The Ivory Queen -
Chapter 42
***Aurora’s POV***
Don’t panic, Aurora. Just tell them you hid. Reyna coerces.
“Isaiah and I hid in the bathroom. The medallion must have hid our scents and they walked right past us,” I lie.
Oliver sighs. “I guess that stupid medallion is useful.”
Carter gives me a skeptical look, but quickly changes the subject.
“We better get you to the infirmary,” he says. “There are a lot injured wolves who need you.”
We make our way down to the infirmary where the number of patients has tripled since Evan and I first arrived. I make my way through the chaos and replace Dr. Melanie working on a young wolf with a huge gash in his chest.
“How can I help?” I ask.
“There are several wolves here who were bitten and infected with that witch poison,” she says solemnly. “It’s too much for you.”
“How many?”
She hesitates before looking through her note book. “21” she sighs. “I can’t ask you to heal them all, especially knowing what happened last time.”
“I can do it,” I say, trying to sound convincing.
Dr. Melanie gives me a weak smile. “I admire your courage, but this might be too tall a task even for you.”
“Let me at least try,” I plead, not wanting to give up on those 21 lives.
She refuses to budge so I move on to a compromising strategy.
“What if I do it in increments? I can heal 7 at a time, then take a hour break in between to replenish my energy.”
She sighs. “Aurora-“
“These are 21 lives we’re taking about here. 21 families who need their loved ones back. Please, Melanie, let me try!”
“Are you sure about this?”
I nod and she scoots over so I can see the young wolf beside her. She tears out the page with a list of patient bed numbers on it and pulls out a vial of lavender oil from her pocket and hands them both to me.
“Here is a list of all the patients infected with poison and what beds they’re in. When you’re done with the first 7, I will sedate you, Aurora, and let you rest for one hour before I wake you up again,” she says quietly.
She motions for Oliver and the boys to come help me.
“I’m going to help with some other patients and I’ll leave this to you. Remember, only 7 at a time or I will send you home,” she warns.
She turns to the boys and informs them of my compromise. I can tell right away they don’t agree.
“I don’t like this at all, Aurora. You’re not doing it,” Oliver frowns. “It’s too much to ask for, even with the breaks.”
I’m about to protest when Carter speaks.
“Aurora, please think about this carefully. You could be risking your life using this much energy!” Carter chimes in.
Evan is silent and gloomy, knowing well that nothing in this world could make me change my mind.
“Evan, tell her this is stupid!” Carter snaps.
Evan shakes his head. “There’s no point. She’s already made up her mind,” he replies taking the vial from my hand. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Evan drapes his arm around my shoulder. “Ready when you are.”
I nod and take my place beside the young wolf before making Oliver and Carter swear they will not interfere no matter how much pain I’m in. I lay my hand on the wolf’s chest and let the electricity flow between us. I instantly feel the burning sensation shoot up my arm towards my temple and I try my best to stifle a scream. Gritting my teeth, I push forward, absorbing the witch poison out of his system. My temples start throbbing and I cry out as the pain intensifies on my palm. It feels like the flesh on my arm is burning off while a thousand needles pierce through my head. When the wound finally closes, I fall into Oliver’s arms while Evan waves the lavender oil under my nose. Carter watches in horror as I writhe in agony and I hear several wolves nearby whimper as I continue to scream.
After the pain subsides, Oliver lifts me up in his arms.
“Aurora, are you sure about this?” He whimpers. “We can stop now. We can-“
“There … are 20 … more … to go,” I pant, mustering up the rest of my energy. “Help me to the next bed.”
He wipes away a few tears and takes me to the next patient on the list. It’s an older gentleman of about fifty from the B***d Moon Pack. As I reach for his wound, he grabs my hand and shakes his head.
“I c-can wait,” he g****s, before pointing to the younger she-wolf laying in the next bed over. “T-There are other y-younger wolves who ne-ed your help mo-more than I do,” he says through gritted teeth. “I c-can wait.”
My eyes fill with tears at his selfless gesture and I give his hand a soft k**s.
