10. Ten

"Have you seen anything?" I ask Rhett, our man on the ground in Terravile.

Me, Caspian, and Corentin are sitting around his desk with the communicator on speaker, getting an update on the pack's activity since the wolves have begun their training for the trials. That's what the majority of the day has consisted of, updates. There still isn't shit coming out of Crestwood and I hope something comes out of this mission. Heads will fucking roll if not.

Their tracking spells are still being intercepted and they've gotten nowhere. They've acquired a tracker, but he doesn't have the skill level as Oakly. But both her and Willow have made it known, under no circumstance, is Oakly joining the E.F.

Knowing what we know now surrounding Willow leads me to believe, like it or not, Oakly's skills will be used, just not in an E.F. capacity. It'll be in the capacity Willow needs, and that thought terrifies me.

"One hundred wolves have entered the running. There's a multitude of different shifters here. I haven't seen any markings yet, but combat training doesn't start until tomorrow. I think a large portion of the pack has no clue what's going on, but some of the wolves interact with the other shifters in a way that makes me think they may be rebels," he informs us.

We needed a man on the ground who could report back anything they may see that could help us before we get there. At this stage, we won't need every little detail on all one hundred wolves, unless they're identified as a part of the Mastery, but the final ten, aside from Lyker if he makes it that far, we'll need complete files on.

We also need someone watching his ass. Willow wouldn't have seen him entering the trials for nothing. I told Rhett when he left, he couldn't inform him what was going on. It'd only distract him from the trials and paint a target on his back while he was there if he started asking questions.

I hated sending Rhett's Nexus and Lyker's—both are fucking forces of nature and major assets to the E.F.—but they're both from Terravile. So it was an easy cover for Rhett to pass off he was coming to pay his respects and watch the trials. It made the most sense sending him to collect what he could and once we gave him a briefing on what was going on, he was all for it.

"Keep us updated on anything you get. No doubt the rebels in the pack will keep their distance from you, but whatever you pick up, let us know. Stay safe. Leave at any sight of trouble," I command.

"Yes, sir," he responds before cutting the call.

He'll go silent now until next week unless something happens or information too important not to get to us comes up. The whole Mastery knows the E.F. is hunting them, so the ones in the Terravile pack will likely keep their distance from him and his Nexus, but you never know how those sick fucks would react if they found out he's there undercover and not on a social visit.

"One hundred wolves is a shit ton of competition. You think Lyker can pull it off?" Caspian asks.

"You think that's what Willow saw? Lyker winning the whole thing?" I ask, rather than answer him.

"Yeah, obviously," he replies like I'm an idiot for not thinking the same thing.

"Okay, asshole, I was just asking. Yeah, I think he could win it all. He's a tough fucker and it'll be a huge loss to the E.F. with him gone but also a huge win if he does and can help us clean house in that pack."

Just like my parents, even once you're out of the service, your loyalty always stays. And Lyker's loyal to the bone. That's one reason why he fought so hard not to go. He said his place was here, not back there. If we hadn't told him that someone with the sight said he had to go, he would've ignored us completely and stayed right here, ready to fight this fight. He just doesn't know I sent him directly to the enemy, but if he wins, he'll help us end the treachery going on there, no doubt.

The Terravile pack being corrupt is a blow to the dynamic and structure of all the shifter packs in Elementra. For the most part, my aunt allows them to govern themselves as long as they're adhering to the laws of the land. One of my uncles is a shifter and for the most part oversees them all as needed.

Terravile being the largest pack in Terian creates doubt and worry in our minds over all the other larger packs spread across the four territories. The Mastery getting their hands in them proves they can get their hands in all the packs if they want to. Hell, they might've already. It's something we're working on finding out now.

"Come in," Corentin yells at whoever's knocking at the door, cutting our conversation off. We all rise, taking a step toward Vince as he stomps into the room.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" I ask before he makes it five feet in.

"She's fine, with Draken. Care to tell me why you didn't warn me she was so powerful or that she was your true Primary?" he asks, huffing, crossing his arms.

"I take it Draken told you," I state. I know Draken loves to brag about it, even though we've told him it's dangerous.

