The Ivory Queen
Chapter 31

***Aurora POV’s***

As I open my mouth to call for help, Laura pushes me inside the room, covering my mouth with her hand.

“Don’t scream, I’m not here to hurt you,” she says in hushed tones.

Removing her hand from my mouth, she goes back to close the door. I run behind the desk, grabbing my phone and dialing Oliver.

“No please don’t call Oliver! I’m really not here to hurt you!” she pleads taking a few steps towards me. I use the chair as a shield to keep our distance.

“W-What do you w-want?” I stammer, failing to sound confident.

“I came here to apologize for what I did to you yesterday,” she replies, hanging her head. “I’m really sorry for breaking you fingers and slapping you. I didn’t- I was just angry that I lost my family because of the alliance.”

I keep my distance, afraid this was a just some ploy to hurt me again. I inch towards the window just in case I need to jump out at any given point.

“I’ve only been at River Moon for less than a week, just a couple days before Lluvia Blanca was attacked. My brother is-is one of their warriors and he was hurt during the attack. I wanted to visit yesterday but the borders were closed,” she pauses, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I know that’s not an excuse for treating you the way I did but I couldn’t help it. I was so just so angry and-and then I remembered all those rumors about you from back home. Then Erin told us how you killed her brother and I just- I just snapped.”

She falls to her knees, crying furiously. My heart breaks a little remembering how desperate I felt when I heard Mia was attacked.

“My sister was hurt during the attack too,” I say quietly. “I was able to help her.”

Laura looks at me with teary eyes. “Yeah, Oliver mentioned that last night. I didn’t know,” she sniffles, wiping her tears. “That’s why I came to apologize. I didn’t realize we were on the same boat.”

We are both quiet for a while unsure how to comfort each other.

“I uh, I wanted to thank you for protecting me from Oliver after what I did,” she says with shame.

“I didn’t do it for you,” I correct her quickly. “I just don’t want to live with hate in my heart. I’ve seen what it can do to people,” I add solemnly, flinching at the memory of all the beatings I took from my family.

“I really am sorry,” Laura says getting up on her feet. “I hope one day you can forgive me.”

I stay quiet for a moment, measuring her words. She seems sincere. As Laura turns to leave, I grab her by the arm and pull her into a hug.

“I-I forgive you.”

Laura bursts into fresh tears and returns the hug, gripping my shirt tightly as she lets her emotions run free. I run my hand in circles along her back to calm her down.

Rosalie bursts through the door abruptly, causing Laura and I to pull apart. She growls at Laura, clearly fighting to control her wolf.

“What is SHE doing here?” she snarls.

“Ro it’s ok,” I say stepping in front of Laura and holding my up my hands. “She just came to apologize.”

Rosalie doesn’t move, still not trusting Laura. I walk toward her slowly.

“Ro, I promise I’m fine. She apologized and I forgave her,” I insist, grabbing hold of Rosalie’s fists. “Please calm down.”

After a couples seconds she finally relaxes. Laura quickly wipes her tears as Rosalie eyes her.

“I think I better go,” Laura says sheepishly as she attempts to walk past Rosalie and I.

“I think you should,” Rosalie replies, snarling at her as she walks by.

“I’ll see you later,” I call out as she leaves, glaring at Rosalie. She smiles innocently at me and I laugh.

“Ok Kehlani will be here any second! I’m so excited! I’ve been wanting to spend some quality time with you for so long!” she squeals, jumping up and down with excitement

“Where are you taking me?” I laugh, jumping with her.

“We are going to spoil ourselves silly. Oliver gave me his credit card and I plan on maxing it out,” she grins wiggling her eyebrows. “And of course, we must get you a new outfit for your date on Friday.”

I giggle as she mentions my date. “Do you know where he’s planning on taking me?”

“Ha ha no, you won’t get a peep out of me. Oliver made we swear I wouldn’t tell. So my dear, my lips are sealed,” she says sliding an invisible zipper across her mouth.

I g***n. “Then how exactly am I supposed to know what I should wear if I don’t know where we are going?”

“That’s exactly why I’m the one taking you shopping,” she laughs pushing me out of the office.

We make our way downstairs and are met by Kehlani and Cameron.

“Argh! I thought this was supposed to be a girl’s day!” Rosalie whines.

“I know, but he’s attached to my h*p,” m***s Kehlani. “I’m equally annoyed. Wesley refuses to let me go anywhere without him!”

