Chapter 3

" W hat the fuck's going on?" Jonas asks as he follows me through the tunnels and into the halls of the academy. I walk up the stone steps to Levi's old apartment. This brings back memories, that's for sure.

"I'll explain when we get inside," I say, then open his door. Looks like he didn't bother locking it from earlier when he had to clean up Eli.

The place is almost bare, but there is a couch, even if it has a lovely layer of dust covering it. I walk right to it and plop down with a sigh.

Today has turned into a total shit show. "Chastity is fine," I start, and Jonas gapes at me.

"How do you know that?" he sputters and I groan, rubbing my face with my hand. I shouldn't have worn contacts today. My eyes are starting to itch and my glasses are at home.

"Jacob came to me six months ago and told me that I had a new assignment for The Society. He didn't give me many details, just what I was to know and follow. He's had me looking into all the Society members. Their past, present, and future skeletons. I guess he was worried that a war was coming."

Jonas drops beside me and I cough as a poof of dust flies into the air.

"Wow, I get that you couldn't say anything, but I thought you were working on a secret surprise for Chastity and the baby," he mumbles and I laugh.

"Sorry, no, but I did order something awesome for the house. We will have to build it when we get home. I've been keeping it in the pool house."

"Wait, that still doesn't explain how you know that Chas is okay?"

"Ash is back. I had to look into all the members… I knew he was on an assignment. When I confronted Jacob, he told me that we wouldn't see him again until his job was done, or Chastity was in danger. And if she was, they had a plan to make sure she was safe."

"So many Goddamn lies!" he snaps, and I nod.

"Fuck, it feels good to have that off my chest," I say with a sigh of relief. I really hate lying and hiding shit from my family. The pregnancy helped to distract Chas, but I know that Levi and Jonas have been curious.

"Yeah, sure, but this is a lot, Bast. She's still gone, and I'm still spiraling a bit. So what's with the folder?" I glance down at the shiny blue folder in my hand and groan.

"We need to call an emergency meeting, and call in all the Elders. Including the ones that have retired or are away on undercover assignments."

I open the folder and pull out the sheets. Some names are blacked out, but they have phone numbers attached, and a code to say to them when they answer.

"Damn, Jacob is thorough, isn't he?" Jonas mentions taking one of the papers and pulls out his phone.

We are halfway through when someone knocks on the door. I'm not shocked at all when Tempest barges in, now changed into a pair of black leggings and a dark shirt. She looks like she's ready for some trouble.

"Okay, so Otto filled me in, but I don't care, it's time for us to find our girl. The kids are with him and are safe."

"Okay, well, there's an answer to one of my questions, but Temp, we can't just go off and look for Chas. She's under The Society's protection for a reason."

"Fuck the protection," Tempest growls. "We can protect her just fine. I want my best friend back. She's pregnant, and about ready to pop. The safest place for her is here."

God, this woman is infuriating sometimes. I mean, I totally agree with her, but right now, I need to follow my orders.

"Okay, let me finish these calls and then I will bother Jacob for an address. In the meantime, can you go speak to Chastity's grandmother?" Tempest glares at me, and I can't help but smirk.

She still hates Mother Cross, which I find hilarious, since she's no longer a mean nun. Chastity and her have become close this past year.

"Finneee," Tempest whines, then turns and slams the door behind her.

"Brutal, but efficient," Jonas mumbles, then grabs the paper once more and continues the calls. It's going to be a long ass night.

I'm hanging up with the last Elder when Ash bursts into the room. His hair is a mess, and I'm still fucking pissed that he didn't know right away that Eli was his. I knew the moment he was born, screaming like a banshee.

"Nope, fuck this, I'm out," Jonas says, standing and shoving Ash aside to leave the apartment. I look over at my former brother, and I feel a tiny, miniscule—I mean, like a grain of salt, small—amount of pity for him.

He looks brokenhearted, but who's fault is that? Not mine. He may have needed to leave for an assignment, but he could have said goodbye, or left a note.

