Awakened: Reckoning of the Moon & Sun

Turn Of Events

    “This place...is quite lively for it to be midday,” 

    They stood perched atop the St. Louis Cathedral, looking over the busy street of New Orleans. “It is,” She said, looking over the buzzing street of lively humans bustling the area with animated talk and constant movement. “Wait until you see the French Quarter tonight,” She said, glancing back at him with a smirk before returning her attention to those below.

    “Ah, I definitely see the allure of wanting to try and settle here,” Godfrey remarked as he surveyed the city parish, 

    “You like this place?” Aurora asked.

    “I am intrigued by this place,” Godfrey clarified. “Its...air is rich with history, culture….” He inhaled the air. “And magic.”

    “I’d take that last word as something of a compliment,” Aurora replied and shifted her purple eyes to catch his stare. “If magic was not such a large part of my being,” She teased.

    “I’m glad you realized that it was no mundane compliment then,” He said as he continued to look around. “I sense the magic here,” He said. 

    “I’d imagine so,” Aurora remarked. “This air is saturated with it.”

    “Why is that?”

    Aurora shrugged. “Not sure, but...this-this power that you’re sensing... it isn’t simple witchcraft,” She shook her head. “No, this...this is old magic...powerful.”

    “Ah,” Godfrey’s brow rose as he heard the steady shift in her tone. It almost became more filled with excitement. “So, I take it you delved in a little of it when you were here before,” He approached curiously.

    “I did,” Aurora answered after a lull in the conversation. She was suddenly filled with thoughts and recollection of her past there in the lively city of New Orleans. “Though more than a little, I daresay.” She muttered. Outreaching her hand into the air, turned her fingers up as if palming a ball whilst faint blue and violet sparks began to form in a spherical form into the palm of her hand, a smile across her rouge lips. “I harnessed it,” Aurora grinned as she admired the orb of power in her hand.

    “Careful with that, love.” Godfrey grabbed her hand silencing the power that she’d garnered from the air itself.    

    Aurora smirked. “It still boggles my mind that you have the power to do that,” She remarked lowly, her eyes longingly staring into his.

    Godfrey had this innate ability to quiet her power whenever they’d gotten out of hand. Neither of them could ever explain what his power over her was as sometimes it seemed far more complex than that o mating bond.

    “These powers of mine are...not easily categorized, I must admit,” Godfrey said. “Then again, it may be a little more to it than that.” He grinned. “Maybe you just make me believe I have that kind of power over you just to appease me.”

    To this crude assumption, Aurora chuckled dryly. “As much as I adore you, Godfrey, even I do not have it in me to be so weak for you.” She turned around and looked out at the city again and then the sky. “No, unfortunately, you just seem to be an enigma...created by my grandmother.”

    Godfrey smirked. “I’ll take that,” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “So, you going to tell me who this kid is?” He asked. She nodded. “Boy or girl?” He asked. Aurora looked up at him, her expression that of amusement. Godfrey immediately knew by the answer-or lack thereof. “So, a boy.”

    “He’s not a boy, Frey,” Aurora laughed. “He’s a grown man.”

    “Even a grown man would be considered a boy to me, love.”

    “Age is only a number, Godfrey,”

    “I’m not going by age, my love,” The platinum-haired adonis returned. “I’m going by your history in choosing...questionable suitors.”

    Aurora pulled away from him, glowering with slight irritation. “I imagine that you think that was funny to point out,” She grimaced.

    “I do not make it a point to laugh at your past pain, love,” Godfrey replied. “But I’ve also never been the type to hold this tongue of mine either. And, I see intrigue on your face about this one...that I do not like,”

    Aurora sighed. “What do you mean-”

    “You know exactly what I mean, Rori,” He returned. “I’d guess you cannot sense this one enough to tell me whether he’s gone wild or not.”

    Aurora shifted her gaze out into the behind them. “No,” She said. “He seems to have some sort of cloaking power or something. I have no idea.”

    “Sounds to me like he needs to be put down,” Godfrey suggested without hesitation.

