Aurora’s Betrayal Read online

  I focus on Alex who sits at the head of the table and wait for him to lead.

  As he sees this, happiness and lust enter his eyes, darkening his usual amber color. “Okay, kitten, why don’t you begin with what happened with Mikael and go from there? We will try to not interrupt.”

  I nod and lean back, getting ready for a long conversation.

  Ezra, who sits to my right, lands his large palm on my knee, warming it. He rubs it in soothing circles, and I draw strength from him.

  “I’m guessing you all know what I am now.” I glance around, running my eyes over them.

  It’s so good to see them for real. The mirror helped, but it wasn’t like being in the same room.

  Alex gives me a small encouraging smile. “Let’s say we don’t.”

  I steel my spine. “I’m a hybrid. My mother was a witch and my father was a reaper—”

  Jason goes to interrupt, probably with a question, but Alex shakes his head at him, and I carry on.

  “I don’t know how it’s possible, but I inherited both of their powers. My mother and father realized what I was and hid me from the world. They continued with their lives in the coven and his duties while they taught me to control my witch powers and hide my reaper ones. But when one rises so does the other. So, I had to hide it all. They never really told me why.” I look down at the table. “Expect, one night, I overheard them talking. My mum was worried, she was shouting at my dad, saying we couldn’t trust anyone. If they knew what I was, they would…”

  I stop and take a deep breath as the memory fills my head. Another hand lands on my other thigh, offering me warmth and support. I nod to myself and look up. “They would kill me. So, I hid my powers well. One day, I managed to slip away from my mum and dad, and I went into the woods behind my house. I was young. There was a being there and I saved him, he offered me a choice.“

  Perses’s eyes run through my head, and a pang of sadness for the god hits me.

  “A choice?” Mikael’s soft voice prompts me.

  “To save the witches. I didn’t understand what he wanted, but it felt right. Every word he spoke, the earth whispered to me the truth and destiny behind his tale. I accepted it, and he killed me.” They gasp, so I quickly carry on. “Well, not really. He stabbed me with a spelled blade to bring my powers out. I don’t remember much after that. Like the reaper said, he must have seen it. I went back home, but my mum knew, so she and my father took me and ran. I don’t know how the reaper found us again, but he did. He killed my mum while I hid. He was looking for me. When they left, I went to her, but it was too late. After her death, my father changed. He let the darkness consume him.”

  I stop for a second, and two hands squeeze my thighs. I decide to gloss over the details.

  “Eventually, I knew I couldn’t stay there anymore, so I ran…” I look up with a small smile “…right into you.”

  Apart from Darius, they all smile at me. I choose to skip what they already know, jumping to my recent absence. “After I saved Mikael, I awoke in a strange place to the man I had saved that day.”

  “Who was he?” Ezra asks, his voice deep and rumbly.

  At his hint of jealousy, I control my laugh. “He’s a god. His name is Perses.”

  I let that bombshell drop.

  “The gods are myths,” Jason protests.

  I look at him. “No, they’re not. They didn’t fade, and they aren’t myths. We took the power they offered us, and we corrupted it, so they turned their backs on us; all but one. When our lines started dying out, the gods decided they needed a solution. The one, Hekate, who didn’t turn her back on us, decided to bless a group of children.”

  I look up to see if they are following.

  Questions fill their eyes, but I decide to go on. “I am the descendant of her line that she blessed. You are the others.”

  “Run that by me again,” Alex says.

  I nod. “It’s hard to explain. Basically, I’m supposed to save the lines and return the power to our people. Hekate died to bless me with her power. She knew I would be too powerful and unbalanced because of it, so the gods blessed a child of each line. That’s the pull you feel to me.” I watch their faces. “You’re supposed to help me contain and even out my power.”

  “Makes some things clearer,” Ben mutters.

  Alex nods at me to carry on.

  I decide to spit it all out. “Perses trained me to control both sides of my powers. He helped me release it from its cage. He also told me I could bring Darius back. I agreed to try, and he informed me I would have to bind him to me to do so.”

