Attack (The Aurora Marelup Saga Book 4)

Three days have passed, and yet to me it feels like only a few hours. My father had a brilliant idea putting me into a state of torpor to endure the heat until it passed. I pull out my amp and tune my guitar. It’s been a while since I’ve played, and I decide to start playing “Popular Monster” by Falling in Reverse. It seems fitting for me. It doesn’t take long for the guys to locate me as my voice carries through the pack link.

My voice fills the main hall in the Alpha House. I let my power explode from me and coat the room in ice. While I slept, my father dream-walked with me, filling me in on almost seven hundred years of our family’s history. He taught me several new skills that I have yet to put into practical application. Today will be the day that those new skills will be tested.

My guys and our pack mates gradually begin to fill the hall as I go through the song. I feel my eyes shift, and my frost begins to coat the floor near me. It’s slowly snaking out along the floorboards, plunging the room into winter. My mates look concerned as they watch as my skin flexes. My facial bones slide and shift, changing the structure of my cheeks as I sing. My beast wants out, and she absolutely loves this song and remembers what happens during the video. My pack mates stare in awe as I partially morph then shift back to human with very little effort on my part. I finish the song and set my guitar down next to my favorite chair.

“Today, we change up our training!” I announce as I leap up onto the closest chair to look out over my people. “Break out the swords, machetes, anything sharp that you can wield in your human form. They’re expecting our animals; they will not expect some of us to fight as humans.”

My eyes turn toward my father and Dimitri. “We’re going to take the war to them—old-school. Their Lycans and most of their Strigoi won’t know what hit them. Tactically, this will put us at an advantage, and we will reign supreme in the close-quarters battles. We must control the flow of the war; we must dictate how it begins and ends.” By the time I finish speaking, my pack and my horde feed off my energy and power.

Cheers erupt around the Alpha House and outside, where the rest of my people stand listening to my speech. I slightly incline my head toward my people, and they begin to exit the house.

Once everyone has left, I jump down and greet my mates, hugging and kissing each one in turn. “We need to prepare for all possible eventualities. Vladimir is old; he may or may not have taught his pack the old ways. We must make sure each pack member, as well as our allies, know how to use a sword effectively.”

Dimitri nods gently then crosses his thick arms over his barrel chest. “Brilliant plan, my love. I’ve wanted to teach you how to use a sword for years. It’s just, with as unstable as you used to be, it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.” Dimitri smiles his lopsided grin and tilts his head to the left, watching me.

My other mates back up slightly, expecting me to lose my temper over what Dimitri just said. I can’t help but laugh a little; Dimitri isn’t wrong in his assumption. “Good thinking, big guy; someone other than me would have gotten hurt,” I purposely say it calmly and smile afterward. I walk over to Dimitri, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him gently on the lips before backing away. I give him a playful wink, then look at the others.

The twins and Alaric look at me, puzzled and in a semi-state of shock. Klaus and Arnulf have no clue how much of a hellion I was before Oberon helped me. “Are you feeling alright, baby girl?” Dominik comes over and kisses my forehead, and I grab his crotch.

“Yup, perfectly fine. Let’s go train; I’m in the mood for a twin sammich and then a round of pass the Aurora.” I start to walk toward the door in complete silence. I turn around in time to hear Arnulf ask the others what a twin sammich is in a whisper. Jayce is kind enough to lean in and tell Arnulf. I watch Arnulf’s cheeks turn a brilliant crimson. Yup, that poor bird is going to lose his mind later.

Without skipping a beat, I head toward the training ring. Apparently, the town’s blacksmith has a collection of swords from way back in the day. Boris, the Blacksmith, brings me over to the racks and allows me to choose first. I search through the swords and grab one that appears to be a heavily-built rapier. Its weight is just about three pounds, including the ornate hilt. Boris goes on to tell me that it is what’s called a Munich sword. It’s the perfect blend of speed and strength. He gives me a short history lesson on the sword’s previous owner and its use. Apparently, this sword is a stone-cold killer, which just so happens to make it perfect for me.

By the time the guys come out and join me, I’ve decided this is the sword I will use. Alaric goes to the racks next and grabs a rapier and tests its weight in his hands. I smile, watching him as Boris stitches leather gauntlets over my forearms to keep my sleeves out of the way. Once everyone is ready, we pay for our equipment and then exit Boris’s shop and head to the nearby field training area.

