The Ivory Queen
Chapter 83

***Aurora’s POV*** Ten days later…

It’s been over a week since Oliver disappeared and River Moon has somehow managed to keep this information under wraps, with the exception of our Allies. Goddess knows if other packs like Amethyst Lake knew, we would be under attack for control of River Moon.

I’ve spent every waking moment searching for him. I haven’t gotten much sleep, sneaking off in the middle of the night to conduct my own searches since Carter and Celina are hell bent on keeping me locked up in the house for my protection.

To add insult to injury, I went into heat shortly after the ceremony and had to endure the 3 days of sinful agony on my own. This house is starting to drive me crazy and the pain is more torturous with every passing day.

I try to fall asleep, but the nightmares are unbearable without him. Moreover, even when I get some sleep, I have to face the torture of waking up without him. Every morning, I wake up curled up in bed with Rio in my arms. I roll over and stretch, expecting to see Oliver beside me but always find his side empty .I sit and call out to him, eager to see his blue eyes. Sooner or later, the memories of my ceremony come flooding back to me and my heart shatters daily. Oliver is gone. Everyday, I pull my knees to my chest and stare at the emptiness of my bed, holding back my tears.

Where are you, Olivier?

I try to mind-link him but no matter how hard I try, I can never reach him. Today is no different and I lay back in bed, unable to move.

After several painful minutes in silence, I muster up the strength to get up and shower. As I rummage through the closet, I feel myself go numb and it scares me. I’m empty without him. I grab one of his t-shirts and hoodies, inhaling his scent to feel just a hint of the sparks, but I’m always disappointed.

I slip my medallion on and crash back into bed, completely drained. Rio tugs at the hoodie and it takes all my strength to sit up and pet him. As I stroke his short fur and k**s his puppy paws, I hear a knock at the door.

For a split second, my heart fills with hope that it might be Oliver but I quickly dismantle that thought as I call for the person to come in.

Evan pokes his head in and sighs before walking over and climbing onto the bed with me.

He doesn’t speak, he never does, and just wraps me up in his arms and pulls me to his chest. Our bond is significantly stronger now that I’m an official Luna and I’m grateful to have him. He makes me feel as though I’m not alone.

“We’re going to find him,” he finally murmurs as he rubs circles on my back. “I’m sorry I was too drunk to help that night,” he sighs.

I pull away for a moment and look up at him briefly. “You have your own demons to deal with. I can’t expect you to be there just for me,” I smile and he gives me confused look. “I know there’s something bothering you…” I say while I stroke Rio’s fur. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want too, but I hope you’re okay.”

We sit for a while in silence before he finally tells me the truth.

“Mia is my mate…” he mutters, running his fingers through his hair. “My wolf can sense our bond even though she’s only 17.”

“Oh,” I sigh, knowing this is not happy news for him. “You’re going to reject her, aren’t you?” It’s more of a statement than a question.

“I can’t-” his voice breaks and I wrap him up in my arms. “She hurt you.”

“I have forgiven her but I understand if you cannot… that’s your choice. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing, but it must be born organically. It just saddens me that yet another person I love will not be happily mated,” I lament. “Mia is a special girl and despite everything she did, I know there is a lot of good inside her heart. I hope one day you’ll see it too. I also hope you don’t use me as an excuse to push her away. I would love nothing more than for you two to be together.”

He says nothing, so I just hold him for a bit until we both feel better. Hand in hand, we head downstairs for breakfast and find Carter, David, Javier, Wesley and several soldiers in the dining room bent over a map of some sort.

Javier and Wesley have been over almost every day helping with the search and I will forever be grateful for their help.

“There’s a chance who ever took him might have taken him to one of these tunnels. They’ve been sealed up and abandoned for years since they’ve either collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing.”

“How to do we get our men safely through?” William asks.

“I can do it,” I interrupt their meeting. “I can clear the tunnels or keep them from caving in while you search.”

Everyone turns to greet me, a bit of pity in their eyes.

“Maybe you should stay home, Aurora,” Evan suggests. “I know you want to help but you’re a Luna now. Your pack needs you here, safe.”

I’m about to protest when Celina and Diego walk in.

“I’ll go. I can keep the tunnels open long enough for your men to search. Aurora, you can stay here in case anything comes up. Please, just stay home,” Celina pleads.

“I can go too,” Diego offers. “My power might be useful in this scenario.”

“You’re a silver wolf? What’s your gift?” Javier asks.

Celina rolls her eyes at the sound of his voice and offers Evan a hug, much to Javier’s annoyance.