Oliver helps me to the she wolf and I examine her wound. There’s a large bite mark on her right calf so deep I can even see her bone. She shakes terribly, crying in pain. I grab hold of her hand and give her a reassuring smile.
“You’re going to be ok,” I say quietly and place my hand on her leg.
My head is on fire as I absorb the poison and l let out a strained g***n. Beads of sweat cover my temples and I close my eyes to keep myself from crying. I hear Evan whimper behind me as my screams grow louder. The pain intensifies as I take the last drop of poison and close her wound before I stumble back into Oliver’s arms. My body convulses in agony until the lavender oil takes effect.
I march through the next five patients with the boys begging me to stop after each patient. By the fifth healing, all of the non-bitten wolves are transferred to other sections of the hospital and only 2 nurses are left to help tend to the bitten wolves.
As I finish up my last wolf of the first interval, Dr. Melanie comes back with the promised sedative. I’m shaking violently in Oliver’s arms, my entire body exhausted from the pain.
“Aurora, are you sure you still want to go through with this?” She asks tentatively, prepping the sedative.
I nod my head, my voice hoarse from screaming so much, and stick out my arm for her.
I look up at Oliver. “I’m sorry,” I mouth.
Oliver refuses to look me in the eyes. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?” He snaps.
I reach for his chin and force him to look at me. His anger fades immediately and he leans down to k**s my forehead.
Melanie delivers the sedative and I slip into oblivion.
———
The next few hours are by far the worst of my life. As promised, I’m woken up and fed before I’m allowed to continue with the next batch of infected wolves. The nurses bring me a wheel chair to help me move between patients and hook me up to an IV to keep me hydrated. No family members are allowed in the infirmary and each wolf I heal is subsequently wheeled out and taken down to eat before being reunited with their packs. Several offer their thanks before leaving, giving me the strength to keep going. I fight through the fatigue and agony and manage to complete the second interval. As I enter the third round, I lose the strength to speak and resort to using hand signals and mouthing out words.
By the time I finish my 16th wolf, Evan decides he’s had enough and steps out to get some air, our gamma bond making it hard for him to watch me in pain. Not wanting him to be alone, I send Carter out to follow him to try his best to comfort him.
Oliver continues to help me through the next 4 four wolves alone, but I can tell my pain has taken its toll on him. I lift a weak arm and point to the door. “Go,” I mouth, not wanting to see him cry any longer.
He shakes his head furiously. “No. I’m staying.” He wipes away his tears and k****s me gently on the cheeks. “You’re not doing this alone.”
He wheels me over to the last wolf, the same gentleman who had asked me to help the other wolves first. I offer him a weak smile as I approach him and see the tears in his eyes.
“P-please Miss Luna, I’ve he-heard your cries all d-day,” the man whimpers. “I-I can w-wait another day ’til y-you recover. Don’t w-worry about m-me.”
I take his hand and shake my head. A surge of pain causes him to cry out and his hand trembles in mine.
“I’ll be fine,” he g****s.
“Name?” I mouth to him.
“R-Russell,” he stutters. “M-My name i-is Russell.”
“Family?” I mouth, trying to distract him from his pain.
He tries his best to smile. “I ha-have a beautiful wife and- and a daughter,” he pants. “She’s pregnant with my third grandchild, a girl. I-I’m so ex-cited t-to meet her! They’re m-my entire li-fe.”
I smile at him as he proceeds to tell me how he met his wife, Grace, 30 years ago. A small whimper escapes his lips and I decide I’ve had enough of a break and begin to focus on his injury.
Russell has a severe bite wound across his abdomen. I place my hand just above it, causing him to wince. I cry out as the burning sensation sets my head on fire. I close my eyes to focus on the poison and feel the last of my energy begin to drain. I’m exhausted but force myself to continue, taking every last drop poison with all the accompanying pain. The bite wound finally closes and I writhe in agony in my chair while Oliver runs the oil underneath my nose. I inhale deeply, wanting the pain to subside quickly. Melanie rushes in with the sedative and I eagerly give her my arm.
