28. Ivy

28

IVY

I wake up tangled in Tate's arms, my body sore from all the activities last night. For a moment, I just lie there, basking in the warmth of his embrace. It feels so good, so right. But then reality comes crashing back in.

As much as I want to be just Ivy, I'm not. I'm also Poison. An assassin for The Syndicate. And I've just bonded myself to one of the most powerful warlocks at Thornfield Academy.

Fuck.

Carefully, I untangle myself from Tate's arms and slip out of bed. I need to think, and I can't do that with his mesmerising presence clouding my judgement. I throw on some pjs and sneak out of the room, heading downstairs.

To my surprise, Josh is already in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee. He looks up as I enter, a knowing smirk on his face .

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he teases. "Have fun last night?"

I feel my cheeks flush. "Shut up," I mutter, grabbing a mug to make myself some tea.

Josh chuckles. "Hey, no judgement here. That Tate guy is hot as hell. I'm just surprised, is all. Didn't think he was your type."

If only he knew. I shrug, trying to play it cool. "People can surprise you."

"Mmhm," Josh hums, eyeing me suspiciously. "They sure can."

"That reminds me. Are you okay?" I ask.

"Me? I'm fine, why?"

"You know…" I wave my arms around, and he frowns but then chuckles.

"Oh, the ivy thing. Yeah, that was wild, but seriously impressive. And don't worry about me. All good."

"Really?"

He smiles sincerely. "Really."

"Hey," Ramsey says, coming in, looking shifty, and I find out why when Tate follows him in.

"Well, hey," I murmur as he gives me a pointed look and mimes opening his laptop.

Tate, looking like a piece of hot warlock arse, sidles up to me with a towel slung around his hips and kisses the top of my head before heading for the kettle. "Sleep well?" he asks over his shoulder.

"Mm," I reply, refusing to tell him in front of the others that it was probably the best sleep I've had since my parents were alive. That just digs up too much dirt for this early in the morning. Maybe there is something to this fated bond bullshit. I shake my head, trying to dispel that thought. There is no need for that this early, either.

"Ives, I really need to talk to you about that homework project," Ramsey says, grabbing the mug of tea that Tate hands him. I glare at them. What the fuck is this? Happy families?

"Oh?"

"You two have a class together?" Tate asks with a frown.

"No, these two are study buddies," Josh interjects.

"We have differing perspectives—" Ramsey starts the party line, but Josh waves his hand.

"You don't need to explain it to me. I don't give a fuck."

I snort into my tea. I couldn't love him more. "Okay," I say after a scalding sip. "Let me get dressed, and we can?—"

"Now," Ramsey says and marches out.

Tate raises an eyebrow at his abrupt exit. "Wow. Okay. Guess he is not a morning person."

"You have no idea," Josh says. "Anyway, Tate Blackwell. How about we get to know each other while these two go nerd it up?"

I throw Tate an apologetic smile and he grins back before settling down across from Josh at the kitchen island. "Sure. Not much to tell on my end. How about you? "

It's like he knows his audience. Josh will talk about himself all day, every day. Not in a self-centred way, just in a he loves to talk way.

I follow Ramsey up the stairs and find him in his bedroom. I slip in and close the door. "What is so urgent?"

"Massive cat amongst the pigeons. Like panther size."

"Give it to me, then. What's the situation?" I take it like a pro because I know whatever it is, I can't change it, so I might as well just get on with it.

"A hit has been put out on Walcott Ashford."

I blink. "Yes, I know."

"No," he says like I'm slow. "Another one."

I snicker. "Wow, he is not well liked, is he?"

Ramsey tries to keep a straight face, but I can see the hint of a smile. "Regardless, we now have a problem. Your timeline has been moved up."

As his words sink in, my heart hits my feet and wooshes back up again. "Oh, fuck, no. Seriously? They gave it to me! So, this is a what? One dead vampire but two payments scenario? God, they are… they are…" I slam my mug down, sloshing tea everywhere so I can run my hands through my hair.

"Fuck," I mutter, pacing Ramsey's room. "How much time do I have?"

"Twenty-four to eliminate the target."

