The Ivory Queen
Chapter 85

Aurora’s POV

For the remainder of the day, the owls words replay in my head. Midnight. Here. Alone.

Tais has Oliver and now the only question that remained was what did she want in exchange for his safe return home? At this point, it didn’t matter. I just want him back. I consider informing my sister and the pack of Tais’s message but given how they’ve already kept me from searching for Oliver, I decide I’ll just have to do this on my own.

Much to my disappointment, Carter and Celina return empty handed from the morning’s search, having found no clues as to Oliver’s whereabouts and its concluded that Oliver could not be on River Moon territory. Tomorrow, Carter and several soldiers would be going on an expedition past the northern border into unclaimed territory in hopes of replaceing him.

I’ve locked myself in Oliver’s office, unable to rest peacefully in our bedroom. Rio curls up in my lap, although he is far too big for it. I refuse to push him off, though. His little presence brings me some comfort.

When I don’t come down for dinner, Evan comes up to replace me.

He knocks on the door and calls out to me. “Please come eat,” he begs. “You haven’t had any real food today. I’m getting worried. Don’t make me break down this door.”

I muster up some strength and let him in. Together, we walk downstairs to the dining room where I replace everyone waiting for me. I glance at Oliver’s empty spot and take a moment to collect myself before siting in my seat. Dinner is silent and I can’t bring myself to eat, picking at my food with my fork. Since Oliver’s disappearance, I’ve had very little appetite.

“Tienes que comer, mija,” Valentina urges. “If not for you, do it for me.”

I feel everyone’s eyes settle on me and I pierce my fork through a bit of my steak and lift it to my mouth. My bottom l*p quivers as I chew and a few tears threaten to fall from my eyes.

I can’t do this.

I spit out the food into a napkin and push away the plate of food. “I-I’m not hungry,” I mumble. “I think I’d like to just go to bed. Good night.”

I rush off to the bedroom and wash my face in the bathroom sink to calm myself down. I change into another one of Oliver’s t-shirts and some sweats before crawling into the sofa and curling up with a blanket.

I hear a knock at the door and Celina pokes her head in. She walks timidly to the couch and sits down beside me.

“You okay?” she asks, reaching out her hand to me but I refuse to let her touch me. “You’re angry with me…”

Of course I’m angry!

“You won’t let me look for him!” I snap. “He is my mate, Celina. You had no right to put me to sleep like you did or keep me away from the search parties. How could you? How could you try to keep me locked up here when my mate could be anywhere?”

“I’m not going to apologize for looking out for you, Aurora. You can be angry with me all you want but I was only trying to help you,” She scolds me. “I put you to sleep because you spent hours in the woods and you needed to rest. The soldiers told me you used up all your energy that night to replace him and you didn’t even let yourself cry for him. We’ve talked about this, Aurora. You can’t keep your feelings bottled up inside. And I kept you from the search party this morning because if, Moon Goddess forbid, we found his body, I did not want your last memory of him to be of his corpse!” She wipes angry tears from her eyes. “I hope to Moon Goddess we replace him and I can bring him home to you but you best believe I will do everything in my power to protect you first. So be angry at me. I don’t care!”

I glare at her but no matter how much I want to, I can’t be mad at her. She’s only trying to help me, after all. After a few moments, I sigh and lay my head in her lap. She strokes my hair silently and we sit together for a while, lost in our own thoughts.

“I didn’t ask you to look out for me,” I murmur as I sit back up.

“I’m you’re sister. You don’t have to ask.” She shrugs. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Me too,” I sigh. “So how was the search with Javier?” I ask, eager to change the subject for my own sanity.

She g****s. “Ugh let’s not talk about it..”

“Now who’s holding in their feelings?”

“I do not have feelings for Javier! My wolf does. It’s different!”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. Whatever…

We chat for a while about tomorrow’s search and I feel my appetite return. Evan brings me a small bowl of soup and I slurp down it’s warmth, my body feeling much better than before. Evan and Celina tuck me into bed and leave me to my thoughts.

Just before the clock strikes midnight, I climb out of bed and put on my shoes. I grab onto the steel door handle and let my skin morph into a metal suit of armor before opening a vortex to my garden where the owl instructed me to meet it. As I step into the portal, I activate my force field around me to protect me from any potential attacks.

I walk to my patch of grass when I see the owl fly overhead and perch itself on the wooden bench. Despite the evil I know lurks inside it, the owl is absolutely gorgeous. Its jet black feathers glisten in the moon light and its round face and cartoonish large eyes make it seem harmless, cute even. It carries a small envelope with a red seal in its beak and gently sets it down on the bench for me.

Its gold eyes glow red and it speaks in Latin. “I believe a congratulations are in order, my dear,” the birds says in a sultry female voice. “It was a lovely ceremony.”

“Where is Oliver?” I snap.

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. In a hurry are we?” it says, tilting its round head to the side. “No worries, dear. I won’t take up too much of your time. In the envelope, you will replace instructions on what it is you need to do in order to get Oliver back. And don’t bother looking for him. I’ve put him somewhere you’ll never replace him. Even your powers won’t help you locate him.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your word? How do I even know Oliver is still alive? I can’t even sense his wolf,” I snarl.

“If it’s him you’re worried about, don’t be. I have provided proof that he lives and I will continue to provide it for you until the day of our meeting. I give you my word, no harm will come to your precious mate so long as you do what I say.”

The owl extends its wings out before giving me one final glance. “I look forward to meeting you in person, darling.”