  Alex holds his hand up. “Bind?”

  I nod. “It’s a connection. I have partial ones with you all, but I completed his. It’s supposed to help me and will also help you.”

  Ben frowns. “So, you’re, like, together?”

  “Not really. Perses explained it can be like a sibling bond, and I offered him a choice.” I look to Darius.

  He nods.

  “So, we’re all going to bind to you?” Jason asks quietly.

  “I, err— Perses mentioned it, but I don’t want to bind anyone who isn’t willing, and to be honest, the whole thing is still a bit weird for me.” I fall silent and allow them time to digest.

  “We can deal with that later. Now, what happened after?” Alex asks, obviously feeling my anxiety on the matter.

  I offer him a grateful smile. “That’s when I went to Purgatory, bound Darius, and came back here.”

  “So, you’re supposed to save the witches, and we’re, like, your helpers?” Jason says, trying to sort through my disjointed story.

  “Like your brother-wives.” Ben snorts.

  I giggle, and before I can help myself, I slap my hand over my mouth.

  Embarrassed, I look down and finally notice my clothes. It’s been a whirlwind since I woke up.

  I hold out the bright pink nighty I’m in before looking around at them in horror. “What the fuck am I wearing?”

  They all burst out laughing.

  Even Darius’s lips twitch.

  29

  Aurora

  “So, what was Purgatory like? Sunny?” Ben asks.

  We switched locations to a massive living room, and I now sprawl across the sofa, my head in Ezra’s lap and my feet in Alex’s. Ben sits next to me on the floor. Jason and Mikael sit on another sofa, while Darius prowls around the room. I alternate between watching him and watching Ben’s hair that I’m playing with.

  “A fucking bundle of joy,” I deadpan.

  About to respond, a familiar popping noise cuts him off.

  “Noooo,” I moan.

  “What the fuck?” someone shouts.

  Ben scrambles up in front of me while Ezra and Alex tenses underneath me. Jason and Mikael warily watch the newcomer.

  I look to the center of the room where the bane of my life stands with a smile on his face.

  “Silly witch,” he greets.

  I sit up, push Ben aside, and glare at the gremlin. “Gremlin, I thought I left you behind with Perses.” I flash my teeth at him in warning.

  I feel the guys’ confusion.

  Want me to kill this thing, angel?

  I shake my head and slump back, my arms over my chest. I won’t admit I’m secretly glad to see him.

  “Er, sunshine?” Ben hesitantly asks.

  I sigh. “Everyone, this is Bob. I met him in Perses’s world. He’s a friend... sort of.”

  “Bob?” someone asks.

  Bob puffs up in anger at the laugh in the voice.

  “Bob,” I warn.

  He sticks his long, forked tongue out at me. “Nice to meet you, silly witch’s harem.”

  I burst out in laughter. Harem?

  Bob steps forward and kicks Ben’s shin.

  He hops on one leg, grabbing it, and shouts, “What the fuck!”

  I stand and prop my hands on my hips. “Dude, what the hell?”

  “You said no more licking to greet,” Bob says, confuse
d.

  “So you kick him?” I ask in disbelief.

  “That’s how you greeted me,” he reminds smugly.

  I point at him. “You were being annoying.”

  He sticks his tongue out again. “Silly witch.”

  I narrow my eyes. “That’s it, gremlin,” I warn and build a fireball in my hand.

  His beady eyes narrow in warning. “You wouldn’t.”

  I smile at him evilly. “Watch me.”

  “Aurora?” Hesitation fills Alex’s voice.

  I let the fireball go, but I point from my eyes to Bob’s, then turn back to my men. Ben is trying not to laugh, as is Jason. Ezra looks confused, and Alex is caught somewhere between amusement and confusion. Mikael looks like he’s about to bust a gut. Darius is still prowling around behind them.

  “Yes?” I say sweetly.

  Alex raises his eyebrow at me. “Care to explain why there’s a hobbit reject in the living room?”

