13. The Girl Who Knows Important People

Teak arrived before anyone else.She wore black, high-waisted pants that flared gently around her simple heels and a navy silk shirt with long sleeves. Her straight, mahogany hair had grown a few inches over the summer break—something Isobel hadn’t noticed in the hospital … though she hadn’t noticed much in the hospital.

Teak’s soft brown eyes were lined in subtle, natural colours, her taupe-and-rose dusted skin just flawless enough to hint at the barest coverage of makeup. Her nose ring was small and gold, matching the several gold piercings stepping up her ears. She was pristine and professional, the only thing separating her from the other officials being the black Sigma ring circling her iris.

“Good morning, Professor Easton,” she said as soon as she walked into the room. She nodded to Kilian and Cian. “Gray, Ashford.”

The Alphas all backed away from Isobel, giving Teak room to kneel in front of her—though not an abundance of it. The bond specialist took her hands, squeezing her fingers.

“Hey, Isobel.” Teak ducked to catch Isobel’s lowered eyes. “What’s going on? You don’t look too good.”

“I don’t know,” Isobel lied, unable to meet Teak’s gaze. She focussed on the woman’s fingers, staring at her navy blue nails and the gold rings on her fingers. “Something happened last night. I think it was another soul infraction.”

“You think it was?” Teak’s brows scrunched together, alarm pinching her pointed features. “What did it feel like?”

“Like this huge rift opening up beneath me. Like I was falling, and like I would be falling in this horrible, terrifying, dark place forever. Like my … like my soul had been completely shredded.”

The lines of confusion along Teak’s forehead straightened, her soft brown eyes widening in horror. She reared back an inch, eyeing Isobel like she didn’t understand how Isobel could be sitting there in one piece. “What happened to cause that?”

“I … don’t know,” Isobel repeated. She couldn’t possibly say that Eve had stolen her light. Teak would never believe she had healed from that overnight without finding and forming her bonds—not if her expression now was anything to go by.

Teak made a frustrated sound, glancing over her shoulder at the hovering Alphas. “May we have a few minutes of privacy?”

“No need,” Isobel quickly rushed out, before one of them could snap out an aggravated and over-protective response. “I’m fine with them here.”

Teak frowned. “Isobel, I need to know what actually happened. What you’re describing is a soul infraction that should have you dead or close to death, and you don’t look fantastic, but you don’t look dead, either.”

“I don’t know,” Isobel persisted, a little firmer this time.

Teak’s disappointment was written all over her face, but there was a spark of understanding there too. “All right,” she muttered, releasing Isobel’s hands, and sitting on the bench beside her. She dug a tablet out of her handbag and tapped into a note-taking app, hovering an electronic pen above her screen. “Were you alone?”

“Yes,” Isobel lied.

Teak stared at her and then noted something down. “Where were you?”

“Toward the edge of the academy, right by the river.”

“Were you incapacitated?”

Isobel hesitated, staring at her hands. “Not for long. I fainted briefly, and then I called Professor West for help.”

“How long were you there for?” Teak barrelled on like she knew Isobel was lying and wasn’t even listening to what she was saying, though she still noted something down with each of Isobel’s answers.

“Maybe a few hours? I’m not sure.”

“That falling feeling you’re describing, how long was that happening for?”

“Well … it changed.” Isobel winced, closing her eyes as she tried to recall the night before without passing out or throwing up again. “It … at first it was just this massive depth inside me, with no light. And then a little later, I was falling through it. And then today I felt like I was about to trip and start falling again.”

“Multiple soul infractions?” Teak snapped, gripping her pen tightly, her soft eyes hardening for a moment.

Isobel had never seen her look so fierce.

After a moment of waiting for Isobel to elaborate, Teak scribbled on her screen and took a deep breath. “Off the record, Isobel. Who did you spend the night with yesterday?”

Isobel’s eyes flicked to Cian. “Um.” She couldn’t lie. There was footage.

“Ashford, then.” Teak’s tone brooked no argument, but she didn’t write the name down.

“Are you sending that to the off—the other officials?” Isobel asked, pointing to Teak’s tablet.

“A version of it.” Teak set her jaw. “I’m required to report on all bond incidents. They’ll need to read a report that makes sense to them.”

Isobel didn’t know what to make of that.

