The Ivory Queen

11. The Gamma Bond I

***Aurora's POV***

    Evan and Carter are waiting for us at the door of the pack house. As we get closer, I see a huge grin on Evan's face.

     "I see the walk went well," he chuckles.

    I realize Oliver and I are holding hands and I attempt to let go, but Oliver won't budge. I accept defeat immediately and just give Evan a shy smile.

    "Erin is all moved out, Alpha. Several pack members helped her collect her stuff and the room will be cleaned tomorrow." Carter says. "Oh and Adeline is waiting in your office."

    My wolf growls at the mention of the female.

    Who the f**k is Adeline?

    I block out Reyna. I don't want to seem like a jealous psycho.

    "Of course she is," Oliver sighs. He turns to look at me. "I have to take care of some business. Evan will take care of you until I get back. Is that ok?"

    While I was afraid of almost everyone I'd come across in the past 5 years, I liked Evan. He was the first person to make me genuinely laugh since Papa died. I felt safe in his presence.

    I nod happily and walk over to Evan's side. Evan's smile widens. Oliver's eyes flash with a hint of anger and jealousy at my willingness to leave his side.

    Look who's jealous now?

    I smile triumphantly at him. Evan sticks his tongue out at Oliver.

    "See that? The Luna and I are best friends already! Ha!" Evan mocks. He gently embraces me in hug. I surprise myself and hug him back. I don't even flinch!

    I'm not afraid of him?

    Of course not! He's your gamma, Aurora. It's his instinct to protect you and make you feel safe, Reyna says.

    Carter and Oliver stare back at us with shock.

    "What? You heard him! He's my best friend!" I laugh.

    Oliver doesn't laugh. There's a pained look on his face but it's quickly replaced with anger.

    "I-"

    "You're coming with me," he says, dragging me out of Evan's arms by the wrist. "MINE!" he snaps at Evan.

    I try to free myself but his grip is too strong. 

    …Let's go to the creek…

    Panic sets in. "Andrew, please. Let go! You're hurting me!" I cry out. There are tears in my eyes and I'm shaking.

    Oliver lets go of my wrists when he hears me call him Andrew and wraps his arms around my waist. "Aurora, I'm so sorry. I -"

    "Don’t touch me!" I scream, beating against his chest. "Don't you ever touch me!"

    Oliver releases me and I run inside the house. I hear Oliver call out after me as I rush up the stairs. There are several pack members watching us, but I don't care. I just want to get away from everyone. I find sanctuary in our room, lock the door and hide under the covers, shaking uncontrollably. Oliver starts pounding on the door.

    "Aurora, please! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you! I was just jealous of Evan. You trusted him so easily and-"

    "Go away!" I cry. "I don't want you anywhere near me!"

    "Aurora, I-"

    "Go away! Please, just leave me alone. I just want to be alone," I plead.

    I hear Oliver breathing outside the room. He stops pounding on the door and his footsteps grow distant until they're no longer audible. I let a sigh out of relief and pull my knees up to my chest.

    Several minutes later, I hear a set of footsteps walking towards the room again. Panic sets in and I start searching for a way to barricade the door. 

    "Aurora?"

    I freeze.

    Evan?

    "Aurora, please open the door."

    I hesitate.

    Should I let him?

    "I brought food!"

    I head for the door, wiping the tears from my face and place my hand on the knob. "Are you alone?"

    "It's just me, some burgers, and some fries," he laughs.

    I open the door and sure enough, Evan is standing there with a huge grin on his face holding a tray of burgers, fries, and two milkshakes.

    "I knew you couldn't resist me!" he teases.

     I smile and his face softens.

    "You ok?"

    I nod my head but my tears betray me and I begin to cry. Evan closes the door and sets the food down on the bed before pulling me into a reassuring hug. I bury my head into his shirt and cry harder, shaking violently as all my emotions pour out of me.

