The Ivory Queen
Chapter 110

***Celina’s POV***

Aurora returns to River Moon and asks me to take charge of the Amethyst transfers while she takes care of her pack.

“Name?” I ask the last girl I need to complete my patient sheet.

“Nina,” she murmurs quietly. “Nina Morozov.”

“Do you have any children?”

She’s nods to one of the small pups in the bed beside her. “Ilya, he’s 2.”

“Okay. And your mate’s name?” I ask, jotting down her information on my clip board.

She shakes her head “Sefan is Ilya’s father, but he is not my mate,” she says, her voice just above a whisper

I want to ask more about this Sefan character but sensing her turmoil, I just sit down on her bed. “Shh. It’s okay. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

She closes her eyes and nods her head.

“Okay. I’ll have you and Ilya transferred together in the same room when you get to River Moon, okay?”

She grabs my wrist . “And,” she pauses, fearfully looking around as if some monster might burst through the door any second. “And… Sefan?”

I smile at her. “He’s staying here in prison. I told you, he can’t hurt you anymore. Aurora won’t allow it.”

For the first time since I’ve spoken to this woman, she smiles at the mention of Aurora.

“Luna Aurora… is she my Luna now?” she asks.

“It seems she’s claimed you,” I chuckle. “Won’t be long before she formally announces your entrance into River Moon. Don’t worry though. You’re in good hands. She’ll take care of you if it’s the last thing she does. Now rest up. You leave in a few hours.”

The girl nods and settles back into her bed, seemingly at ease with the knowledge that she would soon leave this place. I walk over to the next bed and find the same woman Aurora had spoken to earlier, Nadia.

“Is it true all the men are in prison?” She asks. “All of them?”

“Yes,” I reply. “Every single monster-“

“They’re not all monsters,” Nina protests. “Not my Misha.”

I raise my brow at this. All the wolves in prison were assholes as far as I could tell.

“Nikolai was ruthless and like his father before him, he did not believe in mates. They were a weakness in his eyes and a potential sign of disloyalty, someone else you would be loyal other than the Alpha. Alpha Nikolai couldn’t have that so we were forbidden to have mates. When we turned 18, we were brought before the Alpha and forced to seek out our mate only to reject them.”

“That’s awful!”

She nods solemnly. “Some of us pretended not to sense our mates among the men or women. I sensed Misha the second I saw him but I knew better than to declare him as mine. We both kept quiet when Nikolai asked if I could sense my mate and luckily, years of practice made me an excellent liar,”

“And crazy,” Nadia mutters. “You’re lucky you two never got caught.”

“Caught?”

Nina sighs. “If you were caught with a mate, you were killed on sight. No questions asked…” She heaves even harder. “Many of the men aren’t evil… just following orders and trying to survive like the rest of us. In the Alpha’s eyes, woman were just breeding whores he could use and of course, some shared his views, taking advantage of Nikolai’s no mate policy to use anyone they pleased. Sefan picked me.” Tears well up in her eyes. “Misha felt everything… but he could do nothing to stop it or he would risk giving us both away. His heart shattered when I became pregnant with Ilya.” A weak smile creeps on her face. “But he still loves him like a son.” She sits up in her bed. “Do you think I could see him before being transferred?”

I call Chris and inform him of the request.

“I’m sorry, the warriors are still being processed and besides, none of them are allowed to be released per Aurora’s request. I’m afraid I can’t bring a prisoner over,” he replies.

Nina looks defeated at the thought of once again being torn apart from her mate. I send a quick mind link to Aurora, asking for permission for his release.

“Are they done being processed?” She asks.

“No, not yet.”

She goes silent for a moment. “Get the name of every prisoner with a good mate and give it to Javier or Wesley. I’ll have them released and brought to River Moon for reunification later tonight.”

I turn to the ladies. “I need the name of every man you want released.”

Nina squeals with unadulterated joy. “Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Bless Luna Aurora’s heart!” She cries. “I’ll finally get to be with my mate!”

I make the announcements to the other woman and a handful rush to me.

“Demitri.”

“My brother Sacha.”

“Mikahail!”

“Ivan.”

Within twenty minutes, I have a list of about 30 men which I hand off to Chris with Aurora’s instructions.

