The Ivory Queen
Chapter 34

***Oliver’s POV***

I received a text from Evan saying Aurora had gone to see her sister and was upset. I find Rosalie and Evan waiting for me in my office.

“What happened?” I snarl.

Evan takes the lead and speaks first.

“Aurora asked me to take her to the old oak tree at the border at noon. When we got there, her sister was waiting for us. I had no idea they were going to meet, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed. Anyways, Mia gave her a box that her father supposedly left for her as her 13th birthday present and she’s been upset ever since she opened it. I got her to calm down and she’s currently asleep, but I can only imagine what she’s feeling right now.”

I process this information and feel myself getting irritated with Aurora. Why does she always go running back to her family?

I turn to Rosalie, ready to hear what she has to say. She shifts uneasily on her feet and sighs heavily.

“Yesterday while we were at the rink, we ran into Mia. That’s probably how they set up the meeting.”

Evan and I both stare at her angrily.

“And you just decided to keep this information to yourself? You didn’t think I needed to know that?” I snap.

“I didn’t know they were going to meet, ok? They were speaking in Spanish!” She retorts. “How the f**k was I supposed to know?”

“Use your brain Ro! The next time she has an encounter with her family, you go directly to me!” I growl.

It’s infuriating how these two always manage to screw up when it comes to Aurora’s well-being. Rosalie looks at me uneasily.

“Well in that case, there’s one more thing you should know,” she mumbles.

“What?”

“I caught her and Laura talking yesterday here in your office,” she blurts out quickly.

“What?!”

“I don’t know what they said. I just caught them hugging and Laura was crying,” she adds.

“She can’t keep doing this! She can’t keep keeping things to herself like this! She’s putting herself in danger! Goddess knows this could all be a trap of some sort to get back at her or something.”

“What do you want to do, Oliver?” Evan asks.

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “But this can’t stay like this. I don’t want to have to worry that someday someone is going to trick her or hurt her.” I flinch at the thought of someone hurting her.

I excuse Rosalie and Evan and make my way to the bedroom. Aurora is laying peacefully in bed with Rio curled up at her side. I don’t smell her scent.

Why can’t I smell her?

As I get closer, I notice her eyes are slightly swollen from crying. I crouch by her side and run my fingers through her hair. She stirs and her eyes flutter open, revealing pools of amber and honey. A tiny smile creeps up on her face, making my heart skip a beat. All the anger I felt moments ago evaporates in an instant.

“Hi,” she whispers softly, her voice hoarse. She blinks her big beautiful eyes at me and reaches out a hand to touch my cheek. “Why are you frowning?” she barely manages to ask.

My frown deepens. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to meet with Mia?”

Her smile falls. She shakes her head and hides her face in her pillow. I take a seat on the bed and wait for her to poke her head back out. I get worried when she doesn’t.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask her, hoping she’ll let me in.

She sits up, reaching her arms out towards me. “Just hold me,” she pleads, tears staining her cheeks. “Please.”

I crawl into bed with her, wrapping my arms around her. As she buries her head in my neck, I once again take notice that I can’t smell her. My wolf whimpers, missing her rose and cinnamon scent.

“I can’t smell you,” I blurt out.

Her body stiffens and she fidgets with something in her small hands. “It’s because of this,” she says, lifting a gold medallion to my face. “My dad gave it me. It’s supposed to keep me safe. I guess it hides my scent.”

I examine the medallion, running my fingers along the engraved sun.

It’s from Moon Goddess, says Michael. Our mate is special.

“It’s from the Moon Goddess,” I say repeating Michael’s words without realizing it.

Aurora furrow her brows. “How did you know?”

“I didn’t. My wolf told me,” I reply. “You must be really special to receive a gift from Her,” I smile. “Aren’t I just the luckiest wolf to have such a special mate?”

She turns bright red and I laugh. I love making her blush.

“H-how was y-your training?” She stutters, changing the subject. “A-Are you nervous?”

