5

IVY

“AGAIN.”

I narrowed my eyes and threw up another wall. This one solidified in my mind as a crystalline structure wrapping around the current boundary between me and Elias. My intentions were clear: impenetrable, a steady force that would not waver.

And yet it wavered. My poor wolf shifter was unwittingly joining us in this training exercise. Since we couldn’t ask Ry if my blocks were working, Hawk had settled on Elias being the guinea pig, since Adrian’s proximity would allow him to crash through any blocks I put up between us. Which pissed my mate off, because he didn’t like the block between us, and he made that known through the screen.

“ It’s getting stronger ,” Elias grunted, his voice gruff with exhaustion. I felt my own wearing me down, but I shoved it aside forcefully. “ I don’t like it. ”

“Not strong enough, though,” Hawk replied. His breath fanned my cheek as he leaned forward. We were sitting across from one another, our knees almost touching, and I tried hard to keep my eyes on a painting sitting over his shoulder. I could only see Elias from the corner of my eye, and his discomfort with the situation was written across his otherwise stony face.

Adrian and Maeve observed us, but stayed quiet. Through the bond, Adrian expressed his dislike of the activity. There was a flicker of jealousy from his end that almost made me laugh.

Jealous of Hawk. I almost snorted. But I swallowed it, pushing his bond away and focusing on Elias.

“What emotions can you feel down the bond?” Hawk asked, voice tight.

Mentally, I fortified the wall. I checked the crystal overlapping the stone block I’d placed initially. Everything on my end seemed intact and unbreakable.

But then he probed the wall, and the crystal fractured. I threw up another defence to keep him out, but instead, it only weakened the block between us.

“ Frustration ,” Elias announced as he completely destroyed the wall. “And anger. At me, for destroying the block .”

“Don’t sound so smug,” I replied, glaring at him through the screen. “I almost had this one.”

Elias snorted and shook his head. “ This was the weakest one yet, Angel .”

I growled and threw myself back into the chair. “It’s useless. I don’t know how to do it right and I think I’m starting to get a headache from all the mental attacks.” Not to mention the strange ache in my skull from the use and the wavering pulse of my magic. I chalked it up to it being a muscle that hadn’t been used properly.

Hawk blew out a breath. Leaning back, he rubbed his chin, keen eyes on me as he assessed whatever problem I had. “It could be that you don’t actually want Beckham to not have access to your emotions. This would certainly be easier with a mind witch or another dream-walker to really test you.”

“You said you could teach me,” I replied, crossing my arms. “You promised you could.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m instructing you like I promised. It’s not my fault you aren’t catching on to the lessons.”

From the screen, Elias growled. “ She’s doing exactly as you tell her. Maybe it’s your teaching that’s faulty. ”

“I’m giving her the skills she needs to stop a dream-walker,” Hawk snapped. “Like I said: she wants you to be connected to her. The only way we’ll know if it worked is if he tries to dream-walk again.”

I watched my mate from the corner of my eye; he looked unimpressed, and I didn’t blame him. He was also having trouble hiding his anger—on his face and through the bond.

“Maybe it’s time for a break,” Adrian offered from somewhere behind me. “We’ve been at this for hours. Her blocks could be weakening because of that.”

Hawk’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded. From what I’d gathered, it was best not to argue with my mates. Adrian had stepped up as my over-protective guard since the panic attack, and he’d barely left my side since. With the bond so new between us, I understood why—even if it was a learning curve.

Maeve became as protective as Adrian. She never left me alone with Hawk—one of them remained with me, and as much as I appreciated it, I missed my space.

I didn’t say any of that aloud, making sure to block that particular thought from both my mates. I was getting better at that part, at least.

Hawk said nothing as he left the room without looking back. “Is he still hung up on the whole panic attack incident?” I asked, rising slowly from my chair and stretching my arms above my head.

From the tablet, Elias growled. “ He should be. Now he knows not to fuck up like that again. ”

I rolled my eyes, taking the chair I’d been sitting on and moving it back against the far wall, where all the others had been put.We’d shifted the furniture in the formal sitting room around to make space for our temporary training. Although the building had a gym, we weren’t allowed to use it.