“You know I can hear you?” Cameron complains, letting out a an exasperated breath.

“Sorry Cameron, but I was really looking forward to just being with the girls,” I say with a small frown.

“Hey I don’t want to be intruding on your girly things either. I’m just following orders,” he surrenders.

“Well, I’m definitely not putting up with this. I’m giving Wesley a piece of my mind,” Rosalie says storming off to the training grounds.

We rush after her to try and stop her, but Rosalie is as stubborn as they come.

The training grounds are a grizzly sight. Men and women are scattered throughout the grounds, participating in different training activities. Several groups are off exercising or taking laps around the tracks while others train in hand to hand combat or wolf combat. Many are covered in ugly bruises and bloody wounds from sparring matches. Several men stare as we cut through, making Cameron take a protective stance in front of us. We make our way to a large sparring circle at the center of the grounds where several shirtless men are watching an ongoing match. As we grow closer, I realize the fighters are none other than Wesley and Oliver. Those two idiots are covered in b***d and bruises.

Rosalie runs up to the circle, ready to unleash her rampage. “Hey you two!” she yells snapping her fingers in an attempt to grab their attention. They ignore her. “Hello, meat heads? Over here!”

Carter is instantly at her side. “Rosie, what’s wrong?”

The warriors make way for Kehlani and I to walk to the edge of the circle. Smelling our scents, Oliver and Wesley immediately stop what they’re doing and snap their necks towards us. They’re furious.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” snaps Oliver. “This is no place for you!”

“Cameron, what the hell were you thinking bringing them here?” snarls Wesley as he walks towards us.

Rosalie clears her throat. “Yeah no, don’t care. He didn’t bring us here. I did. What’s the deal with the bodyguard? In case you haven’t notice, we’re three grown a*s women. We do not need a baby sitter!”

Carter tries to calm her down. “Rosie-“

“Rosalie, you do not dictate my decisions. Cameron is-“

“Cameron is my gamma,” Kehlani interrupts. “I decide whether he goes or not. And quite frankly we don’t need him. We can take of ourselves.”

“Kehlani, please. I would feel much more comfortable if you brought him along to watch over you guys,” Oliver chimes in. “In fact, I think Evan should go as well.”

“No!” I shout, shaking my head. “Absolutely not! This is supposed to be a girls day. I need one day without being surround by testosterone!”

“Exactly! You idiots are exhausting!” Rosalie cuts in. “We just want to hit the spa, shop and eat! Why is that so controversial?”

“You guys aren’t seeing the point-“

“The point is, Cameron is staying here. And that’s final,” Kehlani huffs as she extends her hand out to Cameron. “Keys. NOW.”

“Cameron, do not give her the keys,” Wesley commands.

Poor Cameron looks conflicted at his Luna and his Alpha, unsure who’s order to follow.

“We’ll take my car, then,” Rosalie grins wickedly.

“Rosalie!” Oliver calls out, but it’s too late. Rosalie is already walking away. He turns back to Carter. “Carter do something!”

“Carter you take one more step, I’ll key your car and no s*x for a week!” she threatens, making Carter freeze in place while Oliver and Evan gag.

Infuriated, Oliver looks at me. “Aurora don’t you dare get in that car without-“

“Goodbye,” I say, waving my fingers. I turn to leave, ignoring his protests. Kehlani takes me by the arm and we try to walk out of the circle.

“Stop them!” Oliver commands his soldiers.

They step in our way, blocking our exit. I’m furious. Who the hell does he think he is?

“Oliver if you don’t let us through, Friday is cancelled and you’re sleeping on the couch,” I snap, refusing to look back at him.

“Aurora!” he roars as he pulls me back by my arm.

“Let us through,” I say, glaring at him. We hold a stare off and it becomes clear that I’m winning when he looks away.

“Fine,” he snarls, releasing my arm. “Let them through.”

The soldiers move out of our way and we head back towards the house.

“Oh we’re definitely going to a strip club after the s**t they just pulled,” mumbles Rosalie, sending Kehlani and I into a fit of laughter.

After our little walk to the house, Rosalie pulls out her car and we head into the city.

—

Rosalie takes us to a cute little Spa house in the heart of the city. As we walk in, I realize the spa is empty.

“I rented out the entire place,” Rosalie says nonchalantly. “We have this all to ourselves for the next three hours.”

