The Ivory Queen
Chapter 54

***Aurora POV***

I fly out to Idaho tomorrow and I’m getting anxious. Carter and I have already hatched up an excuse to get me out of River Moon without causing too much suspicion. We’ll be pretending to take Rio to the vet which should give us enough time to travel to the airport in San Francisco without anyone trying to stop us. I don’t like lying to Oliver but I can’t have him getting in the way of my shift. I know he’d try to stop me if he found out and my shift is simply to important to risk right now.

While Oliver is at training, I pack my overnight bag, stuffing my passport and ID in one of the pockets. I also stash about $600 in cash that Carter gave me at the bottom of my bag.

I hear the boys return from their work out and put away my bag under the bed and quickly clean up any evidence of my trip. I slip on my medallion and go downstairs to greet the boys for lunch. After we eat, we all head for the entertainment room so the boys can play Call of Duty. Rosalie curls up next to Carter and falls asleep quickly. I sit next to Oliver but after a while get bored with the game. Oliver lifts his arms up, never once taking his eyes off the screen and continuing to press the buttons on his controller. I climb onto his lap and he lowers his arms around me, his scent and warmth enveloping me. I lay my head against his chest and let the beat of his heart rock me to sleep.

About an hour later, I’m abruptly woken up by the sound of several warriors running in and I sit up in Oliver’s lap. I feel his muscles tense.

“We were just informed that Rogues are headed towards our southern border. There’s maybe 200 or so and they’re all marching towards us as we speak,” reports a guard.

200 rogues? Where the hell are they coming from?

Oliver and the boys are immediately on high alert and the game is shut off. Carter wraps his arms around Rosalie protectively and she whimpers with fear.

“I want every non-warrior in the safe house immediately. Evan, take Aurora and ten of her guards to the safe house. Carter, round up the warriors and lead them to the southern border. I’ll get a hold of our allies and meet you there shortly. Let’s go, move it!”

Everyone scrambles to fulfill Oliver’s orders and he lifts me off his lap.

“Carter, please be careful,” Rosalie warns.

He gives her a few comforting k****s before running off to get the warriors.

“Oliver, I can be more useful at the pack hospital or even on the field!” I cry, knowing I can help.

“Aurora, no. I need you in the safe house where I know you’ll be protected, especially now that I know you’re being targeted by them. I don’t want a repeat of what happened at the Cerulean Sea Pack hospital, Go with Evan.”

“Oliver, there is no antidote for the witch’s poison. I am the only person who can heal the bites. I have to-“

“Don’t argue with me right now! I can’t fight knowing you could possibly be in danger. I need you in the safe house or I’ll lose my mind, do you understand? Evan and the guards will protect you with their lives. Now go!” He commands.

I hate when he gets overprotective but I know he’s just afraid that something will happen to me. I stand on my tippy toes and k**s him on the lips. “You better come back to me,” I warn him, fighting back angry tears.

He sighs, leaning his forehead against mine. “It’s going to be okay. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I reply.

Evan takes Rio, Rosalie and I down to the safe house. It’s honestly not a safe house but instead a series of hidden underground tunnels dug into the earth and stabilized with wooden beams. The tunnels all lead up to a gymnasium sized compartment made of concrete where the elderly, women, children and non-warriors stay hidden during attacks. Evan has the guards posted at some of the main entrances to the safe house and in some of the tunnels. Since these guards are from different packs, they’re given radios for communication.

As we reach the main compartment, I hear a familiar voice call out to me.

“Luna! Luna!” Taylor cries, running up to me for a hug.

I kneel down and spread my arms out wide to receive her. “Hey cutie, what’s wrong?” I ask, wiping the fat tears falling down her cute chubby little cheeks.

“I’m scared,” she mumbles. “There’s bad wolves outside and daddy is out there!”

“I know but you’re daddy is working really hard to keep them away, remember? He’s a hero. He won’t let anything happen to you, ok?” I say hugging her tightly.

“But what about Mrs. Cotton?” She whines.

I rack my brain to remember if there’s a pack member by the name of Mrs. Cotton and come up empty.

Emma explains. “Mrs. Cotton is her stuffed animal. We ran here so quickly I forgot to grab it for her and she’s pretty upset about it.”

“Who’s gonna save Mrs. Cotton, Luna?” Taylor whimpers.

I give her a hug and sit her on my knee. “Moon Goddess will protect her, Taylor, just like she’s protecting your daddy out there and you in here.”

“Really?” She asks.

“Mhmm. And you know what? Right now I need your help.” I call out to Rio and he trots over. “This sweet baby angel here is Rio. He’s very scared right now and could use a very special friend to help him get through this. Do you think you can help him?”

She nods her head excitedly and wraps her tiny arms around his neck. He proceeds to lick her cute little face and she giggles. “Puppy!” she squeals.