Nina can’t stop bouncing with glee and her joy is contagious. I smile like a fool beside her.

“I’m free to love him!” She cries. “Oh goddess, I can scream his name to the world! Misha is my mate! Misha! Misha!” Nina giggles, turning to me with a beautiful gleam in her eyes. “What’s River Moon like?” she asks. “What are the people like?” Her face turns slightly more serious and her voice grows quiet. “What’s the Alpha like? He hasn’t come to see us.”

A small crowd of women gathers around me, eager to find out about their future home.

“I honestly haven’t had much time to explore it. We’ve been preoccupied,” I respond. “Oliver is…” I pause. The Alpha is missing, I wanted to say but it seemed like an detail they needn’t worry about just yet. “He’s a good man. And he adores my sister. It’s nauseating how much they love each other.”

“Oh, I hope to find a mate,” Nadia says dreamily. “Maybe I’ll find one in River Moon!”

“Do you have a mate?” Nina asks.

My face flushes without my permission as an image of Javier flashes through my mind, giving me away instantly.

“You do!” Nina squeals excitedly. “What’s he like? Have we met him?” she adds, looking around at the guards watching over us.

I frown at her. “He’s …uh…. It’s complicated,” I shrug, suddenly finding my fingernails extremely interesting.

“What’s complicated about a mate?” she laughs. “He loves you. You love him. Seems pretty straight forward to me.”

“I don’t love him,” I mutter.

Liar! Sarahi snarls. You do love him!

I ignore my wolf’s comment and look up to see several girls curiously staring at me.

“He’s…. Look he’s a jerk who’s done some bad things that I can’t over look. I just can’t forgive him,” I snap, my voice making them all flinch. “I’m sorry.”

Nina reaches for my hand. “Did he hurt you too?”

I shake my head. “His offense was not against me. It’s just…. He hurt someone I care about.”

“And this person that he hurt, does he still hurt them?” Nadia asks.

“Well, no… uh.. They’re actually on good terms…”

“So then why can’t you forgive him?” Nadia asks.

“I… I-I don’t know! I Just can’t!” I g***n, growing frustrated with myself. I didn’t even understand my own feelings.

Nina wraps her arms around me and I let her hold me as I try to make sense of my situation.

“Take it from someone who’s had to give up their mate for years, don’t let your anger ruin this love for you. Don’t throw away your mate. Forgive him. You’ll regret every moment you spend apart.”

Suddenly the doors to the infirmary burst open, Javier barging in. Several smiling children come rushing towards him, including little Ilya, eager to say hello to him.

“Alpha Javier!” they cry, reaching up for him.

Javier lifts Ilya into his arms, another group swarming him.

“Oh it’s Alpha Javier!” Nadia blushes, a slight jealous rage building in my chest. It takes a bit of self control for me not to lash out her.

Why is everyone so excited to see him?

Before I can ask, Nadia leans towards me.

“He’s the alpha that rescued us from our prisons,” she whispers. “He’s the one who made sure no one could hurt us again.”

“And,” Nina adds. “He personally reunited me with Ilya when we got to the hospital. He didn’t leave my little Ilya alone until he made sure a nurse set up the bed for Ilya to be next to me. He truly is a caring Alpha.”

I look up at Javier and our eyes meet briefly. A slight blush reddens his cheeks and he’s the first to look away. Sarahi whimpers, wanting him to look once more at us. He slowly makes his way over to us, setting Ilya down in Nina’s lap.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says, flashing a smile at everyone and bowing slightly to me. “Your highness,” he nods.

A part of me wishes he’d say my name but I quickly tuck that feeling away, forcing my gaze onto my lap. I feel his eyes settle on me, making my heart race uncontrollably.

“How can I help you, Alpha?” I finally ask, still keeping my gaze away from him.

He clears his throat. “I- ahem- I came to check the progress of the transfers. Do you have the list of all the people going to River Moon?”

“Yes, its finished. Chris could have given you the list and you could have saved yourself a trip, don’t you think?” I snap, unable to keep the bitterness from seeping out.

There’s an awkward pause, the tension between us thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Right,” he mutters. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking-“

“Whatever,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. I get up to grab the clip board from Nadia’s bed and hand it to him.

Our fingers brush against each other, sending warm tingles up and down my arms. I flinch at the contact, pulling my arm back instantly and letting the clipboard drop to the ground.

