The Ivory Queen
Chapter 73

***Javier’s POV***

I haven’t left my bedroom since I arrived home yesterday. I spent the entire night tossing and turning, my wolf crying for its mate and my mind torturing me with guilt. Celina’s rejection keeps replaying in my mind like a broken record, each word killing me slowly.

What’s driving me insane, however, is knowing she’s justified in her hatred of me. After Oliver explained Aurora and Celina’s shift more and I saw their powers in action, I realized I made a huge mistake in taking part in Aurora’s torture. My shame kept me up all night. Aurora was never the same after I locked her in that closet. I took her peace of mind and given how she reacted to me yesterday, I can only assume that closet still haunts her.

I need to fix this. I need to ask for Aurora’s forgiveness and I need my mate.

I call Mia and Salvador to my room. They both stare at me in confusion when they step inside and I motion for them to sit down.

“You look like s**t” Chava comments, clearly concerned for my well-being. “Where were you yesterday?.”

“I met my mate,” I whisper.

“Holy s**t, congrats,” Chava smiles. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

His smile fades when I look up at him. “She rejected me.” I have to hold back my tears as I admit this to my closest friends.

“What!” they say in unison.

“She rejected you?” Mia asks. “But you’re such a great guy!”

“She thinks I’m a monster…”

“Is she human?” Salvador asks sympathetically. “Humans mates are really complicated.”

“Aurora isn’t your sister, is she?” I blurt out.

Chava’s face hardens at the mention of his greatest enemy. Before he can say anything, however, Mia beats him to the punch.

“How did you know?” she asks accusingly. “Who told you?”

So she knew…

“Oliver,” I admit. “I was at River Moon yesterday.”

“WHY?” Salvador demands.

“Because he asked and I was curious as to what he had to say. I wasn’t planning on staying for as long as I did, but I met my mate and had to make sure she was okay before I left.”

“Your mate is a River Moon mutt?” he snarls.

“No, I don’t really know where she’s from,” I sigh. “She said she was a Princess from some place. Sol de Something, I don’t know.” Mia’s face drains of b***d and she looks like she’s about to pass out. “Hey what’s wrong?”

Salvador notices and wraps his arm around her. “You okay?” he asks, shaking her shoulder.

“She found her,” she mumbles absent-mindedly.

“What are you talking about it?”

I ignore Salvador since he clearly has no idea what Aurora and Celina are and instead focus on Mia. “You know who Aurora is, don’t you?”

She nods her head while Chava’s frustration seems to grow. “Will someone explain to me what’s going on?”

Mia proceeds to explain a hidden letter written by their uncle Mateo that claimed Aurora and her sister, Celina, were royalty. She tells us she did research on Aurora’s lineage (against Aurora’s wishes), through some enchanted book she found at the library and like Oliver, claims Aurora and Celina are extremely powerful silver and gold wolf hybrids known as Ivory twins.

When she’s done, she turns to look at me. “Have Aurora and Celina shifted yet?”

I nod. “Oliver says they completed their first shift on Monday.”

Her face falls and a few tears roll down her cheek. “So then you know Aurora is innocent and she was telling the truth the entire time.”

“What the f**k did you just say?” Salvador snarls at his sister. “You think Aurora is innocent?”

“We know she is innocent,” I mumble.

Salvador looks at me in disbelief. “How could you say that?”

“Oliver explained Aurora’s history in detail to me and Mia just corroborated the story. Aurora is an Ivory twin. There is no feasible way for her to have gone rogue and killed your father.”

“What the f**k does being an Ivory whatever the f**k you just said, have to do with her killing my father?”

Mia answers his question with an annoyed tone. “Because, dipshit, Ivory twins must complete their first shift in each other’s presence or else the shift results in death.”

“And since Aurora is clearly still alive and only just met Celina this past Monday, it would be impossible for her to have shifted, gone rogue, and killed Emiliano that night,” I finish for her.

Salvador is seething with rage, too filled with hatred to understand the truths we’ve given him.

Wait until I tell him about the bombshell Oliver dropped on me regarding their mother.

***Aurora’s POV***

I have been sitting near the water’s edge for Goddess knows how long, waiting for Celina to appear and I’m growing impatient. Had she not fallen asleep yet?

As if on cue, Celina finally shows up. We sit on a warm patch of grass as the sun shines down on our glistening brown skin. A cool breeze passes through, carrying the smell of wildflowers. The forest is still but peaceful.

