The Ivory Queen
Chapter 93

***Karina’s POV***

Everything is falling apart. My world is falling apart… and it’s all because of that stupid girl! Why couldn’t she just die and leave my family out of it?

As I watch Salvador leave, I quickly collect myself off the ground and run back to the house. Chava knows and soon everyone else will too. I can’t stay here any longer.

Grabbing a suitcase, I stuff it with clothes, pictures, some savings and my documents. In a hurry, I write a letter to Mia and Chava, giving them my last goodbyes. They probably won’t read it but I want them to know I did it all for them. As I open the door to leave, Maira walks by.

“Kari, que haces {What are you doing?}” she asks.

Pinche vieja metiche! {F*****g nosy bitch}

“Maira!” I sing, forcing a smile. “How are you?”

“Good, where are you going?”

I look at my suitcase. “A little trip. I’ll be back soon,” I lie.

She sighs. “Karina, por favor. Don’t comeback a mess. Your kids don’t need to see any worse!.”

“Are you done with your sermon? Because I didn’t ask for your advice. Dejame en Paz! {Leave me alone}!” I snap, heading towards the car and I stuffing my luggage inside.

As I drive off, I see Maira in my rear view mirror, frowning at me.

Where are we going? My wolf, Tanya, asks.

I block her out and focus on my driving. When I hit the city, I head to a small motel, the same one Emiliano and I stayed in when we first arrived to California 18 years ago.

Emi. Como te extraño. {how I miss you}.

I check myself into a small room and get settled. My anxiety gets the best of me though and I walk to the nearest liquor store for some liquid therapy.

Emiliano… Tanya whimpers.

My hands tremble as I open the bottle of tequila, desperate to silence Tanya’s whimpering and pour it straight into my mouth. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Looks like I became my father after all. Funny how that happens. We become the thing we hate the most.

Emiliano… Tanya cries.

Sober or drunk, Emiliano was always in my thoughts. He left a hole in my heart when he died and no matter how much I drank, I could never fill it. I stare down at the bottle and frown. What would Emiliano say if he saw me like this?

I drink some more, eager to feel nothing for a while in my drunken stupor when I hear someone knock on the door.

Who could that be?

Panic settles in the pit of my stomach as I quickly stuff the bottle in the mini fridge. I find a tall handsome man at the door with deep blue eyes and soft brown hair. He looks familiar but I can’t quite figure out where I’ve seen him. My mind is already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

He smiles politely at me.

“Karina, is it?” He asks, gesturing towards me. “Can I come in?”

“Do I know you?” I ask, puzzled by this man’s presence.

“My name is David. I’m here on behalf of some close friends of yours.”

Friends?

He g****s and his blue eyes turn bright red.

“Hola querida,” he smiles, his voice morphing into that of a female. “It’s been a few years since we last spoke. Let’s catch up.”

The b***d drains from my face as the voice registers in my mind. I stumble back into the room and the man enters, closing the door behind him.

“W-what do you want, Ira?” I mutter, desperately looking for a way out of here.

“Come on, now Karina. Is that how you treat a friend?” He giggles.

My anger boils inside me and I snarl at her. “You are not my friend. You killed my husband! You broke the agreement!”

“Ah, ah, ah, I did not.” She says, wagging his finger. “You asked for your children’s protection. Not your husband.”

“f**k you,” I snap. “You hurt my daughter.”

“Ah, well that was a necessary precaution. She saw something she shouldn’t have and we had to make sure she couldn’t remember. Memory erasing is a tricky task and she’s a fighter. It’s very difficult to cast a spell on an unwilling victim. “

“Get out!” I shout, pointing to the door. “Leave me alone!”

“No can do, darling. We have some things to discuss. You see, I need you.”

“Not my problem.”

“I was afraid you would say that so I came prepared. You help me or I kill your daughter. Very simple.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh how cute, but you know very well I’m not joking. No, in fact you know exactly what I’m capable of when people don’t take my threats very seriously, don’t you?” She says, tilting his head to the side in amusement.

