Hunt Little Wolf: The Aurora Marelup Series Read online

  Hunt Little Wolf

  The Aurora Marelup Series Book Two

  Serenity Rayne

  Copyright © 2019 by Serenity Rayne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To my family,

  Thank you for being supportive of all my insanity

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Stay Connected

  Yakuita, Russia

  Ice Dragon Fortress

  Alaric Krauss

  I sit at my crystalline desk reviewing the maps that are available for the Bering Land Bridge between Siberia and Alaska. According to what Ellis told me previously, Tomas is having the polar bears wait for Aurora and her troops on the island in the center of the ice bridge. The Diomede Islands, which are located in the dead center of the soon-to-be land bridge, seem to be where the attack will take place.

  I quickly take out my cell phone and text Alex what I discovered, so hopefully he can relay the information to Aurora and her people. Almost immediately, my phone dings and it's a text back from Alex. He's been in contact with his brothers, who happen to be two of Aurora's mates. They are currently training with lycans as well as the old Ice Dragon King. Within Alex’s compound, he's currently training his people to be ready to join Aurora in her final fight.

  I look back through messages that I’ve exchanged with Alex and I finally find what I’m looking for. The video in question shows Aurora shifting for the first time in the middle of the arena. I replay the part where her fur and body are blanketed in frost. I watch as the frost crystals form on her fur and on the ground around her. It’s truly a vision to behold. The uniqueness of her existence brings a whole new level of wonder to her theatrical display. Aurora appears to be a very proud and dominant female with the way she handles herself in the arena. To be quite honest, I’ve watched this video of hers far too many times for it to be considered research anymore. My dragon has become obsessed with her. He wants to feel her talons rake across his scales. My dragon wants to bathe her in his frost fire. If I’m to be honest with myself, I want all those things too.

  I sigh and close the video, returning my gaze to the maps before me. I have to calculate the distance from the lycan camp in Ferdig, Montana to Wales, Alaska. It’s approximately 2,300 miles on land. I already know that most of the trip through Alaska will be on foot for them. If they were able to drive or fly, they are looking at about a fifty hour trip just to get to Wales. Sadly, when they will be attempting to travel, most of the flights will be grounded.

  I quickly look through my resources to see if I can somehow send aid to her. My dragon’s instinct is pushing me to help and protect her. He wants her for himself. I pause when that revelation is made. Shit... my dragon has chosen… I breathe deeply before getting up to walk to my balcony. I push open the double doors and step out into the blizzard. Without hesitation, I shift and take flight. I need to investigate the islands for myself and then meet up with Ellis.

  The miles melt away quickly with every beat of my wings. I scan the ground and sky around me to make sure I'm not being followed. A couple of hours pass before the Polar Bear Camp becomes visible. Carefully, I land about twenty miles away from the camp and head to the cavern Ellis and I use for our meetings. I shift back to my human form and enter the cavern. Quickly, I move to the far back to my hidden crate and remove spare clothes and my cloned phone. I power up the phone and text Ellis, alerting him of my arrival. Slowly, the clone phone catches up to where my other phone is.

  I’m experiencing an emotion I’ve never dealt with before. It’s rather disturbing to think I’m currently feeling anxious. Anxiety is something I don't know how to deal with. I am an Ice Dragon Prince—I’m battle proven with many victories under my belt—but for once, I fear failure. Shit. I’m actually afraid of something. I ponder this thought for several moments until eventually, I arrive at the conclusion that I’m not afraid of something, but for Aurora. I don’t want to lose the princess before I’ve even met her. I start kicking rocks and ice chunks around the cavern because I can’t deal with what I’m feeling. I wouldn’t say we hit end-of-the-world danger level, but inside I feel like my world is in danger of ending. While I’m having my moment, Ellis arrives and bears witness to my mini flip out.

  “Whoa, Bro, settle down! What’s wrong?” Ellis crosses his thickly muscled arms over his chest, appraising my temperament.