  I smile at the reference. “I sort of made friends with him. Perses asked him to look after me while I was there, and the bugger won’t leave me alone.”

  “Silly witch.”

  I turn back to Bob with a growl and point at him. “I will burn your little ass if you carry on, goblin.”

  He perches on the now vacated couch and scooches back until his back rests against the sofa. His little legs swing over the cushion.

  “Okay, I can’t deal.” Ben laughs so hard tears track down his face.

  I look back at the gremlin.

  “Cookies?” he asks.

  I groan.

  “Yep, he definitely knows Aurora,” Ezra says with a chuckle.

  We all sit down again, plus the gremlin. No one wants to sit next to him, so I perch on Alex’s lap in the middle cushion with Ben and Jason next to us. Ezra and Darius block the doorway.

  “Where are we, anyway?” I ask for the second time today as I run my eyes over the room. Ezra said it was a long story, but I’ve told them mine, so now it’s their turn.

  Alex laughs beneath me, his hands tightening where they rest of my thighs. “Healer’s house, about two hours from ours.”

  I nod. “Healer?” I tilt my head in question.

  I watch Bob devour the cookies, happily swinging his legs back and forth.

  “A special type of witch. Usually high up in the pecking order.” Alex’s voice rumbles from behind me.

  I stiffen instantly.

  “Yeah, except this one is crazy and doesn’t have a house lineage or coven. He has nothing to do with the council,” Ben says with a laugh.

  I relax instantly. “So, we can trust him?”

  Alex squeezes my thigh. “Yes. Otherwise, he knows what will happen. Plus, he sells his services to the highest bidder. He doesn’t care about anything but money.”

  It probably shouldn’t make me feel better, but it does.

  “What happened to the kid?” Ezra rumbles.

  Alex sighs beneath me and strokes my bare thigh. “I sent him home to look for some information. I rang him earlier to let him know it doesn’t matter and to finish payment.”

  “Kid?” I ask.

  Jason smiles at me. “Sheldon, the one I was telling you about.”

  I remember now. They filled me in on what they were doing, and I must admit, it warmed my heart to know they spent so long searching for a way to bring me back.

  “Where’s Mikael?” I ask, realizing he isn’t in the room anymore. It’s hard to keep track of this many people.

  “He went to rest. He’s still not a hundred percent.” Ben lays his head on my shoulder.

  I try to think of any other questions I have. Honestly, though, I’m exhausted. I shouldn’t be after all the resting my body has done, but it seems it doesn’t matter.

  “Lane!” I shout and bolt to my feet, spinning to face Alex reclines.

  “Your human bestie is quite insistent,” he says with a small smile.

  “You spoke to her? Is she okay?” Panic grips me at how I left her.

  His eyes soften. “You’re worried about her after all that has happened?”

  “Duh. Is she okay? Can I speak to her? Does she—”

  “Kitten.”

  I stop and look at Alex. He crooks his finger, and I step between his parted legs.

  He locks them around my thighs and keeps eye contact with me. “She’s fine. She was worried about you. We told her we were all going on a vacation when we were in an accident which left you in a coma. I also told her we were paying for medical care and that we needed her there looking after your house and Tom.” I follow along, more questions crowding my mind. “We told Tom the truth, and he’s been looking after her. I promised to ring her every day.”

  My walls crumble even more. “You did?”

  “Of course. You care about her, and she cares about you.” His purrs, and my heart clenches for this man who, after everything, took the time to comfort my bestie.

  “I bet she’s mad as hell,” I say, laughter breaking our moment.

  He smiles again. “No doubt. But we’re leaving tomorrow to return home, so you can see her then.”

  Excitement and nerves jumble my emotions. I don’t know what he sees in my eyes, but he leans forward. “What’s wrong, kitten?”

  “I promised her I would tell her everything when I saw her next. What if she doesn’t believe me? What if she thinks I’m crazy?” I look down from his probing eyes. “What if she leaves?” I trail off as I voice my fears aloud.

  Lane is my family and it would kill something in me to lose her.

