The Ivory Queen
Chapter 75

***Celina’s POV***

I watch Aurora glide up the stairs but know as soon as she reaches her bedroom, her façade will crumble. She tried to hide it but I know she fears herself. Hurting them was only temporarily satisfying for her. She’ll be piecing herself back together all night, but at least she won’t be alone. She’ll have Oliver to lean on.

The three monsters finally collect themselves off the floor and onto the couches and I realize this an opportunity of a life time to replace out what really happened to Aurora all these years. I could try to read their minds but it was quite a complex procedure that I hadn’t quite figured out yet. In fact, I was still recovering from attempting to read Evan’s thoughts while training and it took quite a bit of energy to even try to comprehend the information I received from his brain. I don’t know how Aurora managed to activate her telekinetic powers and I was not about to drain myself trying to figure it out.

Looks like I’ll just have to ask for their thoughts for now.

“So, who wants to start?” I ask, shifting my gaze between the three of them.

They look confused by my question.

“Start what?” Mia asks.

“I guess you do,” I smile coldly. “What did you lie about?” I ask, getting right to the point.

She lowers her eyes and stares at the coffee table in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.

“Aurora called you liar. What did you lie about?” I command with my Royal voice.

Her gaze shifts up to me and she struggles against the command. When she speaks, tears line the rims of her eyes. “When one is tortured during the day, they often seek solace in their sleep. They look forward to rest, however short it may be. Well when I figured out my powers… I-I took that from her. I filled her mind with pure evil, not wanting her to get a moment of peace. The nightmares I’d conjure up for her would get so bad, she’d go days without sleep, too afraid to shut her eyes. Exhaustion would win every time, though and she’d be forced to fall asleep only to wake up screaming again. I drove her mad sometimes even during the day. Pretty soon, I no longer needed to implant the illusions in her head for her to have nightmares, her mind creating its own horrors for her to scream at,” A few tears spill onto her cheeks and she furiously wipes them away. “I haven’t done it in years though,” she adds, as if that somehow made it any better.

Evan and I are absolutely horrified by her confession. Even in her sleep, Aurora was tortured.

My goddess, how did she survive?

“How could you?” Evan snarls. “All the evil in her life and you put more in her brain?”

“I’m sorry. I-I know it was cruel,” she whimpers, tears rolling down her cheeks. “But I thought she killed my father-”

Evan is on his feet in an instant, wrapping his fingers around her throat and squeezing. Salvador gets up, throwing a powerful punch at Evan and knocking him and Mia to the ground. Salvador pounces on Evan and the two ensue in a full blown fist fight. The guards and Javier pull the men apart, restraining them both in chokeholds.

“If you ever touch my sister again,” Salvador shouts, “I’ll kill you, you bastard. I tear you apart with my own bare hands!”

Evan wipes some b***d from his mouth and smiles at Salvador. “Touch my sister and I’ll show what a gamma will do for his Luna.”

“ENOUGH!” I command. “Evan, I mean it. Calm down. Do it for Aurora.”

Evan pants with rage but softens when I mention Aurora. The guards release him and he takes his seat, but not before spitting in Salvador and Mia’s direction.

“Leave us,” I command the guards and they oblige. I’m sure Aurora wouldn’t want them knowing everything about her past. I’ll just handle these bastards on my own from now on.

I sigh and turn my attention back to Salvador. Thinking back to the night of our shift and remembering all the scars on Aurora’s body, I know exactly what I want to ask about. “Tell me about the scar on her stomach.” I command. “The one that looks like a target.”

He blinks at me with an emotionless expression and answers without so much as a struggle. “It’s not a target. It’s an eye. An owl eye.”

I roll my eyes. “Explain,” I demand.

In a trance like state, Salvador begins to detail the horrific meaning behind the scar. “Owls are a symbol of evil and death in lots of cultures. They’re bad omens and that’s exactly what Aurora was in our family. The source of all the pain and misery in our lives.” Evan snarls but Salvador continues, still in his trance. “I was tired of Aurora claiming rogues killed Dad so a couple of friends and I hatched up a plan to teach her a lesson. I took piece of silver wire and molded it into the shape of an owl eye and held it over a fire while my friends held her down-”

Evan is on feet again, lunging at Salvador. “You son of a b***h! You branded her?”

I slow down time and the world stills. I get up and push Evan back in his seat before speeding up time again. He stares at me in shock for a few seconds before attempting to get back up. I hold him back and he growls at me to let him go.

“I will once you calm down,” I snap.

“Calm down? Did you not hear what he said?” He growls.

“I heard it loud and clear. Now calm down!” I demand.

Evan just glares at me and I decide to use my gift on him. I grab his face and focus on his emotions, willing peace into his heart. His heart rate slows down instantly and he relaxes. With him pacified, I turn back to Salvador.

“You’re an evil piece of s**t,” I growl at Salvador. “I don’t know how you could do that to your own sister!”

“She’s not my sister,” Salvador retorts, shifting in his seat. “She never was.”

“Yes she was! You grew up together, took care of each other, loved each other! And if there were ever any trouble, you know Aurora would stop at nothing to help you. That makes you family!”

He remains emotionless. “Are you done?”

I read his aura and sense his shame and anger. His strongest emotion, however, is his overwhelming guilt. He was incredibly good at hiding his feelings but his detachment was a lie.

He’s dying inside, Sarai whispers.

Good. f**k him…

“It’s going to eat you alive and I’m going to enjoy it,” I say. He looks confused and I laugh. “You don’t fool me, I see what you’re feeling.”