Closing the folder, I stand and walk over towards the door. Ash hasn't moved, he's still staring off into the hall where Jonas just disappeared down the steps.

"He hates me," Ash mumbles and I scoff, then yawn. I'm fucking exhausted, and I'm going to need some espresso grade caffeine to stay awake for this meeting.

I leave him and walk down the hall to the stairs, then meander to the kitchen. It's late now, and all the students are tucked into bed like good little sycophants. I do not miss attending the academy.

Looking through the shelves in the pantry, I find Sister Marie's chocolate-covered espresso beans. I pop a few in my mouth and hum as the bitter flavor explodes over my tongue, then move over to the coffeemaker and brew a pot.

I should fill some of the tumblers and bring them to the guys. I bet Levi is dead on his feet too. I haven't heard anything from him since his dad dropped the whole ‘Jacob is your brother' thing.

I was not expecting that when we followed Levi's dad to the secret office of The Dragon. But now that I really think about it, it kinda makes sense. Chastity's mom dated Levi's dad. We all knew about that.

I'm digging in the fridge to see if I can make anything sweet when Ash walks in. I glance over my shoulder, expecting it to be one of the nuns. He looks around and then plops down onto a stool.

Ignoring him, I continue my search. I know Chas made a huge container full of lemon cookies for the Sisters. She has a huge heart, and wanted to include them in the festivities for Romeo's birthday.

"Ah ha!" I shout, finding them all the way hidden in the back. Grabbing them, I place them on the counter, then search for a ziplock bag. I won't take them all, just a few for the guys and me.

"Damn, I forgot how good these smell," Ash groans, reaching for one. I smack his hand away, and he looks at me with a sneer. Damn, his new appearance, with the spider tattoo, makes him look vicious.

"These are for the guys," I snap, and he rubs the back of his hand, glaring.

"If you think you're just going to come back into our lives and we will act like nothing's wrong, you have another thing coming, Ash. You didn't just break Jonas and Chastity's heart. I thought we were family. We thought you were dead."

"Bast, you don't understand. I can't tell you everything, or why I had to go, but I swear, I was protecting Jonas. He wouldn't have survived what I went through," he rasps, looking absolutely wrecked.

I can feel myself getting worked up, and we don't have time for this shit right now. I grab some cookies, close the bag, put the container back in the fridge, and find a tray for the coffee, as well as the mugs.

Fuck, I feel all out of sorts, and I know I shouldn't be doing menial things right now, but it's the only thing keeping me sane, and from not stabbing Ash in the eye with a spork.

Yeah, the nuns got rid of forks after a gruesome fight in the cafeteria. Now they only have sporks, which, in my opinion, seem sharper.

God, I am losing my fucking mind. These thoughts don't even make sense, which is exactly the direction of my life right now.

Grabbing the stuff, I leave Ash with his head in his hands and make my way down the spiral staircase to the hidden tunnels.

Levi is waiting for me when I walk up. Handing him the tray, I move around him to enter the room, but he holds a hand out.

"You can't go in. Elder business only. I'm not even allowed inside," he says with a sigh. The dark circles under his eyes match mine, and I nod.

There is no reason to argue.

"I said, leave me alone!" Jonas growls from behind me, and I turn to find him and Ash moving closer.

Ash looks like he's trying to talk to him, and yeah, Jonas ain't having it. God, this is going to be such a fucking mess.

Levi steps between them with a yawn. "No, I do not have the mental capacity for this shit. We're going to settle this right the fuck now, the way we used to. Let's go!" he snaps, then walks away.

We all follow him, and I have to laugh when he reaches the gym. Just like old times. Though everything is fucked at the moment, I think I'm going to enjoy this.

JONAS

Bast laughs and I cross my arms, scowling. "You have to be kidding me?" I grumble, and Levi raises an eyebrow, then opens the door and nods for us to enter. "We aren't in school anymore, Levi. You can't expect for this to help."

"I'm fucking tired of you two being at each other's throats," Levi says as we walk inside. The sparring room is the same as it always looked, the ring reminding me of the way Ash would piss me off until we'd beat the shit out of each other.