Several other toddlers come running over to see Rio and before I know it, Rio is swarmed by children. He’s more than happy to be the center of attention though, and licks their happy faces. Emma thanks me, but I can see the worry in her eyes.

“How are you holding up, Emma?” I ask placing my hand on her shoulder.

“You would think I would be used to it by now,” she shrugs, clearly fighting back tears. “But the worry never goes away. I’m just so scared all the time… I hate myself for saying this but sometimes I hate that he’s a werewolf…” A few tears fall down her cheeks and she quickly turns around to wipe them.

Right, I forgot that she’s a human…

“Oh god, I don’t want Taylor to see me like this. I need to be strong for her. And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you or the pack! I love werewolves. They’re-“

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself,” I reply, pulling her into a hug. “And William is going to be alright. He’s a strong fighter. He’ll come back to you and Taylor.”

She gives me a small smile.

“So how did you two meet?” I ask, trying to distract her.

“Oh,” She blushes. “I used to be a cashier at a grocery store and he -uh- came into my checkout lane to buy bagels. The second we looked into each other’s eyes, I felt a pull towards him. Little did I know that was the mate bond. Anyways, he just kept coming back, always getting bagels, always in my checkout lane,” Emma giggles. “I just kept waiting for him to ask me out and when he did, I was so nervous I spilled his change all over the floor. God, that was embarrassing!”

I laugh with her. “How long before he showed you what he was?”

“He eased me into it,” she chuckles. “He would talk about wolves and how cool they were or about myths and stuff. After about 3 months of dating, he took me on a night picnic here on pack territory and he showed me his wolf. I was terrified! I thought he was going to eat me!” We burst into laughter. “Needless to say, I didn’t speak to him for weeks after until he came to find me again at the grocery store. I was still afraid of him but I knew I couldn’t stay away for much longer. I love him and I know he would never hurt me.”

“Does your family know?” I ask.

“No, I’m afraid it will scare them. We visit my family often, though, so it’s fine.”

We chat for a little longer before she goes off to check on Taylor. I offer comfort to several women and elderly folks afraid for their mates and their children. Evan never leaves my side, staying in contact with the guards for my protection. After about 30 minutes, I search for Rosalie and find her sitting with Gabrielle and Katherine. She looks upset.

“What’s wrong Ro?” I ask, crouching in front of her and holding her hands.

“I just can’t stop worrying about Carter. I know he’s just doing his job, but I can’t stop thinking that something is going to happen to him and I’ll have to raise this baby on my own!” She weeps.

I understand her fears. Oliver and Carter are the pack leaders and will always be on the front lines in these attacks. I squeeze her hand and give her some calming energy. She sighs in relief and smiles contently.

“I don’t know what you did, but thank you,” she says, rubbing her belly.

“Stress isn’t good for the baby,” I say, holding her hand. “I just gave you a some peace for a bit while we wait. Rest for now. I’m sure by the time you wake up, this will all be over.”

She lays her head in Gabrielle’s lap, who begins to stroke her hair and tell Rosalie some stories to keep her mind busy. Suddenly, Emma starts crying frantically and I rush to her side. “Emma what-“

“Taylor! I can’t find her! I can’t find my baby!” she wails. “She was right here! She was right here! I turned away for two seconds and she’s gone!”

“Emma calm down, we’ll help you find her,” I say, trying my best to keep from having my own panic attack.

Evan radios the guards in the tunnels to start searching for Taylor while some of the mothers try to keep Emma calm or help search for the girl here. I glance at the children surrounding Rio but she’s not among them. There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Something’s not right. Reyna agrees.

“We can’t find the girl,” Evan whispers in my ear. “None of the guards have seen her. I mind-linked a few warriors on the battlefield to keep a look out for her, but I haven’t gotten word back from them.”

“Does William know?”

He shakes his head. “No. It’ll distract him. He needs to keep a level head right now.”

Several agonizing minutes crawl by before we hear a call come through the radio.

“We found the girl! A rogue almost killed her but we managed to fight it off in time before it did. She has a bite on her leg. Poor little thing is screaming. She needs the Luna!” The guard shouts through the radio.

“Let’s go!” I say, charging to one of the tunnels.

Evan pulls me back by my arm. “No. We should wait for them to bring her back here.”

“And risk them getting followed and leading the rogues here?” I snap. “You heard them, Taylor is screaming. The best thing to do is get Taylor to a secure location and keep the pack members in here safe. You and I have a better chance of saving her if we get to her location.”

Evan looks like he wants to argue, but he knows I’m right. “Is there any place where you can stash her until we get there?” Evan asks into the radio.

“Umm… we’re by the daycare. We’ll try to get her inside, but I can smell a lot of rogues nearby.”

“Get her inside carefully and try to keep her quiet. We’ll be there in five,” Evan orders.