“Has Ashford left your side since the incident?” Teak asked, setting her pen down.

“Briefly, a few times,” Isobel said.

“How would you describe your relationship with Ashford?”

“What do you mean?” Isobel asked. “In what way?”

Teak glanced at the other Alphas, who stood by in complete silence, hovering and not even bothering to pretend that they were affording Isobel and Teak a moment of privacy. After the night before, there was no way they were leaving her alone with anyone, and if Teak suggested it again, one of them was going to lose their cool.

Thankfully, Teak only sighed and turned back to Isobel, responding flatly, “Did you have sex with one of your surrogates last night?”

Isobel laughed. She couldn’t help it. Teak was so far off the mark. “No,” she said. “We were playing a game. Sort of like capture the flag. And then the soul infraction happened.”

“Right.” Teak pinched the bridge of her nose. “And today? What happened when you felt it again?”

Isobel pressed her lips together. “Nothing significant. We were at the dining hall and the officials announced the six new students. Toward the end, it just randomly happened again.”

“This time, I assume you weren’t alone.” Teak didn’t bother reaching for her pen again. “Who was in your immediate vicinity?”

“All of the Alphas.”

“And what exactly was happening around you? Was anyone touching you?”

“Um … I think the new girl … Mei? Was picking her fake mate. I think Theo was touching me sort of, and Kilian was holding my hand.”

“And you felt nothing?” Teak suddenly spun and fixed Kilian with a sharp look.

“Why would I feel anything?” Kilian asked plainly.

Teak shook her head, switching her focus to Mikel. “Do you know what’s going on here, Professor Easton?”

“Other than what Carter just told you?” Mikel returned, just as calm and unaffected as Kilian. “No.”

A flash of temper rolled across Teak’s face, and she stood, facing off against Mikel. “I take my job very seriously. Carter was assigned to me. The health of her bond is entirely my responsibility. I do not like the idea that my student is in danger and another Ironside employee may be interfering with her proper care. She’s been through a lot, and I worked hard to get her away from her father and back to Ironside where I could protect her properly, and I’m not going to let anyone—not even an Alpha, or three,” she glared at the others, “or ten, for fuck’s sake, get in the way.”

Mikel stared the smaller woman down, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Good,” he said. He gestured to Isobel. “She’s all yours. Protect away.”

Teak let out a small growl that, despite everything, made Isobel want to smile. The bond specialist fell back down to the bench beside Isobel, snatching up her tablet again.

“I’m sending you an official care plan. It’s basically the same as the care plan I sent you last year,” she said, tapping away furiously at her tablet before setting it aside. “Now, let me explain a few hypothetical scenarios. If the bond thinks you’re emotionally or physically cheating on your mate with one of your surrogates, it will cause a soul infraction. The deeper the betrayal, the deeper the infraction. Of course, this doesn’t apply to you,” Teak’s tone became flat, “since you haven’t even met your mate. You need to be at least familiar with your mate for this to cause a serious infraction.”

Niko.

Niko was going to keep hurting her.

“Another way a soul infraction can be caused is by defiling the magic of the bond itself, by stealing or damaging soul artefacts—though I will say that this school of thought is mostly theoretical. This method would be just as effective, if not more effective, than a direct betrayal of the bond, as it can poison completed bonds or even completely sever half-formed bonds—though in the field of bond magic, none of these things have been proven.”

“And what about the artefact?” Isobel asked, playing with her fingers. “Can it be used for something else after it’s stolen?”

“Used for …” Teak looked horrified. “Used for what?”

Isobel lifted a shoulder. “These are your scenarios.”

Teak swallowed, her eyes darting between Isobel’s, trying to read something in Isobel’s expression. “I … really don’t know, I’m sorry. Even if it could be used for something, the Tether wouldn’t last long enough for the artefact to be useful for long.”

“The Tether wouldn’t last?” Isobel prompted, careful to keep her words free from inflection.

“If the bond is damaged, poisoned, or removed in that way, it’s only a matter of time.” Teak’s gaze shimmered with tears, which spilled over when she tried to blink them away. She pretended they weren’t there, absently flicking them from her skin with the pad of her thumb as she continued speaking in an even tone. “The Tether would need to recover the artefact as soon as possible and hope that it is willing to reintegrate with them in some way. Isobel … please …” She snatched up Isobel’s hands again, her eyes imploring, her grip shaking slightly, her fingers wet. “I can help. I’m an official. I can do something.”

