The Ivory Queen
Chapter 20

***Aurora’s POV***

I give Evan a confused look.

“What about her?” I ask.

“Mia was attacked by a rogue who managed to sneak into their safe house during the invasion. She’s…..They don’t think she’s going to make it,” Evan continues.

I feel a lump form in my throat as I fall to my knees. I start shaking and Evan tries to comfort me by pulling me into a hug, but I’m inconsolable. My head is reeling as tears fall down my face.

“Don’t cry Aurora, she’s not worth your tears!” He says, petting my hair gently. “None of them are!”

I snap my head up at him. “She’s my sister.”

“She sure has a funny way of showing it. How many times did she stand by and watch you get tortured? How many times did she torture you?”

“She never touched me! And it- it doesn’t ma-matter,” I cry. “I don’t want her dead!”

A small whimper escapes my throat at the thought of Mia dying. I free myself from Evan’s arms and scramble to my feet.

“Where are you going?” he asks as I frantically collect my things and call Rio.

I ignore Evan, pacing back and forth as I try to gather my thoughts.

Evan grabs my arm, forcing me to face him. “What are you doing?”

“I- please take me to Lluvia Blanca! I need to-“

“Absolutely not. It’s out of the question!”

“Please, I have to help her!” I plead, tears blurring my vision. “She’s my sister!”

“Aurora, no. I not taking you back there. Oliver would be furious if he ever found out-“

“Then don’t tell him! Please, I can’t just sit back knowing I can save her!”

I’m on my knees begging before Evan yanks me back up by my arm. “Don’t you ever kneel before me again. You are the Luna so act like it. I kneel before you,” he says sternly. I look into his eyes with shock.

Now is not the time for rankings…wait.

“Then take me Lluvia Blanca,” I huff. “That’s an order.”

I can tell he is mentally kicking himself for mentioning rank. His jaw clenches before he sighs in agreement. We make our way back to the car and drive out to the Lluvia Blanca territories.

—

The guards let us pass through when they realize we are River Moon members. A few of them recognize me, however, and throw dirty looks my way as Evan drives through the main gates. Memories, good and bad, flow my mind and overwhelm me when I look around the place I once called home. In the distance I see the tree dad and I used to climb and I know my old house is nearby. The sound of the engine turning off brings me back to reality and I realize we are at the Lluvia Blanca Pack hospital. I shudder, remembering all the times I ended up here from the torture sessions the pack put me through. Evan grabs my hand and gives it a quick squeeze. I’m grateful he’s here with me. I know, I couldn’t do this without him.

We crack the window down for Rio and walk into the hospital, heading directly towards the nurses station. As we get closer, I recognize the nurse at the computer and freeze. Evan notices and pulls me aside.

“What’s wrong?” he asks with concern.

“She doesn’t like me,” I whisper. “She, umm, s-she-“

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain. I can ask where they have your sister,” he says gently before walking up to the nurse and speaking to her. A few moments later, he returns with the information we need.

“She’s in a coma,” he says quietly and I feel tears run down my cheeks. “Room 207.”

We take the elevator to the second floor and replace the room immediately. A million thoughts cross my mind as we get closer to her room.

What if this is a mistake?

I place a shaking hand on the door knob but can’t seem to make myself turn it.

“Aurora, you don’t have to do this.”

I look up at Evan, forcing a smile on my face. “No, I-I can do this,” I say more to myself than to him. Finally, I turn the knob and quietly open the door. My trembling knees make it difficult to walk, so I focus my eyes on the floor and take careful steps .

“Here to finish her off?”

I look up to see Salvador sitting next to Mia’s bed, clutching her hands in his. Mia lays unconscious in bed, a ventilator in her mouth and multiple machines attached to her. Chava doesn’t look at me but I can tell his eyes are puffy and red from crying. He’s wearing only a pair of shorts and has a bandage wrapped around his bicep. Even in this state, however, the menacing aura surrounding him makes me tremble in his presence. I can practically hear my heart try to escape it’s confinement in my chest.

“I-“

“Get out!” he screams. His voice is ice, sending chills down my spine. I flinch and my eyes immediately go to the ground. Evan steps in front of me in protective stance.

“I’m here to help,” I squeak, blinking hard to keep the tears from falling.

He turns to face us and the pure anger in his eyes is enough to make me regret coming here.

“You?” he scoffs. “You help her? Please! You’re nothing but a pathetic piece of-“

“That’s enough!” Evan cuts him off.