  “I’m fine Ellis, just dealing with some heavy shit.” I reach up and run my fingers through my blonde hair. After I’ve settled myself down, I decide to speak again. “I started calculating the time and distance for the princess to travel. It’s a minimum of fifty hours if they can drive and fly to Wales.” I begin to draw the map out for Ellis in the snow between us using a stick I found. “We both know in the next couple of days all flights will be grounded until the spring thaw.” I look up at Ellis and I know he can fucking read me like a book. I’m deflecting hardcore, trying not to deal with what I’m feeling at the moment.

  “The plan is solid man, but what’s eating at you? You never throw a temper tantrum like you did when I walked in.” Ellis cocks his head to the side. He’s staring at me with that knowing look. Fucking hell. Maybe I should have just texted him. I begin to pace. Fuck. Dead giveaway that something’s bothering me. Quickly, I turn to face Ellis. My eyes are the silver-gold color of my dragon.

  “My dragon has chosen.” I drop my gaze quickly. Finding a mate is so very rare for a dragon—those picky bastards. I should be elated; I should be shouting it from the mountain tops. Instead, I feel like a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Honestly, I feel like a thief because no one else even had the chance to meet the princess, and my dragon has called dibs. Ellis looks frozen in his state of shock. His mouth hangs open and his eyes are wide as he stares at me.

  “Hold up! Back that mother fucking train up! Your dragon has chosen? Seriously?” Ellis moves quickly and wraps me up in a tight bro-hug. “Horrible timing, but excellent news man! I’m so happy for you! Let me guess, the Fire Princess? It’s gotta be her; she’s got curves for days!” Shaking my head, I place both hands on Ellis’ shoulders to get his attention.

  “It’s none of the females my father has been parading around the castle.” I reach over and grab hold of his cell and find the message from Alex, then I fast forward to where Aurora shifts. Understanding flitters across Ellis’s face. He watches the full shifting sequence before looking up at me.

  “Oh? Oh boy.. You can’t be serious. For real Bro? I mean she’s hot, but she’s not a dragon. Your father will have a fucking cow if he finds out. It’s bad enough he wants her dead.” Ellis stands there shaking his head and even starts pacing. “How loyal are your boys to you?” His eyes lock with mine, searching my face for answers.

  “Very loyal. I was planning on tonight's training flight to detour away from our normal route and tell them of my recent development.” I walk to the back of the cave to retrieve a skull I had hidden there. It’s a skull from a Tizheruk, the snake-like sea creatu
res that hunted the village fishermen. I stare at my prized possession, then offer it to Ellis. “Please send this to Aurora for me.” Ellis takes the skull from me with an odd look on his face. I shift my left arm to that of my dragon and pluck off a single armored scale, and place it on the line where the skull plates meet. “It is of utmost importance that the scale remains with the skull. She’ll understand it, trust me,” I plead with Ellis for understanding.

  “You dragons are fucked up with your customs. What happened to sending girls flowers? Instead you send her rare ass skulls? No worries Bro, I got you! I’ll box this bad boy up and ship it off.” Ellis sets the skull down, then takes his phone and texts Alex for the address. A few moments later, the reply is received. Ellis fucking smirks at me and screenshot the address. Next thing I know my phone goes off and it’s the screenshot. I nod slowly and stick the message in my hidden folder in my phone. I also move her video and any other photos of her there as well and delete all my text messages.

  “Just let me know if you hear anything. I have a shit ton of arrangements to make.” When Ellis’ phone goes off again he bursts out laughing, causing me to look over at him and tilt my head at his reaction.

  “Man, you two are perfect together. Sick fucks.” Ellis holds up his phone as the video starts playing. Aurora is looking at the bones of her enemies displayed on the walls of her home. She’s smiling and laughing—excited, happy and proud. Apparently, she has a lot of dragon tendencies. I must have that love-sick puppy look on my face because Ellis is shaking his head at me. “You’ve got it bad. Damn, I never thought I’d live long enough to see this day come to pass. I’m gonna jet, and get this mailed to your girl. I’ll let you know if she sends anything back.” One brief bro-hug and he’s off on probably one of the most important missions I’ve trusted him with to date.

