The Ivory Queen
Chapter 37

***Aurora’s POV***

It’s almost 2pm when I wake up. Carter is leaning back on a chair fast asleep with a magazine over his eyes while Evan is on the floor reading a book to Rio, who appears to be listening carefully.

“What are you reading,” I mumble as I stretch. My voice is very hoarse.

“Birdman. It’s an insanely good crime novel about a detective trying to stop a serial killer, but it’s written from both the detective and killer’s point of view. It’s super twisted.”

“That sounds intense,” I laugh.

“It is,” he says, setting the book down. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” I lie.

I’m actually freezing, my body aches and there’s a tickle in my throat. Evan gets up and sits on the edge of the bed. He motions me to get closer and he begins inspecting my cheek. His hazel eyes burn with anger.

“I’m ok, Evan,” I say trying to calm him down. I give him another shy smile hoping to convince him.

He ignores me, placing a hand on my forehead. The tickle in my throat gets too intense and I bring my forearm to my mouth and cough for a solid 30 seconds. It’s enough to wake Carter up. He looks up at me confused.

“s**t, you’ve got a fever,” Evan says. “Probably from being outside in the cold all morning.”

Carter frowns at me. “Aurora, what the hell were you thinking going out in the cold like that?”

I shiver and Evan wraps a blanket around me. “I just wanted to get some air,” I reply weakly. “I’m sorry.”

I try my best not to cry and quickly wipe away a stray tear. Evan’s face softens up and he pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me to stop me from shivering so much. Katherine and Sam come running in with a cup of tea, urging me to drink.

Evan’s parents are incredible. Katherine is a beautiful woman who looked absolutely fantastic for a women of 46, with gorgeous dark skin and voluminous 3c curls reaching her shoulders. Sam was equally handsome with kind green eyes, dirty blonde hair and the same crooked smile Evan boasted. Prior to today, I had never met Sam or Katherine but I now understand why Oliver, Rosalie and Carter adored them so much. They were incredibly sweet. As soon as I set foot in their house, I was treated like family. Sam is goof ball like Evan, cracking jokes and making me laugh so hard I cried.

“Thank you, Katherine,” I say as I finish the tea.

“Oh hush now, sweetie,” she chuckles. “You are always welcome here. Now just wait until I get my hands on that Oliver. I’ll teach him a thing or two about how to treat a girl,” she scolds and I can’t help but laugh. She softens her face and gives me a hug. “Oliver really is a good boy, just has a bit of a temper on him. You shouldn’t worry too much. He’ll come to his senses. He always does.”

“Mama,” Evan calls out. “Any updates on him?”

She sighs. “I just got a call from Gabrielle (Carter’s Mom). He’s got guards on alert and several search teams combing through the territory looking for her. And I believe Rosalie is worried sick about you,” she says pointing at Carter. “It won’t be long until he figures out you’re here.”

I tense up and my hand goes instinctively to my cheek.

“Hey, don’t worry. Carter and I will make sure he never puts hands on you again, you hear me? So just relax. Everything’s gonna be ok,” Evan reassures me, rubbing my aching back.

“Oh s**t, I’ve got 13 missed calls from Oliver and 17 from Rosie,” Carter says, checking his phone. “I’ve got 20 texts too.”

Evan pulls out his phone and turns it back on. “20 missed calls and 14 messages,” he replies. “We’re in trouble,” he adds with a chuckle.

I feel guilty putting the guys through this. “I’m sorry,” I whimper.

“Nope, we’ll have none of that,” Evan says giving me a squeeze. “You are my best friend and as your best friend, I am required to help you. It’s in the best friend hand guide. Look it up sometime.”

He winks at me and I laugh. I love this silly boy. He really has become my best friend.

“What am I? A sack of potatoes?” Carter interjects.

“Aww, is baby boy Carter jealous that our Luna likes me better?” Evan teases.

Cater rolls his eyes at him. I outstretch my arm to him and he happily plops on the bed and pulls me out of Evan’s arms to give me a hug.

“I’ve got your back, your majesty,” he whispers into my ear.

“Luna, are you hungry? I made you some soup, I can bring you a bowl if you like,” Katherine asks.

“How come you’re never this nice to me when I come to visit?” Evan whines.

She smacks him over the side of the head before turning to leave.

