Chapter 69

Aurora

I gasp, shooting awake, sand covering my back and water trickling down my face. I cough slightly, wiping my face, seeing Jaxson blink awake at a slower, more gentle pace. He looks to me instantly and cages me into his arms, holding me to his chest while his arms press heavily into my back. I want to shatter; I want to break. He mumbles something into my neck, his breath warm and exasperated.

For a moment, I wonder if he had a bad vision, unlike mine. I want to share it with him, to tell him I got a sign from the moon goddess that was so perfect, so happy, that it made my entire world fill with joy.

Instead he picks us both up abruptly, leaving the bonfire while holding me to his chest, cradling me in his arms as he struts back to our little beach hut. I don’t ask him anything. Instead, I brush my palm against his cheek, watching his saddened eyes flicker with a little light. He is beautiful even when he is upset.

He skips straight through the hut, lightly laying my back into our bed, the beach following us both into the sheets. He centers himself over me, arms laying on either side of my body, his lips kissing me so deeply that I can’t help but grab for his shoulders to keep him there.

I’ve wanted this all day and all night.

He finally gives it to me, yanking his pants down just a little, and scooting me out of my shorts. We never break pace in kissing, his body hot to the touch. He rattles in anticipation, same as me. He pulls away from my lips for just a calm, couple of seconds, his eyes hungry but tamed.

“I saw us,” I breathe, smiling, wanting to share that vision with him. “I saw us, Jaxson. We are mates. I saw it. She showed it to me.”

He cracks a small, somber smile. It makes my stomach drop.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, stammering at such a reaction from him. “What did you see?”

His eyes are darkened in color and it’s obvious by now that I’m not just speaking to Jaxson. I’m speaking to Jaxson and his wolf, who is forward in his mind, protecting him from heartache as usual. Whatever it is, I don’t want to feel that same pain.

I push myself up, crashing our lips together, and knowing he needs to feel normal and loved again. I need it too, I want is so desperately, and I grab him slightly, pulling him onto my chest, his harsh erection finding a way into my burning sex.

Already, I arch back, accommodating the size and trying not scream about it. It’s not rough, and it’s not fast, it’s slow and loving. He plants kisses down my lips, across my cheeks and down my neck, lightly kissing me where he can reach while his hips thrust slowly against my inner thighs.

I let him hold me, feeling us lift out of bed, then falling back into it, suddenly while I’m sitting on his lap, his hands gently rocking my hips back and forth. There’s an amazing pleasure in his pace, in his touch, and I want to carry it on forever. I want him to be free of stress and pain and if that means getting to explore our bodies forever and ever, I will gladly accept it.

His hands gently brush my up my sides, caressing my chest, and the sensation of his fingers toying with my hardened nipples. It’s gentle and enticing, and I never want it to stop. I want more. I rip off my shirt, pushing my hips a little harder and faster.

He tips his head back, his arms falling as he threatens to find the verge of pleasure and ride it to the end. I want this for him, I want him to get what he deserves as an amazing mate, for putting up with me, for fighting for me, and not against me.

I plant my hands into his abdomen and slide my wet sex up and down his shaft until he is cut loose, hands snapping back to my hips while his fingers dig into my skin to create bruises. He lets out a strangled cry, a groaning ache carrying through him, and through me. His warmth fills my body and I have a flashback to our conversation before the market.

Our pups.

I fall to the side, Jaxson reaching for me as though to prop me back up, but I don’t have it in me to continue. I go limp in his arms and rest tiredly against his chest. He is trying to get my attention, running his hands down my body, wanting to hold me tighter and tighter.

“Hey, you,” he hums, pressing his hand against my cheek so I will look up and meet his eyes. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

I crinkle my brow. “You said you could always tell what I am thinking.”

He shrugs, his smile lighter while his eyes are finally back to normal. “I can, but maybe I want to hear it from your lips.”

I rest my head back to his chest. “I’m thinking about us, Jaxson,” I say, panting to catch my breath still. “About our future.”

I can hear him grinning as he replies, “oh yeah?”

“I saw it in my moon goddess vision tonight,” I admit. “She showed me that we are mates.”

He is hesitant, something dark and unapproving in his tone. “I don’t know if that was real, Aurora. It could have been just something to make us hallucinate. Maybe it was figment about your imagination.”

I push off his chest a little bit offended. “Jaxson, I know it was from the moon goddess. She showed us as mates, at the mating ceremony on my birthday and I felt it. I felt the pull.”

He bites his lower lip. “Okay. If you say so, sweetheart.”

“What did you see?” I groan, petrified of the answer. “Was it bad?”

I don’t need him to verbalize anything. I can see it in his eyes now that he didn’t get the same response as I did. He saw something horrible, something haunting, and he is such a tough guy, too tough to admit it to the likes of me. I wish he would tell me the truth; he should open up more, but frankly he has done so much for me to say he hasn’t shared enough.

Our new life is perfect. He is perfect. He is my mate!

That is my focus now. Not Xander. Not having pups. Not his fears. Nothing else is important to us more than the love we relish in now. I don’t want to ruin it. I can’t allow that to happen. For now I lightly dance my fingers up and down his chest, watching his skin grow with chills.

“Are you going to mark me?” I ask, speaking warmth against his neck.

He shifts a little, adjusting me on his body, his eyes wide when I meet them at last. “Do—do you want me to, sweetheart? Are you ready?”

I give him a firm nod. We may have our troubles, but I am sure he is my mate. I want to stop hurting him, I want us to be whole. I want us to be the single soul we are supposed to be, as shown to me tonight in the blood moon vision.

He grins wider, his hands grabbing for me as we both sit up, Snowflake jumping up on the foot of the bed and settling nearby. Our life is different than either of us pictured, sure, but it is going to be the best outcome possible.

“I love you, Aurora.”

His lips center near the side of my neck, his warm breath gently caressing my skin. He kisses the side of my throat, something so calm in this moment. I feel his fangs now, out and brushing my skin. I will be marked now for the third time in my life. It was rushed the first time. I wasn’t ready for his love then. It was a mistake the second time, trying to save my life with a tacky attempt to heal the very wounds Xander had made against me. Now it feels perfect. Now is finally when I get to have my mating mark.

His lips part wide, his fangs ready to puncture, but something forces us to pull away suddenly.

Screams bare through the small pack around us. Not just any screams, but screams I know all too well. I look at Jaxson with a new fear, my heart thumping so hard against my chest, and Jaxson gives me the same all-knowing look of what those particular screams signal.

Royals are here.