“So how are you holding up?” I finally ask, slipping my hand in hers and waiting.

She lays her head in my lap and stretches out. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it would hurt this much,” she shrugs.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I’m just…. Confused. For years, all I’ve ever wanted was to replace my mate and live happily ever after. And when I saw him,” her voice breaks, “I was ready to love him completely. But then,” she laughs bitterly, “I saw the way he looked at you… with pure hatred. And you’re so afraid of him! What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t accept him knowing he hurt you, especially when I don’t even know how he hurt you.”

I wipe the stray tear that falls down her cheek and sigh.

“I can tell you this. Before Emiliano died, Javier was one of my favorite people. He was very sweet and always looked out for me. And Goddess, he was so funny too. We used to team up and mess with Salvador all the time,” I laugh, remembering the time we replaced all of Chava’s photos with pictures of Cheech Marin. It took him a whole week to notice!

“We were the ultimate pranksters. Once, we taped a walkie talkie to Chava’s ceiling fan and if he was busy studying or sleeping, we’d meow into it. He actually thought a stray cat lived in his room and he started buying it food!”

She bursts into laughter as I continue to explain all the pranks we used to pull on Chava and even Mia sometimes. “Sounds like you two were close…” she says, a hint of jealousy in her voice and I smile.

“Once upon a time,” I reply, grinning at her. “No need to get jealous. We were kids, remember and I’m happily mated now.”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Her face turns grim. “How did he hurt you?” she asks, her voice quiet.

I brush my fingers through her white locks and think for minute. “Javier never hit me. He never screamed or yelled at me either,” I say. “But he is the reason I don’t trust people with my thoughts anymore. I told him my secrets and he betrayed me.”

“But how did he do that? There’s gotta be more to it than-“

“Look, if you want to know, ask him yourself! I swore a long time ago that I would never speak of it again with anyone and I never will,” I snap, losing my patience. Celina looks at me with hurt in her eyes and I regret exploding on her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh but I’m really done with the subject. Javier can answer that question if you’re still curious.”

She purses her lips, but agrees to drop the subject. “So we get to train?” she asks, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, Oliver and I… uh… came to an agreement.” My cheeks turn red as I remember the events leading up to the agreement. “We train with the females and Evan has to supervise.”

She rolls her eyes. “Evan might as well be your shadow.”

“Tell me about it.”

—

Celina and I report to the training grounds at 8 am sharp, excited to finally be allowed to train with the other females. Evan remains by our side, reporting to Oliver every thirty minutes about our progress.

We spend the first four hours going through rigorous drills, boxing and learning self-defense moves. We spar against some females without using our powers to get a feel for hand to hand combat. By noon, I’m deeply regretting my decision of coming here. I don’t think I’ve ever worked out this many muscles at the same time and I know I’m going to feel this tomorrow. After our lunch break, we select the sparring circle furthest from the grounds for us to practice using our powers. It starts raining, which is perfect for Celina’s water element.

“If you hurt my Luna, I will hurt you,” Evan warns Celina as we enter the circle.

I laugh at his threat but I can tell he’s not kidding.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let him touch you,” I whisper in her ear and she giggles.

As we start preparing ourselves for our match, a crowd gathers around at a safe distance from the circle, the warriors curious to see what the Ivory twins can do.

“Ready?” Celina asks as she stretches her arms. I give her a small nod and the battle begins.

Celina leans back and I know she’s going to activate her sonic scream. I put a force field around myself just before the first sound wave can touch me. Unfortunately, the scream manages to knock over a few wolves in the crowd. I drop my force field and throw a couple of fire balls at her. To her amazement, a pink force field emanates from her arms, protecting her from my flames. Wanting to throw her off, I become invisible and charge at her but she retaliates by spinning around and creating a wind blade that knocks me over on my a*s.

Ok, enough games. Let’s show her what we’re made of, Reyna says.

I stomp on the ground, raising a chunk of earth of the ground and jerk my hands forward, sending the chunk at full speed at Celina. Her barrier cracks and I take advantage to aim a ray of lightening at her. That’s when the most incredible thing happens. Celina disappears from her spot and the next thing I know, I’m punched in the face, a little b***d trickling from my nose. Celina stands beside me, grinning from ear to ear. Evan jumps into the circle, his eyes glowing lime green and he snarls at Celina.