    "Oliver didn't mean to scare you. He's your mate. He just got a little jealous, that's all," he says softly. "I mean who wouldn't be? Just look at me! I'm hot!" 

    I burst out laughing at his vanity and instantly feel better. He pulls away.

    "Aurora, Oliver can be a little hot-headed sometimes. He can't help it, it’s the Alpha in him," Evan pauses. "But that’s why he needs his Luna. He needs you to keep him grounded."

    "I don't know if I can do that," I say weakly. "He's so-"

    "I know he scares you, Luna. But try to understand that this has been hard on him too. Watching you struggle to survive after he found you was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. When you woke up and were afraid of him, his heart shattered. And to make matters worse, his own parents disowned him when he-" Evan goes silent.

    "When he what?"

    He hesitates for a moment. "When he declared you as his Luna, " he says softly.

    "They - they don't want me as his Luna?" my voice breaks.

    "It doesn’t matter if they do or don't. Oliver made up his mind. You are his Luna and he only wants you by his side." 

    Tears start streaming down my face.

    His family didn't want me, but he still chose me?

    Evan gives my arms a quick squeeze. "You are our Luna, no matter what anyone says."

    I wipe me tears away. "Thank you, Evan."

    "Anytime," he says making his way to the bed. "Now, I don't know about you, Luna, but I'm starving," he says grabbing the tray of food and taking it to the couches.

    He sits down and pats the seat next to him. He grabs the remote and starts flipping through channels, settling on re-runs of Nickelodeon's Avatar: the Last Airbender.

    My eyes widen excitedly. "You watch the Avatar?"

    "Of course. It's a great show!" he says matter-of-factly.

    We watch a couple episodes as we eat our food until Evan's phone dings. He looks at his phone and his face lights up immediately.

    "Come on, we have to go!" he says, practically skipping out of the room.

    "Where are we going?" I ask.

    "No time to explain. You'll love it though, I promise!"

    I follow Evan out of the house and to the drive way where a young man is standing holding a huge box in his arms. I grab hold of Evan's arm and hide behind him.

    "It's ok, Luna. This is Eric. He's a really good friend of ours," Evan says reassuringly. "Hey, man. This is Aurora, our Luna."

    Eric gives me a shy smile and his voice is quiet and kind when he speaks. "H-hello, Luna."

    I smile back and point at the box. "What's in the box?"

    Eric places the box on the ground and I hear a small whine escape from it as he reaches in. Suddenly a blue nose pit-pull pup appears in his arms. My heart instantly melts and I rush over to grab the puppy. It whimpers a little, before settling comfortably in my arms.

    "I found these pups abandoned on the side of the road on my way back from running some errands," Eric says. "There's two more in the box."

    "They're so cute," Evan says grabbing a puppy from the box.

    "What are you going to do with them?" I ask, gently stroking the puppy's head.

    "Well I was hoping to get them checked out by a vet and then hopefully find them homes here in the pack," Eric says.

    "Oh," I say solemnly. "You should probably get going then, it's getting dark and the vets will probably be closing soon."

    I hand Eric back the puppy and turn to walk back to the house.

    "Hey, where are you going? We have to take the puppies to the vet! Aren't you coming?" Evan asks happily.

    "I can come?" I ask, hopeful.

    "Why do you think I dragged you out here? We're hanging out with puppies today!"

    I run up to Eric and grab the pup from his arms. "Let's go!" I squeal.

    The three us of hop in Eric's truck and drive down to the closest vet in outskirts of the city. All three puppies appear to be healthy, although they are a bit mal-nourished. The vet believes the puppies are a little over 12 weeks old and explains their dietary needs to us. We are also pleasantly surprised to find out the puppies are potty-trained. We pick up some flea shampoo, a few toys, beds, food bowls, puppy kibble, treats, collars and leashes, and training pads from the local pet store and drive back to the pack house.

    When we get home, the boys and I take the puppies up to my room and give them a good bath. As we finish, the scent of green apples and honey fill my nostrils. Oliver is home.