  I turned to leave and stand at the mouth of the cavern. The snow is just starting to fall here and it’s a beautiful sight. I wait long enough for the snow to start falling harder before I prepare to leave. I shut my spare phone off and leave it and my clothing hidden in the cavern. The snow is cool upon my skin as I walk out far enough to shift back to the form of my dragon. I take flight and decide to follow Ellis for a bit, making sure he’s safe. He’s heading to the nearest town with a UPS store in it. I can only imagine the look on the poor attendant’s face. I circle several times before heading back to my home. There’s going to be lonely days and nights ahead of me. My dragon won’t let me touch anyone else now; he’s chosen and his word is final. The most frightening part is, I’m okay with that.

  Going against my wolf’s insistence to stay with Aurora, I slowly walk outside. Mentally, I know Jayce needs his time with Aurora to complete the bond. But fuck, we almost lost her and all I want to do is hold onto her for dear life and never let her out of my sight again. I stand on the porch and look out across the compound. Dom slowly approaches me from behind and places a hand on my right shoulder.

  “Scariest three days of my life. I don’t know what any of us would have done if Aurora died,” Dom says in a low, relieved tone. He looks around the main part of the compound, then back to me. “Which direction do you want to start the patrol?” Dom, a potential alpha, waits for my command. It’s a nice change for once.

  “I mostly want to stay close to the main part of the community. If there will be another attack, they will focus on Aurora again. We can’t afford to be too far away with her in such a weakened state.” I honestly half expected a fight over my decision, but Dom nods in agreement.

  “I figure we’ll start at the furthest house and walk clockwise around the perimeter.” I step off the porch and head in the direction I just indicated. Dom catches up to me and begins fiddling with his phone. Apparently, it was shut off for the last few days.

  “Hmm, Alex sent several texts. Apparently, we have informants in the Ice Dragon and Polar Bear Compounds. Tomas is plotting to attack us as we cross the Bering Land Bridge on the two islands in the middle.” Dom’s eyes lift to meet mine, then shift back down to his phone as more texts come through. “Apparently, the Dragon Prince and one of the polar bears are part of the resistance. We are assured assistance, protection, and shelter along our journey.” More messages come through and Dom reads through them quickly. “The prince has shipped a package to Aurora, but Alex has no clue what it contains.” Dom goes back to texting back and forth with Alex, informing him of the recent attack and Aurora’s near death experience. Dom felt that the prince and the bear needed that information. “Alex said he’ll pass the news along once he hears from them again.”

  “Shit. Well, we should start planning for the battle on the ice then.” I pull out my phone and bring up my mapping program and search for the Bering Land Bridge. It’s not fully intact yet, but it should be when we are ready to cross. I see the islands in question and show them to Dom. “If your brother’s information is correct, here’s the attack zone.” I don't doubt Alex’s integrity, but I don't know the other males involved to fully trust them yet. As we stop in the middle of the road, we draw the attention of Aurora’s father, Nico. Silent fucker almost scared my wolf white with the way he seemed to materialize before me.

  “Holy fuck, dad. You just scared the hell out of me!” I pause, my skin becoming parlor. I just called Aurora’s father dad. Nico smirks at me—like father like daughter.

  “It happens son. What has drawn your attention to the phone? Is that the correct name for the magic information box?” His brows are furrowed in concentration, much like his daughter when she’s in deep thought. I take my chances again.

  “Yes father, it’s a phone, and we’ve received intel from Alex about where Tomas is setting up to ambush us. Dom takes this moment to show Nico the map of the islands and shows him the text messages from Alex. Nico starts to smile and lets out a slow breath.