“I know.” Isobel gently extracted herself from Teak’s grip. “I know you’re an official.”

Teak’s expression shuttered immediately. “Right. Okay.” She sucked in a shuddering breath, smoothing out her shirt and packing away her tablet. She stood, and then just before she walked away, she suddenly bent and wrapped her arms around Isobel’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered low. “Whatever happened … I’m so sorry. I hope one day we can sit down and talk about it.”

Isobel hugged her back hesitantly. “That would be nice,” she finally said, her voice breaking as Teak lifted away.

The bond specialist sniffed as she nodded to the Alphas. “Professor Easton, Ashford, Gray.”

They nodded back at her, keeping silent until Teak left the room. Shortly after, Moses, Oscar, and Theodore arrived. They all appeared tense, and they fell around Isobel, some of them sitting, some standing. Nobody seemed to know what to say.

“Gabriel and Niko?” Mikel asked, surveying the gathered bodies.

“Niko insisted on walking his new friend to class,” Theodore ground out angrily. “Gabriel went with him.”

Kilian swore beneath his breath, and Isobel pretended like her heart wasn’t being wrapped in layer after layer of barbed wire.

“What did the bond specialist say?” Theodore drank in the look on Isobel’s face with a wince.

“That we need to get the soul artefact back as soon as possible and hope it wants to reassimilate with Isobel,” Mikel supplied gruffly.

“Right.” Moses roughed a hand through his hair. “That should be easy. We just break into the human’s ultra-secure apartment building in the official section of the academy—because that’s where they’re being housed, by the way—and rob the new queen of Ironside while she’s sleeping.”

“Or we get Niko to do it,” Theodore countered angrily. “Since he’s supposed to be living there anyway.”

There was a knock at the door and Elijah stepped inside, leading Maya. She was dressed in faded jeans and a pressed linen shirt with a small pin in the collar, her short hair combed impeccably into place. She must have been spending some time in her garden outside the chapel because there was a reddish flush to her browned skin.

“Reed filled me in,” she said, glancing back at Elijah before approaching the group. “How is everyone feeling?”

It was an immense relief to have someone around who actually knew what was happening and who wasn’t involved in Isobel’s shitshow of a bond.

“Ready to rip Niko’s fucking head off,” Oscar answered, staring down the Guardian. “You gonna say that’s a bad idea?”

“A very bad one,” Maya shot back confidently. “But you already know that. If any member of this bond is harmed, it will harm Carter. I assume nobody wants that.”

“You assume correctly,” Elijah answered when everyone else stayed silent, eyeing Maya with varying degrees of hostility.

And Isobel thought she had trust issues.

“What’s happening to Niko?” Isobel asked.

Maya shook her head sadly. “Impossible to tell. Have you tried asking him?”

“He wasn’t feeling very talkative last night,” Mikel said. “He hasn’t forgotten about the bond, but it’s like he suddenly has more rage than he knows what to do with. It’s swallowing him whole.”

“And the same thing hasn’t happened to you?” Maya directed the question at Isobel. “Or anyone else?”

“No more than usual,” Moses muttered, as the other Alphas shook their heads.

Isobel bit down on the inside of her cheek as she once again tried to comb through the past twelve hours. “I did, a little,” she finally admitted.

“I’m leaning toward Reed’s theory,” Maya declared, appearing troubled.

Elijah spoke up before anyone could ask him what Maya was talking about. “I was filling in the Guardian on the way here. I think previously, Isobel was taking on most of the bond side effects, but when the bond started to turn, Niko must have felt it. He must have tried to take it all to spare Isobel.”

“Take what?” Isobel asked.

“The damage, so to speak,” Maya theorised. “When a soul artefact manifests on the outside, it’s a gift from the gods. When it manifests on the inside, it’s an expression of the bond itself—I wouldn’t even call it a soul artefact. It is your bond. There’s a significant difference. One can pass hands and the other absolutely cannot. You weren’t robbed of a soul artefact. You were robbed of part of your bond, possibly even a part of your soul. That will cause significant emotional and physical damage. Niko couldn’t have taken on your physical damage, but it’s possible he took on your mental damage.”