After checking in, we walk towards the locker room. As Rosalie and Kehlani start stripping, I make the realization that we’ll be naked in front of each other. I feel panic settle in the pit of my stomach and I fidget with the hem of my shirt.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rosalie asks.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stutter, fighting back tears. “I-it’s just my body- I’m covered with scars-“

“Oh come here sweetie,” says Kehlani as she takes me by the arms. “We won’t pressure you. But please know you are in safe space with us. We would never judge you. Every girl has insecurities, sis. Yours are your scars. Rosalie over here thinks she has too much cellulite on her a*s and thighs and I have these stretch marks on my tummy left from my pregnancy,” she says stepping back and pointing at her belly. “That and my boobs are too far apart.”

“Shut up. Your t**s look fantastic,” Rosalie interrupts.

“Really? I feel they are just swimming under my armpits,” she laughs. “But I digress,” she says, turning serious. “The point is we all have insecurities, Aurora. But we can’t let our insecurities keep us from feeling beautiful because guess what? We’re gorgeous and don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Aurora, your scars show the world just how strong you are. You have no idea what an inspiration you are. You were abused for so long,” Rosalie’s voice breaks. “And there’s not an ounce of bitterness in you. You are so kind and so brave and so forgiving. Do you even realize how f*****g amazing you are?”

I try to hold back the small sob in my throat but fail miserably. For so long, I thought I was this useless waste of space, and my scars just an ugly reminder of how worthless I was. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to hear that I was beautiful from the mouths of two of the most badass, gorgeous women I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Thank you,” I say wiping my tears. “I never thought of it that way.”

“Well it’s still up to you if you want to strip down. I brought you bikini in case you weren’t comfortable,” Rosalie calls out as she rummages through her bag.

“It’s ok,” I say taking deep breaths. “I think I can do this.”

My hands shake a little as I remove my clothes. Rosalie and Kehlani jump up and down excitedly as I slip off my bra, leaving me completely bare in front of them.

“Yes Queen, take it off!” Rosalie cries out. “Free those titties!”

“Oh sis, where have you been hiding your fine a*s? Look at those curves. Oliver is one lucky bastard,” Kehlani chimes in.

I cannot describe how red I am as they continue to hype me up. When we’re done undressing, Rosalie gives Kehlani and I a quick glance.

“Ladies, we are three smoking hot bitches.”

We slip on our robes and make our way to the hot tub overlooking a beautiful garden. We slide in, letting the jets loosen up our muscles. An attendant brings us fresh towels and some tea to relax with. Over the course of the next three hours, we spend our time in the cold and hot tub, as well as the sauna before Kehlani and Rosalie decide to get a deep tissue massage. I opt out and stay in the sauna, uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger touching me.

When we leave, I can’t help but feel just a little more confident in my own skin.

“I feel amazing!” I say as we hop back in the car.

“Babe, you are amazing,” Rosalie smiles back. “Now it’s time for some retail therapy!”

Rosalie drives us to the Mall and we begin our little shopping spree. Walking into a high end boutique, Rosalie leads us straight to the dresses. As we browse through, I notice an employee eyeing us from a distance.

“Why is she watching us,” I whisper to Kehlani who’s standing next to me.

“I have a feeling I know why but I hope I’m wrong. Just ignore her for now,” she replies in hushed tones.

We continue minding our business, ignoring the side glances and stares from a few customers and employees. When we finish our selection, we head over to the dressing room to try on a few things. In our first round of dresses, Kehlani walks out in a stunning baby blue off the shoulder dress that hugs her curves just right and compliments her dark skin tone. Rosalie comes out in a little black dress with spaghetti straps and a thigh slit.

I sit in the dressing room, nervous as hell in a red dress that Rosalie picked out for me. It has a sweetheart neck line and long embroidered mesh sleeves and back. The white skirt is decorated with beautiful red lace and has a red hem. I’m staring at my scars in the mirror when I hear a knock at my dressing room door.

“Aurora? Come out, love. We want to see your dress,” Kehlani calls out.

I take a few deep breaths. I am beautiful. I am beautiful, I tell myself.

I hear gasps as I step out and I feel b***d rush to my cheeks. Rosalie and Kehlani are jumping up with excitement.

“You look amazing!”

“Red is definitely your color,” Kehlani says, motioning for me to turn around. “Give us a spin!”

I do as I’m told and their excitement grows.

“I love it! You have to get it!” Rosalie insists. “Oliver is going to love you in that dress. I guarantee it!”

