Chapter 91

Aurora

Jaxson is off with his training as he does before the pups awake. I take this time to myself to tidy up the hut, pour myself a cup of coffee and watch the sun dare to break the horizon. I watch the waves lap and decide to venture toward them, seeing the sky in the distance a beautiful navy color now. The peace of this pack brings me joy unknown to me before.

I wish I had seen just where Jaxson and I would have ended up before I made things so difficult. I only wanted to be free, to love without trouble, but this trouble has brought me a grand future. Thankfully he never gave up on me, and I never fully let myself lose him because otherwise, I would be left in another life, one not as fulfilling as this one.

I hear the sounds of feet on sand approach from behind and the scent of my mate’s wolf is nowhere nearby. Instead I smell that of my best friend, his tired eyes coming into focus as he stands beside me in blissful awe, watching the moon expire to the morning.

“Good morning, Luke,” I breathe, his tired features like mine; that of an exhausted new parent.

“How have you been since the king crashed in?” He asks with a hint of rasp in his tone. “He isn’t exactly fond of our kind but I know he has always liked you.”

I nod along, wishing to forget the fear I felt in that moment. “I don’t think he will be back. He wanted Jaxson to be Alpha of the Royal pack, and he met the triplets, but Jaxson refused. He and I have grown attached to Dawn pack and it is our home now.”

“So, little one, does that mean this is it? Watching sunrise and sunsets every day?”

My heart shudders at his words. “What do you mean, Luke? I enjoy my life here with Jaxson. We have the pups and we are finally free of fear. It’s a good thing, Luke.”

He seems to hesitate, not believing what I say. “I never knew you as this girl.”

“I haven’t either,” I admit. “But I like it.”

“Do you really?”

“Of course I do,” I protest. “Do you not believe me, Luke?”

“I do, little one, I would never think you to lie to me.” He points out to the end of the ocean, something twinkling in his gentle eyes. “See that color there, the one that happens just before the sun comes up? It’s a mix of orange and blue, like red and purple, it’s impossible to name but I’ve always thought I’ve seen it somewhere else in my life.”

“What are you talking about, Luke?”

“I’m talking about you.”

I stare blankly between the sunrise and my best friend. Things between us will always be weird, maybe even strained between our mates, but I can’t allow the past to affect me as it once had. Watching Jaxson leave his past for me, his once set goals, it only solidified his love for me. I only hope that one day I will be able to prove the same to my mate.

“Luke, please, nothing can ever happen—”

“Don’t worry, little one, it’s nothing like that. Trust me when I say that our lives may have turned out differently but I think it was all meant for a purpose. A purpose like Juniper and Jax, like Dawn and Lily. It was all meant to be, of course, Aurora. All of it happened for this reason.”

We stare together now into the distance, the sun breaking free.

“Ah, another morning,” he hums, smiling ear to ear. “I suppose that’s just it, Aurora. That is who you are. Another daybreak. Another beautiful sight, keeping our world turning.”

I watch my long-time best friend stalk away from the shore, his body so relaxed and his mind finally free of whatever he felt he had to get out of his mouth. I miss hearing his voice already, so calming in the most treacherous of times, but I doubt things will ever be that bad again. Now that I have Jaxson, he will be the one thing I can count on for the world to never turn dark again.

Luke may say I’m the sunrise, but Jaxson is my sun; I just want him to rise with me.

Eventually I spot my mate approaching down the beach and I retreat to our porch, settling into the seat as the pups still enjoy their rest. Moon goddess knows I need my sleep but instead I wait for Jaxson, finally happy when he sits beside on the porch, his lips pressing to my cheek.

“How was training, Alpha?” I ask, sinking into his sweaty side, not minding his burly, cedar scent. In fact, I can’t help but take it in, take in all of mate, and feel so completely whole. “Did you get a lot of work done this morning?”

“Of course, my Luna. What about you? Have you been busy with the three?”

I yawn slightly. “No, thankfully. I have, however, just got done with a conversation.”

“With whom, darling?”

“Luke.”

I turn to see his features fall ever so slightly, as though wounded by my words but not enough to show his distaste of it. He trusts me now, I know that much is true, but my past is going to hurt him for as long as it will take for him to heal. It could be forever, but I hope not.

“He didn’t try anything,” I tell him. “Neither did I.”

“I know you wouldn’t, sweetheart,” he replies simply. “And he has sought peace here in our pack. I doubt he would ever do anything to tarnish that.”

“Of course.”

He pulls me into his lap, draped over his knees and pressed into his chest, his protective arms reaching around my shoulders to keep me there. I don’t want to move, either. I am perfectly content here, with my mate, for as long as time will allow.

“Are you happy, mate?” he asks, his lips gently grazing my cheek, his eyes stuck on my own, and his arms reflexing around my body. “I mean, truly happy, of course. Happy with me? Happy with our pups? Happy with this pack, sweetheart? Just tell me the truth.”

I want to wait, to thoughtfully comply a reply but there is no form of a sentence I could curate to make this answer any more simple than it naturally is. I have lived a life I never thought I would want, or that I would even have, and yet I have been thrusted into with such abrasiveness that it’s impossible to ignore what joy this new life brings me. I can’t live a life that isn’t this one.

“Tell me mate, are you happy?” he asks thoughtfully.

“Of course I am, Jaxson Knight.”

•   The end –
  

Thank you my dear readers for reading this story. I’ll appreciate it if you explore my other stories as well. Please join my f b group Caroline Above Story if you wanna chat and keep updated on my writing schedule.