Chapter 30 #2
“Really?” Dion asked, his brows shooting up, the horns protruding to their full curve.
Chelsea laughed and tugged on his black tank top. “Your mate has been practicing.”
“I’d owe you, Chelsea.” Aurora’s jaw set tight, as being in someone’s debt made her uneasy.
Chelsea stepped closer to my vampire and held out her hand. “I only expect an invitation to your mateship party.”
Party? Wolves never threw “parties” for finding their mates, but damn if I wouldn’t. I was an alpha who’d found his mate. Why shouldn’t that be a reason for celebration? I’d roar it to the stars.
Aurora tilted her head to the side, scanning the witch’s expression before pressing her palm to Chelsea’s. “Deal.”
“Perfect. Can I see your phone?” Aurora handed her cell to her. Chelsea’s thumb flew across the screen before handing it back. “I’ll reach out to you with the details once we’ve created the spell.”
“Thanks again, Chelsea,” Aurora said.
Chelsea kissed Dion’s cheek. “I’ll be spending the rest of the night with my sisters. See you tomorrow morning?”
“You know where I’ll be, Red.” Dion swatted Chelsea’s ass before she left.
Aurora’s eyes rimmed with blood. I was quick to swipe them away before they stained her cheeks.
Dion leaned on the golden statue of himself, crossing his boots at the ankles. “There are a couple of hours before sunrise. Why don’t you two enjoy yourselves a bit, hm?”
I glared at him, making the wolf flash in my eyes. “Maybe we will. After all, we paid a cover charge.”
“I got expensive taste, wolf.” Dion tapped his hand on the statue, the rings on his fingers clanking against it.
“Come on, Kins.” Aurora pressed a soft hand to my cheek, luring me away like an enchantress from the dickhead who was Dion.
The song changed to a bluesy rock melody with heavy guitar riffs as we moved to the dance floor. Howlin’ for You by The Black Keys. Dion waved at me from the bar. I smiled and flipped him the middle finger.
“You haven’t done that once, by the way.” Aurora draped her arms around my neck.
“Haven’t done what?” Pressing my hand to her back, I pulled her closer and nibbled my mark on her skin with my canines.
“Howled.”
A hearty chuckle burst from my chest. “Not exactly a common thing for shifters, but anything you want—” I brushed my lips against hers before swiping my tongue over her mouth. “–mate.”
“The next time you shift,” Aurora whispered, her eyes going glossy crimson again.
I cupped her face. “You’re gonna be able to shift, Rory?”
She nodded vigorously, taking a deep breath to keep from crying. “And that’s all I’m going to say for now. That’s it. No more guesses, wolf. I mean it.”
“Got my word.” I pressed the hardened length that had grown in my jeans from thinking about her shifting against her.
That seemed like such a big deal. I couldn’t imagine what else she had to tell me.
“Harkin,” Aurora beckoned with her head resting on my shoulder.
“Yeah?”
She lifted her gaze, her hand unabashedly lowering to cup me through my pants, eliciting a groan deep from my throat. “Can you call a special pack run tomorrow night?”
Fuck me. She could shift. This was unbelievable.
“Bet your ass I can, sugar.”
We’d danced until the risk of sunrise pulled us away and back to my place. Once we settled inside, I turned to Aurora and traced my thumb over her jawline. “Must be hungry, especially after tonight.”
My vampire scraped her nails down her throat. “I’m very hungry.”
With my arms spread to my sides for her perusal, I asked, “What’s your poison?”
Rory’s eyes drifted to my throat where she’d torn her own mark, the scar forever embedded in my skin much like from the alpha battle.
She drifted forward, pressing her ruby lips to the mark, peppering kisses over it.
I groaned, but stayed still, letting her do with me what she pleased.
I’d half expected her to drink from me there, but surprisingly, she lifted the arm with the wolf tattoo on my forearm.
Aurora plunged her fangs just below the tattoo, her eyes fluttering between my gaze and her claim mark.
I never took my eyes off her as she drank from me.
It would be the first of many times she’d do this as my mate.
I was all too eager to feed her, to provide for her in this way.
I stroked her cheek as she continued to take swallows of my blood, some of it leaking down her chin.
We gazed at each other, captivated for nearly an hour.
Only the sun’s gentle descent broke our spell.
She blinked lazily, wiping her thumb at the corners of her mouth.
“Feel better?” I kept a hand on her hip to steady her.
If she weren’t a vampire, with the way her eyelids had gone heavy and her swaying on her feet, I would’ve thought her drunk.
“So much,” she whispered with a bloody smile.
After I carried her downstairs, we settled into the cellar and were snug under the covers. Aurora lay bone straight, her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. She had a death-grip on the sheets that were bunched under her chin.
“Sweetheart, why aren’t you goin’ to sleep?” I turned onto my side, resting my head in my hand.
“How can I? I’m going to shift tomorrow night. I haven’t done it in so long I don’t know if I remember how.”
Her worries were valid, but she needn’t have them.
“It’s like ridin’ a bike. Guarantee it’ll happen without a passing thought.”
Aurora’s gaze darted to mine. “And then I’ll be stuck without being able to shift back?”
Snickering, I pulled her face closer and kissed her forehead. “You’ll be fine, but you need sleep. Shifting takes a lot of energy. Come to think of it, I could use the sleep too.”
“You’re right. You’re right.” Aurora bounced in bed until her ass pressed against my stomach, her back nuzzling my chest. “Can you scratch my head with your claws?”
“Anything you need.” I whispered, tracing my lips over the shell of her ear. “Always.”
With my claws making languid, rotating circles against her scalp, we gradually fell into a deep sleep. The dream of my mate Aurora and I, shifting into animal forms and running through the forest, was about to become a reality.