We take off running to through the tunnels, finding one that is only a few blocks from the daycare center. At the entrance, Evan shifts and pokes his head out to check if the coast is clear. Not sensing any danger, he nods his head forward for me to follow him. As we maneuver between some trees, I get the sense we’re being followed and ask Evan to stop behind a tree. As he sniffs the air, we hear the snap of a tree branch behind us. We turn around to find ourselves being ambushed by several rogues, led by none other than Erin herself. She shifts into her human form, her glowing red eyes piercing daggers at me. Evan eyes fog over and I know he’s mind linking for help. He takes a protective stance in front of me and snarls at her. Her eyes return to their murky brown color.

“I knew ordering that hit on the little girl would come in handy,” she chuckles, tilting her head to the side and smirking. “You can’t help but play the hero all the time.”

My b***d boils when she admits to what she’s done and I can feel Reyna’s rage. Erin takes a few steps towards us and Evan gives her a warning growl.

“Why are you doing this?” I snap. “How could you hurt a little girl? She’s just a child.”

“Oh Aurora, you can’t possibly be this dense. You know exactly why I’m doing this… your majesty.”

She knows?

Evan tilts his head in confusion at me but I ignore him and keep my attention on Erin and her minions.

“We can do this the easy way where you come with me willingly or we can kill Evan and you’ll still come with me. The choice is yours,” she smirks.

Evan steps forward, leaning on his hind legs and preparing to launch.

“Thought so,” she sighs, “Attack!” She commands and the rogues start closing in on us. “Remember, Master wants her alive!”

Master?

We’re outnumbered and I know Evan won’t be able to take them all. Three rogues step forward and attack him. He easily out maneuvers them but as rogues keep filing in, it becomes clear he won’t win. When a rogue gets dangerously close to me, Evan springs into action and charges at it. The distraction works and a rogue is able to lunge at Evan. A second rogue takes advantage and bites into Evan’s hind legs and drags him down. My b***d runs cold as two more rogues jump in to attack him.

There’s no getting out of here alive if I don’t activate my powers…

With my decision made, I curl my fingers, slowly lifting both my arms up and making the roots of the nearby tree rise from the earth. I throw my hands forward and the roots spring into action, wrapping around the legs of the rogues attacking Evan and lifting them 10 feet off the ground. I slam my arms down and the roots smash the rogues into the ground with full force. The sound of cracking bones is nauseating and b***d pools around the bodies.

The remaining rogues seem unfazed by my display and launch towards me. I stomp my foot on the ground, causing a tremor to ripple through the earth and split it in two. Rocks and small boulders are exposed and I fling them at the oncoming rogues, killing several with the blows. I continue to grow roots and crush multiple rogues to death. Soon, the forest floor runs red with b***d. I catch a glance at Evan who is laying on the ground with severe wounds pumping out b***d. His breathing is labored and I hurry to finish the final rogues off.

Moon Goddess, please help me!

I jerk my hands up, lifting two giant chucks of earth and slamming them into the last two rogues. The wolves fly into the air and crash nearby with a thud. I uproot a tree and let it fall on top of them, killing them instantly. Erin tries her best to hide her fear as I approach her but I can hear her heart pounding against her rib cage. I crouch down, placing my palms firmly on the ground. Several vines shoot out from the ground, wrapping tightly around her legs and pulling her to her knees. She laughs hysterically as more vines shoot up and wrap around her wrists, trapping her in place. I slowly walk towards her, staring into her wicked eyes..

“You’re a lot stronger than I anticipated,” she admits, a smirk still hanging on her lips. “I thought twenty rogues would be enough to get you but boy was I wrong…. So what now? Huh? Are you going to kill me like you killed my brother?” She asks, spitting in my face.

“Who is you master?” I snarl, wiping my cheek.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She cackles. “Let’s just say my master knows you very well…”

Irritated, I grow spines on the vines and they dig into her porcelain flesh, causing her to scream in agony.

“The spines will keep growing longer until you answer my question,” I warn.

She laughs against her pain. “My Master has many names and many wolves willing to help her out. You’d be surprised how many want you dead. We’ve got allies in every corner waiting to have their turn at you.”

“Who the f**k is your master!”

She snarls at me. “Your eyes… they’re the same color as the day you killed Andrew. There’s no denying what you are, you b***h!”

Enraged, I grow another vine and wrap it around her neck, squeezing slowly until she starts gasping for air.

“Tell me who!”

Suddenly, several warriors arrive including Oliver and Carter. They shift and stare at me in horror as they see the b***d shed around me and Erin entangled in my vines. Shocked, I lose focus and release my grip on Erin. She gasps for air, massaging her neck. All the roots and vines move back into the earth, leaving nothing but corpses lying on the ground.

“Your eyes…” Oliver whispers.