Javier and I scramble to pick it up at the same time, our heads butting against each other.

“Sorry,” he mutters as I rub at my forehead. He bends down to pick up the clipboard.

I don’t answer. Sensing my growing discomfort, he clears his throat again and raises the clipboard up.

“Umm… thank you. I’ll give this to the River Moon Hospital staff and have the vans brought over so we can start transferring. I’ll release the prisoners later in the evening,” he says, before excusing himself and turning on his heel to leave.

I feel everyone’s eyes on me but it’s Niña who breaks the silence.

“He’s your mate, isn’t he?”

My silence answers her question and she offers her hand to me.

“Well, it’s clear you both like each other,” she chuckles, her smile softening her features. “You should go talk to him.”

I shake my head. “I-I don’t even know what to say.”

“Anything!” Nina says, pushing me towards the exit. “Go now before he leaves the building!”

The other girls chime in their agreement and without thinking, my legs starting carrying me towards the door.

I’m sprinting by the time I make it out of the building, my eyes searching frantically for any sign of him. When I see Javier turn the corner towards the prison, I teleport right in front of him.

He freezes in place, his eyes full of surprise and confusion. “Your Highness, d-did I forget something?”

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I didn’t think I’d make it this far and I hadn’t thought of anything to say.

“Your Highness-“

“Don’t call me that,” I snarl, making his mouth snap shut. “Just… shut up.”

He nods obediently. We stand there in silence for several minutes, neither of us moving. Javier rolls the list in his hands, tapping it against his open palm.

“Your Highness, you don’t have to-“

“I said don’t call me that!” I growl at him. “Celina! My name is Celina!”

He nods again. “Celina.”

My stomach does somersaults as my name leaves his lips. His perfect, beautiful lips…

“Celina, I’m really sorry if I offended you by coming down here. I-“

“Stop!” I push my hands into my hair, growing frustrated with myself.

Why couldn’t I just say how I feel?

Another few minutes crawl by in silence as I think. Tears well up in my eyes and I can tell he’s itching to comfort me when he takes a few steps towards me. I lift a hand to stop him, knowing if I caught a whiff of his scent, I would lose my mind but he doesn’t stop moving closer.

“Stop,” I whimper, swinging my arms at him.

He drops the clipboard as I land a few blows before he grabs both of my wrists and holds them against my sides. His scent is so soothing and I feel myself drifting off into peace. It confuses me.

“Why can’t I hate you?” I scream at him.

His closes his eyes and leans his forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m sorry for everything.”

I feel his hands cup my cheeks, his thumbs tracing patterns on my face. I love how gentle he can be.

But he could also be cruel, I remind myself as I break free from his arms and step away from him..

“I deserve to be happy,” I declare, the sound of my voice making him go still. “I deserve to love my mate.”

A ray of sun bursts through the clouds, giving his brown eyes a red hue to them as he looks at me.

“And I deserve to be loved,” I add, my voice cracking slightly as a few tears spill onto my cheeks. “I’ve tried to get you out of my head. Believe me, I’ve tried.” I wipe at my tears . “But no matter what I do, whenever I think of my happiness, you’re always in the picture.”

His eyes gleam with hope.

“And I don’t know why,” I croak. “I don’t know why I can’t let you go!”

I let my head rest between my hands for a moment to catch my bearings before finally looking back up at him.

“You scare me,” I whimper. “Because if you could hurt her, how do I know you won’t turn on me too?”

“I would never,” He shakes his head. “I would never hurt you.”

“You don’t know that!” I retort, my voice cracking once more.

“I love you,” he says. “I love you, Celina. And I swear to you with every fiber in my body, I will never hurt you. Ever.”

Sarahi howls with joy at his declaration and a kaleidoscope of butterflies flutters in my belly.

“You don’t mean that,“ I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “You don-“

An incredible smile stretches from ear to ear on his face. “Yes I do.”

“Do you promise?” I whimper.

“I swear it with my life, until my final breath.”

“You’re mine? Only mine?”

Within seconds, the space between us vanishes and I find myself nestled up against him, our bodies fitting together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle. My arms go around his neck as his lifts me up into his arms.

“I’m yours,” he whispers as he presses his lips against mine.