"He told the whole class. I believe his exact words were ‘let this be a lesson to all you dickheads the next time you want to challenge my true Primary.'"

"Did one of them hurt her?" Caspian snarls.

Vince throws his head back, laughing, not a humorous laugh either. One that says don't fucking play me for a fool.

"No, no one hurt her. Gage made a very derogatory comment to her, and she sent the entire class to their knees. Including me. She didn't even react when I tested her dominance."

"Fuck," all three of us say.

"Yeah. Not just that, her animal thought I was a damn cub, a kitten she called me. So again, care to tell me why you didn't give me a warning?"

We all stare at him for a few beats, letting his words sink in, then we lose our composure.

His lion is a beast of a creature. Standing at least six feet tall from shoulder to paw, with claws as sharp as blades and teeth that can tear your head clean off your neck. I can't believe my little warrior thought he was a kitten.

"Vince the kitty cat. Damn, that little Primary is trouble," Caspian teases as he continues to laugh and point at a pissy Vince.

"We can't tell you her animal right now, Vince. I'm sorry, but it's far too dangerous, and that's all I'll say on it. I didn't tell you who she was because I didn't want you to baby her. I needed you to treat her like you would any other student and get a feel for where she is and what she needs help with. You would've tested her dominance on your own then wouldn't have let her go up against anyone else." Corentin's the first to compose himself as he states facts to Vince. And he's spot-on. Just like Ry babies her, he would've too if he knew who she was to us.

"Probably, but she obviously has a very good relationship with her animal. They're completely in tune with one another from what I could tell. She easily pulled her dominance off me and Walker as soon as she noticed we were down, then the rest of the class once she was done with Gage."

"How the fuck is that possible?"

I pick up Corentin's thought and shoot him a look, letting him know I heard that. I have no clue how that's possible. It took Draken years to be able to pinpoint his dominance like that. It didn't matter how weak the other shifter was compared to him. If they dared growl or challenge him, he'd send every shifter within his range to their knees, and they'd just have to deal with it until he felt like letting up.

"Where does she need the most work?" I ask.

"We'll focus on pinpointing. Today, she purposely meant to send all the men to their knees, according to her, so I told her we'd work on getting those skills sharper so she doesn't accidentally send any of your E.F. members to the ground on your trip to Terravile."

We all grunt in agreement. That'd suck to be stuck in a situation and my Primary send my men crumbling in the middle of a fight.

"Will she be okay to return to the class?" Corentin asks.

"Oh yeah, she'll be fine. The wolves have some wounded egos, but they'll get over it. They're no match for her. I just wanted to give you shit. She's powerful, extremely so. But she can still learn. I'll keep you updated." He gives us all a handshake before walking out.

He's one of our oldest friends here at the academy, but I still can't stop myself from checking his thoughts about the situation, finding nothing but humor and genuine curiosity. I don't feel guilty about doing it, friend or not. Willow's safety will always come first.

"I wonder what that fucking mutt said to set her off," Caspian comments, darkness clouding his eyes with the need to hunt them down if they meant her any harm.

He's been doing better ever since she woke up, his darkness receding for the most part. Except for when it comes to her. The fierce protectiveness in him is handled very differently than we handle ours. Where me and Corentin can't go around, fucking students up left and right, there's no stopping Caspian. Draken either.

Hence how Vander mysteriously ended up in the healing wing, barely breathing with lungs full of water and beaten to within an inch of his life. Caspian and Draken of course denied any involvement.

"Caspian," Corentin warns, having the same thoughts I am.

"What? I was just wondering. She'll tell me," he declares, rolling his eyes at us and plopping down in the chair like we're being ridiculous.

Giggling down the hallway draws all our attention to the door. The sweet sound of her laughter is as calming as the wind chimes hanging in the windows of my tree. I could be on the verge of losing my mind and that laugh would settle me completely. It's my favorite sound in the realm.

Aside from how she screams my name.

"Guys, guess what—"

"Come here, Primary," Caspian orders, cutting off her excitement, causing the beautiful smile she was wearing to slightly fall.

"What's wrong?" she asks as she hastily makes her way right to him.

I can see the satisfaction on his smug face, pleased she listened immediately with no fight.