    “Oh come on, Frey,” Aurora reasoned. “Simply because of his ability? Surely, you’d not think the same of Rojer of the Navarre. He has a power similar to this-”

    “One, I have only recently begun to tolerate the idea of dogs, only made more tolerable by you and your darling niece. Two, Rojer, despite my reluctance to admit it, is a credit to his pack. This inhuman hoodlum,” He shook his head, ruffling his hair. “I very much doubt he is in good standing.”

    “He was as a human,” Aurora remarked. “Why should he not be now?”

    Godfrey literally wiped away the question before he returned with his own. “Was he...a part of this cult that you were in when you were here?” He asked.

    “Cult,” She scoffed. “We were a part of a group of people who took advantage of the power that New Orleans had to offer.”

    “Did you corrupt him? Godfrey asked her.

    “If I did, would you think a little more of the guy?”

    “Probably not,” Godfrey said. “Especially, if this fling went a little farther than you’ve ever gone with me,”

    “Ah! Now it makes sense!” Aurora exclaimed. “We’ve reached the crux of the problem,” She shook her head, rolling her eyes from Godfrey. “You’re jealous...that our fling...was a...fling. That he wasn’t just some friend.”

    Biting his bottom lip in frustration with her play on her words, he bluntly asked. “Well, was it?” He asked. “Did you have a fling?”

    “Godfrey-”

    “Aurora!” 

    “Oh calm down,” She groaned. “Of course we had a fling-or well...not that kind of fling but…” She expelled a harsh breath. “Almost,” Aurora finally confessed. “He was the only one...that got so close after….” Aurora’s words veered off as she thought about her past at the Zodiac compound. “Anyways, I did not corrupt him,” she said, bringing her thoughts back to her mate. “He found me,” She admitted. “Or, Jeriko I guess.” 

    “You were the added bonus,” Godfrey realized. 

     Aurora’s brow raised and her lip puckered slightly in further amusement. “He had no idea what hit him when he realized that I wasn’t just a pretty face.” 

    Godfrey took her hand and led them toward the back of the roof of the cathedral so that they could descend without notice. 

    “I still want to get rid of him, Rori. He’s a leader, sounds like he won’t know how to be led.” They leaped off of the building and headed down the street near an alleyway.

    She tugged on his wrist to force his gaze down at her. “Godfrey, let us at least see if he is worth saving. He could be an asset to this oncoming war that is coming.”

    Godfrey slowed his pace, and looked down at Aurora,  noticing her countenance change into something more forlorn than before. “And what makes you so sure that there will be a war, Rori?” He asked.

    “Godfrey,” It was as if Aurora had to think about the words dangling around in her mind before she said them, but not because she didn’t know what to say. No, it was because the reality of it all was too surreal to even fathom. “My grandfather has it out for my aunt and Kazmiyah,” She shook her head in disappointment by the turn of events that had begun to unfold within their dysfunctional family. “Maybe even Warren...and now that my mother knows the truth, there is no telling what he will do to her...to us,” warily remarked. “Our own grandfather.”

    “Rori,” Godfrey stopped them and stood in front of her. He realized how concerned she was as she voiced this...how hurt she was by this realization. “You do know that whatever may come, we will get through this.”

    “I hope so,” she dropped her gaze. “I...Frey, we’re talking about a man who took down the most powerful purebred lycan in the world-”

    “Debatable. He is the last-”

    “Godfrey,” Aurora reprimanded his subtle teasing.  “He put down our Goddess Moon-the creator of our kind...I-” The idea of going up against her grandfather almost blinded Aurora with insurmountable concern. “How...how are we going to win a war against someone who wields such power-”

    “Hey!” Godfrey grabbed her shoulders and shook her out of her worried rambling. Aurora’s eyes had begun to dilate, and he knew her next step would be binge feeding. Though he had a way with her, Godfrey realized that it would still take time to keep her hunger at bay after having restrained herself so severely for nearly two centuries. He’d come to terms with Aurora’s silent battle after they went on their venture together. Aurora seemed the picture of perfection to outsiders, but Godfrey saw her constant inward battle. “Breathe, baby...just breathe.”