My jaw clenches as I think about the challenge. I would be fighting for my mate and my pack in a couple of hours. Worst of all, my challenger is my own father. I’m not nervous, I’m terrified. I, however, am not about to tell her that. I don’t want her worrying about me, so I muster up some courage and plaster a smile on my face.

“I’m fine. Wesley and Carter think I’m ready.” I can tell she doesn’t believe me so I lean forward and k**s her cheeks. “I promise, baby, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” I say with conviction.

“I’m sorry you have to do this,” she mumbles, her voice cracking from the hoarseness.

“Come on, nena. We need to get you some tea,” I say as I try to get up. She, however refuses to let me go. “Babe, I’ll carry you,” I chuckle as she continues to hold me back.

She whines before she lets go and sticks her arms out in the air. I wrap my arms around her back and thighs and lift her up bridal style. She holds onto my neck, placing lights k****s on my exposed collar bone. I feel the sparks instantly and my thoughts go blank for a second before I’m able to concentrate again.

I clear my throat and she stops, looking up at me innocently. Goddess, she’s absolutely perfect.

“Sorry,” she murmurs. “I just missed you.”

I smile. I was only gone a few hours. “I’m missed you too, baby.”

I carry her down towards the kitchen and make her a cup of chamomile tea with honey and lemon. I have the cook prepare our lunch to go and I take Aurora to the fort.

After we finish our meal, Aurora curls up in a bean bag and I settle on the floor and watch her breathe.

“Oliver?” Aurora says, reaching for my hand.

“Mhmm?”

“Why do your parents hate me so much?”

I sit up straight look over at her as she twirls a strand of hair in her hands. There is sadness in her eyes.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s just…I understand why Alpha Miguel and Luna Ximena hate me. Dad was like family to them and they were deeply hurt when he died,” she replies. “But your family…I just don’t understand their grudge against me.”

“There’s not much to understand,” I shrug. “My parents are all about wealth and prestige. They love Adeline because of her lineage. She comes from a strong line of Alphas back in France and Lune de Minuit is a very powerful pack in Europe,” I sigh, frustrated with the subject. “Your family is a family of immigrants,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “To them, you bring no prestige, even if your dad’s a silver wolf.”

Aurora holds back tears and tries her best to keep her composure. “Oh,” she says weakly.

I prop myself up on my elbow and look at her. “Hey,” She blinks at me. “My parents are idiots. Don’t mind their outdated beliefs. You’re not the only person they can’t seem to stand,” I mutter.

“What do you mean?”

I let out a heavy sigh and stare at the ceiling. “My parents hate Evan for the simple reason that he has no gamma lineage and his family is-” I can’t bring myself to finish that thought. Katherine, Evan’s mother, was a beautiful black woman while his father was white. My parents never openly admitted to their prejudice against the Gerard’s, but I always knew their intolerance towards Evan stemmed from his mixed background. It disgusted me. I felt nothing but love for Evan and his family.

“I see…” Aurora sighs, eyeing me. She crawls over to me and curls up into my arms. “But you’re not like that and neither are Rosalie or Carter. I’m glad their ignorance could not taint your beautiful heart,” she smiles. She goes quiet for a moment, seemingly working out her thoughts. “Are you sure I’m-“

I pull her chin up, forcing her to look at me and k**s her forehead. “You are all I could ever want.”

—

With only half an hour until sunset, Aurora becomes restless.

“Let me give you a boost of energy with my healing powers,” she insists, placing her hands on my face and closing her eyes.

“Aurora no, that would be giving me an unfair advantage over my father. I don’t want to cheat. I want to earn my victory,” I plead, taking her hands off of me and holding them in my own.

“Oliver, I’m so scared,” she cries. “Don’t go. Please, it’s not too late to back out.”

“I have to do this, baby. You know I do.” I hear Carter, Rosalie and Evan arrive.

“Alpha, we’re ready!” Carter calls out.

I look Aurora in the eyes. “Go home with Evan. He’ll keep you safe until the challenge is over.”