“You see what I have to deal with?” He complains, rubbing his head and combing his fingers through his short curls.

“You have a very kind mother,” I say quietly. “You’re very lucky.”

“I know,” he replies. “She’s the best and she’s your mom too now. I don’t mind sharing.”

I laugh at his silly antics and lay my head on his shoulder. Katherine comes back with several bowls of soup which the boys scarf down immediately. I’m not that hungry but force myself to eat since the boys literally watch me.

“You know I can do without the audience,” I joke.

“Just making sure you eat, Luna. You’re sick and you need to feed your body if you want to get better.” Evan says, pushing a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

“I’m happy to see you and Evan get along so well,” Sam laughs. “He always wanted a little sister. Now he has one. You can watch those- uh -cartoons he likes so much with him!” he says, grinning ear to ear.

“Dad!” Evan g****s in embarrassment and I burst into laughter.

As I finish my bowl, we hear knocking at the front door. Sam checks to see who it is and comes running back into the room.

“It’s the Alpha and his sister!” Sam says in hushed tones. “Lock the door. I’ll stall for as long as I can!”

He steps out and Carter locks the door behind them and shoves a dresser in front of it to block the entrance.

Evan wraps me back up in the blanket and pulls me into his arms. My heart is racing and I fight the urge to burst into the tears. We hear shouting at the front door followed by angry footsteps. Oliver and Rosalie storm inside, stopping in front of our door. Oliver tries turning the door knob with no luck, infuriating him.

I whimper and Evan holds me tighter. Rio starts going crazy, barking and growling at the door.

“Open up now!” Oliver shouts.

We stay still and Oliver bangs on the door. Hearing his angry pounding reminds me of all the times Karina used to pound on the door whenever I tried to lock myself in the basement. I don’t even know why I bothered. The beatings were always ten times worse when I did and she always managed to get in.

“Carter, OPEN UP NOW!” He commands using his Alpha voice.

Carter struggles against the command. I make eye contact with him and nod, giving him the ok to let them in.

“I’m sorry,” he mouths as he walks to the door and removes the dresser.

I wrap my arms around Evan’s neck and hold on for dear life as I hear Carter unlock the door. Evan repositions the blanket over my head and holds me tighter.

“I got you,” he whispers.

Oliver and Rosalie burst in through the door. Rosalie runs to Carter and smacks him square in the jaw.

“What the actual f**k! Why didn’t you answer my calls? You had me worried sick!” She snaps at him. “I thought something happened to you!”

He doesn’t respond and pulls her into his arms, instantly calming her down. Meanwhile, I can feel Oliver’s angry stare on Evan and I. Rio jumps on the bed and snarls at him, baring his teeth.

“LET GO OF MY MATE!” He commands Evan.

Evan obeys orders, dropping his hands. I, however, refuse to let go of him. Oliver comes over and tries to yank me off of him. Rio charges and bites down on his arm. Oliver pushes him away and Rio goes flying off the bed, landing on the ground with a thump and a tiny yelp. He gets back on his feet and keeps barking.

“Oliver back off,” Carter snaps, shoving Oliver out of the way and standing in front of Evan and I. “You need to calm down.“

Oliver wraps his hands around Carter’s throat, pinning him against the wall and applying pressure. Carter starts gasping for air, desperately trying to push Oliver off but he’s too strong for him.

“Don’t f*****g tell me what to do!” he snarls.

“Oliver let go of him!” Rosalie pleads trying to pry his fingers off Carter’s neck. “Let go!”

Oliver loosens his grip but keeps Carter pinned against the wall.

“Young man, you better think about what you’re doing and who you’re hurting in my house!” Katherine warns. “Your Luna is watching. Is this the man you want her to see?”

He turns to look at me and I quickly hide my face from him and bury it in Evan’s chest, his scent helping me to keep from crying.

“Please stop,” I whimper. “Just let him go.”

Oliver drops Carter on the ground and walks over to me. His voice is soft when he speaks. “Come home with me,” he pleads. “I promise I’m not mad anymore. I forgive you, just-just come home.”

I feel a growl rumble through Evan’s chest.

“You forgive her?! Goddess, you are something else, you know that?” Evan scoffs.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Oliver snarls.

“Son, don’t,” Sam scolds Evan as he places his hand on his shoulder.