My thoughts drifted to Thea. I missed my best friend with a fierce passion. I hadn’t been able to talk to her directly since we split up, and although I’d gotten to see my sisters, the brief moments I’d been able to catch a glance of Thea had left a sour taste in my mouth.She’d looked worn down. The mask of strength she wore so diligently was fading.

There’s something else going on with her, Elias said through the bond, startling me. I thought at first she was exhausted from looking after the girls. But there’s something else happening with her. The other shifters are giving her a wide berth, because their beasts are sensing something other people can’t.

Our eyes met through the screen. Like what? Does this have something to do with her scent?

Talk to her. She needs you. His eyes moved to Maeve and Adrian, who had been talking quietly in the corner. “ Ivy and Thea need a few moments together.”

From behind me, Maeve said, “An hour, tops. Sir Ya’Dahir and I have a meeting soon, but it shouldn’t be an issue.”

My heart pounded as I took the enchanted tablet and waited for Elias to hand his device over to Thea.

With a nod to Maeve and Adrian, I took to the privacy of my room, climbing the stairs quickly as Elias did his thing on the other end. I heard him say something to Thea, and then it was her face filling the screen instead of my mate’s.

“ You called ?” she drawled, offering me a tired half-smile.

I slipped into my room and shut the door behind me before sitting on the bed. “How are you?”

Thea shrugged. “ As good as someone on the run can be .”

I winced; the guilt that’d been simmering in my gut threatened to bubble over. The lack of shine in her eyes gutted me the most. “I’m so sorry, Thea—”

She held up a hand. “ Not your fault, so stop apologising .” Her eyes welled with tears. “ I think I’m just out of it because of other things .” She dropped onto what I assumed was her bed. Her breath came out in a huff as she fluffed a pillow and laid down. I had to wonder if the other things were supernatural related, the reason why the other shifters wouldn’t go near her. “ I don’t blame you. And it’s not the girls; I’ve babysat them before, and they’re on their best behaviour right now. So, that’s not the problem either, before you apologise for being split up without your knowledge .”

I sighed, curling up on my side. “Elias said there’s something else going on. Do I need to kill someone?” I asked, half-jokingly.

Thea shook her head, chuckling. “ No, no. Shit, don’t make that your first royal decree. Might not sit well with the other supes .”

At least she was laughing. “Then what’s going on?”

She sobered up quickly and went quiet. Her eyes, so familiar I would recognise them anywhere, went dark. “ Since we were taken, I’ve felt…weird. I honestly don’t know how to explain it. It’s like a restlessness inside me. Like I know I should be doing something else. ”

“I had the same feeling before the supes came into our lives,” I replied honestly. Her eyes filled with relief as she curled up on her side.

It reminded me of the long nights we spent in each other’s beds talking about boys, our parents, work. She’d dramatize her most recent sexual experience and I’d laugh because it always did wonders to push away the nightmares, and I would tell her about the newest book I was working on until she fell asleep.

Thea’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “ Did it stop when you met them? ”

I considered the question for a moment. The day I’d met them, everything changed. Around me, and inside of me. The restlessness quietened down after that, and I hadn’t even noticed it. Like now, with my magic finally anchored and under control, I never realised just how out of balance I’d been prior to their arrival. That my normal before them had been internal chaos, and now with them beside me, it was quiet and calm.

“Maybe it was fate telling me I was meeting my mates soon,” I replied. “Like the psychic told me I would.”

Thea snorted loudly and rolled her eyes. We both laughed at the mention of Madame Sterling and her so-called fortune telling. “ Maybe the old bat was the real deal ,” Thea said, shaking her head.

“Maybe that was a fortune for the both of us.”

Thea looked away quickly and pressed her lips into a thin line. “ I’m not really interested in all that mate-crap, Ives. I’m happy doing what I do .”

The thing was, I knew she believed that, but I also knew my best friend. Maybe better than she knew herself. And I disagreed with her. She had so much love to give, and I wanted to believe there was someone out there that could handle all her hard edges and cupcake obsession.

“You should ask one of the guys to get you some baking gear,” I replied instead. “Sounds like you need some stress relief.”

Thea puffed out her cheeks. “ You know what’ll be good stress relief? Sex. All the abs I see while we’re here and having no privacy to enjoy it. ”

I shake my head. “And you say you don’t want mates. It’s like 24/7 sex.”