I blush at the thought of Oliver seeing me in this dress. It’s showing more skin than I’ve ever shown him. A dark thought enters my mind. What if he doesn’t like what he sees?

Seeing my solemn expression, Rosalie decides to knock some sense into me.

“Uh-uh. No frowning. My brother may be an i***t but he absolutely adores you. Trust me. As soon as he sees you in that, you’ll have him drooling like a puppy. I promise you,” she says giggling hysterically. “He loves you Aurora. He really does.”

I smile and twirl around in the dress. I did love it. I felt pretty even with my scars. I look down at the tag hanging from my waist and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. $1,925 for a little dress?

Rosalie laughs out loud and I blush. “Aurora,” she laughs. “You do realize Oliver is halfway to becoming a billionaire, right? Don’t worry about the price.”

What? I knew he was rich but I didn’t know he was that rich!

I decide there’s no use arguing with her and go back into the dressing room to change. After trying out a few more dresses, I settle on the red dress. Rosalie goes to the checkout stand to pay for our dresses while I wait for Kehlani to try on a dress she saw last minute. After she’s done, we walk out of the dressing room only to be stopped by a store clerk.

“Hello ladies, did you find everything you need?” she says with a polite smile.

We nod and try to walk around her but she interrupts us again.

“Sorry to bother you. But we are running random bag checks on customers who use the dressing rooms. We’ve recently experienced a peak in theft, so we’re just taking precautions,” she says keeping her voice smooth and calm. She points to our bags. “May I please check your bags?”

The smile on Kehlani’s face falls, replaced by a cold glare. “Absolutely not. We are not thieves.”

“Ma’am please. It’s just a precaution. I never said you were thieves.”

“But you implied it,” Kehlani snaps, growing angry. “You haven’t checked anyone else’s bag!”

“Ladies I think there’s been a misunderstanding here. I just-“

“No, I don’t think there was. You think we didn’t notice you following us around and watching our every move as soon as we walked into the store?” Kehlani snarls. “We’re leaving,” she says, handing over the dress to the clerk and pulling me away towards the exit.

Rosalie runs to catch up to us, holding our purchases. “What’s wrong?” she asks, seeing the anger in our eyes.

“We’re leaving,” I sigh. “Apparently we look like thieves.” I glance back at the store clerk, who is probably looking for security.

Rosalie scrunches up her nose and is about to give the clerk a piece of her mind when Kehlani stops her.

“She’s not worth it, hun. We already got the dresses. Let’s just go,” she says, walking out with her head held high.

Rosalie tries to protest but Kehlani gives her a look that says she’s not in the mood to argue over this. We walk to the food court in silence. To an outsider, Kehlani looks very strong and poised, but I can tell she’s hurt. I’ve had little experience in the city, but I’ve had my fair share of discrimination. Like every Hispanic community, colorism was an unspoken problem in Lluvia Blanca. High ranking pack members of the council and the Alpha family themselves were fair skinned while the lower ranks were often dark skinned. People often made jokes about my dark complexion, telling me to scrub harder when I bathed to get the rid of the ‘mugre’ {dirt} Others would hear my parent’s strong accent and make fun of them. While I did not share the same level of discrimination as Kehlani nor would I ever truly understand her experiences, I knew what it felt like to be judged based on the color of my skin.

Wanting to cheer her up, I run off to a little cupcake stand I saw nearby and buy three cupcakes in the shape of reindeer. When I come back and show her the cupcakes, Kehlani bursts out laughing.

“What is this!” she giggles hysterically. “They used pretzels for antlers!”

“So are we just going to ignore the fact that they’re f*****g crossed eyed?!” Rosalie laughs, throwing her head back.

We burst into a another fit of laughter as we point out more imperfections on the reindeer.

“Thank you, Aurora,” Kehlani smiles at me. “I needed a good laugh.”

“No problem,” I smile. “It’s the least I could do for you. I don’t know how you stood up to that woman. It was very brave of you.”

“She shouldn’t have to be brave,” Rosalie sighs. “Neither of you should have to be brave to walk into a high end store. It’s infuriating to still see racism alive and well, I mean it’s 2020 for goddess’s sakes.”

“Oh Rosalie,” Kehlani smiles. “Unfortunately, the world is not so simple.”

We order some drinks to go with our cupcakes and sit down at some tables. As we’re enjoying ourselves, Rosalie visibly stiffens with anger.

“Oh Moon Goddess, I’m going to kill them,” Rosalie growls, her eyes fixated on something behind us.