"Caspian, leave her alone. Now," Corentin orders.

Ignoring his brother completely, he wraps his shadows around her and sits her on his lap. "I heard you sent a class full of men to their knees."

"How did you hear about that so fast? We just left the field," she asks, looking up at him with those sweet innocent eyes.

"Vince came straight here. He was upset with Corentin for not telling him you were our Primary. But he left out a very important detail," Caspian says as he runs his shadows down her face.

"What did he forget? It sounds like he's already told on me." Willow rolls her eyes, crossing her arms.

We all chuckle at the pissed off look on her face. She gets pretty upset when people share news before she has the chance to. She was obviously looking forward to telling us what she did herself.

"He neglected to tell me what the wolf said that set you off."

Willow's "Oh," is drowned out by the sound of Draken growling. I turn my head to look at him and can tell the wolf said some shit that's about to set Caspian off.

"Drop it, Caspian," I warn. The last thing we need is him running off to kill some wolf up over some words when Willow obviously handled him.

"Nope. Tell me what he said, Willow. Now," he commands. The use of her name startles her, and her eyes gloss slightly.

She cuts her gaze to the others, trying to get a read on how they're feeling, landing on me last. She tries and fails miserably not to think about what he said in her mind, but it's too late. I heard it.

He's going to lose his shit. I'm trying not to lose my fucking shit 'cause she's already internally freaking out, thinking that Caspian's mad at her for this because he called her by her real name. Which he isn't. She didn't do anything wrong, but he's most certainly going to blow up.

"Promise me you're not going to flip out." She looks up at Caspian, clearing her throat.

"No."

His tone sends a shiver through her body, and she steels her shoulders, taking a deep breath.

"He asked me if when I'm done whoring myself to Draken, how about I give him and his Nexus a turn fucking my sweet mouth. And he called me little tree," she tells the room quietly.

Silence.

The temperature in the room drops at least ten degrees with her omission. Out of the corner of my eye, Corentin's fingers are twitching. He's doing his best not to react poorly, but it's hard. I feel the same. My bond's pushing at its restraints, attempting to force me to find that fucker and knock his teeth down his throat.

Draken's eyes are fully shifted, standing there with his arms crossed. I can't imagine how he felt hearing that or how he had the restraint to hold himself back from ripping Gage's throat out.

"Good girl. Thank you for telling me," Caspian murmurs with barely checked rage lingering in his eyes. Standing with her in his arms, he walks her over to Corentin and passes her off.

"Are you upset with me? Where are you going?" Willow asks as she grabs onto his hand when he places her in Corentin's waiting arms.

Her bond is pushing her. She's never whiney unless the bond is fucking with her, and it mortifies her every time it happens. But no doubt it can sense the whirlwind of emotions swirling through Caspian currently.

"Of course I'm not upset with you. I'm just going to cool off," he says, cupping her cheek with his shadows. "Draken," he demands when he turns away from her.

"I'll be back, little wanderer. I'll keep him out of trouble," Draken says as he cuts her complaint off with a kiss then runs out the door behind Caspian.

"Are they going to do something stupid?" she asks.

I immediately answer yes, telling the truth, while Corentin's dumbass lies and says no, which causes a sweet little growl to fall from her throat. I probably shouldn't refer to them as sweet after what she did today, but I can't help it. It's a small warning sound that's too precious coming out of that tiny little body.

"I just didn't want to upset your bond. Yes, they're probably going to go take care of this. Caspian isn't going to let that level of disrespect toward you stand. I can only imagine Draken didn't react on the fields because he didn't want to upset your bond and he wanted to let you handle it on your own, assert yourself as the most dominant in the class, but he was on the verge of flipping the fuck out too." Corentin sighs, taking a seat with her perched on his lap.

"I could feel his anger down the bond, but he was handling it well, so I thought he'd let it go."

"You don't look all that upset about this, Will," I comment, crossing my arms, looking down at her. The worried look she had a few minutes ago is replaced with a small smile as she lays her head against Corentin's chest.

"I'm trying to convince myself that this is bad and I should stop them, but my bond and dragon are preening in my chest right now. Both extremely pleased with them going to defend my honor." Me and Corentin chuckle when she lets out a little purr, confirming her feelings.