I sink onto Ramsey's bed, my mind racing. "That's not enough time. I need more intel, more prep..."

"It's not all bad. Your first assignment was infiltrating the Coven. Seems he isn't with the Coven. He has run. He is solo."

"He's on his own?" Okay, that makes things a hundred per cent easier.

"Yeah. They're tracking him down. Stand by."

"Well, they'd better hurry the fuck up if they've given me twenty-four hours but don't even know where the fuck he is yet!"

"I know," Ramsey says. "But don't worry. You know they will find him."

"Yeah, and then I have to kill Torin's dad."

"I'd start thinking how if I were you. He won't be easy to take down. I would imagine he is isolated, so you should be fine with an up close and personal weapon choice."

I nod, taking that in. The kill isn't the problem. It's getting close enough to him to do it. If he is on the run, it probably means he thinks someone is after him, which means he will have his guard up. "Okay, I'm on it. But now I have to get ready for lectures. As soon as you know, I mean it, Rams, the second you know. Text me or whatever, okay?"

"Of course," he says and watches me pick up my tea and leave his room, my mind racing.

Bumping into Tate in the hallway, startles me. I'd totally forgotten he was even here. "Hey!" I say loudly. "You okay?"

"Yep. You?" His gaze bores into mine.

"Fine, fine. Have you got an early class? "

"I do. Do you?" He takes my arm and leads me back into my bedroom.

"Yeah, want to walk over together, or do you want to keep us a secret?"

His eyes widen, and then he frowns. "A secret?"

"Well, you know, Torin and Bram…" I trail off as he looks pissed off and scary as fuck right now.

"I'm not keeping you a secret, Ivy."

"Don't you think it's better though? Until we can figure everything out?"

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know. What do you want?"

We stare at each other, silence filling the space between us.

Tate's jaw clenches as he stares at me. "What I want is for you to be honest with me, Ivy. Are you having second thoughts about us?"

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "No, it's not that. It's just complicated. Obviously."

He grips my chin with his strong fingers. "I meant what I said last night. You're mine now, and I'm not about to hide that from anyone."

His intensity thrills and terrifies me. "Tate, you have to understand. My life isn't simple. There are things about me, about what I do, that make this dangerous."

"You mean being Poison?" he asks bluntly.

I nod, glancing around to make sure no one else is listening. "Among other things. If people find out about us, it could put both of us at risk. "

Tate's expression softens slightly. He moves his hand to cup my face in his hands. "Ivy, I told you I'd protect you. That includes from Torin and Bram if necessary. I'm one of the most powerful warlocks at this academy. Trust me when I say I can handle whoever wants to try it."

"Can we give it a few days?" I murmur, wishing I didn't have to. "Go back to Torin and Bram and see where they're at. Torin will have questions, and Bram, fuck knows. He was pissed when I left him."

"Yeah, about that," he says. "This new ability of yours?—"

"He told you?"

"Yeah. It's remarkable."

"It's bizarre."

"No, Ivy. It really is amazing. Not many shifters have offensive magick. It's an asset."

"If you thought that, why did you give me your magick last night?" I chew my lip as I wait for his answer.

"So I can keep you safe." He leans down to capture my lips in a kiss that sends lust shooting through me from my head to my toes.

I melt into Tate's kiss, momentarily forgetting all my worries. His lips are soft but demanding, his tongue teasing mine as he pulls me closer. When we finally break apart, we're both breathless.

"Fuck," I mutter. "You can't just do that every time I have concerns. "

He grins wickedly. "Why not? Seems pretty effective to me."

I roll my eyes, but smile. "Seriously though, Tate. We need to be careful."

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. We'll keep things low-key for now. But I'm not going to pretend there's nothing between us if Torin or Bram ask directly."

"Fair enough," I concede. It's probably the best compromise I'm going to get.

As we get ready for lectures, my mind drifts back to the hit on Walcott Ashford. I need to figure out how I'm going to pull this off without Tate or the others finding out. And I need to do it fast.

"Ready to go?" Tate asks, pulling me from my thoughts, minutes later.

I nod, grabbing my bag. "Yeah."

"I'll go first. You follow after a few minutes."

I giggle at the cloak and dagger. "Perfect."