Flash backs to the m******e of Miramar flood my mind and I unconsciously whimper as the screams, the b***d, and all those lifeless bodies come rushing towards me at full speed.

I close my eyes, furiously shaking my head, to stop the images from ripping through the last bit of my sanity.

“I see I’ve jogged your memory,” Ira giggles.

I scowl at her. “You bitch-“

“No need for the name calling,” she grins. “So deal or no deal?”

“I’m afraid I can’t be much help,” I growl through my teeth. “My children know what I did and I assume Aurora does too. No one trusts me.”

Her grin widens. “That won’t be a problem. I love a challenge Besides, I’m prepared to offer you something you can’t refuse.”

“What?”

“Why, your family of course. One little spell and I can erase all the memories in their heads once this is all over. Think about. Your kids won’t remember the pain you’ve caused. You can go away to a new place, restart your life, and live in peace with your son and daughter.”

Leave this nightmare all behind? Goddess could this be a trap? It’s too good to be true.

Ira smirks. “So deal or no deal?”

I swallow hard. “What do I have to do?”

She smiles triumphantly at me. “I hear you were quite the warrior in Sol de Oro,” she snickers. “Your father was a general, was he not? He trained you mercilessly from a young age… Turned you into a killing machine, if I’m not mistaken. Very good with all sorts of weapons, but swords were your weapon of choice…”

“Spit it out already!”

Ira tosses me a bag of white powder. “Take this. I need you sober for this assignment. Now, listen very carefully…”

*** Celina’s POV***

“My heart will always belong to you, but I will give you what you want. I accept your rejection. I, Javier Salazar accept-“

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” I scream, covering my ears with my hands and shaking my head. “Stop! Don’t …. Say anything… Just-Just go! Please just leave me alone. I just want to be alone!”

Javier turns back to me, stunned by my reaction and remains in place, angering me.

“I said LEAVE!” I command.

He stiffens with at the command and begins walking away.

I watch Javier’s figure grow smaller as he walks back towards the house, my heart caught in my throat. Sarai’s wails are unbearable and I could offer nothing to comfort her. I was shattering into a million pieces.

This is what I wanted, so why did I stop him?

Coward! Sarai screams. You coward!

Why am I the coward?

Because you don’t have the courage to love him despite his flaws! COWARD!

But he hurt our sister. He locked her in that closet, watched her get tortured for years. He did nothing for her!

Javier is human! All it takes is a little love to heal his soul. She sneers. You can change him!

I’m so confused. Why did Moon Goddess have to pick him as my mate? Why him?

I bury my face in Javier’s t-shirt as tears roll down my cheeks. It still smells like him and much to my surprise, I find that comforting. The cold December air, however, forces me to change back into my clothes. I take a seat on the bare ground, crossing my legs and laying the t-shirt in my lap. Suddenly, I hear a rustling in the trees and a familiar scents hits my nose. Two black paws appear in my line of vision and I look up to see Danny’s grey wolf looking down at me.

I hold back a chuckle as I remember Javier being jealous of my own Dad comforting me earlier.

Men as such idiots, I mutter to myself.

“Ay mija,” Dad mind links me. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know,” I mumble, pulling at a blade of grass to avoid his eyes.

I feel his gaze on me and for a few seconds, he says nothing, just stares at me. He sits on his hind legs across from me and waits for me to speak. When I remain silent, he decides to break the silence.

“Grief … it -uh- it can turn people into the worst kinds of monsters…” he says quietly. “Your mate… I know he hurt your sister but he was grieving Emiliano’s death-“

“That doesn’t excuse what he did – what they did. Aurora was grieving too and look at her! She still cares about them!” I protest.

“Aurora is stronger than most people,” Danny sighs. “It takes a lot of strength and courage to turn the other cheek… to not blame people for their past mistakes … to give them a second chance to redeem themselves. It takes a lot of courage to forgive. I thought you were brave, mija. You always have been. So why are you so afraid now?”