Isobel’s stomach lurched, and she notched her elbows onto her knees, her head falling into her hands. “What kind of mental damage?” she groaned.

She felt so sick.

The door opened before Maya could answer, Gabriel entering with a thunderous expression. His lip was split, blood dribbling to his chin. Niko stalked in behind him, his left eye swollen, already darkening with a shadow of a bruise.

Gabriel bared his bloody teeth in a forced smile. “Just a little disagreement about Niko’s attendance,” he explained. “I insisted it was mandatory.”

“Quit harping on about it,” Niko snapped. “I’m here, aren’t I?” He paused, his eyes narrowing on the Guardian. “The fuck is this?”

“Well,” Maya muttered, “this is a delightful change.”

Niko rolled his eyes, digging a pair of headphones from his pocket. “So what’s first?” He began walking toward the treadmills.

“Put the headphones away,” Mikel ordered. “We’re having a meeting.”

“If we’re not actually going to do the session, then I have other places to be,” Niko drawled, his beautiful eyes resting on Isobel. Almost immediately, they darkened with something like hatred, but he seemed unable to look away. “What?” he finally demanded. “What the fuck are you waiting for, Carter?”

She locked down her hurt and stood, approaching him cautiously. He didn’t move, but his eyes narrowed, his defined jaw clenching. She stopped before him, her eyes travelling down his chest, and then further, to where she remembered marking his skin the night before.

“Is it still there?” she asked, her eyes flashing back up to his face.

She had showered and dressed in such a trance that morning, she hadn’t had a chance to look at her own marks, and since she wore her hair long and over her shoulders, nobody else had commented on them. She had almost forgotten they were there.

“Where would it have gone?” Niko sneered, his eyes dropping to her neck. He tried to look away and seemed to get stuck at her lips. Something flashed in his eyes, and he stepped back, ripping his attention away. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? The bond is dead. There’s nothing between us. The secret is safe with me, but I don’t want to be in an eleven-way relationship, so just leave me the fuck out of that part.” He fell back another step. “It happened, and now it’s over.”

“It’s not over,” she said softly, trying to see even a shadow of the Niko she was used to. “Mei is wearing our bond around her neck.”

Niko scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Jealous isn’t a good look on you, Carter.”

“Watch it,” Theodore warned lowly.

“I’m warning you,” Niko snarled at Isobel, ignoring Theodore. “I know you’re hurt. I know you’re pissed. But don’t come after Mei”—he jabbed a finger at the door—“just because I don’t want to be with you.”

Isobel followed his pointed finger, something hot and furious rising up inside her chest. “You brought her here?” she asked, portraying a calm she didn’t feel.

“Of course.” Niko rolled his eyes. “I’m her mate for the week. She goes wherever I go.”

Isobel’s hands curled into fists, but she quickly raised them and displayed her palms, stepping away from Niko so that she wouldn’t do something regrettable, like send her fist flying into his fucking face.

It was clear that coming for Mei was only going to push Niko further away.

They needed a different angle.

And she needed to try her best not to hate this version of Niko. He was only like this because he had tried to spare her the mental damage of their bond being torn out.

She glanced at Mikel, projecting her words into his head.

Can we get on with the session?

He arched a brow at her, catching her eye. He seemed surprised that she had spoken to him through the bond, but after a moment, he nodded, his voice booming suddenly through the room. “Niko, Elijah, Gabriel, Oscar—on the treadmills. Everyone else, pair up in front of the mirrors for a boxing drill.” He lowered his voice. “Guardian?” He caught Maya’s eye. “You’re welcome to stay and observe the session.”

Niko was already walking away, sticking in his headphones, so he missed the tilt of Mikel’s head in his direction. Maya nodded. Her mouth set into a grim line as she sat beside Isobel on the bench.

“What’s going to help you get through today?” Mikel asked Isobel as the others scattered in a cloud of fiery temper and less-than-subtle, glowering looks in Niko’s direction.

“Maybe some yoga?” she asked. “I checked my schedule on the way over here. I have three dance classes and I don’t think they’re going to go easy just because it’s the first day.”

“Likely not,” Mikel agreed, before flicking out a mat and pointing her onto it. He never strayed far from her, always positioning himself between her and Niko, who ignored her for the first half of the session.