It takes off into the night at incredible speed and I quickly lose sight of it. I rush to the benches and collect the envelope before opening a portal back to my room. My hands tremble as I reach inside to pull out a letter written in Latin and a stick of white chalk.

Dearest Ivory twins,

Congratulations on your shifts! You look absolutely stunning, just as the legends described you. Such a shame we missed it, but alas, it was not meant to be.

We have much to discuss. As you know, the Winter Solstice is almost among us and thus your powers will be strongest on this special night, as will all the creations of Moon Goddess.

We currently have Oliver in our custody and have one very simple request in exchange for his safe return. All we are seeking is a bit of b***d from each of you. Simple.

Should you choose to not cooperate with this simple request, we will have no choice but to eliminate the young Alpha. But make the right decision and Oliver will be returned unharmed on the night of the 21st and be free to live out the rest of his days in peace and harmony.

Of course, this request must be dealt with carefully and there are some rules we must establish. The b***d must be delivered in person. We’ll send a messenger to collect you and you’ll be brought to us for the extraction of your b***d. You must come alone, of course, no escorts allowed. This means your little gamma, Evan, is not invited. You must also agree to hand over your medallions upon meeting us. These are the rules and conditions.

We expect your answer on the night of the 20th. No sooner, no later. Think long and hard, your majesties. In the envelope you’ll replace a piece of chalk. Simply write Yes or No on any surface with this chalk and we’ll know your answer. Whatever happens next, is completely up to you.

As for the Alpha, you’ll replace some photographs of him in the envelope to prove he still carries life. As a gesture of good faith, Luna Aurora, you will receive daily images of him up until the 20th.

Until we meet,

Tais and Ira

Ira? Ira! That must be Tais’s sister!

My heart is pounding in my chest. All this for a bit of b***d? Could it be so simple?

I shove my hand back in the envelope and tears fill my eyes when I see the images of Oliver chained in a dark room. He’s shirtless and covered in sweat, his hair stuck to his forehead. His once clean shaven chin is lined with dark stubble. His eyes are full of fire, angry with whomever took the photographs.

But it doesn’t matter. He’s alive.

I know I won’t be getting any sleep tonight with so much going on in my head and I decide to go over every bit of information that I have. The more I think, however, the more I realize I still have so many questions.

Tais and Ira have wanted me dead for so long, having kept watch all these years. Who are their allies providing them with every bit of information about my life? They knew about the ceremony and even knew Evan by name which leads me to believe we have must have a traitor or traitors among us.

The thought of having the enemy nearby sends shivers down my spine. I’ll have to be very careful with who I speak too from now on.

I switch my mind back to the witches and their motives.

They hate silver and gold wolves because they wield power, but so do many creatures. Why do they hate silver and gold wolves so much? There has to be a reason they’ve specifically targeted the gifted children of the moon and sun all these years.

Even more confusing is their request? What could they want with my b***d? What will happen if I give it to them? What’s their plan?

I lock away the envelope and run to the office to investigate the significance of the winter solstice. I also take the time to research Tais and Ira but unfortunately, that search only results in me spending two hours reading witch blogs. I replace nothing on the witches I wanted. Tais once told me she had many names which unfortunately means I truly know nothing about her and probably never will.

As the sun peaks over the horizon, I grow frustrated with my search and head back to my room to shower. The mirror reveals some serious bags under my eyes and my skin is pale and dull. I don’t even bother putting on some make up and instead change into one of Oliver’s sweatshirts, some leggings and my combat boots. Grabbing my box, I return to the office to resume my work. At about 8:30 am, Evan mind-links me.

“Where are you, Luna?” he asks frantically.

“The office,” I reply.

Seconds later, Evan bursts through the door and lets out a sigh of relief when he sees me. He takes a few deep breathes and runs his fingers through his hair before speaking to me.

“Sorry, I panicked for a second when I couldn’t replace you in your room,” he says, looking up the ceiling to wipe his eyes. “I thought someone took you and I-” he stops as he gets a good look at me. “How long have you been awake?”

I stare at the box on the desk and fidget with the lock. “I never went to bed,” I say quietly. “I can’t sleep.”

Upset, he comes rushing towards me and lifts me up in his arms. “You are going to bed right now,” he growls.

“Put me down!” I demand.

He tries to fight the command but fails and puts me down gently. Grabbing the box containing the letter from the witches, I open my mind-link up to Carter, Rosalie and Evan.

“We need to talk downstairs. Carter, I need you to contact the Allies as well. They’ll want to hear about this,” I order. I send a similar message to Celina before turning back to Evan, who scowls at me.

“You make it so difficult to take care of you!” he snaps. “It’s infuriating.”

“Believe it or not, I am very aware of that fact,” I joke, trying to ease the tension. He doesn’t replace it very amusing and glares daggers at me as I walk past him towards the door. “Come on. We have a lot to discuss.”

Evan and I wait for everyone to arrive in the dining room and I mentally prepare myself for a scolding of lifetime. My stomach growls and I have bowl of cereal for breakfast, but after a few bites, my appetite vanishes. When Celina walks in, she’s furious to see the lack of sleep clear on my face.

“Aurora-“

I hold a finger up to silence her. “Before you say anything, you wouldn’t have slept either if you were in my position,” I sigh. “Besides we have more important things to discuss before the Allies get here.”

“What is it you have to share with us?” Carter asks.

I take a deep breath and unlock the box.

“I met with Tais last night.