Page 97 of A Blackened Bond

“We’ll talk about the pill now. But, Micai, we would like to know the details of what happened with them. Thefullstory after we’re done here. There shouldn’t be anyone around you that would cause you harm.” He reaches out, gently brushing the back of his hand down my cheek. “We don’t want to be overbearing, but with how we all feel about you…we can’t just let something like that go so easily. Think about how you would feel in our position.”

I give him a small nod, knowing I would feel just as protective and murderous if someone had tried to hurt them. I didn’t want to keep anything from them either. And telling them about Dean and Leon wasn’t a big deal. I had already dealt with them too.

I wanted to be as open and honest with the guys as possible. They took me with them on this ‘job’ and showed me another side of them as well. It’s the least I could do. There was no holding back anymore.

Walls were made to crumble eventually.

“It may have enhanced their shifter abilities,” I call, pointing to the image and pulling the topic back to the black pill. “But it also made them more erratic, like they lost a bit of sense. They may have been stronger than before, but it wasn’t difficult dealing with them.” I shrug, glancing toward the list of side effects and remembering Erving’s words about overdosing on it. “I didn’t stay around after to see what happened to them. We were interrupted by a faculty member on patrol, and I haven’t heard anything about them since. But I don’t remember them taking more than one tablet each, so…” Erving nods thoughtfully as our gazes meet before turning back toward Ezra.

“I didn’t hear any information of the pill making its way into town, but the academy is harder to get information on…” He adds, his brows pulling down in further thought. “How the hell did they get to the pompous pricks there, though?”

I raise a brow as all three boys give Erving an irked look, the pink-haired teen forgetting we were all students there.

“I don’t mean you guys.” He rushes out, his face slightly paling. “I just meant those prim and proper pansies that think they’re everything. You guys aren’t in that category.” He lets out a nervous laugh before whipping back toward his monitors. “We need to find out who has it in the school. Maybe we can track the supplier from the students and then find out who’s managing and producing the drug.”

Ezra steps forward, his eyes narrowing at the furthest screen, which looks like it’s taping the area outside the building.

“Are you expecting someone, Erving?” He asks, pointing to the screen with a group of half a dozen figures, all clad in black, surrounding the entrance of the building.

Erving taps on his keyboard, all the monitors instantly flashing before showing the entire building’s setup: every corner outside, every door, and each corridor inside.

Five more figures surround the back entrance while the six at the front take out something from a large duffel bag and coat the edges of the metal door outside it. Was that slime, or a potion of some sort?

“Fuck.” Barks Erving, tapping ten times the speed on his keyboard as before, his fingers almost a blur now.

The screen facing the front entrance with the six men suddenly flashes a bright light, and a loud boom rings out around the warehouse.

Mallyn walks toward the door we came in as Ezra calls to him. Annex whips out his blade and walks over to a door a fewfeet from all of Erving’s monitors, and to what I presume must lead out into the corridor I had seen moments ago.

“I’ll play with the ones out back.” He glances back toward me, giving me a playful wink before heading out the door. “Keep the pink sloth company until I get back, Red.” He points his blade to one of the screens. “You can watch me from there.”

With that, he’s gone before I can protest or even argue.

After what had happened the night of the academy’s attack, there was no way I was letting him go anywhere alone.

I take a step toward the direction he just left, flashes of what happened in the forest the night of the attack flowing through my mind as a hand grasps my shoulder.

“He’ll be fine, Micai. This is a walk in the park for Annex.” Calls Ezra, a small smile coating his lips. “He’ll be back after a few minutes, coated in blood and wearing his usual demented grin.”

Another boom rings out from the main door below us, pulling our attention toward it as we begin to hear voices soon follow.

Ezra looks toward the screens before turning to a bright-eyed Mallyn and nodding.

He turns back toward me. “We’ll take the ones out front, you stay with Erving—”

“I’m not staying here and babysitting, Ezra. I told you I can handle myself.” I argue, cutting him off as frustration takes over from him once again, asking me to sit still and watch them fight.

“I know, it’s just—”

“Just as you worry about me, I worry about all of you.” I glance at Mallyn, our eyes meeting, “I can help, so let me.”

“She’s right,” Mallyn calls. “If she can keep up with my beast, then she can handle herself, Ezra.”

“But we don’t know who that is down there.” He argues, his brows pinching together as fear peppers his gaze.

“Exactly. All the more reason you need an extra set of hands.” I call.

Ezra shakes his head, still not relenting. “This is business Micai, shit that we started and that you don’t need to be dragged into right now.” He takes a step toward me, taking my hand in his. “You’ve had enough to deal with in the academy without being dragged into our groups crap. I know you’re strong. I know you can handle yourself. But even we don’t know what the enemy down there is capable of or their motive.” He places a kiss on my hand, then gives it a tiny squeeze before slowly letting it go, his gaze pleading with me to concede for now.

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