She lifted a brow in mock disbelief. “ I don’t see you getting any right now. That’s right, you’re getting mind fucked instead .”

If she were next to me, I’d throw a pillow at her. “I have Adrian. We completed the mate bond before the attack.”

She gasped dramatically, slapping a hand to her mouth. “ So, you two finally did it. Ugh, how disgustingly sweet .”

My cheeks reddened and I poked out my tongue. “Shush. It was spur of the moment, and I’m really glad we finally did it. I think he still wanted to wait, mostly because I’m trying to work out how to block—” I refrained from saying his name, like it would give him permission to appear in my dreams again.

I couldn’t wait to find him again, so I could make him take the glamour off me.

Thea offered me a sympathetic smile. “ Mind sex does sound pretty kinky, I won’t lie .”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course that’s what you gather from this conversation.”

She tapped her chin lightly and sighed. “ You know, if I had to have a mate, I guess I could be happy if it meant all the sex. I just don’t know if I’m a monogamous creature. I like having my choices .”

“I thought I was,” I replied, shrugging. “And yet, here I am, with multiple men.”

“ Yeah, you’re right .” She made a point of looking at me, before staring at something in the distance. “ Maybe I can have multiple men, too. That wouldn’t be too bad. Preferably one for each day of the week. ”

I scoffed, giggling when her eyes snapped back to me. “Do you really think you could handle that many mates?”

The evil grin I received told me I shouldn’t have asked. “ I do have— ” she silently counted something before cocking her head, “ —three holes, two hands, and if they’re agile enough, a third could fit in my— ”

“Okay!” I cut her off, eyes wide. “I shouldn’t have asked, got it.”

Thea wagged her eyebrows. “ You should consider it. I mean, you’re bonded three times now. The group activities will be great! I read a book once where— ”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “I love you. But I’m not talking about this.”

Thea huffed and rolled her eyes. “ But who else would you talk about this with? Babes, you and me, we’re a forever kind of deal .”

“ It might be something she talks about with her mates, for starters, ” Elias said, startling both of us. “ Sorry, Angel. We’re going to have to cut this short. ”

I groaned. “Meeting with Sir Ya’Dahir?”

Thea mumbled something before handing over her screen. But before he could respond, she said, “ I love you, and don’t listen to him !”

My mate rolled his eyes, spared her an unimpressed look, and left her room.

I pouted. “I didn’t get to say, ‘I love you’ back.”

Elias deadpanned and rolled his eyes. I had a feeling I’d be getting that reaction a lot once we returned and Thea and I were reunited. “ I’ll relay the message ,” he grumbled. “ Did she tell you what was wrong ?”

“You sound genuinely concerned.”

He shrugged. “ Of course, I am. She’s your best friend, and it’s my duty to protect her and your sisters .”

Something like love clamped around my heart as I stared at him. I cared deeply for my mate, even if we’d known each other a month and a half. Could I love him already? Maybe. I didn’t really know what the expectations were around mate bonds. He said he already loved me, and I believed him.

“Thank you,” I replied, voice thick with emotion. “I don’t really know what’s going on with her. She’s not sure either. Working theory is the psychic was weirdly right, and we’re both coming into contact with love.”

Elias frowned. “ Psychic? Ivy— ”

“She’s some hack from back home. It was before meeting you guys, and it was a dumb birthday gift from Thea. We…we were trying to do something about the nightmares. She gave me a reading, but I think it might have applied to both of us?” I shrugged. “We never took it seriously.”

“ Angel .” His serious tone made me pause. “ When we’re together again, you’re going to tell me about this psychic, alright? ”

I swallowed hard and nodded. This certainly should not be turning me on as much as it was. I shifted slightly, and his eyes darkened.

“ As much as I would like to help you, I have a meeting to attend to ,” he growled. “ Don’t think we won’t discuss this later. ”

“Yes, Sir,” I muttered, causing him to smirk.

“ When I get you alone again, I’ll make you scream that for me .”

My cheeks burned, but before I could respond, he cut the call, leaving me alone, needy, and not sure what to think about my best friend and our strange encounter with the psychic.