is…” he pauses to grab my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Emiliano is not your father?”

I shake my head. “I found out on the day of your challenge. That’s what was on the enchanted page. I couldn’t tell you because my wolf said it wasn’t safe.”

“Why wouldn’t it be safe?”

“Oliver, you have to understand that a war was waging on and I… I’m a member of the royal family. I was a target. My family hid this from me for years for good reason. My wolf was just trying to protect me.”

He’s quiet for a second, letting the information sink in.

“So you’re a royal? A Princess or-or a Queen, I mean?”

“I guess so. I mean I’m technically the oldest but I haven’t given much thought to-“

“Oldest? So you have siblings? Is Mia-“

“Mia, Sal, and I are just cousins,” I cut in. “I have a twin sister. Her name is Celina and she’s younger, I suppose. I haven’t really gotten all the details yet. I’ve only met her twice-“

“Wait, wait, wait. You’ve met her?”

I sigh. “Not in person, she lives pretty far, but we share a connection since we’re twins and I can visit her in my dreams.”

He goes quiet again, the gears in his head turning a mile a minute. “So you and your sister are in hiding?”

I nod. “I don’t know much about the war and Uncle Emiliano never told me about our family. All I knew was that he had a brother, I just couldn’t imagine that his brother was my father.”

Oliver interlocks our finger before looking back up at me. “Were you angry at him for keeping this from you?”

“I was at first,” I sigh, staring down at the box containing the letters. “I was angry that he lied to me, but after reading the letters from my parents, I realized he was only doing what was asked of him. Besides, Celina can probably answer some of my questions. She was raised my aunt Valentina and she knows quite a bit more about our lineage than I do.”

“I’m sorry about your family. That must have been quite a shock to learn about via a letter.”

“It was. From what I gathered, my father never got to meet me. He died before I was born and mother only had me a few days before she gave my sister and I away. It’s hard thinking about all the beautiful memories I was robbed from because of the war.”

“Do you know the cause of it? Is the war still ongoing? Can you go back?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I only just found out what Kingdom my family came from. Mia did some research and that’s what she came to tell me today.”

“So Mia knows about you….. Who else knows?”

I hesitate. Carter only knows because he caught me using my powers and I have omitted that bit about myself. Based on how easily Oliver backed down when Carter offered to stand guard, I can only assume he knows Carter is involved.

“Carter,” I sigh, conjuring up a quick lie. “It was kind of by accident. His grandfather was an elder and when he saw the coat of arms, he pieced everything together very quickly. He’s too smart for his own good,” I try to laugh, but it comes out a bit awkward. “He’s been helping me find out more about myself.”

“I see,” he clenches his jaw. “You trusted him more than me…”

“No! I told you…it was an accident. I didn’t want to tell anyone. Please don’t get mad-“

“I’m not angry, I’m just… hurt,” he pouts. “I’m your mate Aurora. I’m the one your supposed to ask for help.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I sigh.

He lays down on his back and stares at the ceiling. I tuck the photograph away and put the box on the nightstand before laying down next to him. He turns to look at me, pulling my body towards his and kissing my forehead.

“I love you, Aurora and I want to help you,” he murmurs. “Will you let me?”

“Ok,” I say, snuggling up to him and listening to his heart beat.

We get ready for bed and curl up next to each other with Rio at our feet. Oliver toys with medallion, reminding me of our agreement.

“I missed your scent all day,” he argues.

“I know but the medallion is also really useful for helping me reach my sister. Every time I’ve fallen asleep with it, I’ve dreamt with her and I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”

He frowns, staring at the sun on my neck disdainfully.

“I hate that stupid thing,” he mutters under his breath and I can’t help but chuckle.

“You can take it off after I’ve fallen asleep,” I compromise. “That way, I get to see my sister and you can smell me all you want afterwards.”

He rolls his eyes but agrees. Curled up safely in his arms, it’s not long before I fall into a blissful sleep.

———

I wake up by the stream, the purple orb floating just above my head. I look around and see Celina weaving a flower crown on the other side of the stream. Her pink orb floats beside her.

“Celina!” I shout.

She looks up and smiles, gesturing for me to cross over. I do as she asks and sit down beside her.

“Told you you’d find your way back. And this time, you manifested closer!” She laughs placing her completed flower crown on my head and adjusting my hair.