When Niko realised she wasn’t going to do anything more than slow stretching, he began to frown at her, annoyance warring with suspicion in his eyes. When the session was over, he was so busy scowling at the back of her neck that he seemed to forget Mei waiting for him in the hallway.

“Niko!” she called out, a laugh in her voice.

He froze, flashing Isobel a rage-filled look before wiping his expression clean and turning to the other girl. “Mei.” He flashed a forced smile—like a puppet trying to remember how to be happy. “Sorry. Not used to someone waiting for me.”

Everyone except Mikel and Maya—who had remained in the room to talk—froze, looking between Niko and Mei.

“Everyone, this is Mei,” Niko said, walking back to the girl to stand beside her, a little too close for Isobel’s comfort. “My mate for the week.”

Holy shit, Moses’ voice spoke to the group in Isobel’s mind. I never thought I would say this, but I hope Niko dies a long and painful death, and I hope I’m there to witness it.

Stop, Isobel chided. He’s like this because he saved me from being like this.

That excuse is growing thinner with every passing second, Oscar drawled, before adding out loud, “That’s an interesting necklace, Mei.”

Mei blinked at Oscar in surprise, taken aback by his rough, threatening tone as he apparently complimented her. “Oh … um, thank you? It was a gift from the director. You must recognise it!”

“Why would we recognise it?” Theodore asked, stepping in front of Oscar, his expression light and friendly, his stormy eyes clear, his mouth quirked up at the corner. He had turned his charm on, and Mei’s cheeks were flushing with colour.

Was Theo … could Theo be …

Relax, Moses whispered through their connection. He’s just acting.

“The director said it’s a settlement blessing,” Mei said, lifting the thin, braided rope around her neck. “You wear it until it unravels and you’re blessed with luck. If you remove it before it unravels, you’ll be cursed with bad luck.”

Niko was frowning down at her. “That’s complete bullshit,” he said.

Mei fluttered her lashes in shock, her dark eyes peering up at him. “I swear that’s what she said.”

“I didn’t mean you.” He waved his hand, sure she had been telling the truth. “I mean what the director said. That’s not a settlement charm.” He frowned harder, glancing back to Isobel.

She raised her brows at him. I told you, asshole.

“May I see it?” Niko asked, holding out his hand.

“Um.” Mei looked unsure, her hand hovering protectively around her neck. “Well … I’d rather not be cursed.” She laughed nervously.

“With other settlement charms, it’s always the person who removes a settlement charm who gets the bad luck,” Niko lifted his hand higher, moving it toward her neck. “Allow me?”

Mei frowned, surveying the group as she stepped back. “This is beginning to feel like an ambush.”

“You don’t watch the show?” Moses asked blandly. “We love our little initiation tasks. If you want to hang with the Alphas, you need to play along with our rules.”

“I spend at least sixty hours a week doing my best to disable the patriarchy of the real world with some of the most influential people alive.” Mei lifted her chin stubbornly. “I’m not going to play along with your hierarchical bullshit just because you’re an Alpha. We all know it’s illegal for you to use Alpha voice on a human.”

She pushed past them, pausing halfway down the corridor and glancing over her shoulder. “Are you coming, Niko?”

Niko was frozen, his expression drawn. He lifted his eyes, fixing Mei with an unwavering look. “Hand the necklace over or you’ll lose your fake mate before first period, and it won’t be a good look.”

Mei rolled her eyes, gripping the braided rope.

Isobel jumped forward, her heart in her throat. “Don’t rip it!” she yelled, shocking the other girl.

Mei arched a brow, switching her grip and untying the necklace before tossing it on the ground. “Happy, freaks?”

“That’s not very politically correct,” Moses tittered. “You use that mouth on your fancy podcast with all your fancy guests?”

Mei ignored him, looking insistently at Niko. He began to walk toward her, but paused by Isobel, who had fallen to the floor, snatching the braided rope into her hands.

There were tears in her eyes and the taste of hope mingling with despair on her tongue. Her hair felt warm to the touch … but something was off.

It wasn’t everything. She was holding a piece, a fraction.

Where was the rest?

Niko tilted his head, examining the tears in her eyes and the way she clutched the thin rope. His attention slitted, travelling between the soft curl of her hair tumbling over her shoulder to the necklace in her hand. The colour was the same. The length was comparable.

