And Then There Were Four

Chapter 102

Chapter 102: Longing for Captivity

Ivy.

Twelves hours had gone by since I birthed my children, and even though everything was perfect on that front, my mind kept going back to Damian. Talon and Hale went out to his last location only two hours ago, and I panicked every moment they were gone.

I couldn’t feel my connection to Damian anymore, and as my mind tried to make me think the worse, I couldn’t allow myself to.

I had to stay strong.

Thad to believe he was alive.

The pain I had felt earlier in the day, before I had given birth to my children, was unlike any pain I had ever felt before, and it didn’t take until the pain subsided for me to realize it wasn’t labor pains I was feeling.

Instead, it was the pain being inflicted upon Damian, and because I was bonded to him in a way nobody could explain; 1

could feel every infliction.

I cried and cried for hours after the twins were born. Pleading with Hale, Talon, and James to allow me to go to him.

I could feel the bond weakening, but they just simply said it was in my head.

Something deep inside me, though, told me his life was

ending, and I couldn’t allow that to happen, not after everything we had fought for since I had arrived.

It was constantly the back-and-forth motion of love and hate and fighting, and confliction and secrets and lies and I was done with it. I was done with all of it. I only wanted to be with my mates and my children and be whole, normal.

With the protection of the pack, we were a united front.

The only problem was outside forces sought to destroy us because we were different.

No matter what they said, though, I was not a monster. I was a normal person with unique abilities and a large heart able to love more than just one man.

I wanted to be the Luna this pack could be proud of, but I was so devastatingly misunderstood I didn’t know if I could ever overcome and be what they wanted me to be.

Pushing away my fears and thoughts, I kept a wary eye out on the horizon, waiting for two of my mates to arrive, praying Talon and Hale would go to this cabin in the woods and find Damien there.

Find him alive… Maybe slightly wounded, but still alive.

Deep down, though, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. I knew without a doubt who had him, and I was terrified because the person who had him wanted nothing more than to see his head on a spike.

And, eventually, mine, right next to it.

“Ivy, you must eat something,” my mother said softly as !

looked out the window of the nursery, scouring the horizon for the return of my mates.

“She’s right,” Priscilla added as she stepped closer. “You may be worried, but your twins need you, and placing all of your concentration on things you can’t change doesn’t help them.”

With a heavy breath, I turned from the window to face the two women who had helped keep me together over the past few weeks. “I know.”

Letting my eyes sweep towards the two small bundles freshly cleaned and sleeping in their beds, I couldn’t help but find myself at a loss for how I had created something so beautiful. Something so angelic.

“I don’t want them to never know him,” I whispered, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. “I have been such a fool lately.”

“Ivy, this isn’t your fault,” my mother replied as her hand fell upon my shoulder. “The gods have things planned for us, and we must accept the fates they choose.”

“No,” I snapped, shaking my head as I wiped away a loose tear that had escaped my eyes. “I refuse to believe he is dead. He will be back soon.”

Silence fell around us as a soft knock on the door drew my attention. “How are we doing?” James asked with a smile spread across his lips.

“I’m okay. Just worried,”

Clearing the space between us, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed the side of my head. “He isn’t dead, Ivy. I can

still feel the connection as his brother. It’s just faint.”

Looking up at him, I held back a sob. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, Ivy, don’t cry. It means he is alive, but they are using silver to dull his senses.”

“See, you have nothing to worry about,” my mother added, trying to reassure me. “You need rest.”

There was no way I was going to sleep, though. Pulling back from James, I went back to the window and continued to stare out over the horizon. Until my mates were home, I could not feel comfort.

“I need them all back, James. Until they’re home, I won’t find peace.”

Something deep inside me was growing, and every moment my mates were a way, I felt it sending me into a spiral I didn’t know if I could come back from. It was just another piece of the puzzle that left me confused.

“We must do whatever it takes to bring him home,” I said.

“We will, Ivy,” James said firmly. “But we won’t be able to do our job if we are worrying about you. So I need you to rest and eat so I know that you’re okay.”

Nodding my head slowly, I moved from the window and walked toward my bed. After having the twins, I needed something of Damian’s to calm my racing mind, and the only thing I found comfort in was the bedding from his room James had brought to me.

