Page 90 of The Bonds of Nyx

It was a promise, yet it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Elias shifted, the man replaced with his large wolf, who nudged me once towards the door before leaping out of my protective shield towards the towering beast ripping apart the safe house.

“Ivy, we need to go.” Thea tugged on my arm, but I couldn’t move, not as Elias’s giant wolf crashed into the seven-foot bear. The rabid beast flung Elias off him, and my mate flew out into the rain, his body out of sight in a moment.

Time slowed. I almost dropped Maisie, prepared to go after him, everything within me screaming at me to find him, to protect him. It wasn’t just his job to save me—as his mate, it was mine to defend him.

But arms wrapped around me and pulled me back towards the darkness of the basement. I felt a scream lodge in my throat as the bear went after my mate.

“Princess, please, we need to get you out of here,” a voice desperately whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

And then calm washed through me, a familiar feeling I’d tried to block out since learning the truth about my firstmate.

My body slumped in Hawk’s grip, and he pulled me into the darkness of the stairwell before sealing us in.

34

HAWK

THEREwas an uncomfortable tightness in my chest as I guided Ivy down into the coolness of the basement where two SUVs waited. The blonde had the kids, who didn’t seem to put up much of a fight now that the wolf was gone.

As soon as we hit the final step, I released her and watched as she rushed over to the girls. Their soft voices were drowned out by the explosions and fighting above, so much so that I couldn’t hear any part of their conversation.

Grey appeared beside me, her face a careful mask of calm, barely covering the quiet rage I knew she’d be feeling right about now. “Where’s Elias?”

I gritted my teeth and shook my head. “Bear shifter was brought in. He stayed back to keep it from trying to follow.”

I felt her stare leave me and drift over to our soon-to-be Queen and her family. Tension wound throughout the vampire and thickened the air between us.

“Be prepared for her power to potentially cause issues,” Grey murmured. “Elias is not her only bonded mate, but if he’s out there fighting, he can’t be with her helping contain the potential blow up.”

The curse fell from my lips before I could stop myself. I hadn’t thought of that. And I’d had an inkling of their bond, which drew that uncomfortable tightness out again, but I hadn’t expected it to cause…problems.

“Adrian recently bonded her from what I’ve gathered,” Grey warned. “He can only do so much.”

“So, he needs to stay with her.” Our eyes met, and she nodded. “That might change things.”

Her eyes shifted from mine to where the soon-to-be Queen stood. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

~

“We’re going to need to split up,” Grey started, crossing her arms over her chest. She gazed out over the gathered crowd. Most of mine were on the surface fighting, while Jessup remained close, and Zeph stuck around for the evac.

“Thea, you’re going to take the girls and get into SUV one with Zephyr and Rowan to the new safe house,” Grey continued, motioning for the newly established evac team. “Ivy will be put into SUV two with Adrian and me, and we’ll meet you at the house. From there, we go to the ferry to Avalon. Since we’ve been compromised, we cannot leave like we’d intended.”

I observed Ivy carefully as her face fell and her arms tightened around the kids. “Why do we have to split up?” she asked, shaking her head as she did. “Why can’t they stay with me? Maeve, I can’t leave them. I can’t—” She pressed her lips into a thin line and averted her eyes, but I had a feeling I knew what she was about to say.

An unfamiliar feeling tugged in my chest, but I pushed it aside as I explained. “The purpose of splitting you is safety.” Debris shook free from the ceiling as the house rattled with another blast, and I swore under my breath. “We’re out of time. We need to split you up and take you separately to protect both groups. You’re a beacon of power, and everyone here can feel it. The kids will be safer without you.”

I knew I fucked up as soon as her eyes fell, and she took a step back from the kids. The internal war she fought played acrossher face and in the darkness of her eyes. What was she thinking about?

I shook my head. I didn’t have time to wonder about that. Not when we had a plan.

Grey stepped in then and motioned to the vehicles. “Let’s go. We’re out of time.”

The fight slipped from the would-be-Queen as she turned back to the children. I wasn’t sure why, but I watched, raptured, as she pressed gentle kisses to each of their foreheads and tucked them into her embrace. She whispered things to each of them and promised to be with them soon.

A throat cleared beside me, and I found myself staring at Zephyr as Jessup approached the stairs leading back up to the house. “You good, boss?” He lifted a questioning brow and looked between me and the now departing group. From the corner of my eye, I watched as Ivy helped each kid into the SUV, gathering the youngest two into the middle seat between the blonde and the eldest girl.

As Ivy said more to them, I shook my head. “I’m fine. Get ready for a fight. We aren’t getting out of here without some injuries.”

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