“I guess I did,” I smile. “How are you?”

“Good. It was a pretty uneventful day for me. I read, took a walk, ate, watched movies all day, ignored my homework,” she shrugs. “You?”

Boy did I have a day. I catch her up on my alpha meeting and the little get together we threw in my honor, as well as my conversation with Mia and Oliver.

“So Mia and Oliver know about our lineage?” She asks.

“Yeah. They don’t have any clue about us being Ivory twins though,” I say.

She laughs and starts weaving another flower crown. I watch her work in silence while I figure out how to ask my questions. I decide to start off with some very basic ones.

“Celina?”

“Mmhmm?” She answers, still focused on her crown.

I point to the floating pink and purple orbs that seem to follow us.

“What are these orb thingies and why do they follow us around?”

She looks up and smiles. ”They’re our locked elements and powers,” she says. “Right now, I’m assuming you have some control over the Earth element and I can control the air at will. But since we haven’t shifted, our fire and water elements remained locked away inside us. Here,” she says pointing at the orbs.

“That actually makes sense,” I chuckle.

I decide to ask about our appearance next.

“Celina, in the outside world, I’m covered head to toe with scars and my hair is jet black. But here, I-“ I point to my flawless skin and white hair.

“I don’t actually know why our hair is white here,” she shrugs. “I’m sure it’s because our wolves are white, but I can’t explain the scars. I have a few of my own that also disappear when I’m here,” she chuckles. “Haha, that rhymed!”

I laugh with her before turning serious again. “And when exactly are we shifting? I know we have to shift together, so when and how can we make that possible?”

“Moon Goddess, I’ve been waiting for you to ask!” She says, plopping her finished flower crown on her head. “Ok so the next full Moon is on the -“

“The 30th in the early morning .”

“Right” she snaps her fingers. “Giving us a week before we need to meet.”

“Our beta, Carter, told me we need to meet somewhere secluded and to keep the location a secret.”

“He is very right. We will be at our most vulnerable right before we shift and that unfortunately means our enemies have a chance to hurt us.”

“What enemies?” I ask.

“The same ones who killed Mom and Dad,” she says solemnly. “Witches, vampires, demons… any other evil creature you can think of. We are the protectors of Silver and Gold wolves. Without us, those fuckers would have a field day with our kind.”

I’m starting to understand everything now. “Are we the cause of the war?”

She nods. “Those creatures started attacking our family once they found out was pregnant with the ‘legendary Ivory twins’,” she says, rolling her eyes and speaking in a mocking tone. “They tried hurting us before we were even born but Mom and Dad protected us,” she says. “Once we shift and master our powers, we will be virtually unstoppable.”

So the witches want us dead so they can have free reign over werewolves…

“So we need to find a place to meet,” I say, getting us back on track.

“I was thinking somewhere in between us. You live in California and I’m in Colorado, so how does Nevada or Utah sound?”

I think for a minute. My passport and ID are back at Lluvia Blanca. I never went back to get my stuff after I woke up from the coma. Plus it would be difficult for me to get out of the state without telling Oliver. And to top things off, my Luna Ceremony was the very same night of our shift and lots of wolves were coming to see me, including our Allies. I g***n with frustration.

“What’s wrong?” She asks and I explain my situation to her.

We both think for a few minutes, trying to come up with solutions.

“I think I can ask Mia to sneak me my documents so I can travel and I’m sure Carter can help me book a flight and sneak me out without Oliver noticing…at least long enough for me to get away anyways,” I say. “But there’s still the Luna Ceremony. I know I can get out, I just wouldn’t be able to return in time for my ceremony.”

“How about you convince Oliver to move your ceremony to that Friday instead, after your shift?” She suggests. “You could say it would be more convenient for your pack members since the 30th falls on a Monday. And he knows about me now so you can tell him that I want to be there. I’m technically supposed to be in class on Monday so you can tell him I don’t have class on Friday and can fly in then.”

“Would you actually be able to come?” I ask, liking the idea of her being there for my ceremony.

“Well, I haven’t received an invitation..” she grins.

I hug her, squealing with excitement. “Please come to my ceremony! It would mean the world to me if you came!”