  “Wonderful news!” Nico says in probably one of his most jovial tones I’ve heard him use since seeing his daughter. “Alaric was just a hatchling when I last saw him. He was such a good boy. His mother is a golden dragon. They are known for their sense of justice.” His eyes light up as he reads further. He looks quickly between Dom and I, then back to the message. “Can you find out when and why the prince is sending Aurora the present?” Nico’s dragon is so close to the surface that scales randomly ripple along his flesh. Dom looks up at the king, a little spooked by his behavior.

  “Of course, father. I’ll question my brother immediately.” Dom takes the phone back from Nico and fires off several questions to Alex, then starts pacing, waiting for the answer. I’m not used to seeing Dom rattled, but you can feel the anxiety coming off him in waves. Several pings of incoming messages fire off in quick succession. Dom’s face goes pale as he passes the phone to Nico. Dom locks eyes with me, and the look he has on his face makes me worried. Nico, on the other hand, has that Cheshire Cat smile on his face that makes him look like a deranged serial killer.

  “Alex heard from the bear that it’s a Tizheruk skull with one of the Prince’s scales.” Nico hands the phone off to Dom, then grips my left shoulder tightly. “Do you know what this means?” He gives me several shakes.

  “No, Father, I don’t. Remember I’m not a dragon, and we’re all trying to get used to and learn dragon customs.” Okay, now I’m genuinely getting concerned. Either the news is really good or really bad. I’m going to safely assume it’s good because he’s still smiling.

  “Forgive me, boys. I forget you have no clue. A male dragon bestows his prized skull to a female he swears fidelity to. In short, it’s a promise of protection, and an offer to become mates.” He quickly snatches me up in a one-armed hug before turning and doing the same to Dom.

  Nico takes off shouting for Dimitri and pretty much anyone else who will listen to him. Dom and I stare at each other, completely gobsmacked at the information relayed to us. Game changer, yes. On the positive side, we possibly have a legion of dragons on our side. However, we have a Dragon Prince—another alpha—to contend with. Fuck…
Dom finally comes back to his senses and looks at his phone, then back to me.

  “Okay... um, back to planning for the attack. We should probably find Dimitri and speak to him. Maybe he can shed some light on how the polar bears think and operate.” At least Dom isn’t shaken by the revelation that the prince is now involved.

  “That’s probably a good idea, Dom. Let’s go back toward the center of town.” We start heading back, and as we approach the Alpha House, What do we find? My mother and Nico jumping up and down, hugging each other like they won the fucking lottery.

  Both Dimitri and Andre look just as gobsmacked as Dom and I did at the news. We both pause to take in the scene before us. I personally feel like I’m in the middle of a shitty episode of The Twilight Zone. We start to walk toward the group again, and we can hear my mother and Nico discussing where and how to place Aurora’s skull collection so it may impress the prince. I facepalm, and my mother looks up after hearing my hand hit my forehead. Before I can react, mother plows right into me and attempts to hug me to death.

  “Isn’t it wonderful news! A Dragon Prince on our side for the battle!” She quickly releases me, then proceeds to take Dom hostage next. “Nico and I decided we’re going to build Aurora a Throne of Skulls. Imagine it: walking into the Alpha House, and next to the fireplace is Aurora sitting on her Throne of Skulls. Her hands are shifted to her wolf’s with the dragon scales, talons gripping the strigoi skulls.” Mom has that dreamy look in her eyes, pleased with her idea even though it’s creepy as fuck.

  With the way my warped mother described the scene, I could easily visualize it. My beautiful mate, her eyes pools of mercury. The dominance pouring off her in almost oppressive waves, forcing the weak to be subjugated before her. Her dragonic scales coating her forearms and hands in their partially shifted state to look like armored gauntlets. Her long, black, hooked talons digging into the skulls of the strigoi. Yet, she’s a vision of beauty in her blood red gown, legs crossed at her ankles. Dom and Jayce, in their wolven forms, are sitting on either side of her throne. Their large, heavily muscled Dire Wolves ready to attack at her command. As for myself, I stand at her right as her First mate, ready to advise her or quell her rage. I blink my eyes rapidly, then look at Nico. The fucker is smiling at me.