“Evan it’s okay. STEP BACK,” I command in my royal voice.

He obediently leaves the circle and returns to his spot, grumbling a few cuss words and threats at Celina under his breath. I wipe the b***d off my face.

“Oh my goddess, I teleported!” Celina squeals when I’m done scolding Evan. “I just thought about being next to you and next thing I know, I’m standing beside you! Sorry about the nose though,” she adds sheepishly.

She can teleport?

We get back into fighting position and I eye her carefully, waiting for her next move. We’re both still and I decide to make the first move. I lift a stone and aim it her but she just blows it away. Celina charges at me, ready to punch me again but a vortex opens in front of me and her hand plunges into it. A second vortex opens beside her and her arm comes out it, punching her over the head and knocking her to the ground.

Ha! She punched herself!

“I can make portals!” I whisper looking over at Evan who smiles proudly at me.

Celine stares at me wide eyed as she picks herself up and rubs the side of her head. “I hate you,” she mutters.

I open another vortex in front of me and run through it, coming out of a portal behind Celina and tackling her to the ground. She uses her sonic scream and blasts me off of her. I hit the ground with a g***n but get back on my feet quickly, afraid she might knock me down again. Suddenly the world seems to stop, the droplets of rain becoming frozen in midair. Everything stands still.

“Is that you or me?” She asks looking around at the world frozen in time.

“You’re glowing pink!” I gasp.

“Holy s**t, I think just slowed down time!” Celina giggles as she examines herself.

What? No fair, she controls time!

Celina’s eyes widen as she finally turns to look at me. “Woah you’re glowing too!”

I look down at my hands and realize she’s right, I am glowing, a violet hue emanating around me.

“What power is this?” I say out loud and Celina shrugs.

“I don’t know, but it seems you are immune to my time manipulation. See, everyone else is frozen. Even the wind is still.”

Light manipulation, Reyna whispers. You’re moving at the speed of Light so her powers don’t work on you unless she touches you. There’s more to your powers of course, but it will take time for you reach your full potential.

Light manipulation? I repeat.

Celina speeds up time again, the world continuing as it was and I stop glowing.

“My wolf says I can manipulate light,” I say. “I’m immune to your time manipulation unless you touch me.”

“This is so cool!” She squeals excitedly. “My wolf says we have so much to learn though! I can’t wait!”

We continue to fight and haphazardly stumble through our powers. To sum up what each of us discovers, Celina can: camouflage against any surface she touches, manipulate time, sense and manipulate emotions, produce a sonic scream, mold her body into different shapes (think Elastigirl and Mr. Fantastic), and teleport.

I, on the other hand, can: turn completely invisible, manipulate light, manipulate and alter the senses, produce lightning, create armor from objects I touch (i.e. if I touch iron, my skin turns to iron), and create vortexes.

Apart from our individual gifts and our elements, we also share many abilities. According to Reyna, Celina and I both share healing, mental shields, force fields, the royal voice, telekinetic, and telepathic powers. Most of our gifts will take time to develop properly, especially the telekinetic and telepathic powers.

Reyna also tells me there’s more but for now, this is more than plenty of power for me to figure out how to control.

As you can imagine, we did quite a bit of damage to the training grounds, but fixed as much as we could when we were done with our battle. Our warriors were shocked at the raw power we possess, their excitement growing with every ability we discovered.

Back at the house, Celina and I heal, shower, and nap for a few hours, having exhausted ourselves in training.

Mid sleep, I’m rudely awakened by Evan knocking on my door.

“What is it?” I grumble as I let him in, still half asleep.

“Salvador, Mia and Javier are at the River Moon gates.”

I’m awake instantly. “What?”

“They requested an audience with you and your sister. I’ve already dispatched 20 guards to the gates and informed Oliver. He’ll be here soon, but he said it’s up to you what we should do. So should I let them in or send them home?” He asks.

“I-I don’t know,” I mutter.

Discovering Mia partook in my torture was devastating for me and stomaching both Salvador and Javier’s presence at the same time seemed like an impossible task. Noticing my uneasiness, Evan pulls me into his arms.

“It okay to not be ready to face them. You are not obligated to let them into your life,” he sighs, rubbing my back.

Celina burst through the door. ““What going on?”