My lungs decide this is the best time to act up and I go into a coughing fit. Evan rubs my back and pulls the blanket tighter over me.

“Is she sick?” Oliver asks sitting on the edge of the bed. “Baby, are you sick?”

“She has a fever and a cough,” Evan says bitterly. “She was outside all night thanks to your dumbass.”

Evan’s comment is enough to send Oliver into a snarling frenzy and Evan replies with the same energy.

“Evan!” Katherine snaps. “That’s enough from you too. Both of you need to calm down. You’re behaving like children in front of your Luna.”

They both stop and I hear tenderness in Oliver’s voice when he speaks to me again.

“Aurora come home, I’ll have Meghan look you over.”

“You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to,” Evan whispers in my ear and hugs me tightly. “You can stay right here if you want.”

“She’s coming home!” Oliver erupts, trying to take me out of Evan’s arms.

I scream and he lets go immediately.

“Baby, I’m not mad anymore. I won’t hurt you,” Oliver says with sadness in his voice.

I curl back up in Evan’s arms as he once again wraps the blanket around me.

“I’ll come home,” I whimper.

But I’m not staying. I just need to grab my things.

Reyna tries to protest so I block her out. Oliver attempts to reach for me, but I yelp and squirm away from him.

“P-please don’t touch me,” I beg, shaking my head. “E-Evan can take me.” Evan’s body tenses up. I know he doesn’t want me to go. “Please Evan?”

After a but of silence, he nods and shifts my body as he lifts me up. I bury my face in his chest to hide the bruise from Oliver. Carter walks over and helps Evan gently wrap the blanket around me. I see a hint of jealousy in Rosalie and Oliver’s eyes so I tap Carter on the shoulder.

“I’m ok, go with Ro. She needs you,” I whisper.

He walks over to Rosalie and steals a k**s from her lips, melting away her the tiny bit of jealousy in her eyes. I thank Katherine and Sam and Evan carries me back to the house while Oliver walks beside him, stealing glances at me every so often.

As Evan sets me down near the bed, the blanket slips, exposing my bruised face to Oliver and Rosalie.

Oliver’s eyes quickly fill to pure rage when he catches sight of the bruise on my cheek. He comes closer to inspect it but I quickly step back. I don’t want him touching me. He ignores my fear and grabs me by my chin to have a look. I feel the sparks when our skin touch, but I’m also l terrified of him. My legs start to shake.

“Who did this to you? Who did this?” He snaps, pointing at my bruised cheek. “And don’t you dare lie to me.”

I stare at him dumbfounded. He really doesn’t remember? I want to scream but all I manage to get out is a pathetic squeak.

“You’re such a sack of s**t, Oliver,” Evan steps in, pulling me away from him. “How could you pretend to not know?”

“What the f**k are you-“

“You did this to her!” Evan shouts. “How could you, man? After everything she’s been through, how could you f*****g hit her?”

Oliver looks angry. “You’re lying. This isn’t funny, Evan. I would never do something like this to her. Ever!” He tries to come closer but I flinch and hide behind Evan. Oliver looks back confused, straining to remember last night. “N-No. No. I didn’t.” He turns to me. “I couldn’t-“ He takes a few steps towards me. “Tell me it isn’t true. I didn’t hit you last night, did I?”

Evan wraps his arms around my shivering body. Carter starts searching through the cupboards for more blankets.

“Aurora, I didn’t mean it. I-I was drunk. Please forgive me! Don’t be scared of me, please,” he begs, getting on his knees.

Forgive him. He didn’t mean it! Reyna whines. Our mate wouldn’t hurt us on purpose!

I go into another coughing fit and Carter wraps me up in two blankets.

“Aurora, I’m so sorry. I-I don’t even remember hitting you, I was so, so drunk -“

He continues to explain himself and begs for forgiveness, but I’m no longer listening. Instead, Karina’s drunken episode keeps replaying in my head. Last night brought me back to all the horrors I survived with my family. All the evil I refuse to speak about.

My heart starts pounding and I focus on my shallow breathes. I feel like I’m choking and I can’t seem to get enough air in my lungs.

The fear, the anger, my secrets, my coughing… it’s all too much and I start to feel light headed and dizzy. I lean into Evan for support and before I know it, I’m surrounded by darkness.