Salvador stands up, shooting his chair across the floor and getting in Evan’s face. “And who the f**k are you supposed to be? You’re on Lluvia Blanca territory, prick. Learn some respect!” He turns to me. “Y tu, largate antes de que te saque a patadas estupida! {And you, leave before I kick you out, stupid}.”

I wince at his words, but I don’t move. My legs seem to have forgotten how to function. “Chava por favor, dejame ayudar! {please Chava, let me help!}”

He raises his hand to slap me and I shield myself with my arms, but the pain never comes. I hear a struggle and I lower my arms to see Evan and Chava on the floor, fighting each other senselessly. I watch in horror as Evan pins Salvador down and pounds his fist on his face. Chava catches one of Evan’s fists and lands a punch, knocking Evan over. His eyes start to glow green and I know he’s about to activate his gift.

Suddenly the door bursts open and a piercing scream draws all of our attention. I see my mom standing at the door, dropping the two cups of coffee she was carrying. Her eyes are glued to Evan and Chava and she doesn’t notice me standing in the corner of the room crying.

“Que demonios es esto? {What the hell is this?},” she cries. “What are you doing to my son?” she screams at Evan. She runs at him and begins throwing punches while I do my best to pull her off. She shoves me off of her, causing me to fall on the ground and hit my head against the edge of the bed.

I look up at her in a daze and I feel b***d drip down the side of my face. It takes a few seconds for my blurry vision to subside and I see a look of shock take over Mom’s face as she realizes it’s me.

“Que haces aqui? Todo esto es tu culpa! {What are you doing here? This is all your fault},” she yells as she lunges at me.

Evan dives for her leg and pulls hard, causing Mom to lose her balance and fall on the ground before me. Infuriated, Salvador grabs Evan, cursing and hitting him. The door slams open and Oliver, Carter and a few other River Moon wolves storm inside. The wolves pull Salvador off of Evan, while Oliver helps me up.

“Get off of me bastards! Let me go!” Chava screams at the wolves and attempts to lunge at Evan again.

One of the wolves pulls Chava back in to a choke hold while another two hold his arms back. His eyes glow green again and suddenly a lion appears before him and lunges at Evan. The lion moves swiftly and manages to sink its teeth into Evan’s shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Several of the wolves shift and take on the lion before it can kill Evan. The Lion disintegrates into a cloud of smoke when a wolf rips out its throat.

The commotion must have caught the attention of the medical staff because they quickly file into the room.

“All of you out! Family only,” the head nurse orders us.

“Soy su hermana, {I’m her sister}” I say quietly.

“Eres nada! {You’re nothing}” Mom snaps, causing me to cower into Oliver’s chest.

“Es tu hija! {She’s your daughter} ” Oliver shouts back. “And she can help!”

“Help? She can’t help us! She’s just a worthless murderer!” Chava retorts. “Asesina {Murderer}!”

“She’s a healer, you f*****g i***t,” Evan snarls, wiping b***d from his mouth and cradling his shoulder

Chava, Mom, and the medical team turn to Evan, shocked.

“She’s a what?” Chava asks.

“She can save Mia,” Oliver grumbles. “She’s healed Evan and I before.”

Chava looks down at me with disgust. “You’ve had this power this whole time and you never once thought of using it on our pack? On Dad?”

Tears burn my eyes. “I-“

“She didn’t know until a couple weeks ago,” Oliver snaps. “Besides, it’s not like you fuckers gave her a chance to learn about her abilities by keeping her locked away and starved in that basement all those years!.”

“Got a smart mouth on you Alpha. Let me fix it for ya,” Chava growls.

Oliver and Chava are at each other’s throats, launching the whole room into a frenzy of threats, punches and screams. I take the opportunity to sneak over to Mia’s beside and place my hands gently on her face.

“It’s going to be okay,” I say leaning over and kissing Mia’s forehead. “You’re going to wake up again.”

I focus my energy on her and a surge of electricity flows between us.

“Hey what are you- “

I ignore Chava and continue. My head is pounding from my injury but I keep going and push through the discomfort. As my vision begins to blur and my knees go weak, I feel Oliver’s chest behind me and I lean into him.

Mia g****s and her eyes flutter open, revealing pools of chocolate. My legs go limp and Oliver lifts me into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his chest.

“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs.

“Did I help her?” I ask.

“Mhmm. She’s going to be just fine.”

Relieved, I close my eyes and give into the darkness.