How about that!
~Javed’s Point of View~ ~Three Weeks Later~ “This is bullshit Hassan, I’m fine. I would never, ever hurt her, let me see my Aurora,” I growl, ready to rip his head off. “Tsk, tsk, that hostility is why you need more time,” he says, wagging his finger at me. I’m nearly ready to punch a hole in the wall when suddenly everything stops. Time seems to stop. I draw a deep breath and catch the familiarity of what I know can only be … my father. Just last week when I was coherent enough to understand, Hassan told me what happened. I simply still can’t believe it but when I think about Setareh in those early days, I know it in my black heart to be true. This is the very level of cruelty that she aspired to. Forcing me to remain by her side all these years knowing that the only creature, the only person who ever loved me was nothing but a pile of bones, descended into absolute madness by her hand… As if she didn’t fuck him up enough in his human life. When he thought she loved him and bo
~Aurora’s Point of View~ “I think he’ll surprise you,” I say, trying to be upbeat. *Of course he will,* Lucy chirps, practically half asleep. It’s literally taking all my energy, cause I’m fucking exhausted. It’s just after two in the morning and while I’d love nothing more than to stay with my vampire lover, I know my family is also waiting for me. I’d mind-linked Mase to tell him I was going to the beach house when Javed first came, and he understood that meant I may not be home. “Just come at dusk with an open mind, okay,” I say, as Javed kisses my forehead. I look back at the Midnight Protectors packhouse which is mostly dark and quiet. “You say that like I’m not already a fool at your mercy,” he teases, his eyes lighting with mischief. Lucy bats her eyes playfully as if he can see her. Goddess I miss that so damn much! His impossibly sexy flirting. I’d melt if I had even an ounce of energy left in my body, but I simply don’t right now. He walks me to the door, and kisse
~Aurora’s Point of View~ ~A Year And A Half Later~ “We don’t have much time,” I whisper, as I grind on Javed’s hard thickness. When he looks at me like I’m the only female in existence, like I’m his goddess, nothing else truly does exist. Except when you’re a mother of six pups and ohh, you have another mate in the house that literally always knows what you’re doing. Not only can he hear you, but he can feel you through the bond. And his parents are always around. And my parents and brother. Goddess I miss the privacy of the beach house I knew I should have asked to go tonight. “Yes, Javed, ohhh right there,” I whisper, as he grips my hips and pumps into me. *Hmmm, this is incredible, but do you know what would be better…* Lucy says, moving my thoughts where she wants them. I run my nails down Javed’s chest, drawing a bit of blood as she makes me see what she wants. What she dreams of, and I literally can’t focus. She’s been bringing this up for months but lately it’s every s
~Twenty Years Later~ ~Aurora’s Point of View~ “This could never get old,” Mase says, as I lean back into him. I gaze out at the insane view, wishing I could see it in the daytime. We’re perched on a flat sliver of rock overlooking the Grand Canyon and it’s breathtaking even in the darkness. Thank the Goddess for shifter’s night vision. Lucy immediately perks up my ears at all the different sounds of animals below. Just when I think Javed has shown me all the beauty this world has to offer, when I think I’m stunned, we visit somewhere we’ve already been but I fall in love with it all over again. Javed sits in front of me, and as usual I’m happily squeezed between my warm and cool mates. “I promised Rosie and her mate I’d take them out tomorrow night. They’re looking at the Maldives. Which probably means they’ll need a babysitter,” Javed says, a lazy smile on his face. Grandparents. We’re grandparents now. How fucking bizarre! Eleven so far and counting. Some days I can bare
~Aurora’s Point of View~ When we’re outside what I remember to be the palace where Setareh lived, my eyes are wide. The place is now deserted, and completely dark. But there’s a very eerie feeling over the place and it’s absolutely nowhere I want to go. My eyes quickly move to Brenna, and I have to wonder if this will make her freak out. “They added onto the place over time but I’ve been here over the last couple of decades out of curiosity. There’s one thing I never quite told Javed and there’s no time like the present,” Artoosh says, as we all turn to stare at him. Javed especially looks puzzled. He and his father have grown so close that I can’t imagine them having any secrets. Artoosh waves for us all to follow him and I hold the hands of both my mates and make a face. *What the fuck is this place,* Mase asks, over mind-link. Lucy paces in my mind as if she should be ready for a threat but with three vampires by our side any threat in here should be what’s scared. *Javed’s
~Aurora’s Point of View~“Stop moving or you’ll get stabbed,” Elena shouts, as she puts the finishing touches on my dress.My eyes fall down over the ball of white fluff, so big I can’t even see my feet. Today is my sister’s wedding and mating ceremony, and it should fill me with nothing but joy and happiness. My sister Brenna has struggled to raise me since our parents abandoned us, and while I want to say she’s done her best… she hasn’t. I’ll always believe she could have done better. That she could still mend her ways and change. She’s ten years older than me though more like the eleven year old in this relationship.The best thing we both have going for us is Beta Matthew, her fiance. He’s not well to do by any means, but he makes sure we both have what we need. Though it’s rarely enough for Brenna.“There, now it’s perfect. Go fetch your basket of flowers and head outside,” Elena says, tapping my backside. I sigh but know that it's time to get moving.She’s Matthew’s aunt, and t
~Aurora’s Point of View~“Stairs,” I question, trying to make sense of the visual. Jeez this just gets more and more awful. Dangerous.Someone had to have built this, but why and really… how? I couldn’t even remotely wrap my head around such an undertaking. The stench of wet earth, old stale air and swamp filled the space, making me gag. My head darts back toward the cave entrance, knowing fully well I should leave. A dark cave with stairs on a remote island? Yeah, perfect place for an eleven year old pup to go. Alone. No one even knows I’m here. I’ve heard enough scary stories to know this has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. But I don’t run.I fight with myself, but only for a moment. My feet move, my hand holds the cool metal railing. Before I know it, I’m at the bottom. My little lantern doesn’t do much to illuminate the much larger space, easily the size of several cabins. I feel as if there’s a cliff beyond the darkness that I can’t see. The sound of water in the dis
~Two Years Later~~Javed’s Point of View~I stare off into the distance, running my hand over my face. I’d put this off too long and now, there was no more waiting. One hundred and one years, I’d lost. Though it was supposed to be two hundred. The ones who confined me to the tombs won’t be happy but it's been two years since I rose again and there’s been no sign of them.All the centuries of wondering, waiting for the point to all this, desperate for some sign that I should keep going. I got it, loud and crystal fucking clear. Aurora. Her name literally means light, the dawn of a new beginning. A new day. The Goddess of the sunrise. Something I’ll never get to see again. Some kind of twisted irony? Who knows.The name rolls through my head like a symphony, a sweet melody that I need to have on repeat. There had been a handful of times since she woke me that I’d gotten to hear her voice. Her laugh. There is absolutely no mistaking what she is to me and yet… She’s a damn child. Though