I BULLY GABE into grabbing his own homework to get through his assignments with me. He tried to argue that we’re not going back to Draven any time soon, but I need the distraction from everything going on around us, and I don’t want to be caught slacking by Nox, so there’s no real downside to keeping up with it.
Gabe cracks his back as he gets up to grab his bag from where he’d left it by the door, kicking his shoes out of his way in that very boy way of his. When he stalks back over to me with his arms full of books, he swoops down to give me a kiss. Brutus huffs at him but August moves over to sit between us, scooting Gabe away from me, and then turns his back on him to ignore him entirely.
It’s cute.
Gabe shoots me a look and I giggle, burying my face in August’s neck and taking a breath. It’s been a very long, confusing, ever-changing week.
“You’re sure you’re okay now? You don’t need anything?” Gabe murmurs, and I shake my head, pulling away from August and clearing my throat.
“Just you and the pups… and, well, I also need to find Sage and see how she’s doing. Plus, I need to speak to Atlas, but I have no idea how North is going to react when I tell him I want to speak to him alone.”
He smirks and shakes his head. “You mean more alone than projecting into Bassinger’s head? I’m not sure that’s possible, Bond.”
Ah. So word has gotten out about that then. I desperately try not to think about that moment again as my cheeks heat up a little. “I want to stand in front of him and hear what he has to say. I don’t want to be in his head for it.”
He nods and slides down to join me on the floor. “You’re better than me. I would’ve looked through every fucking second of his life to make sure he’s not a spy.”
He shrugs and scowls at August. “Any chance you can get him to move over a little so that I can get back to comforting my Bond? I’ve barely been able to see you since you got back, and now you’re being guarded by these grumpy jailers.”
I give August one last kiss and then snap my fingers to get him to swap sides, watching as he huffs about the move. He likes being between me and anyone else in the room, even North. He prefers to be a wall in front of me. It’s cute and I adore him for it.
The moment August is out of the way, Gabe slings his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I tuck my face into his shoulder and get a good lungful of his scent—clean and masculine. I’ve missed him. I’ve missed Atlas too; the ache in my chest at the distance North has put between us is like a wound.
“It’s all going to be okay. Once you’re back on your feet, we’ll figure something out for you to do. Gryph is already working with some operatives about… something big. Things aren’t going to stay like this for long.”
I clear my throat. “Have you been in to see Atlas? Is he okay?”
Gabe nods against my cheek. “He’s fine. He’s made it clear that he’ll do anything he has to do to prove that he’s not here to harm you. I believe him. I’m pretty sure Gryph does too, thanks to his lie detector, but the Dravens need more than that. They always have. He did… give North something that’s bought him some favor though, so you’ll be back with him in no time.”
“What’s that?”
“A list. A list of everyone Atlas has ever known in the Resistance and what he knows of their gifts. There’s a lot of names on it. He proved that it’s real by telling North how they got you out of the hospital in the first place. The invisible guy? Turns out he’s a scout for the Resistance, and now that North knows how to look for him, they’ve found him in a lot of meetings and intel spots. Atlas might have just moved the needle in our favor.”
I nod and rub a palm over my chest. “I get that he’s helping, and I’m glad he is, but—”
I break it off there, but Gabe nods. “But he’s betraying his family, and you feel terrible for him? You should speak to him about it. I did and… I understand his reasoning. He’s wanted to talk to you about it since he got here, but he was scared you’d hate him the second he opened his mouth about it.”
I give him a watery chuckle. “I’m surprised you didn’t! You’ve been fighting with him since he got here.”
He shrugs and says, “I knew he was too good to be true. No man, Bond or not, takes being run away from like it’s nothing. I didn’t trust him one bit. When I realized he knew, he knew your code name in the Resistance intel and he knew what your gift was, I beat the shit out of him. Not that it did all that much, he’s indestructible, but it helped get some of my anger about it all out. Then once I heard Gryph interrogate him, had it confirmed as the honest truth… he’s in this Bond Group. He belongs to you as much as I do. It would be a pretty shitty thing for me to cause shit just for my own feelings about it. I’m not going to do that to you.”
I want to burst into tears.
I don’t deserve him or any of them. I don’t deserve that amount of consideration and care. He just pulls me into his body tighter and tucks his face into my shoulder.
“You smell like North.”
Ugh.
My cheeks heat up because this is the first time anyone has mentioned it. “Sleeping in his bed and using his shower will do that.”
Gabe grins at me and murmurs into my ear, his voice a tease, “Bonding with him would too. Have you changed your mind about it yet, or is North just that good at convincing you he’s all in now?”
He doesn’t sound like he’s pushing or anything, just curious and clearing the air, so I’m happy enough to answer him. “He had some good points. My bond was also pretty strongly in favor and his bond was too. I’m… less worried about what it means to stay here. It’s just the power boosts that are still a problem.”
He nods and kisses my cheek again, not worried or concerned about it at all. I would feel insecure about it, except his hands are all over me, pulling me into his body closer, like he’s trying to get under my skin, so there’s no chance of me thinking he doesn’t actually want me. I think he’s just so sure that we’ll figure it out that he’s willing to wait.