“Let’s just hope Oliver isn’t too upset with us for Monday’s adventure,” she laughs.

She’s right, Oliver will be furious when he finds out I’ve disappeared for a day. Let’s just hope he finds it in his heart to forgive me for leaving unannounced.

I push these thoughts out of my head and focus on our task at hand.

“I like Idaho,” I blurt out and Celina laughs at my random suggestion.

“Why Idaho?” She chuckles.

“I don’t know, it’s just a random place,” I say playfully and she raises an eye brow at me. “Ok miss smarty pants, where were we supposed to meet the first time?”

“We flew to Maine, of all places,” she says nonchalantly.

“See? Totally random. No rhyme or reason to it. That’s what we have to do,” I urge.

She nods slowly. “Okay. Idaho. Where? I don’t know a thing about Idaho.”

“Oh no, I didn’t actually have a place in mind. I was just saying.”

She sighs. “We are also forgetting to a consider a really important aspect of our meeting.”

I c**k my head to the side and stare at her curiously.

“We need to meet in a pack free zone. We could get into some serious trouble if we wonder onto some else’s territory without permission.”

Crap. I hadn’t even thought about other packs.

“And how exactly are we supposed to know which regions are pack territory?”

She grins from ear to ear. “That’s where being a Luna comes in handy,” she giggles. “Alphas have maps of territories across the country for this particular reason. I’m sure your mate has access to this information.”

“I guess I’ll have to do some digging when I wake up,” I mumble.

“Well at least we’ve picked a state and a date. We need to head to Idaho on the 29th so we can have time to rest and get settled before our shift in the early morning. I also think I should book the flights that way Oliver doesn’t find out and I can coordinate our flights around the same time.”

I’m nervous but excited as our plan starts to unfold.

“Aurora, one more thing. The last time we were supposed to meet, we lost someone near and dear to us. I think we should meet alone. I don’t think I can live with myself knowing someone else got hurt trying to protect us for the shift.”

I nod. “So you don’t want tia Valentina to come?”

She shakes her head. “I think we should be able to handle ourselves just fine. What’s the special gift you’ve manifested already besides your Element?”

I shrug. “I’m a healer.”

She smiles. “Like me…”

“Well between your Earth element, our Healing powers and my Air element, I think we’ll be safe on our own. We don’t need to put anyone else at risk and if we play our cards right, I don’t think we’ll face any danger either.”

“Ok. Give me your phone number so I can contact you, that way I don’t have to wait until I fall asleep to talk to you,” I say with eagerness.

She shakes her head. “No, that’s too dangerous. Someone might be able to track us down or hack into our phones.”

“Then how else am I supposed to contact you. Waiting for these dreams isn’t exactly ideal,” I argue.

She laughs at me and I ask her what’s so funny.

“You forget we are the mighty Ivory twins and we have quite a bit of power. Our medallions are meant for more than just hiding our scent and bringing us here. They unite us. Until we shift, our medallions can help us communicate with each other.”

“And how do we do that?” I ask..

“Well you see, right now we are accessing this realm in our dreams through our subconscious. You just need to reach this place consciously. Lower your walls and call out to me. I should be able to hear you. I’ve tried several times before but you never heard me since you didn’t have the medallion. But now that you have it, I think it should work.”

“Ok. I can try,” I shrug.

I pull a few blades of grass from the floor and start to twirl them around my fingers.

“You have more questions, don’t you?” She asks, picking more flowers for a bracelet.

“What’s going to happen after we shift?”

“What do you mean?”

I shift my legs, pulling my knees to my chest. “I mean are we expected to go back and rule our kingdom? Is there even a kingdom left to rule? Is it even safe to go back? Those creatures could still be there!”

She frowns. “We are Sol de Oro’s rightful rulers and once we shift we should go back. We owe it to our family and the people who died for us.”

“Celina, I already have a life here,” I sigh, shaking my head. “I am going to be a Luna soon and Oliver is an Alpha. We can’t just up and leave our pack.”

“I know,” she replies, her voice quiet.

Clouds emerge on the horizon. It’s time for me to wake up. I frown and Celina tries to cheer me up with a hug.

“We’ll be together soon enough. I know there’s a lot we don’t know, but we’ll figure it out together.”

I nod as the clouds grow darker and the realm begins to fade.