Page 2 of The Powers of Nyx

He’d spent the night in wolf form with the kids, and in the morning got them ready with Thea, before spending the rest of his time with our prisoners. The distance between him and Ivy was wearing thin on him and his wolf, and we’d been separatedbarely a day. I didn’t blame him though—I was starting to feel the effects of her absence, too.

“You got it,” Jay said, clapping Elias on the shoulder once. “The potion mage should be making something a little stronger in case these guys are planning something.”

Elias muttered a curse in response before watching Jay walk off in the direction of the main warehouse. I didn’t move to follow the half-demon. Instead, I observed Wolfy from the corner of my eye; he looked exhausted, with dark circles bruising his eyes and a sad frown. It was likely because of how recently he’d completed the mate bond, but he seemed sapped of almost all his energy. Or it had to do with distance—I’d never paid much attention to that when it came to Adrian’s family.

“What?” he snapped, though not as sharply as he might have weeks ago.

Before matingher.

I shrugged. “Just noticed how crappy you look.”

Elias snarled something and turned to stalk off, but I reached for his arm and stopped him.

“Are you really this affected by not being with her?” I asked softly. It wasn’t that I feltbadfor the guy.

Maybe it was because I needed to put a name to my own ache. I wanted to believe Adrian was right. That she and Iweremates, that the pull I felt for her—now more than ever, since waking up in that alley covered in my own blood—actually meant something.

Elias considered me carefully, tugging his arm free. “It’s like a piece of me is permanently gone,” he said, looking down at his hands. “Like I’m missing a limb. I know she’s okay. I can feel her, hear her, but without her near, it’s like I’m always searching for her.”

My skin prickled. I wouldn’t admit to him I felt her absence, too. It wasn’t nearly to the same extent, but I somehow foundmyself looking for her, reaching for that warmth, thatfireshe ignited within me.

“Adrian warned me it would be like this.” Elias shook his head and sighed. “Two weeks is the max we can be apart without it getting worse. At least, that’s what his mother claims.”

I snorted. “Sounds like you’ve still got a lot to learn about being the Queen’s mate. Can’t wait for your knighting ceremony.”

Elias grunted and spared me a scathing look that said more than words. Like he knew I wished it was me. Fuck, he probably did. He’d probably heard Adrian and I talking about it.

“Look—”

Elias held up a hand, stopping me. “I trust my mate,” he stated, meeting my stare. “I know you have feelings for her. You’ve never hidden that. And she feels the same way. So, if she needs to explore that, to figure out if there’s a mate bond there, then that’s what she’ll do.”

My throat thickened. He didn’t wait for my response, and instead left me standing in the loading bay.

~

The three children were sullen at lunch. No matter what Thea made, or how hard Elias tried to coax them out of their shells, they wanted none of it.

I was worried mostly for Eloise. She carried the weight of her sisters—of their mother’s death—on her shoulders. From what I knew, she had a better idea of the world they were entering. The younger two were mostly being shielded from the truth. I wasn’t sure how long that would last, if it would considering the other agents living under the same roof.

For the most part, Jay kept them on a tight leash. The agents knew what they could and couldn’t speak of. Meetings were held where little ears wouldn’t overhear, and all shifters kept their junk in gear at all times.

Maisie loved the shifters most. She was completely enamoured by Elias’s wolf, and was slowly warming up to Navya, the panther shifter from Jay’s team. Ginny was the quietest, and from what I’d heard after the disastrous birthday dinner from hell, she used to be the chattiest of the three. No amount of coaxing would make that girl move from Eloise’s side.

Thea assumed the role of parental figure, and she never complained. But like Elias, she looked exhausted. Her hair was thrown into two low pigtails, and she wore a black cap backwards over it. She deliberately ignored most of the agents, but she always cooked and spent any time away from the kids in front of the stove, making large serves of easily frozen foods.

It was fucking endless.

I made my way over to her while Elias engaged the girls with some activity he claimed would keep them sharp for when they went back to school. Thea didn’t look up as I came to a stop beside whatever soup she was making, the different ingredients spread out around her in a colour-based pattern. Greens were grouped next to the yellows, followed by the reds.

“Anything I can help with?” I asked, eyeing several bowls of different vegetables already diced. “I’m not a cook like Adrian, but I can chop shit. Promise.”

Thea arched a brow as she turned to me. “You didn’t help once at the last safe house. I distinctly remember hearing about your ability to turn blondes, blue. So, no thanks.”

I snorted a laugh and grinned. “That wasn’t an accident. Iwantedto mess with Adrian. And he’s also a princess in the kitchen, so it’s best not to ask if he wants help,” I replied, shrugging.

She watched me for a long moment before sighing. “Fine. I have chicken cooling. I need it shredded.” Her eyes narrowed and she looked me over. “You know how to shred chicken, right?”

“How hard could it be?”

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