Oh Celina, you’re helpless.

“Watch.”

Diego sprints full speed towards a wall and runs right through it. He returns through another wall and smiles at us. “It’s called phase shift. I can go through any substance or it can go through me.”

“So is every wolf in your family a silver wolf?” David asks, his eyes shifting between Celina, Diego, and I.

“There are wolves of all types in our family. Only those carrying the Altamirano b***d line are silver wolves though,” Celina sighs, annoyed by his question. “And only those carrying the Reyes b***d line are gold wolves.”

David senses Celina’s hostility and presses his lips together, giving her a nod and turning back to the map.

“Okay, so it’s settled. Diego and Celina will come while Aurora stays back,” Carter says, grabbing the map and walking towards me. “River Moon can’t lose both its Alpha and Luna, Aurora. I know you hate me for keeping you here but I’d rather that than something happening to you too.”

I look around at everyone watching me as if I might fall apart any second. I can’t stand it any longer and storm out of the dining room, Evan at my heels.

“Aurora, wait!” Evan calls out as I run up the stairs. He manages to catch up and grabs my wrist.

“It’s not fair, he’s my mate!” I snap, desperately trying to contain my anger. “I can’t stay here locked up in our room… staring at that lonely bed… surrounded by all his things… I’m losing my mind…” I whimper.

Evan pulls me to his chest and rubs my head as I fight back my tears.

“Okay,” he sighs. “We can go to your garden with Kehlani and Rosalie. I’m sure Ro could use some fresh air too. We’ll take some guards as a precaution.”

Rosalie! I had completely forgotten how she might be feeling losing her brother like this. Would she be angry with me?

We walk up to the Rosalie’s room and find her and Kehlani playing with Matthew.

“Hey,” I force a smile as I walk in and Rosalie runs towards me, embracing me in a hug. “How are you?”

“Hanging on by a thread,” she admits before tears spill over and run down her cheeks. “He and I have always been close… I just hope he’s not in any pain.”

“Me too,” I say, rubbing her back before transferring some soothing energy to her and she sighs. “I’m on house arrest but Evan has agreed to let me go the garden for some fresh air. Would you guys like to come?” I ask.

—

Evan orders 15 guards to patrol the perimeter of the garden and Cameron accompanies us, slinging baby Matthew’s diaper bag over his shoulder. Rio joins us as well, trotting along happily at my side.

I construct a fire pit, lifting tree branches into a hole I formed and lighting them on fire to keep us warm. I then create chairs from thick vines for the girls to sit on and open a vortex to grab some pillows and blankets from my room.

“You sure know how to host,” Kehlani laughs, playing with her son in her lap.

I scan my guards and even without Celina’s emotional powers, I can tell they miss their Alpha and fear his absence. Alphas are more than just the leaders of the pack. They are the role models for the younger wolves, the fiercest soldiers willing to die for their fellow wolves, the older brothers everyone turns to when in need, the peace keepers and protectors. Oliver was all of this to his pack members. They need him…. And so did I.

I open a portal to the kitchen in front of me and the girls watch in awe as I pull a caldron, a molinillo (wooden whisk), milk, a crap ton of mugs and my favorite chocolate blend, Chocolate Abuelita, from it. I grow a thick vine over the fire and hang the caldron over it. I pour the milk and chocolate bars into the caldron and begin to grind and whisk the chocolate until it froths and boils. The aroma of the hot chocolate fills the cold December air.

I pour some hot chocolate for the girls and the gammas before calling a few guards over.

“Yes Luna?” one of them asks and I hand them some mugs of hot chocolate. “Luna?”

“When I was a child, my father used to make me hot chocolate whenever I was upset about something,” I sigh. “I’m not Oliver… and I don’t know how to comfort you but please accept this small gesture as a token of my appreciation for you being here with me. I’m sorry he’s not here.”

They stare at the mugs in their hands before kneeling before me. “Thank you for thinking of us,” one of them whispers. “We are honored to have you as Luna.”

They promptly get up and walk back to their posts while I call over another small batch of guards until all 15 have a mug of hot chocolate in their hands.

We drink and chatter about nothing in particular when, from the corner of my eye, I see a large black owl perched in a tree in the distance. I realize it’s the same owl I saw fly over me the night of the party before Oliver disappeared. It’s gold eyes turn red and it stares at me.

Tais.

Suddenly, it opens its beak, uttering a few words it seems only I hear.

“Media nocte. Hic. Solus,” it says before taking flight and disappearing into the woods.