  He raises my chin with a finger and waits until I look at him to answer. “She will not leave. Lane loves you more than anything. That girl was willing to take on all of us, use anything to track us down, and then would probably have beaten us for letting you get hurt. She’s not going anywhere.”

  I nod, tears in my eyes.

  “And neither are we.”

  I take a deep breath as his words sooth all my fears. I look up and catch Darius’s eyes as he turns away and leaves the room, but not before I see the longing in them.

  “So, I can see her tomorrow?” I glance around.

  “Of course, kitten. In fact, I can’t wait because my ass is numb from the constant calls.”

  I burst out laughing and look at his smiling face. Reluctantly, I step away and turn to the gremlin. “Are you staying?”

  “No, silly witch. I came to see if you were okay.” I smile before he carries on. “Not for me, stupid witch. For Perses.”

  I build a fireball, ready to throw, when he pops out with a laugh.

  I stand there muttering about gremlins as my men laugh behind me.

  When I look at the guys again, I noticed the exhaustion in their faces. I tell them sternly to go and rest, and I’ll do the same. There are no complaints. I guess they really are tired.

  Ben kisses me on my cheek, as does Alex.

  Jason offers me a smile, and Ezra gives me a confused look before leaving.

  I find my way back to the room I woke up in and hesitate before opening the door, hoping Mikael waits inside. I step in quietly and see him sitting against the headboard of the single bed pushed up next to the one I woke up in.

  I pause in the doorway until his eyes open.

  He smiles when he sees me, and it reaches his eyes. “You coming in?”

  Voice rough, he coughs with a grimace, and I quickly rush in to pass him a glass of water sitting on a table next to his bed. He accepts it, takes a drink, then passes it back to me.

  I place it next to the bed. “Are you okay?”

  He smiles at me again. “Shouldn’t I be asking that?”

  His voice is rougher now than when I heard it in my dreams, probably due to the large scar along his neck. The edges are still red and sore looking, but at least it’s closed.

  “Hey.” He gently grabs my hand.

  “It’s my fault,” I murmur, unable to meet his gaze.

  “Like hell it is.”

  I snap
my head up and see the storm in his beautiful eyes. I can’t seem to look away. I’m trapped inside the depths.

  “I was drawn to you, Aurora. That’s why I went to that town. He captured me before I even found you. I was complacent, and I know better than that.” His voice evens out a bit when he speaks.

  “But if you hadn’t been drawn to me, this”—I gesture at his throat— “would never have happened.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. You saved my life, Aurora, and I don’t blame you for anything. You didn’t make him torture me. You didn’t make him try to kill me.”

  My guilt weighs heavily on my shoulders. “But—”

  “No.” he cuts off, voice stern and face serious. “I don’t blame you and neither do any of the others. I’m glad I came after you, because then my brothers did, too. Without that, we wouldn’t be here with you now when you need us most. Everything happens for a reason, sweetheart, but it’s not always good.”

  He strokes my thumb as he watches me think through his logic.

  “You really don’t blame me?” I ask, needing to be sure.

  His smile lights up his eyes and it’s like the rainbow on a raining day. “Never.”

  I smile back at him, the weight lifting from my shoulders.

  “I missed our nightly chats,” he admits shyly.

  I laugh. “Me, too.”

  While we only met in a dream, he knows things about me no one else does. There’s no hiding from the honesty in his depths.

  He pats the bed next to him and slides over to make room. I hesitate before deciding what the hell. I sit beside him, his shoulder behind mine. My legs pushed up against him.

  “It feels strange to see you for real. I thought your beauty was because of the dark place I was in, but if it’s possible, you’re more beautiful than I remember.”

  My face heats at his words. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Not anymore,” he mutters.

  I turn to see him gently touching his neck and frown. “Your scar is part of you. I’ve never felt fear like I did in that moment. Knowing I was going to lose you before I even got a chance to have you.” I gesture at his neck. “This is part of you. It shows your strength and loyalty. It doesn’t take away from how handsome you are. If anything, it adds to it.” I stare in his eyes, showing him the truth of my words.