I crack my neck and close my eyes, remembering the lessons my father taught me while I slumbered. I find my center and gradually open my eyes. Confidently, I assume the stance I saw my father take a million times as I flitted through his and Dimitri’s memories of my father’s battles. Slowly, I raise my left hand and motion for Alaric to come at me. My breathing is controlled, and my focus is razor-sharp. I’m watching for any hint of his body telegraphing his move before he makes it. Alaric comes at me hard and fast, and I parry his strikes effortlessly. The blades caress several times, making that eerie scraping sound as they slide over each other.

I push off after the next clash of the blades, throwing Alaric off balance. My mate definitely telegraphs his moves before he strikes, and I’m anticipating them —which is starting to piss him off royally. His next move, I decide to end the match quickly and disarm him with a wide sweeping circle after the last clash. I stand now before him, holding both swords pointed at him. I smirk and toss him back his sword, then blow him a kiss. “Thanks for the warm-up, love.”

“You move like your father,” Dimitri says, looking between Nicodeamus and me.

“I should hope so, my love; Daddy taught me while I slept.” I wink at Dimitri as Alaric passes his sword off to Nicodeamus. Father stretches and tests the weight of the sword in his hand. He eyes up the length of the blade then raises it briefly before assuming his fighting stance.

Father versus daughter, this should be most interesting. I stand en garde with my sword in a neutral position but my body in a combat position. Nicodeamus moves quickly, striking fast and efficiently. Luckily, I’m a quick study. We clash and lock several times, having to push off of each other multiple times. The battle is almost a draw, except my dumb ass gets a bit too cocky, and my father disarms me quickly. I smile at my father; we battled far longer than Alaric, and I did. I’m feeling quite accomplished at the moment. My mates begin to applaud my battle with my father, and I move in quickly to hug my dad and listen to him as he tells me where I went wrong so that I won’t make the same mistake twice.

The rest of the afternoon, I sit beside Nicodeamus, enjoying some quality father/daughter time as he explains to me what each fighter is doing wrong. Out of my mates, Dimitri, Alaric, and—surprisingly—Arnulf are all skilled sword fighters. I watch as they and several pack elders take it upon themselves to teach the others to sword fight. Not everyone will get extensive training—mostly my assault force and the Lycans will.

By mid-afternoon, my father and Dimitri had switched out, and my other mates were replaced by elders. We watch the sparring matches, assessing everyone’s weaknesses and strengths. Arnulf comes to stand before me and bows. “Would you do me the honor of sparring with me?” Arnulf has a bit of a mischievous look in his eye; the eagle is getting bold.

I rock back then flip up onto my feet before him. Casually, I reach back and grab my sword from where I laid it to rest earlier. “Let’s go.” I motion to the ring, and I can see the anxiety rolling off of him in waves.

Jayce comes over and caresses my arm and kisses my cheek. “Be gentle, love; he’s new to our family.”

I lower my eyes then look up to Jayce; I’m hoping my sadness is conveyed well. “I would be a bad mate if I took it easy on him. The Strigoi and the other Lycans won’t take it easy on him. I won’t hurt him, but I also won’t go easy on him. I can’t.” I kiss Jayce’s cheek then step into the ring with Arnulf.

I’ve barely entered the ring when Arnulf charges at me. It’s then that I notice his eyes are vacant and not his own. Fuck! I know I killed Elena, but Arnulf is being controlled. I reach out to my mates, and they clear the area of all the others. I have to subdue my mate without killing him and figure out how the fuck someone got to him. Arnulf keeps charging, and I keep blocking and parrying his attacks. I watch, hoping for an opening where I can get in close and dominate him to drive the witch out of his head.

My other mates are concerned for Arnulf, knowing full well this may be a one-way ticket for him, but that thought to me is unacceptable. I will not kill my mate; I will fucking save him. Arnulf is starting to fatigue; his movements are becoming sluggish. I slap his ribs with the flat side of my sword to make the point he could have died right there. Nothing, no reaction from him. Motherfucking witch, I swear to the Elder gods I will slaughter her in the most bloody and painful way possible.

I reach out to Dominik and Jayce and let them in on my next move. I fake going to the right, and when Arnulf follows, the guys spring into action. They each grab an arm as Dimitri comes up behind Arnulf and wraps his arms around his ribcage. Arnulf is struggling, trying to get free, and I see it in his eyes that he’s contemplating shifting.