There’s a buzzing in his pocket and he moves me a little to pull it out, rolling his eyes at the screen and cursing under his breath. My stomach drops a little but he drawls, “It’s just Sawyer, blowing my shit up for more help with moving Grey’s shit in. I told him I was coming to see you first, and he’s being a dick about it.”
I glance up at him, surprised, and he nods. “Yeah, North is moving them all in here with us. Anyone we trust is being brought in so that we’re not targeted separately. More power under one roof is a good thing right now, and Grey’s parents are all about the move.”
Relief floods me. “Did they come too?”
He shakes his head, scowling a little. “They’ve taken Briony to Switzerland. They were taking Grey as well, but North stepped in. There’s a safe house there that only three people know the location of. They’re leaving in the dead of the night, so they’re going to be safe. Sawyer lost his shit about it and when the retesting of their bloods came back, Grey’s dad finally broke and let him stay.”
My jaw drops. “They’re Bonds?!”
Gabe grins at my excited squeal and shakes his head. “No, but they’re in the same Bonded group. They haven’t found their Central yet, but the new testing is still going through the old samples. Sawyer has become very motivated to help with it.”
I chuckle. “I’m sure he has. Nothing like a little skin in the game to get you working. God, I wish there was something I could do to help. Instead, I’m trapped up here like a princess in a tower. Stupid.”
Gabe’s phone buzzes again in his hand and I kiss him. “Go help him. I’ll find Sage and see her, and then I’ll come sleep in your bed tomorrow night. We’ll be the masters of patience by the end of all of this.”
Sage shows up at my door, Felix trailing behind her, three minutes after I message her.
How she can navigate this place so freaking seamlessly is beyond me, but apparently I’m the only one who struggles with that.
She takes one look at me with a frazzled sort of look in her eyes and throws her arms around my shoulders, squeezing me tight as she mumbles, “Never do any of this shit again, Oli. Not running off, or going full terminator, or coming home and being holed up for days where I couldn’t come and see for myself that you were alive. I thought I was going to have to burn the place down around North to get him to budge. He was not having it.”
I giggle, feeling oddly teary about the ragged tone of her voice, and when we pull away from each other, Felix leans in to give me a very sedate side hug as well. I’m not sure if he’s worried about upsetting his Bonded or the many overprotective Bonds of mine in this house, but I can respect it.
I usher them both into my room, and Sage carefully steps around the pups to take a seat on the floor with me while Felix takes a seat at the small, never-used desk that’s covered in books I’ve already used for my studies today, as well as all of Gabe’s stuff. The small stack of Atlas’ books acts like a little beacon to me, pointing out how badly I need to go find my Bond and hear from him.
I clear my throat, looking back at Sage and say, “So catch me up on what’s been happening since the world as we knew it ended. What’s been going on?”
I’m expecting to hear about everyone officially moving into the mansion, but that’s not quite what I get.
Sage shoots me a look. “Oh, nothing much. Except that I’m definitely a Central Bond. Kieran is one of my Bonds, and I have four that flagged in my dad’s very secure, very secret retest. So, you know. Business as usual around here.”
Four.
Holy shit.
I suddenly care about nothing more than finding out about her Bonds. My own bullshit just evaporates out of my brain. “So, Kieran, Felix, Riley, and… some other guy? Do you know him?”
She huffs and leans herself back against the bed, tipping her head back dramatically, which I can totally get behind, and says, “Yeah, I know him. He already graduated from Draven a year ago and moved interstate for work. He’s from one of the lower families, but he came to Draven on a scholarship because his gift was so strong. Gryphon tried to get him to join a TacTeam, but he wanted something that paid more.”
Understandable. When you come from nothing, you’re going to go for your best option. “So… are you going to contact him now or later?”
She groans and props herself up on her elbows to look back at me. “My dad and North are discussing it, as though I’m a child who can’t make her own decisions on these things. They’re also monitoring the Riley and Giovanna situation from a distance until it’s safe to get him out of there even though I’m dying inside thinking about what is happening to him right now but my opinion on that matter is also very low on the list of priorities.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Felix pulling a face, chewing on his lips like he’s keeping himself from butting in, and I point at him. “Don’t you even think about talking rationally about this right now, Davenport. We’re here to hate on the controlling men in our lives, not their very sound and good reasoning for it.”
He grins and shakes his head at me while Sage groans again. “I know it’s a security risk thing and nothing to do with how they see me, but why does it always have to be this way? Why can’t something, anything, be easy or normal for me?”
I stack up my homework to make more room for us to spread out on the floor, and August uses the opportunity to wedge himself more fully between Sage and I. I give him a scratch and he settles onto his belly, tucking his face into my legs as he watches the room keenly.
Brutus is on his back, fast asleep by my feet with zero cares.
Sage prods at the paperwork, drawling, “You’d think a near death experience would get us out of assignments, wouldn’t you? I doubt your Bond will allow it though. We’re going to be forced to hand shit in for him at least.”