"Did your dragon take over today when you let your dominance out?" I ask.

She shakes her head, rubbing her chest. "No. She doesn't really take over or push like Draken's described his doing. This morning when I had a run-in with that bitch Gima, she wanted to rip her head off, but other than that, she just gives me little nudges or responds to me when I seek her guidance. She'll send me feelings that I interpret and go from there. I don't fight her presence when she makes herself known. I'm still in control the whole time, but I follow her lead and listen to the instincts she's pushing."

"Amazing," Corentin murmurs into her hair.

Both of us shake our heads in astonishment. Her abilities are remarkable to witness. I have no doubt there's an answer locked away in her stone that would explain her unmatched control and ability to adapt so quickly. I'm pretty positive she forgets how powerful she truly is because it just comes naturally to her.

The three of us stay in Corentin's office for the remainder of break and lunch, Willow bouncing back and forth between the two of us, soaking up our affection before we head over to the training fields.

I know both her and her bond are craving the touch, but every stroke of her hand on my chest has my cock growing rock hard and my mouth watering with the need to have her taste on my tongue. The little bit I've had of her was nowhere near enough. I need it all. I want her panting under me every day.

Thankfully she wants to walk to the training fields. It gives me some time to get my raging boner under control and get my mind back into instructor mode. I love my role, I really do, but life is different now with her here, and not gonna lie, sometimes I'd rather just lie around with her.

Watching her tilt her head up to the sun, twirling around, does nothing for my desire, but it does fill me with a sense of admiration and determination. She's so fucking strong. I don't want this path that's laid out for us to break that wonder, her spirit.

As soon as we crest the hill, the first thing we see is Oakly, standing toe to toe with Gima and two of her little friends. A yelling match takes place as Oakly's guys hold her back.

"Damn it," me and Corentin both mumble as Willow charges ahead. At that exact moment, Draken and Caspian emerge out of the shadows beside us, falling right into step as we make our way to catch up to her.

"The only reason you're still allowed in this class is because of Willow, Germ. So watch your fucking mouth." Oakly snarls.

"Corentin never would've kicked me out and my father would never stand for it. He'll be mine when he's done toying with that Nexus thieving whore," Gima replies as we walk up.

As quickly as I can, I snatch Willow up around her waist. Those silver eyes flash to purple and back faster than the others can catch, but I know she's getting ready to rip this bitch apart.

"Make no fucking mistake, Gima, you're only here because Willow said not to kick you out. You nor your father have any sway over me, and it's best you both remember who I am," Corentin says in a loud, deadly tone, taking a step closer to Gima, forcing her to back up.

"If I hear one more word from your mouth about my Primary, you won't just be out of the E.F.'s recruitment, you'll be out of this fucking academy quicker than your daddy can blink. I don't want you. I'll never want you, nor will any of my brothers. Now fuck off before I change my mind and send your ass crying back to him."

Gima's breathing is hard, and I can see the flames burning in her eyes. I try to push my gift into her mind to see what the fuck she's thinking, but I'm blocked out by a gift far stronger than her own.

It seems her posh, thinks he's a god, of a father, decided to armor his little nightmare with some defenses to protect those nasty little persuasive thoughts from being heard. I could easily break through it, but that'd cause more trouble than it's worth right now. Talk about a shit storm for Corentin and my aunt.

"We'll see about that," she promises darkly, turning on her heel and stomping off in the direction of the gym.

That little stalker is going to be more of an issue than we assumed.

"Still think you should've been the bigger person? I think you should just get rid of the bitch and be done with it," Oakly remarks as she glares at Gima's retreating form. But Willow's paying no mind right now. Her sole focus is on Corentin.

"Are you okay?" she asks him softly, running her hands up and down his chest when he cages her into me.

"Don't worry about me, princess. If she even looks at you in any way, you tell me, and I'll take care of it." He leans down, silencing her with his lips.

Her thoughts are swirling complaints. She wants to argue with him about not worrying over him, but I know he won't hear it. He doesn't like to think about Willow taking care of him, anyone taking care of him, so he'll avoid it and distract her any way he can. Like he's currently doing.

