The Ivory Queen
Chapter 115

*** Celina’s POV***

We search all day for Aurora but unfortunately for us, her powers make her virtually untraceable. With our time almost up, Patrick takes Gwen to Artaud Inc. while the rest of us continue to search for the missing Luna. I try mind-linking her but her walls are up, blocking me entirely.

“It’s going to be okay, Cel,” Javier says, kissing my forehead. “We’ll find her.”

Tears spill onto my cheeks. I had felt awful not speaking up earlier, but what could I do? I know she wants Oliver back but there was no way in hell we could give those witches our b***d.

As the sun settles over the horizon, Aurora finally returns, sticks and dirt in her hair.

“Goddess, what did you do?” I gasp as I rush to her. “Where were you? We were worried sick looking for you-“

She doesn’t reply, pushing past me as she walks into the house, her gaze cold and lifeless.

“Aurora,” Evan calls out, catching her wrist as she attempts to climb up the stairs. “Aurora, please wait.”

She freezes in her tracks, her back to us. “I’m tired,” she croaks, her voice raspy. “I need a bath.”

“I’ll help you,” I call out, hoping she might open up to me but much to my dismay she continues climbing up the stairs.

“Don’t bother,” she mumbles. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Kid,” Evan coaxes as he climbs after her. “Kid, I-“

“Oh for f***s sakes, leave me ALONE!” she shrieks, Evan screeching to a halt. “I don’t need your help! I don’t want you help! I want to be left ALONE!” The pain in her eyes is excruciating and I force my gaze onto my feet to keep from crying for forgiveness. “I’m tired,” she whispers as she disappears into the hallway.

We remain still in the foyer, unsure what to do with ourselves. Mom and Dad return from the pack hospital, the men and women finally reunited.

I inform them of the decision made at the pack meeting and they both seem to understand.

“She’s devastated,” Danny says as he pulls me into a hug. “But she knows in her heart it’s the right decision. And that’s what’s killing her.”

“I feel awful,” I whimper into his chest. “I get my love but I feel like I’ve just taken hers.”

“You did no such thing,” Valentina reassures. “You can’t blame yourself for things out of your control,” she says, rubbing my back.

“She deserves to be happy!” I cry into my Dad’s chest. “After everything she’s been through… I-it’s not fair!”

“I know,” Dad says, squeezing me harder. “It’s going to be okay, though. Your sister is strong… She’ll figure out how to survive this.”

My parents console me for a while longer as we wait for Aurora to come down for dinner. When she does, she’s wearing one of Oliver’s sweaters, his scent still lingering on its fabric. She walks silently into the dining room, her eyes red and puffy as she stares blankly at the food on the table. A tiny smile creeps up on her face as her gaze shifts between the food and Oliver’s seat.

Jaime rushes to her, placing a sope de pollo on her plate as we had requested. They were her favorite. We all hold our breaths as we wait for her to take a bite and swallow quietly. When she looks back up at us, her eyes glisten with unshed tears that she quickly blinks away.

We eat in silence, all of us watching her take bite after bite, a bit relieved to she was eating.

Well at least she isn’t starving herself anymore, Sarahi sighs.

With her sope gone, Aurora wipes her mouth and clears her throat, catching our attention.

“Call the allies,” she orders, getting to her feet. “As my last act as Luna of River Moon, I will be the one sentencing the Alpha to his death.” She says nothing more as she turns to leave.

We follow her into the living room where she curls up on the couch, Rio and Santos climbing on with her.

“Aurora, what do you mean last act as Luna?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Well isn’t obvious? Oliver gave me this title and with him and Rosalie gone, the title goes to the next in the command line.”

“Carter is no shape to lead,” Evan sighs. “We still need you as our Luna.”

She shakes her head furiously, holding her head in her hands. “I can’t do this anymore, not without him. I’m done. I just want to disappear after this.”

We try to talk some sense into her but no matter how much we plead, she refuses to give in.

As the hour draws near for the decision to be executed, she grows restless, whimpering into her pillow. If we try to comfort her, however, she growls at us, refusing to let us touch her. Carter eventually comes out of hiding, a bottle of vodka in his hand. He too is restless, calling Aurora endless names and obscenities. Evan tries to comfort him, but no matter what he says, Carter hears none of it, too busy lost in his drunken despair.

