The Elemental Mate

Chapter 21

Xander POV

The second my eyes connect with hers, I pull her closer to me and kissed her with every ounce of passion I possessed.

She wound her arms around my neck as I lifted her to straddle my waist. Her fingers tugged on my hair as I released a small growl.

She pulled back an inch as she let out a small giggle, "Did you just growl?" she laughed.

I grinned at seeing her smile, but I didn't get a chance to reply as I felt a soft burning sensation right over my heart. She gave me a confused look, sensing my pain.

She gently placed her palm over where my heart is, numbing the pain until it was completely gone.

I looked down to see a tattoo grow across my chest. A rose grew above my heart as thorns wrapped around it and proceeded to grow up my shoulder, stopping about an inch down my arm.

"It's beautiful," Aurora said, her voice just above a whisper, "This is your mark?"

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I nodded to her, "It is. The mark ties me to you."

I love it, I hear her thoughts.

"Good," I smile.

She looks a little shocked for a second before realization crosses her mind, "And with that, you have to teach me to block my thoughts from you."

"I don't know," I tease her, "I think I'm going to enjoy reading your thoughts for a while," I laugh.

"Xander!" she lightly hits me on my chest with the back of her hand, "This isn't funny."

I laughed even harder as she attempted to give me a hard glare, but it only made her look even cuter, "You are so cute."

"Xander!" she exclaimed as I watched the blush rise to her cheeks.

"Aurora!" I mocked before leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. She gave me a small smile as I pulled back, her glare gone, "I promise I will teach you how to block my thoughts, but it's going to have to wait until tonight."

"Why?" she asked, her bottom lip jutting out in an adorable pout.

I let out a small groan at the sight, "You are making this very difficult, sweetheart."

"Good," she beamed, "That was the idea."

I chuckled at her words before I softly lifted her off my lap and stood up, "I have patrol with Ash today, and I still have a pack to run."

She threw her head back as she released a groan, "Fine," she relented, "Go be responsible."

I chuckled at her for that before I moved away from the couch and made my way up the stairs to get ready for the day.

Quickly getting dressed and ready, I headed back down to find Aurora finishing cleaning the dishes from breakfast.

I walked up behind her at the sink, wrapping my arms around her. She leaned back into my chest immediately, "You're leaving?" she asked.

I kissed the mark on her shoulder gently before kissing the side of her, "Yeah," I tell her softly, "I'll be back later tonight. Is Ivy coming over today?"

"Yep. I'm glad we're going to be friends," I can feel her smile, "I think I'll be able to help her open up a little."

"I hope you can," I tell her, "I'm happy you have someone you'll be able to talk to too."

She leaned farther into me as I felt her relax further. I squeezed her a little tighter, "I have to go," I tell her before kissing the side of her head again and slowly releasing her from my arms.

I could feel her want for me not to leave and Kai was whining at me not to leave her at all.

"Be careful on patrol, please," she says as I start to walk away.

"I always am, sweetheart," I tell her, "I'll see you tonight."

I walked away from her and out of the house. Moving quickly to the woods, I sent a short message to Asher and Hayden to start our patrol.

Shifting swiftly, I start my run around the border of the pack, not being able to get my thoughts off of Aurora and what she had been through.

Iris was family to her, and she betrayed her because of Francis. Iris burned Aurora at the stake for defended the coven.

Anger filled me as I thought of the pain Aurora must have felt. Kai growled as he pushed at the barriers of our mind, She hurt mate. She must die.

She will, I agreed with him. No one causes pain to my mate and gets to live.

Coming up to the pack border, I walked slowly as I kept my eyes on the surrounding woods. I felt a rumbling behind me as a pair of wolves got to the border.

Alpha, Ash greeted respectfully as he and Hayden moved towards me in their wolf forms. They both stayed back, sensing the anger coming off of me.

What's wrong, Xander? Ash asked.

Aurora showed me her memories, I told them.

You've finished the mating? Congrats, man, Hayden said.

Thanks, I tell him.

But you're angry, which means you saw something in Aurora's memories, Ash deduced, What happened?

Aurora showed me what happened with Iris, I told them. Then I explained to them everything Aurora had told me about what Francis had done to the coven and how she had killed him in self-defense.

Iris wants to kill her for protecting herself and their coven? Ash questions, the outrage clear in his tone.

I nodded in reply to him as Kai continued to growl in my mind over Iris.

What does witch law say about self-defense? Hayden asked suddenly.

What? Ash gave him a strange look.

She had a trial, I told them, Iris found her guilty and she was burned at the stake.

They both growled lowly at the information before Ash asked me to explain, How is she even alive right now?

She told me it's because she's an Elementalist. She can't die by fire, but when Iris passed the sentence, she didn't know that. Now she is hunting my mate, I growl out.

But that's the punishment? Hayden asked, Being burned at the stake?

I assume so, I told him, not entirely sure what he was getting at, Why?

Let me look into the witch laws we have on file, he offers, I have a thought, but I don't want to get your hopes up.

Alright, I tell him. Maybe something in the past can help Aurora now.

Alright, I'm going to head to your house to pick up Ivy, then I'll get started, he tells me.

I nod in agreement before he heads back into the woods.

Do you think Iris will really start a war over our Luna? Ash asks.

I look out past the border in thought as I think about what Iris wants. Although self-defense, Aurora killed her husband, the man Iris loved. If anyone so much as laid a finger on my mate, I would end their lives. If she was killed, I don't know the true lengths I would go to avenge her.

It's then that I knew my answer.

Yes.