Page 58 of The Bonds of Nyx

“You have no idea how worried I was,” I said, my voice hoarse. “When you ran off, I thought I’d lost you.”

Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away before slipping her arms around me in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry.” Her rough voice grated on the wolf. The beast wanted out, to make it better for her. Leaving her with her sisters had been a mistake I would own. I should have stayed with her. I should have remained at her side and not left her so vulnerable. I shouldn’t even be surprised by the power surge. The emotions surrounding her mother were raw and heavy, and to believe Ivy wouldn’t break under the pressure of what happened today...

My girl was strong, far stronger than she gave herself credit for. But she still lost her mother.

I dragged a hand through her hair and finally lifted my eyes from her trembling body. Kingsley watched us with a worried expression. He stood stiffly, his hands curled into fists, almost like he wasn’t sure what to do now that Ivy could speak again and wasn’t in the middle of the surge. His eyes found mine, and he sighed. I could almost read the question in his eyes:what now?

But I wasn’t sure what had to happen now. The magic was no longer consuming her, sure. Her eyes weren’t glowing and unseeing, and the marks that had once lined her flesh were gone. I could feel the hollowness within her thanks to the bond and the lingering desire that remained.

If anyone knew what to do, it would be the prince since he grew up with potential power surges. At one point, wouldn’t he have experienced this? Or had his mother found complete control by then?

She probably needs to be anchored, I thought. That was the most reasonable answer. She needed to take her third mate to finally be in control. Though rational, the wolf—and a small part of me—hated the idea of handing her over to him in this state.

A lump formed in my throat as I dropped his stare and gazed down at my mate. “What do you need, my love?” I asked gently, brushing my hand over her hair again.

She shivered, and as I breathed in, I caught the sweet scent of her arousal. But I knew she wouldn’t say it aloud. Not right now, not with everything that happened. She wouldn’t be able to bring herself to ask anyone for that.

She still believed that she had to be the one to take care of herself. Though I knew she was fully capable of doing so, I still needed her to learn that she could trust me—trustus—with that.

“You won’t say it,” I said, “but I know what you need. Do you trust your mates to take care of you?”

Ivy sucked in a sharp breath, pulling back so that she could look me in the eye. Her dark eyes widened with uncertainty, so I took her lips with mine, keeping the kiss gentle, enough to ease her into feeling comfortable again, giving her permission to pull away if she needed to.

But my little mate deepened the kiss with a swipe of her tongue. She moaned into my mouth as I gave her entrance, and we battled one another for dominance. The once-sweet kissturned heavy, eliciting a groan from me as her hand skimmed down my back.

The mage cleared his throat, and Ivy pulled back. Her swollen lips formed an ‘o’ as she looked from me to Kingsley standing behind her. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry.”

I nuzzled the crook of her neck, peppering the soft skin with gentle kisses. “We’re your mates, Angel. No need to apologise.”

She stiffened in my hold; slowly, I untangled myself from her, giving her enough space to hold onto me if she needed to. Her eyes turned glassy as she averted her eyes from the prince and stared down at the forest floor. “I almost blew up,” she whispered. “Right there, near the kids.”

Kingsley took a step towards her, caging her between us. “You recognised the surge, and removed yourself from them, Ivy. You did everything right.”

“Except for running from us,” I said, giving him a look. “You should never run from us.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she didn’t look up. “It was so much,” she whispered. “The magic, the memories. Thedeath.” She stopped, her eyes fluttering closed as she breathed deeply. “I just feel so...empty now.”

The prince and I shared a look. A feeling of uselessness washed over me. Like there was nothing I could really do for her.

You don’t have to carry this alone, I offered, meeting her stare again.We’re here. Lean on us.

Again, her eyes watered. Indecision warred within the darkness of her irises as she battled her basic instincts. She wanted to hide, to brave her darkness alone. She might have felt a little more comfortable with Thea, and I wouldn’t blame her for leaning on her best friend. But she searched my stare, and I felt her prod the bond like she was testing if my words were true.

No matter how many times I have to make myself clear,I sent her, reaching down to cup her cheek.I will never leaveyou. You are my heart, my soul, the other piece of me. You are the tether that holds me to this world. I will be by your side no matter what happens. You will never lose me.

Ivy sucked in a sharp breath, and finally, the first tear fell. Then another, until they were streaming down her face. Her body shook with sobs as she finally crumpled into my arms, held up by both me and the prince standing behind her. His arms moved around her middle, and he pressed himself into her back while I gently held her up between us, wiping away each tear until there were none, and her sobs turned quiet.

When exhaustion finally took her, Ivy’s body slumped, and I carefully pulled her into my arms bridal style. She buried her face into the crook of my neck, her breaths evening out. The bond was finally quiet, the ache in my chest—that need to be with her—at ease.

Kingsley kept his eyes focused on her peaceful face as he spoke. “What now?”

My arms instinctively tightened around her frame. “We take her back to the house. We offer her whatever peace we can. And then we find her bastard of a mate because he has a hell of a lot to answer for.”

~

As the sun broke through the trees, I untangled myself from Ivy. She made a soft sound as I removed myself from her embrace, and sought out the prince sleepily.

“Where are you going?” Kingsley asked, his voice soft so as not to wake Ivy.

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