I glance at Javier and watch him squirm under my gaze. “You’ve been awfully quiet, mate. Is your conscience eating at you too?” I say, tilting my head to the side and plastering a fake smile on my face.

Javier looks up at me and Sarai whines when she sees the despair in his eyes. I look away and order Evan to take Mia and Salvador to the gates. Evan begrudgingly gets up, mumbling something about me being bossy and not his Luna under his breath.

Once we’re alone, Javier tries to speak but I stop him. “Aurora refuses to speak about what you did to her but she has given me permission to ask you,” I say, trying my best to keep my voice steady. “I need to know what you did, a*****e if I want to move on. I can’t – I can’t even think of being with you when I don’t even know what you’re capable of.”

Just as he’s about to speak, Oliver and Aurora come walking in, hand in hand. Aurora’s eyes are puffy and a little red but she looks calm in Oliver’s presence. Oliver sits down beside me with her in his lap. Javier visibly stiffens at the sight of Aurora but she keeps her eyes glued to Oliver’s chest, watching it rise and fall.

“It’s ok,” she whispers, playing with Oliver’s shirt. “I won’t hurt you again. Just tell her the truth.”

Javier nods and starts to explain. With every horrific detail, I glance over at Aurora who seems surprisingly calm, tucking herself under Oliver’s chin and closing her eyes. She looks like a little angel, peacefully asleep but I know that’s far from the truth. I wish I could read her but she’s put her mental shield up. Oliver, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to explode with how much anger radiates off his aura. Aurora hugs him tightly, kissing his neck to keep him from murdering Javier. When Javier finishes, I get on my feet, a sob caught in my throat. I feel like I’m suffocating and start gasping for air. Aurora reaches out a hand to me in an attempt to comfort me but I push away from her.

“Celina-“

“You want me to forgive him knowing what he did to you?”

“I just want you to be happy with your decision.”

“I think I need some air,” I say before storming out of the house and shifting.

***Evan’s POV***

Celina put me in a state of tranquility before sending me off to escort Mia and Salvador to the River Moon gates but the farther we walk away from the house, the more my anger grows again.

I’m sick to my stomach just thinking of Aurora screaming in pain as Salvador burned her flesh with his hatred but worst of all, it killed me to know about Mia’s sick betrayal. I had experienced firsthand the power of Mia’s ability and the damage it could cause. I now had a stupid fear of wardrobes of all things! I can’t imagine experiencing that kind of terror every night for years.

I can’t love her, Bodhi.

She’s our mate for a reason. Don’t you dare give her up!

You can’t expect me to actually care for her. I am just hours away from swearing to protect Aurora with my life, the girl my mate willingly tortured for years! I snap.

Aurora will forgive her, you know she will, Bodhi growls. If she can do that, so can you!

I block Bodhi, annoyed with his persistence with Mia. As we approach their car at the gates, I feel Mia’s stare bore into the back of my head and it pisses me off.

“What the f**k are you looking at, Mia?” I growl, keeping my eyes focused on the road ahead.

“You better watch it…. There’s no one here to save you,” Salvador threatens in a sing song voice. His lips curve into a smirk. “Ya know, now that I think about it, there’s no one here to stop us. Why don’t you show me what a punk a*s gamma can do?”

I stop in my tracks, eager to accept his challenge when I hear a thud and a g***n. I spin on my heel and see Salvador laying on the side of road, his eyes staring blankly into space. Mia stands over him, her eyes glowing gold and I take a few steps back now that I’m in the presence of her wolf.

Bodhi howls with excitement when he sees her, but I could care less. All I see are two sides of the same monster.

“Don’t worry, I won’t use my powers on you,” she says quietly.

I steal a glance at Salvador, wondering what kind of hellish nightmare she put in his brain and it seems she reads my thoughts.

“He’s not in any pain. He thinks he’s at the beach right now with dad,” she sighs. “My powers aren’t always evil or cruel.”

“No, just you then,” I scoff.

Her face reddens with anger.

“You’re impossible!” She snaps, shaking her head. “I just saved you from getting your a*s handed to you!”

“Oh, I’m impossible?”

“Yes, you are! Do you have any idea how powerful he is? What he could do to you?” She asks, pointing to her brother.

“Actually, I do. I believe the bastard once attacked me with a lion…” I respond, rubbing my shoulder at the memory.

“Then why would you provoke him?”

“Because I’d gladly take the opportunity to inflict any kind of pain on either one of you, regardless of how powerful you are compared to me. I would do it for Aurora in heart beat because unlike you two scumbags, I actually love her.”

She glares at me with her gold eyes and I prepare myself for the nightmares but am relieved to have my mind left intact.

“You think you got me all figured out don’t you?” She snaps, her eyes shifting back to brown. “You think you know me, but you have no idea what goes on in my head-“

“And I thank Moon Goddess for that!” I sneer at her. “Let me explain something to you, Mia,” I say, clasping my hands together. “You, your thoughts, you powers, everything about you really… Make. Me. Sick. You disgust me!”

Hurt flashes in her eyes and she wraps her arms around herself, trying hard to fight back tears. My wolf growls at me.

Take it back! He snarls. You hurt her!

When she speaks again, her voice is so fragile and her words catch me off guard. “Then w-why did you ask me what I felt the last time we spoke?”

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach but I try to give off the impression of indifference. “I don’t know what you’re talking about..” I shrug.

A single tear falls down her cheek.

“You asked me if I felt something, right? A spark, perhaps? I couldn’t stop thinking about it and then it clicked. I-I’m you’re mate, right?”