“No, I’m coming. I want to be there for you.”

“Aurora, listen to me. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

“No you listen! You can’t make me sit this out. It involves me. I want to be there. I need to be there!”

I hesitate. I know her. Seeing me get hurt would drive her crazy but being at home with all the doubt and worry would kill her. I sigh and decide to let her come. She k****s me softly in response before making her way down the tree house. I change into a pair of basketball shorts and join them at the bottom of the tree house.

The walk to the training grounds is silent. Aurora’s hand is shaking in mine. I try to give her a reassuring smile, but her mind is lost in thought; she’s a thousand miles away. When we arrive, several warriors are gathered around the sparing circle, which is lit up by four torches to the North, West, East and South. I see my parents and Adeline waiting at the far end of the circle. As is tradition, a third party must officiate the challenge so I’ve asked Wesley and Kehlani to step in.

As we approach, Kehlani rushes to Aurora, pulling her into a hug and giving me a look of encouragement. She tries to drag Aurora away but she runs out of her arms and into mine.

“Remember your promise. Come back to me, Oliver. You better come back to me or I won’t ever forgive you,” she scolds through her tears.

This makes me chuckle. Even in the face of danger, this little woman decides to scold me.

“I promise I will,” I reply, holding out my pinky to her.

She locks her pinky with mine and gives me the sweetest k**s. I savor her taste.

“Je t’aime,” she croaks.

“Te amo,” I smile, wiping away her tears and kissing the tip of her nose. “Go.”

She walks back to the edge of the circle with Kehlani and Rosalie holding her hands. I take a deep breath and walk over to Wesley who is waiting in the center of the circle.

Wesley grabs me by the shoulders. “You ready?” He asks.

“As I’ll ever be,” I sigh.

He nods in Aurora’s direction. “She’s your strength, Oliver. So long as you remember that, you’ll be fine,” he says with confidence. “And keep your chest closed!” He laughs, trying to ease the tension.

He walks to the edge of the circle while my father steps inside.

“Alright we shall begin,” Wesley announces. “We are gathered here today to witness the battle for the Alpha title of the River Moon pack between current Alpha, Olivier Honoré Artaud and former Alpha, David Artaud. So, here are the rules. Once the challenge begins, no one is to set foot inside the circle. Should someone do so, the challenge is void and must be rescheduled. No weapons are allowed inside the sparring circle. The challengers have the chance to fight in both wolf or human form. And finally, this challenge is to the death. Once it begins, it is only completed when either one of the opponents forfeits or is killed. The victor will be named the official Alpha of the River Moon pack.”

Wesley turns to me. “Oliver, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

He turns to my father. “David, are you ready?”

“Yes,” he grumbles.

“Then let this challenge begin!”

I put my fists ups and eye my father who does the same. We walk around the circle, sizing each other up. These past two days, I’ve been working with Wesley on new techniques to throw my father off. David is a beast when it comes to hand to hand combat and I trained under him for years, so I know I’ll have to tread carefully. I decide to charge at him, swinging right, then left, and right again. He dodges my punches and ducks beneath my final blow. I throw a few more right and left swings, but he dodges them all too.

f**k. He’s too fast.

After my last swing, Dad steps back and strikes me in the face with his right arm, catching me off guard. I taste b***d in my mouth. I try to retaliate and swing right, but he dodges it and punches me square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Aurora whimpers in the distance as I drop my hands to my stomach and he takes advantage. He delivers another blow to my face and b***d tickles down my nose. I’m disoriented and he laughs.

“And you’re the Alpha?” He mocks me. “Pathetic. You and that poor excuse of a mate are not fit to lead this pack.”

What are you doing Oliver? Michaels growls. Stop playing games!

Anger boils inside me when he insults Aurora. He throws a left roundhouse kick but before he can complete it, I catch his leg and ankle sweep him to the ground.

“Don’t you ever disrespect Aurora again!” I snarl.