Laying upon my bed, I wrapped myself in the blanket and

closed my eyes

I didn’t have to worry about the twins and them being okay. With my mother, Priscilla, and James here, I would be able to rest. At least for now.

Damian.

Dragged down the hallway after I met with the Elder Council, I was tossed into a white room and locked in. The silver shackles upon my wrist had been removed, but then an injection of silver had been placed in my veins.

It didn’t matter what I did. They were going to prevent me from reaching out to the others. Realizing I had no form of communication made my heart sink. I would have given anything in that moment to contact them to make sure the pain I had felt from Ivy wasn’t because of the pain I had received.

My eyes swept around the room, taking in the all white decor and the blood that was slowly dripping from my body onto the floor.

I was creating a mess, but it was a mess that the elders had caused.

That Alokaye and Richard had caused.

That stupid prick Alpha was going to meet his end if it was the last thing I did. Even in my weakened state, my brothers were not forgiving.

And Allison-I couldn’t believe she was still alive.

To know they had spared Allison’s life for something so meaningless as an accusation I had murdered somebody, or that someone from my pack had murdered them and I was protecting them, was absolutely ridiculous.

I mean, yes, I was protecting Ivy.

She had killed those people, but that didn’t justify the right for Allison to still be alive after everything she had done, after the betrayals and pain she had caused, not to mention trying to kill Talon.

That woman was evil, and no matter how they tried to spin this, I would find a way to break free and kill her. I would rip her to shreds… unless Ivy did it first.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Nothing was what I would be able to do until I got rest.

My energy was absolutely depleted, and I desperately needed a shower. Making my way towards the bathroom, I turned on the shower’s hot water and stood beneath it, letting it wash away the grime and dirt upon me.

Multiple lacerations and cuts marred my body, and I knew without a doubt they would heal, but the pain was mentally inflicted by them would always remain.

I had been careless and had not thoroughly thought about the consequences of my actions before I trekked out on the journey to find that creature.

Now, in the mayhem of everything, Allison was going to get her way of destroying the pack and taking it over for herself.

That was the only thing she had ever wanted: power and authority.

She may have had it for a short while when Zane was alive, but the moment I came of age, everything started becoming a complication. At first, she complained about me, and after months and months of trying to prove I was unfit to take over, she started coming on to me, wanting me to see things from a different light.

It was disgusting how she acted, and I was repulsed by her, but out of respect for the things she had done for my brothers and me, I had allowed her to live back then. If I knew what I knew now, back then I would have done things completely differently. I would have ripped her apart the moment I turned eighteen.

Cleanly dressed, fresh from the shower, I sat on the edge of the bed and waited to see if somebody would come to the door. From prior stays here, I knew it was close to dinnertime, or at least that’s what I had assumed by the things I had seen in the hallways on the way to the room.

If it was, it meant they should bring me food soon. I just wasn’ t entirely sure who that was going to be. I had a chance. A chance to break out of this place, and even in my weakened state, I would fight that, the last breath, to get home to Ivy.

When my waiting seemed to be never-ending, the sound of voices floated towards me from the other side of the door.

“Why is he being treated like a guest?” the feminine voice said.

“Because that is what the Council wants, and you will do well to listen to them. If this is going to work, we need them to believe us,” Alokaye replied with a voice I knew distinctively.

“It isn’t fair, though. This isn’t what was promised to me.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think is fair, woman. You will do as you’re told. At the end of the day, when the Solstice moon rises, things will be righted,” Alokaye replied as if he was seething in anger at the question she was asking.

It took me a moment of processing before I realized the female speaking was Allison. For her to be acting this way, it meant she wasn’t at the top of the information pyramid, and that itself was curious.

Whatever they discussed revolved around the moon that was to take place in a week’s time. What did the moon have to do with me?

Slowly the voices died down, and the echoes of their footsteps drifted away. Left reeling with questions, my brows narrowed in confusion.

Whatever they were planning was directed towards my pack, and the longer I was away, the more unprepared they would be. I had to protect them.

I had to get out.

My pack… my brothers… my mate and children… they all depended on my escape.