"Go on, trouble one and two. Go get ready for class," Ry says and Willow untangles herself from us with a huff.

I expected his smart-ass comment to piss Oakly off, but instead, she just giggles right along with Willow as they make their way to the gym. Us following closely behind to make sure no shit pops off in the changing rooms again.

Willow's Memoria stone unlocking the bits of her training she had prior to coming here has given her the leg up and confidence she needed to start absorbing everything I've been teaching her. She still has a lot to learn, but she's leaps and bounds ahead of where she was when our training first started.

All class, I had her paired with Oakly, trying to help her catch up to where Willow is so she'd be able to join us on the Terravile trip. I don't want to piss Willow or Ry off, but I refuse to let Oakly join us if she doesn't have enough training down pat to protect herself. They may be mad at me about that threat, but they'd be even madder if she were to get hurt.

"Did you let her take you down that morning or did she really get the best of you?" Caspian asks, lifting his whiskey to his lips.

Following the nightly routine we've adapted when we're all here, we came home after classes, spent time together outside watching Willow practice all three of her elements since she can only use her air at the academy, then dinner. Now the four of us are in the lounge, while she takes a bath.

"I could've stopped her, but I wanted to see what she was going to do. I didn't expect her to sweep my ass off my feet, though." I smile, pride seeping through my words.

I think she had an extra boost of power from the Memoria stone that morning 'cause I'm a big fucker to knock down, but for the most part, she's still graceful and fast on her feet, and she'd be able to do that to someone smaller than me with no issue.

"Why do you think her stranger taught her how to fight, even just the basics?" Draken asks.

"Either because they knew she'd end up here and would need it or to protect herself better against her father and that fucker. Maybe both. Based on what Elementra said about her stone, there's a ton of information stored in there, waiting for her to unlock. All kinds of shit she's already learned that would help her now to know," Caspian spits out. His resentment for this situation is evident in his voice.

"I can't sense the block on her mind. I've looked, multiple times. That's how powerful that damn stone is," I tell them.

"We'll just have to wait, like Elementra said. For now, my little wanderer is out of the bath and getting lonely, so I'm out. See you in the morning," Draken declares, hauling ass out of the room, rubbing his chest, obviously picking up Willow's emotions from the bond.

I can't help but stew in jealousy. I want that so bad.

"I'm heading to bed too," Corentin announces, standing from his seat. He's been awfully quiet tonight, and he's got his mental lock in place tight, keeping me out.

"You plan on creeping from the shadows tonight or you're actually going to make your presence known?" I ask Caspian as Corentin walks out.

"Shut up. She hasn't called me out or hasn't noticed me yet, so don't bring it up," he growls before drifting out of the room through the walls, leaving me there laughing at him.

Fucking ghost boy.

I laugh the entire walk to Willow's room, thinking about the little mental nickname she gave Caspian. He'd fucking flip if he knew she called him that, so I keep that a secret between the two of us.

Walking through Willow's door, I smile at the sight. Dressed in a tiny, teasing little black nightgown, she's leaning against Draken's chest, reading her journal while he runs his fingers through her hair. Her hypnotizing silver eyes peer up and meet mine before she runs them down my body, watching as I pull my shirt over my head.

She's so perfect.

"He's so yummy."

I chuckle heatedly at her thought.

"You're fucking delicious too, Will."

"How often do you spy on my thoughts?" she asks, raising her eyebrow, laying her journal on her chest.

"More often than not," I tell her honestly.

"I need you to teach me how to block you out. You or any other mind reader I come across," she tells me seriously as she sits up and stares me down.

My heart stops beating.

"No. Nope, I can't do that, Will."

"Why not?" she asks, crossing her arms, plumping those perfect tits up, and I damn near give in and give her whatever she wants.

"I need to be able to hear your thoughts. It gives me peace of mind," I plead. Her eyes gloss over, on the verge of crying, so I climb into the bed and pull her into my lap.

I won't lie and say I don't snoop on her thoughts—I one hundred percent do—but I can tell when she's deep in a thought that's none of my business and I stay out. But I need the peace of mind to be able to check and make sure she's okay.

"You can't stay reading my thoughts, Tillman. You can't hear or see what I've seen in my visions. It'll mess up the possible positive outcomes."