“Please hurry!” Oliver cries.
Russell thanking me is the last thing I hear before the sedative lulls me into a deep slumber.
———
The soft breeze rustles through the trees, whispering my name and the purple fire orb appears before me. I follow it back to the stream where I’m pleased to see Celina waiting for me on the other side throwing stones in the water. Her little pink water orb floats happily beside her.
She looks up as she hears me approaching.
“Aurora!” She yells out excitedly, jumping up from her spot and walking into the stream.
I run right into the cool water, eager to hold her. As we embrace each other, happy tears run down my face.
“I’ve found you. I’ve finally found you…” she cries in disbelief.
I hold onto her tightly, afraid she’ll disappear if I let go.
“I know this is a dream but it feels so real,” I confess.
“Well it is almost like a dream,” she laughs. “But I am real.”
She takes a step back and spins around in a circle with her arms spread out wide.
“This place is our own little realm,” she giggles. “Only you and I have access to it. I first discovered it the night I got my medallion! I’ve been coming here every night hoping to see you here,” her smile fades. “But you never did..”
I look down at my feet. “I only just got my medallion,” I confess, saddened that my sister searched so long for me. “My mom -I mean- tio Emiliano’s wife, kept it hidden from me all these years as punishment.”
She gives me a confused look. “Punishment for what?” She asks.
A tear escapes my eye and I quickly turn to wipe it away. “Emiliano died and … and s-she thinks I killed him…”
Her eyes sadden and she gently places her hand over mine. “We’ve known he was gone for a while. Our tia felt it through their twin bond, I guess. When you guys didn’t show up at our meeting place, it only confirmed her suspicions,” she sighs. “And they blame you for that?”
I nod my head and try to control my emotions. She wraps her arms around me again and gives me a squeeze, comforting me instantly.
She pulls me to the shore to sit beside her. We talk for what seems like hours, filling each other in about all the events in the last 18 years. She tells me she was raised by Emiliano’s twin sister, Valentina, who is also a silver wolf. She has the gift of self-spawning, meaning she can create multiple copies of herself. They reside in Colorado with her pack, Valle de la Luna.
“That’s so strange. Tio Emiliano never mentioned having a twin sister,” I say.
“Tia Valentina never told me about tio Emiliano either until the day we were supposed to meet.”
She continues telling me about herself. She graduated high school and attends the local community college. She hasn’t found her mate yet but she’s excited to meet him.
I proceed to tell her all about my life in California. I explain uncle Emiliano’s death and how I’ve been blamed for it for the past 5 years. I hold back on the details of the torture, not wanting to relive those nightmares nor burden anyone else with my pain and I’m relieved Celina doesn’t pry.
“I’m so sorry you had to endure that all by yourself,” she sighs, hugging me tightly.
“It’s alright,” I say. “I have Oliver and my new pack now,” I smile.
“Good,” she says, wiping her tears. “You deserve to be happy.” A grin replaces her frown. “Now tell me all about him!” She squeals.
When I mention that he rejected me at first, Celina hates Oliver’s guts, but softens a little when I detail our relationship and all the great things about him.
“Do you love him?” She asks when I finish.
“More than I could ever describe to you,” I sigh. “Oliver is by no means perfect. He can be overprotective and grumpy and hot headed, but he can also be so sweet and gentle and selfless.”
“I’m still kicking his a*s when I meet him!” She grunts and I scold her.
“You will do no such thing!”
She rolls her eyes and I burst into laughter.
“I can’t wait to replace my own mate,” she hums, staring at nothing in particular. “I hope he’s funny,” she giggles.
“I’m sure Moon Goddess has someone very special for you,” I smile.
Suddenly, the sky grows darker and I know I’m waking up. She squeezes my hand lightly as I begin to panic.
“No!” I cry. “I can’t leave yet. I-“
“It’s ok, Aurora,” she says, her voice soft. “We’ll see each other soon.”
“But I don’t even know how to get here!”
She gives me a sweet smile. “Yes you do,” she says before getting up to leave. I watch as she disappears and I’m left all alone.
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