He scrambles back to his feet and we once again square off. So far, David has had the upper hand. I need to catch him off guard. I lunge forward and kick him in the back of his right knee, causing him to jerk forward. I deliver a second kick to his left thigh to throw him off balance. Gathering up some strength, I swing my leg back for momentum and deliver a Thai style kick to his face. He stumbles back as b***d stains his eyebrow and I take advantage to kick him in the stomach before charging again. I grab him in a chokehold and jam my knee into his stomach repeatedly. I feel him wrap his arms around my torso in an attempt to stabilize himself but my blows weaken his balance.

I shift my body under his, grabbing his arm with my right hand and wrapping my left arm around his leg. I lift him over me and flip him over onto his back. He crashes on the ground with a loud g***n. I climb on top of him, pinning him beneath my body and throw punches, drawing b***d from his nose and mouth. I start to lose control with all the adrenaline and anger pumping in my body fueling ever blow I deliver to his face. My mother starts crying as I relentlessly unleash my inner demons onto my father.

Come on Oliver! Finish him off! Michael growls.

I stare down at the bloody man I used to admire as a kid, hesitation creeping in on me. A memory of him taking me for my first run flashes in my mind. He looked so proud that day.

He’s my father…

David takes advantage of my indecisiveness to kill him and throws a punch, the blow knocking me off of him and allowing him to get to his feet. I scramble to my feet and throw a roundhouse kick but he ducks just in time. He springs back up, using the momentum to swing right and then left. His punches land on the sides of my head. I throw a punch and snap kick him in the face, causing him to fall. Fresh b***d trickles from his nose.

He trembles on the ground, snarling wickedly. “You’re about to regret that,” he laughs coldly.

s**t, he’s shifting!

He looks up at me, his eyes glowing silver. He leans back on his legs before jumping forward and shifting midair. I manage to dodge out of the way in time and wrap my arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. He swings his head around and bites down on my lower calf. I cry out in pain, loosening my grip and falling to ground. Dad drags me by the leg before launching me into the air. I crash down, landing on my side.

I hear Aurora screams as b***d oozes from the gash in my leg.

We need her, Oliver, Michael reminds me. You’re fighting for her.

Dad’s large black wolf lunges at me and I roll over to the side, narrowly evading his teeth. I roll back and punch him with all my force on the side of the face, knocking him onto his side.

I jump back to my feet, wincing as pain shoots up my leg and run towards the far end of the circle. Dad gets on his feet, baring his teeth at me. An idea pops into my head and Michael agrees.

You have to calculate it perfectly, he says.

My father once again charges at me and I sprint towards him and jump shift, landing in top of him and pinning him beneath my paws. I bite into his throat causing him to howl in pain. My mouth instantly fills with his b***d. I hear Mom cry, calling out Dad’s name as Adeline tries to comfort her. Dad tries to push me off with his paws, but his b***d loss is weakening his strength.

“Dad please! Yield! I don’t want to kill you,” I mind-link him.

“No,” He snarls at me.

I bite down harder, drawing more b***d.

“Please Dad, yield!” Rosalie cries out. “Mom, tell him to yield!”

I tug on his flesh and he snarls in response.

“David yield!” Mom shrieks. “Please!”

His wolf whines at the sound of his distraught mate.

“I yield,” He barely manages to mind-link me. “You win.”

I release him immediately and limp back to the edge of the circle to shift. Carter throws me a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, which I quickly slip on.

“This challenge is over. Olivier Honoré Artaud remains Alpha of the River Moon Pack,” Wesley announces, beaming with pride.

Aurora runs into my arms, crying hysterically. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close.

“I told you I’d come back,” I manage to laugh despite my ragged breath.

She doesn’t reply, placing her hands on my body and closing her eyes. I felt a jolt of electricity flow through me. I take a deep breath as she works her magic on my injuries and sigh in relief when she’s done. She stumbles a little and I catch her in my arms to hold her up.

“You’re mine,” she whimpers before pressing her lips against mine. “Thank Moon Goddess you’re still mine.”

Suddenly, I hear a b***d curdling shriek.