Somewhere in that poisoned mind of his, she hoped that he was remembering the way her hair had glowed, but he only shook his head as if saying to himself not my problem. He stepped away from her, toward Mei.

“Let’s go,” Mei snapped, storming off now, her patience evaporating.

Kilian and Theodore helped Isobel up, the other Alphas gathering to watch as she shakily attempted to tie the necklace around her wrist.

Kilian took the ends to help her secure it. “This isn’t everything, is it?”

“No,” Isobel said. “Why would Eve steal my bond and take it to the director of Ironside? And why would the director split it up and gift a piece of it to a human?”

Kilian was still fiddling with the necklace, a frown on his face. He picked at the string tying off one side of the braid, tugging it until it unravelled, something rolled and white peeking out from the twist of hair. He pulled, and the rolled white thing grew longer and longer, the hair unravelling from around it. Isobel caught the hair, frowning at the mess Kilian was making. As soon as the strands pooled into her palm, they began to glow. The hair singed and then burned, but when Isobel made to shake her hand, Cian grabbed her wrist, stopping her. The door opened behind them, Mikel likely sensing her sudden spike of alarm.

“What is it?” he asked.

Maya pushed forward, quickly assessing the situation. “Put it over her veins,” she ordered. “Hurry!”

Isobel held out her arms and Cian and Theodore both began to pick up the burning strands and lay them over her forearms as Kilian fully extracted the white thing, yanking it free of the smoking strands. Cian and Theodore were grimacing from the searing sensation of the hair touching their skin. Isobel was sucking in measured breaths, trying to brace against the pain, but a whimper still slipped free. Oscar moved behind her, his hands on her shoulders, holding her steady.

The scattered strands were now all laid out against her forearms, covering the scars Eve had caused the year before. They melted into Isobel’s skin, the light escaping into her veins. It was painful but strangely exhilarating, and after absorbing into her skin, the burn lines began to heal … but they healed more than the burns they had created. Sections of the scars Eve had created smoothed out, replaced by pale, incandescent skin.

Isobel closed her eyes, daring herself to stare into the void. There were tiny flickers of light dancing around her periphery. The relief she felt was enough to break her apart, but she held firm and kept her composure, opening her eyes and speaking calmly.

“I think it helped.”

“Gods,” Maya breathed, wide brown eyes taking Isobel in. “I didn’t think the bond would be so willing to reassimilate.”

“That’s a good thing, though?” Isobel questioned.

“It’s very good,” Maya assured. “It must be because the existing bonds are offering a safe environment for it to return to. I imagine it would be very difficult to return a bond to a broken mind and body.”

Isobel shuddered. “Right.”

“Guys …” Kilian spoke up, his voice sounding off. He had rolled out the long white thing. A note, of some kind. He held it lengthways up to the light to read it out loud. “Within these walls, there are true Gifted and those who simply have the blood. Congratulations on being accepted into the Icon track. You have the blood. You have the guts. You’ve got skin in the game. And now you know what happens when you disobey us. The first rule of the Stone Dahlia is absolute obedience at all times.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Isobel rushed out, her head spinning. “All of this just to scare me into following their rules?”

“They must not feel like they have enough collateral on you, yet,” Elijah mused. “Which … is actually a good thing, considering all the collateral you have available. This supports Eve’s claims that she hasn’t spilled the secret yet.”

Maya’s eyes bounced between them, wide and disbelieving.

“This is insane,” Isobel growled.

“Yes,” Gabriel agreed, “but it’s also good news. They weren’t trying to kill you, so they don’t understand how the bond magic works as well as we do. And if they gave that necklace out so easily, they obviously expected you to find it. I wonder if they handed one out to each of the new students. It would make sense, especially with Santoro coming so close to you and making that joke about whether you were available. He was probably supposed to be wearing the necklace and you were probably supposed to notice, and then if you raised your hand for him, that would have worked nicely for their plan to separate us.”

“Which means they weren’t expecting Niko to do what he did,” Cian groaned. “It’s possible we’ve just flagged Isobel and Niko’s connection.”

“We’ll create a storyline to explain it,” Mikel said. “But right now, you all need to get to first period. The rest of this, we can deal with later.”