I don’t answer and he nudges me with his snout.

“Hey, princess or not, I am still your dad. Talk to me, Celi. What are you so afraid of?”

“What if he hurts me?” I finally break, a few tears spilling onto my cheeks.

“Then I castrate him,” he shrugs, making me burst into laughter.

Dad always knew how to make me laugh.

My laughter quickly morphs into sobs when the realization that I almost lost my mate hits me. Dad whines and I crawl over to him, burying my face in his fur and crying.

“Moon Goddess works in mysterious way, mi niña. There must be a reason she has given you this burden to carry. Perhaps pairing you with Javier was meant as a lesson for him to treat people more kindly and not jump to conclusions. Perhaps this was a test of your strength and courage. I can’t say for sure, but all I know is, everything that is meant to happen will happen. Just be patient, mija. Your happiness will come.”

We hear some footsteps coming towards us, leaves crackling with every step. When we look up, the Ivory queen stands before us, her piercing pink and purple eyes watching us with sadness.

Danny lowers his head in a respectful bow.

“I’ll let you two talk,” he says, excusing himself, before taking off in the direction of the house.

Once alone, Aurora sits on her hind legs across from me. I expect her to console me but she’s surprises me with her silence.

“So are we just going to stare at each other?” I say, forcing a laugh but it quickly dies down and I sigh.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know.. I just felt your pain.”

She jumps up to her feet and comes towards me, licking my face.

“You okay?” She asks.

“Your breath stinks!” I chuckle, changing the subject. I’ve already cried enough for one day. I wipe her slobber and she growls at me. “I’m kidding. Your wolf has great personal hygiene,” I add with a laugh.

She nuzzles my face and I caress her snout.

We really are just two heart broken sisters, aren’t we?

“You know for someone so adamant on forcing me to express my feelings, you seem to run away from yours,” she whispers.

“I guess we both suck,” I shrug and she laughs, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Want to train and repress our feelings together?”

She nods happily and her eyes fog over.

I jump to my feet with a g***n. “Argh, do you have to invite Evan? Can’t we just fight each other in peace?”

She shakes her head.

“I’m honoring my agreement with Oliver.. And besides ..” she sighs. “I think Evan could use the distraction as well…”

Ah right. Evan and Mia. I wonder if he’s having better luck than I am with the whole evil mates thing. Does she know about them yet?

She kneels down and I climb onto her back. Aurora sprints back to the house and I wait anxiously by the fountain while she changes into an over sized t shirt.

“Javier and Mia went home,” she says when she returns. “So don’t be worried. They’re gone.”

I give her a nod but that doesn’t make me feel better.

We quickly get on some work out gear and meet Evan at the bottom of the stairs.

“Look at us, the three miserable musketeers,” I chirp.

Aurora frowns but Evan gets a kick out of it and laughs.

Just then, Diego comes running in and pulls me into a hug.

“Hey Celi, how are you doing?” he murmurs in my ears. “I’ll f*****g kill him, I swear I’ll-“

“Shut up,” I sigh. “I rejected him, remember? And I‘ll be fine. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going training.” I say, pulling myself free from his grip.

“Mind if I tag along? I could go for a few sparring rounds,” Diego asks.

———

Training lasts for over 5 hours and I’m exhausted. Aurora went hard. I guess she had more pent up anger than I imagined. I didn’t mind though, it was good to blow off some steam. It starts to rain and we decide to call it a day. We finish healing each other and the boys and start our walk back to the house, chattering away to keep our minds busy when Aurora stops dead in her tracks.

“Hey, why’d you stop?” Evan asks, tugging at her hand. “Hey kid, come on! What’s gotten into you?!”

Aurora doesn’t budge, her eyes glued to something in the distance. I follow her gaze and see a black owl perched on a tall branch a few feet away from us, it’s gold eyes suddenly switching to a b***d red color.