I explain the situation and her face hardens. “If you’re worried about me and Javier, don’t be. I’m not afraid. As for the other two, I think you should let them in. You’re not the same helpless girl anymore. Don’t give them power over you. Show them what you are.”

***Celina’s POV***

I’m standing in the foyer waiting for our dear cousins and my stupid mate to arrive. I left Aurora upstairs in her room so she can compose herself. She needed some alone time before she had to face her former tormentors.

“They’re here,” Evan growls as he opens the door.

Finally, I’m going to put a face to the monsters who hurt Aurora.

I look down the walkway to take a peek but all I see are a s**t ton of guards blocking my view. As I requested, they were forced to leave their car at the River Moon gate and walk the mile to the house with the guards. Evan and Oliver went a little over board with the number of guards trying to protect Aurora, though. I’m kind of jealous at how much everyone here seems to adore her. There’s no doubt in my mind that every River Moon member would willingly give their lives for her in a heartbeat and she hasn’t even taken the oath yet!

The guards lead the way into the house, boxing our three guests in like prisoners. My wolf whimpers, wanting to see her mate and I block her. I don’t need an emotional outburst at the moment.

The two guards at the front step aside and Javier and Salvador come into a view. A girl, who I assume is Mia, wedges herself between the boys and my wolf growls at how close she is to Javier.

Stupid wolf. I grumble to myself.

I steal a glance at Evan and notice a green aura of jealousy around him. He feels the same anger I do in his mate’s presence.

Javier looks like he wants to say something to me but only musters up the courage to say a weak hello. I ignore him completely despite Sarai’s cries and turn my attention to my two i***t cousins.

Salvador is a man of 6ft 3 with finely chiseled cheek bones, green eyes, and dark brown curls. Mia is also very pretty, with long brown hair that had a wave to it and deep olive skin like mine. Her soft chocolate eyes settle on me and a small smile hangs on her lips.

“Hi, Aurora,” she says timidly.

She thinks I’m her Aurora? Oh right, I’m wearing my medallion and she can’t smell me. Hmmm…. This might actually be fun…

Evan and Javier are about to correct her when I lift my hand to stop them. They give me confused looks which I ignore.

“I’m glad to see your shift went well. Y-you look nice. The hair and the eyes- I mean. They suit you,” she continues.

I open up my emotional receptors again and take note of her emotional aura. She’s nervous…

“Thanks,” I reply coldly. “So you’re here to do what exactly?”

“These two seem to think you’re innocent,” Salvador snarls. “But you and I both know what a monster you truly are. There is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.”

Evan and the guards snarl at his comment but I lift a hand to silence them.

“So then why come here if you already know what happened?” I ask, tilting my head to the side in curiosity.

“To tell you to stay away from my family and stop feeding lies to Mia!”

I laugh. Is this some kind of joke?

“Trust me, I don’t want anything to do with you or your family. As far as I’m concerned, we’re not related,” I say, turning towards the living room. “If that’s all, you’re free to leave.”

“Wait!” Mia calls out, stopping me in my tracks. “Javier said you have something to tell us… about our Mom.”

“Lies, probably,” Salvador mumbles.

We hear footsteps descend down the stairs and Aurora walks down gracefully, a box in her hands. If there was any ounce of fear in her, she hid it well. I’m proud of her. I know coming out to face these monsters was a big step for her.

Salvador and Mia realize who she is immediately and shift their gaze between the two of us. Aurora walks over to my side, devoid of any emotion.

“Aurora?” Mia mumbles, looking between the two of us and her cheeks tinge red with embarrassment. “Oh.. You must be Celina then. Sorry,” she chuckles awkwardly as she rubs her neck.

Pathetic. She spent 17 years with Aurora and can’t even tell the difference between us.

“We’ll speak in the living room,” Aurora announces, turning her back to our visitors.

It’s not a suggestion, it a demand. I smile proudly. She’s not going to show them weakness.

We make our way to the living room, Aurora and I sitting beside each other while Evan stands directly behind us. The guards move into position, keeping their guard up around Salvador.

“So Aurora,” Mia mumbles. “How are you?”

Aurora ignores her, instead focusing on the box in her hands.

Interesting… I thought they were on good terms…

The lock glows dark red from the heat and pops open. She pulls out a letter.

“Read it, Chava,” she says, extending the page out to him, her gaze cold and emotionless.