"I have good reason for feeling like this," I grumble. "He lied to all of us by omission when he disappeared."

Pulling off my shirt, I begin to mirror Ash as he tapes his hands.

"I had a good reason for it," he says sullenly. "You have no idea the hell I've been through. The depravity and shame I feel for the things I had to do."

"I don't fucking care!" I roar as I climb into the ring.

"Usually, I would remind you that you're friends, and not to kill each other, but fuck it," Levi says, sighing as he leans against the wall with Bast. "Figure it out. You can scrub the blood off the mats afterward."

"Dick," I grunt, gazing at the spider tattoo on Ash's neck. He looks slimmer, more muscled, his body more defined.

"Are you going to drool over my body while I explain?" Ash asks, smirking. This is almost the Ash I had before. He was always a bit of an asshole, but he was mine, which excused it most of the time.

"It's not mine to drool over anymore," I say dully, swinging at him. Ash grunts as he blocks my punches, not making a move to hit back.

"I've always been yours, baby. I left for you, don't you see?" he asks, his voice breaking. I don't want to hear that emotion, so I scream and slide through his defenses, punching him in his side.

"Lazy blocking," I grunt. "That's the thing, I don't see! You've missed so much. You missed all of Chas' pregnancy. It's inexcusable. Where the fuck have you been?!"

I'm angry, and tears slide down my cheeks as I rage and punch a man who was my everything. He and Chastity were the beginning of the rest of my life, and he threw it all away.

"You owed The Society a debt!" Ash screams, his arms spread wide. "Jacob told me that you were being sent away, and I refused. I threw myself at his mercy, because you're so much better than I am."

"What?" I ask, punching him in his lying face.

"You overstepped, and they don't accept that kind of bullshit, so they sent me undercover," he says. "No phones, no internet, no goddamn life."

Throwing me against the ropes, his hands close around my biceps. His face is so close against mine, I can feel his breath along my skin.

"My mission was to help that bitch, Isabella, break in her new fucking slaves," he snarls in my face. "I had to pretend not to care, even while people lost pieces of their souls. Good fucking people."

"So, you refuse!" I scream in his face. "You choose to do the right thing." Pushing him away, I refuse to accept that he did this to save me. Damn sacrificial lamb. "You choose us!"

"I couldn't," he whispers. Ash's eye is already beginning to swell, his lip is busted, and he's favoring his right side. Fuck, I hurt him. "There's more. I… They made me participate."

"You cheated on me… On Chastity. The mother of your fucking baby?" I gasp.

"Oh, fuck," I hear Levi say, before a red haze overcomes my vision and I launch myself at him. I can't hear the words that he's screaming at me, but I can process the anguish and pain in his tone. I continue punching and screaming things I never would under normal circumstances.

He let someone else touch him.

My soul feels as if it's withering away. I can't believe Chastity is gone, and this piece of shit is what I'm left with.

"Fuck this shit," I growl, looking down at him. There's red on my knuckles, and Ash's nose is busted and streaming blood. I didn't even realize I'd done that. Spitting on him, I shake my head.

"You're not worth this. You hurt me and I don't forgive you," I say, my heart breaking even more as I watch his eyes well with tears. "My girl is gone and in pain, and I need to find out what's happening with the baby. You don't deserve to be part of any of that. You turned your back on us. All of us."

Turning away, I ignore Levi's sad gaze as I untape my hands angrily.

"I understand the sentiment, but he's dead to me," I tell him, tossing the tape into the trash.

"Jonas," Bast begins, but I shake my head.

"Trust me, I'm a ball of rage," I say. "You don't want any part of this. I'll never forgive that piece of shit. I can't even look at him. I need to know what's going on with our girl. Come or not, I'm done waiting. I've wasted enough time."

Levi and Bast trail behind me as I bang out of the room on the way to the tunnels, leaving Ash defeated and broken on the mats. Thankfully, they're not in a meeting anymore, so I'm not going to piss anyone off.

I just want to know that she's okay.