There’s a pang in my chest as I think about Nox, a craving for him that is going to mess with my plans to sleep in with Gabe tomorrow night. I know that North said I’d been ‘tended to’ by all of them after my bond went on its killing spree, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nox wasn’t actually on that list.
Or if he did the bare minimum possible.
Felix looks over at me again, and I raise an eyebrow at him until he says, “I can’t help but notice that there’s two creatures in here with you now.”
Sage glances over and shrugs at him. “That’s August, one of North’s creatures. We met when Oli came to grab me from The Great Fire Incident. You really think after Oli was captured and hurt he wasn’t going to add his own little spy to the mix? I’m surprised he only gave you one.”
August looks up at the sound of his name and I give him a scratch to settle him back down. Brutus wakes up and immediately asks for some love too, which he gets like the precious baby he is. “I might ask for the snake as well. My bond liked that one a lot.”
Sage fumbles with her phone a little, gulping as she nods at me. She’s clearly got a phobia but doesn’t argue with my hopes because she’s the best.
Felix does though. “You can’t complain about being stuck here and in the same breath, say you want a fucking snake following you around. Jesus Christ, Oli, that’s pushing it. Even for you.”
I giggle at the strain in his voice. “Scared of a widdle snakey? This changes everything I thought of you, Felix. Seriously. He’s cute, and he ripped some guys’ arms off for me. If that isn’t the most precious thing I’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is.”
The memory floods me without warning and, though my hands shake a little at the ferocity of the moment, I don’t feel guilty for all of the death and pain. They came for innocent people. They trapped a monster instead and that’s their own stupid fault. I tried to warn them.
Where are you? What’s upsetting you?
What’s happened?
Gryphon and North speak over each other in my head, and I try not to roll my eyes at them both fussing. It still feels weird to have them in there like that, let alone having North being so… sweet.
Oleander, if you don’t answer, I’ll leave this meeting and come up there after you.
Ah, that’s much more North-like.
I had a flashback to what my bond was doing in the camp, not a big deal. Can you guys stop freaking out about me, especially while I’m safe in the mansion?
I’m careful about my tone, trying to tamp down my inner bitch so I don’t start a fight, but I need to establish some boundaries with them, and fast, or they’ll be walking all over me in no time.
My uncle was murdered in his bed. I’m not going to trust any households with your safety. Come downstairs so I can see you’re okay.
Ridiculous.
Okay, he has a point about William’s death, but I’m busy studying. So instead, I concentrate so hard I almost burst my brain wide open, but I manage to send him the image of Brutus lying over my legs and August sitting where I’m leaning against him, watching over me while I pretend I’m studying.
I’m safe with these two. Also, Sage has been known to set entire billion-year-old buildings on fire when provoked, so I’d put money on her in a fight.
Gryphon, who can also hear all of this because what is privacy, adds in, We both know she wouldn’t get the chance because your bond would deal with the danger. North is just trying to get out of his meeting. Go back to studying, Bonded.
“Are you flirting with your Bonded right now? The carpet should not have you grinning like that, it’s not interesting or funny,” Sage grumbles, and I shoot her a rueful look.
“They’re mother-henning me. Honestly, remember when we thought Bonds were bad? Bonded men are infinitely worse.”
Felix shoots me a look. “You mean we want our Bonded safe, secure, and happy at all times? Terrible. The worst. Monsters.”
Sage throws a pencil at him. “Don’t say the ‘m’ word. Brutus will eat you.”
“Now who’s flirting? Gross, keep that out of my room,” I say in an exaggerated tone, and Sage rolls her eyes at me with a grin.
Felix flicks the pencil at me and says, “We’re all going to have to sit through dinner with you and your Bonds, so don’t try for the higher ground here, Fallows. I’m expecting someone to attempt to fuck you over the potatoes the moment they get a chance.”
I hold a hand up to my chest, feigning horror, and Sage cackles at me. It’s stupid and ridiculous and everything I needed after all of the weird in my life right now.
Sage gives me a sly sort of look and murmurs, “We should take bets on which one. My bet is North, I’ve never seen him like this before. It’s sort of… weird.”
Felix opens his mouth, probably to place his own bet and embarrass the life out of me with some quip, but I’m saved by his phone buzzing. There’s a lot of that going on today.
He barely looks at it, shooting Sage a look, before he says to me, “My parents are video calling in five, so we need to go. They’ve been extra freaked out since I refused to come home and North won’t let them over here. Not that I blame him.”
I don’t even have to ask why, because it’s very clear to me that it’ll be about Gracie. After her perfume stunt provoked my bond to come out and Bond with Gryphon, they were both swift in their actions to get rid of the girl. I feel slightly bad about it, only because that’s Felix’s sister, but she also made me lose my v-card in a pretty animalistic and brutal way.
So fuck her and her silly little games.
I give him a look and he shrugs, packing away the last of his supplies. “I’m not mad about it. She’s an adult and made choices; she can live with them. My parents, too. As long as Sage is safe and we’re together, I’m happy with wherever that puts me.”