    Aurora inhaled deeply and then exhaled; she did three more times after the first and gradually she calmed down. “I’m fine.”

    “Thanks to our mate,”  Solstice purred in the recesses of Aurora’s mind.

    “Hm, yes,” She breathed readily agreeing with her counterpart. Where her eyes were closed, her lovely orchid-colored orbs, slightly dazed, stared at Godfrey. “Thank you.” 

    “Always, my love,” He reassured her. “How long has this been worrying you?” Godfrey asked after Aurora finally settled down. “Judging by your little meltdown, it’s been ongoing for a little while.”

    “I’m fine, Frey.”

    Godfrey raised his brow. “Still holding out on me?” He asked. “I thought we were past that.”

    We are, Godfrey. It…”

    “I’ll give you time to find a good answer as to why you did not open up to me,” He teased, kissing her forehead. He barely lifted up from her forehead. “I’d prefer it...if you did not do that again, Aurora Vale.”

    She closed her eyes, relishing in the nearness of her mate as he spoke softly and yet demandingly to her. 

    “Well isn’t that sweet.”

    The voice that she heard, immediately caught Aurora off guard. ‘How did he get so close without detection?’ She thought. Aurora glanced up at Godfrey when she heard a subtle guttural growl from his lips, his crimson gaze looking over her head.

    “You’ve managed to snare another young dumb soul, eh.”

    “Oh, I cannot wait to kill this one,” Godfrey hissed smoothly.

    Aurora turned around, her hand against her mate’s as she attended her gaze to the extremely attractive young man standing a few feet away in the alley.

    “Levi...Lebeaux,” She muttered.

    The beautiful deep brown-skinned male standing in the distance crossed his arms, shaking his head. The corner of his lip turned up in a sickeningly charming leer. “The one and only, baby.” He smirked. His honey-brown eyes did not leave Aurora’s when he spoke to Godfrey. “What did she do to lure you in?” He asked. “Or...did you come of your own free will?” He chuckled. “Kids these days are as dumb as they come.”

    “Can I please burst his bubble for him, love?” Godfrey asked. 

    “Heel, baby,” Aurora muttered before she continued to speak with Levi. “Though, I admit that I have forgotten how pompous he can be.”

    “You know that I can hear you, right?” Levi called from across the roof. He looked around. “How ironic that you decided to perch on the top of a church,” He added in amusement.

    “How long have you been following us?” Aurora realized when he made this remark.

    Levi grinned. “As soon as I picked up your scent, my little Valentine.”

    “I am going to rip his throat out.”

    “Calm down,” Aurora pressed against Godfrey’s stoic threat. “Levi, why have you been following-”

    “Oh come on,” Levi interceded. “I thought you returned to give little ol’ me another chance,” He frowned. “Guess not...you’ve turned to the vanilla kind.”

    “You know I’ve never held preference, Levi,” Aurora returned teasingly. “But-”

    “Why are you explaining yourself to him, my love?” Godfrey asked, his heated gaze still on Levi Lebeaux. 

    “Godfrey, I’m only trying to reason,” Aurora pressed.

    “Aurora, both you and he are testing my patience,” Godfrey replied. 

    “Godfrey, I-” Aurora looked up to see Godfrey’s eyes dilated, black veins feeding down the circumference of his gaze near to his cheek. His calm voice showed no hint of his true anger. “Calm down, Godfrey. I told you-”

    “Don’t worry, my little Valentine,” Levi cut in. “I’ll show the boy his pla-” His words were cut off by a sudden squelch, his eyes wide, and his body shaking violently as he began to disintegrate. 

    “He talks a lot, doesn’t he?” A feminine voice cut in.

    When the dust of Levi Lebeaux dissipated, a lean and flawlessly made female was standing in the distance where Levi once stood before his demise.

    Aurora heard a smirk. When she looked up, she saw Godfrey’s expression switch into something curious and amused. “Frey?”

“Well isn’t this a fun turn of events,” The young woman said from afar. “Godfrey Jefferson-White.”