I shift my eyes to that of my beast and force him to look at me. “I forbid you to shift!” I growl out the command, focusing all of my Alpha power just on him. The immense power he gets hit with makes his legs buckle under him; his bird goes and hides deep in his subconscious.

Slowly, I draw in a deep breath and grip Arnulf’s head, and close my eyes. I force my way past the witch’s defenses, delving into the mental prison that Arnulf is in. A kindly-looking older woman with a cane is walking in a circle around Arnulf’s cage. This must be the Elder Dame I’ve been told about. She’s definitely a blood mage, so I must take extreme caution. Arnulf looks up. Bringing my finger to my lips, I shake my head, motioning for him to remain silent.

“I know you’re there, princess.” The Elder Dame begins to laugh.

 “You’re just like that fool of a mother you killed. You do know you killed her, right? You shredded her insides like cheese.” The Elder Dame turns to finally look at me. She is short and withered, and I can see Elena’s and Bash’s features in her face. 

“Oh, I know I killed my mother. Blood memories won’t let me forget.” I feel like I should be singing that Post Malone song, “Take What You Want.”

 I carefully stalk towards her, watching her movements closely. Raising my hand casually, I lightly touch my sternum where Oberon implanted an Elvish charm he said would protect me from blood magic. I stare the Elder Dame down and wait for her next move. 

Her hand comes up to caress her chin as she studies me. “I should have broken your neck when I had your little body in my hands.” She smirks, looking at me. “My idiot brother believes you will take him and accept him as a mate like your mother did.”

I start to laugh. Honestly, I can’t help it. “So you think by killing my mates or threatening to, I’ll accept him.” I shake my head as I feel my eyes shift.

 “You honestly don’t know who or what you’re fucking with, crone.” The eyes of my beast lock with hers, and the look of fear on her face is priceless. 

“One huge problem with your plan; I am my father’s daughter.” I shift my arms to my armored gauntlets and flex my talons. Arnulf winces, and I see blood on his head where my hands lay in the real world. Hmm, interesting development. If I hurt her here, she will be hurt in the real world as well. I tilt my head several times, studying her, seeing if she caught onto what I just figured out. 

“Abomination!” the Elder Dame yells, pointing at me. 

“Yeah, I get that a lot; it’s so unoriginal.” I look at the ground under her feet and start to freeze it, trapping her in place.

 “You’re not the only one that’s special, Elder Dame.” With that being said, I create a mini ice storm and unleash it upon her.

I watch her wrinkled flesh be torn to ribbons before she fades from view. Arnulf’s prison fades as well, and now he’s free again. I close my eyes and lean my head back, focusing on returning to my body.

Sharply, I draw in a breath and open my eyes back in the real world and look around. My mates are in awe of what I have just done, and my father stands there proud as a peacock. “Just like your great-grandmother, I’m very proud of you, daughter.” I smile and bow my head lightly to my dad, then look at Arnulf.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I look down briefly as I remove my hands from Arnulf’s hair. “I realized whatever I did there would happen here. I knew I couldn’t physically attack her without killing you.”

“Her who?” Dimitri asks as he pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly.

“I met the Elder Dame,” I say very matter-of-factly. “I sent her back, bleeding to her master.” I sigh softly, looking over at Arnulf again. “Do you know how it happened? How did she get in?”

Arnulf moves close to me and touches my cheek. Through the bond, I feel how upset he is that he could have hurt me. “I saw her in my dream last night. I was trying to reach out to the ancestors for guidance, and she appeared. That’s the last thing I remember.” Arnulf shrugs his shoulders as he looks at me. I can tell he is hurting over all of this.

I look at Dimitri and he releases me. I immediately hug Arnulf and kiss him gently. “It’s not your fault, love. You’re new to the bond, therefore, your connection to me isn’t as strong as the others yet. It will grow in time. Trust me when I say no one faults you for what happened here today.”

My other mates all voice their agreement. I can see him attempting to smile through it again. I kiss him passionately as he grips me tightly, not wanting to let me go. I smile when I break off the kiss.

 “Go shower, you stinky boys; we need some quality bonding time after dinner.” My other five mates take off like someone lit their asses on fire.

Arnulf tilts his head to the side, looking at me puzzled. “Sex after dinner, Arnulf.” When the real meaning hits him, his eyes light up, and I smack him on the ass sending him running off to shower. Silly males, what am I going to do with all of them?