Patrick, Jonathan, Malik, Jared, and Wesley arrive ten minutes before midnight, a solemn look on all their faces. Aurora sits up on the couch, producing the envelope with the chalk from her pocket and setting it on the table. When the clock strikes midnight, we all turn to look at her, holding our breathes in anticipation.

Aurora stares at the chalk but does not move.

“Do you want me to do it?” I ask meekly, reaching for the chalk.

Her hand catches my wrist and squeezes it harshly.

“Do. Not. Touch. It,” she snarls. “I’ll do it.”

I nod frantically, retracting my arm and massaging my wrist. Aurora picks up the chalk, her l*p quivering as she holds back a sob. A few tears spill onto her cheeks and she wipes them with the back of her hand before hardening her face. Her hand trembles as she presses the chalk to the coffee table, and for a few seconds, she doesn’t move.

“Aurora,” Alpha Patrick sighs. “You have to do it.”

“Just give me a minute,” Aurora pleads. “Just a minute.”

Carter looks at Aurora with such anger, Evan and Chava stand close to her in protective stances just in case he attacks.

A few seconds pass by before she drags the chalk across the surface of the table, forming the letters N O neatly on the wood. When she’s finished, Aurora’s grip on the chalk tightens, turning it to dust. She does not say a word as she settles back onto the couch. She does not shed a tear, nor does she scream or shout at the top her lungs. She just sits perfectly still, sucking in a big gulp of air and holding it in until her face turns red before she lets it out slowly.

I try sitting beside her but one glare from her lets me know she did not want comfort. Evan’s sudden gasp catches our attention and he points to the table.

“Look!” he says.

Before our eyes, white letters appear of the wooden table spelling “WRONG ANSWER” out in capital letters.

I force my gaze to my feet, unable to meet Aurora’s eyes. No one goes home, not wanting to leave Aurora alone even if she didn’t want to be comforted.

She curls up on the couch in silence. Hours crawl by until day breaks once more, the morning bringing no news of Oliver or Rosalie. The cooks make breakfast and I try to coax Aurora to eat, but she turns over on the couch, her back facing me.

—

The sun rises and falls, the sky filling with stars again as midnight and the solstice quickly approach. Aurora has yet to utter a single word. I crouch beside the couch, hoping to get a reaction from her.

“You need to eat and get some rest,” I say sternly, bringing a bowl of soup for her.

She gets to her feet, smoothing down her clothes a bit before pushing past me and walking towards the foyer.

“Where are you going?” I call out as we all follow her out the front door of the pack house.

“I-I need to tell Simone and David,” she says, picking up the pace. “They need to know what I did.”

“Not now,” I say, managing to catch up to her and pulling on her forearm. “Simone and David can wait -“

“Wait for what?” Simone asks as she and David walk into the walkway unannounced. Simone looks around the group, taking in the situation. “Have you found my son and daughter?”

Dread settles into the pit of my stomach as Aurora looks up at her, agony welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill onto her cheeks.

Simone’s breath hitches as she clutches her chest, David barely catching her as she collapses against him. She opens her mouth to scream but nothing comes out and she gasps for air.

“My babies…” she cries. “My babies! Oh goddess, my babies!”

“I’m sorry Simone,” Patrick says quietly. “But she had no other choice.”

Simone’s pain turns to pure rage. “No other choice? No choice!? She had one job to do! One! Protect this pack and it’s members! And she failed.” She sneers, turning to Aurora. “You failed! You took my babies from me! I hope to Moon Goddess you never find love again because you don’t deserve to be happy anymore after what you’ve done-“

And for the first time today, Aurora finally loses her composure, charging at Simone and knocking her to the ground. Her hands go around Simone’s neck, squeezing with every ounce of strength she had left to give. David and Evan try to pull her off but Aurora had finally snapped, activating her telekinetic powers to keep them both away. Simone squirms beneath Aurora’s weight, clawing at her hands to escape but it’s not use.

As much as I’d love for Aurora to finish her off, I knew Aurora was not a killer. She would regret this one day.

“Aurora let her go,” I call out as walk over to her and grab at her shoulders.

It’s like she’s in a trance though, unwilling to move as she keeps squeezing Simone’s throat until she finally goes limp.

