Snippet #2034581

Julien gave Aurora a hurt look. "Yes sexy!" he answered, blowing smoke out of the window. "Fox said so. And faeries don't lie." He gave her a cocky smirk. Aurora sighed, she had been doing that a lot lately, and crossed the room to flop down on his bed.

"Honestly Julien, do you not trust me?" She asked with a smirk. "There's a reason this coven has kept me around for two hundred years you know." Julien snorted.

"Yeah, when you kick enough ass, people make you the boss..." he muttered. Aurora continued as if she hadn't heard him.

"I know whats good for us. Believe me. You know I can't stand Emmanuel and his pups. If I didn't think this was one-hundred percent needed, I wouldn't do it." She fell back suddenly on his bed and threw her arms over her face. "It's been a long night. The last thing I need is my motives questioned. Once Fox gets back, we'll peel out. When we get there, Emmanuel--"

"Bastard," Julien threw in.

"--You--" Aurora continued. Julien smirked.

"Sexy."

"--His beta--"

"Bitch."

"And I will do some talking." Julien thought it best to keep quiet on this one. "I'll explain everything then." Julien put out the little nub that was left of his cigarette. He seriously thought about pouting enough to make Aurora tell him, but she seemed more likely than ever to take a snap at someone, so he resisted. He sighed and looked up at Aurora, his smirk melting into a rare serious expression.

"I don't like being kept in the dark, Aurora. If you want me to be your second, you have to trust me sometimes. But you're my leader. I trust you with my life." He met her gaze silently for a few moments, letting her know that he was serious. Suddenly, a bang from the floor below interrupted the moment. Julien rolled his eyes. "Hold that thought," he told her. He let his eyes slip closed and let himself slip out from his body and down through the floor so that he could see into the living room. He didn't bother making his shadow form invisible, all of the vampires in the house were used to the sight of his shadowy outline flitting through the house.

The scene in the living room was not what he was expecting. Three strangers were crowded into the house, Isabella faced off against him. Julien growled and flew back into his body. He jumped off of the window sill, throwing the stub of a cigarette out of the window, just as Zane thumped on their door. "We need to get downstairs," he told Aurora, rushing out of the door. He brushed past Zane and flew down the stairs, feeling Aurora's presence just behind him the whole way. He stopped just as he reached the scene, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"What. The. Hell?" he snarled. "Who the hell broke the door??"

---

Emmanuel took the paper from Fox and read it quickly. Fox could practically taste his anger. She smiled. He was quite handsome when he was angry. "This can't be real," he said with a shake of his head. "If there's one thing Aurora's good at, it's deciet. She's a lying, heartless bitch." Fox laughed.

"Quite possibly. But she is not that smart. I remember the last two centuries as well as any other. No magic of Aurora Mortenson's doing can make it smell like that."

Emmanuel eyed her wearily. Fox smiled back.

"Should I trust her?" he asked. Fox considered the possibilities, tilting her head. A fight between the two was something she had never seen before. She wanted very much for the two groups to come together so that she could see what would happen. She had been curious for more than a few years about who would win in a fight between Aurora and Emmanuel. She wanted very much to say yes, he should trust her, but the lie caught in her throat before she could even think to form it. She didn't let the frustration show on her face. Instead, her smile grew wider.

"No, Emmanuel Cross, you should not trust her. But, I think you should trust me." It wasn't really a lie... Fox was of the opinion that everyone should trust her. It didn't make it a good idea. "The letter is not a trick or a lie, that is a truth. Aurora Mortenson comes to you for protection. That is a powerful position to have over your enemy..." She let that dangle in the air, appealing to Emmanuel's vanity. She was sure he would love to have them at his mercy. "Let the vampires come. If it makes you feel better, I will protect you should any of them threaten to harm your face."