"I know. I don't ever pry if I can tell you're deep in your thoughts. I promise I'll never look for what you've seen in your visions." I swear to her. I'd never jeopardize the outcome of her visions just for my selfish need to be able to hear her, but I need her to let me have this.

"Okay." She sighs defeatedly, making my chest fucking hurt.

"Don't be upset, please."

"I'm fine, but if you aren't going to do that for me, I need you to do something else," she grumbles, letting me know she is, in fact, upset.

"Anything."

"You say that now. I need you to go tell Corentin I'm upset and need him to come lie down with us," she admits hesitantly, sniffling as her tears start to fall.

"What's wrong, Will? Why don't you want to ask him?" I ask softly, wiping away her stray tears.

"I can feel his unease and jealousy. It's making my chest hurt, making my bond feel so torn, and I just want him to hold me, but if I go and ask him, he'll know I felt his emotions and he won't come because of his weird sense of ‘I need to take care of everyone, no one can take care of me' thing he has going on. If you go and tell him I need him, he'll listen. I wish everyone just slept in here every night, but I don't want either of them to reject me." She sobs, her bond taking full control of her emotions.

Shit.

"I'll go get him, Will." I lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek, placing her back in Draken's lap, hoping he can calm her down.

Based on his thoughts, her bond is flooding her with awful feelings that are bleeding into him, right alongside her own fear of me reading her thoughts and picking up something from her visions. She's a ball of unfavorable emotions that none of us are helping with right now.

I stomp my way down the hall, coming up to Corentin's door and loudly banging three times. When he finally opens, the fucker, he's in nothing but his sweatpants, hair a mess from where he's been running his hands through it, pulling at his roots.

"What?"

"Willow's upset and wants you to come hold her. Come on," I order.

"What's the matter? You and Draken are lying with her right now," he argues back, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't matter, asshole, she wants you. So come on." I snarl, daring him to question it again.

Huffing, he slams his door and starts making his way to her room. Walking through the door I left wide open, he stops in his tracks when he sees her cradled in Draken's arms, crying harder now than she was not even two minutes ago when I walked out. That instantly kicks his ass out of the bad mood he's in as he charges toward the bed.

"Princess, what's wrong?" he asks as he pulls her from Draken's arms and into his lap.

"I want you to stay with me." She hiccups.

"Shh, I'm here. It's okay," he coos quietly over and over until her tears finally stop and her eyes drift shut.

We sit there for a long minute, all of us touching her where we can, but no one says anything as Corentin gently rocks and rubs her back until we know for sure she's good and asleep. Caspian finally steps out of the shadows and sits on the bed.

"What happened? She's been doing fine with her bond lately," Corentin asks quietly.

"I don't know what's going on. I could feel a shit storm brewing when I left the lounge and she was acting funny when I came in here but seemed to calm down a little once I held her. She was trying to block me out from feeling her, but I could pick up loneliness, guilt, and dread," Draken answers mournfully.

"Why would she feel any of those things?" Caspian asks.

"I think it's her visions and her bond. Her visions are weighing heavily on her, and she's upset she can't tell us. She asked me to teach her how to block her mind from me and I told her no, which made it worse. And with the way she wanted Corentin, I think her bond is making her feel like she isn't giving all of us enough attention or the bond feels like it's not getting enough attention."

It's a half-truth. I knew she felt his feelings and it was affecting her bond, but this was my subtle way of telling them that she wanted, needed, them both here without saying she was afraid to ask them.

I'd give them a small push if it meant making her feel better. I can sense Draken staring at the side of my face. He knows what I'm doing, but he isn't going to call me out. He'll agree that if Willow fears being rejected, then the guys need to make the first move and I'll push them toward that.

"We'll continue to support her any way we can with her visions. And if she's okay with it, I'll start staying in here every night," Corentin agrees instantly and I run my hand down my face, hiding my small smile, unlike Draken, who's beaming in victory.

"Caspian, maybe you should let her know you creep in here every night too," Draken adds, fucking giddy.

"I'll tell her when I'm ready. She understands," he grunts, sending his shadows down her body once before drifting back through the walls.

One out of two is better than none.