Panicking, I tug on Aurora’s arms and she luckily lets me pull her off of Simone. I place my fingers on Simone’s neck and check her pulse, feeling the faint pumping against my fingertips.

“She’s still alive,” I sigh in relief, dusting myself off as I stand.

Aurora releases David and Evan, the former rushing to his wife and lifting her in his arms. He growls at Aurora and is met by Chava and Evan’s growls. Aurora doesn’t even respond, though, once again shutting of her emotions.

“Get her out from my sight,” Aurora mutters. “And if she ever speaks to me that way again, David,” she adds with a voice filled with ice. “I’ll kill her. I mean it, I’ll kill her.”

David gives a final growl before turning on his heel and marching away. We watch him disappear down the main road when the sound of flapping of wings makes my b***d run cold. We look up to see the black owl rushing towards us, its bulging red eyes glaring at us and a tiny envelope in its talons. As it flies over us, the envelope falls into Aurora’s hands before the bird disappears from sight into a portal.

We all watch Aurora frantically open the envelope and pour out a black USB drive into her hand.

A USB drive?

Aurora seems to understand what it’s for because she rushes inside the house without a word. We run after her and find her plugging in the drive onto the TV in the entertainment room.

A video of a shirtless Oliver appears on the screen, his arms chained above his head from the ceiling. He looks badly beaten and bruised, b***d and sweat dripping down his chest as he stares directly at the camera.

Oh no…

“It’s going to be okay, baby,” he whispers, making Aurora burst into tears. “It’s not your fault.”

Karina emerges from the shadows behind him, a silver dagger in her hand. She looks at the camera and smirks knowingly before placing the dagger to Oliver’s chest. He growls at her as she presses the blade on his skin, drawing b***d. She drags the blade across his chest as he hisses in pain, b***d spilling onto his pale skin.

She proceeds to make a series of cuts and slices on him, Oliver desperately trying to contain his pain as he trembles.

Oh Goddess, she’s going to torture him.

Aurora whimpers as some one off camera hands Karina a whip with a spiky ball at the end.

“Aurora don’t look,” Evan pleads, pulling her into his arms to shield her eyes as Karina cracks the whip on Oliver’s back.

Aurora pushes him away, her filling with tears as the whip tears into Oliver’s back. Karina picks up the pace of her whipping and soon Oliver’s screams ring in our ears

“Turn it off!” Evan snaps at no one in particular.

Aurora remains frozen, too busy watching the video to react. Frustrated, Evan reaches for the remote only for Aurora to grab it first and clutch it to her chest.

“NO” she whimpers. “We did this to him … so we’re going to watch. We have to watch.”

I shake my head. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea-“

“I DON’T CARE!” she growls, silencing me instantly.

“Oh goddess,” Mia cries, pulling our attention back to the screen.

Karina has the Soul of Insanity in her hands, pointing the blade over Oliver’s heart.

“You made the right decision,” Oliver pants. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

Aurora’s sobs were heart shattering as she hangs onto his every word.

“Close your eyes baby,” He pleads. “Please close-“

“Shut your blubbering, Alpha,” Karina snarls, slapping him across the face.

Oliver looks defiantly at her. “f**k yo-“

Before he can finish his sentence, Karina buries the blade in his chest, Oliver’s body stiffening instantly. Blooding spills from his lips as she turns the blade left and right, digging it deeper in to his heart.

The wound pumps out large amounts of b***d onto his stomach and drips down to his feet. Aurora lets out an earth shattering scream, collapsing onto her knees.

“NO!” She wails, Karina pulling out the sword from his chest, leaving a gaping wound over his heart. “No Oliver! Goddess, please no! No! No!”

She runs to the TV, banging on the screen and screaming obscenities at it. Evan attempts to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her away.

“No!” She shrieks in protest, flailing her arms and legs to escape Evan’s grip.

“I love you,” Oliver rasps before his body goes still, the chains being the only thing left to hold him up.

It’s enough to send Aurora over the edge. She manages to escape Evan’s arms, her hands and wrists bursting into flames. She tilts her head up to scream, purple fire exploding from her mouth.

Mesmerized and afraid, we all take a step back from her.

She screams for what seems like hours, letting the world know she had lost her mate and when she’s finished, the flames extinguish and her limp body crashes onto the floor.