Page 30 of Eclipse of the Pack

“Thank you. Here are your room keys.” Ivy took the keys, and Jon followed not to closely behind her over to the elevators. They made it up to their suite. Ivy set the deadbolt and closed the curtains.

“Good idea,” Jon said. “You can take a shower first if you want. I need to sit down.” Jon sat on the floor to keep the forest filth off of the sheets. He and Ivy had managed to get cleaned up a little before going into the hotel, but he hadn’t showered in days, so there was bound to be all kinds of dirt on him.

Ivy went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Jon went in after her. Afterwards, they both sat on the couch, and Ivy turned on the news. As she flipped channels, every station was covering the riots.

“It’s so horrible,” Jon whispered. Everything that had happened over the past few weeks was being used as propaganda to convince people that a war was necessary. As Ivy saw all the violence laid out in front of her, she wondered it she and Jon could stop a civil war from breaking out.

“Oh dear god,” Ivy gasped. A video started playing. It was a little grainy, but she could tell what it was of.

“Is that-”

“Yes…” It was a video of Ivy shifting and killing PEACE agents. Thankfully, Jon was not in the video, and Ivy wasn’teasily identifiable, but it was the worst thing for the two of them to see. It only further confirmed what a disaster everything was in that moment.

“What should we do?”

“I don’t know, Jon. I don’t know…”

38

JONATHEN

Jon looked over at Ivy. He rarely had moments to just look at her without interruption. There was always someone chasing them or some anxiety taking over. He wished they could find somewhere to just be together, but they were stuck in their current chaotic situation.

Ivy was staring at the TV being inundated with images that were showing just how bad things were. Ivy was generally good at masking her emotions, years as a double agent made it a necessity, but as she watched the chaos unfold, Ivy was unable to keep her emotions from showing on her face. She was horrified, mortified. She felt hopeless and useless, but worst of all Ivy was scared. She was scared out of her mind about the future.

Jon wanted to comfort his mate. He knew there was not much he could do, but he would do whatever he could.

Jon moved closer to her on the couch. Ivy welcomed to contact. She leaned into Jon as he wrapped his arms around her. She felt safe in his caress. She had never thought a feeling like that one would exist for her. And Jon felt the same way. Even though Ivy basically crashed into his life, he wouldn’t change anything because having her in his life was worth all the pain.

He looked down at her, his heart beating softly in his chest.

“I’ve really fucked things up, huh…” Ivy rested her head on Jon’s chest, her hand gently playing with his shirt. The simple touch was enough to send Jon’s mind into overdrive. The situation rarely mattered. When Ivy was near him, everything was simply better, and when they were able to have moments like that one, Jon’s entire body was alight.

Jon focused all his brainpower into listening to Ivy. He didn’t want to lose sight of his current mission, comforting his mate.

“It’s not all your fault.” Ivy let out a heavy sigh.

“A lot of it is though. I should have been able to see what Malcolm was planning. What kind of agent am I if I can’t even…,” Ivy let out another sigh. “Even now, I’ve barely done anything to help. It all just keeps getting worse and worse. I mean, they want to round up ever shifter and throw away the key. It’s gone beyond werewolves and humans. We are literally on the brink of war.” Jon knew Ivy was right. The situation was grim.

Sounds from the TV still carried over. Between footage of the carnage, announcements from various officials played. At one point, elders from the shifter community came onto the screen making a plea to let them handle it, but the humans were over waiting for them. They wanted swift action.

“Yeah, the situation is pretty grim,” Jon mumbled. Ivy picked up her head and looked at him.

“I thought you were supposed to make me feel better,” she pouted. Jon took one of Ivy’s stray hairs and tucked it behind her ear, making her blush.

“Sorry,” he sighed. “I don’t know what to say to make this all better.” Jon’s thoughts were racing a mile a minute in his head. He really wanted to comfort Jon, but short of lying, there wasn’t anything he could come up with.

“I mean…” Ivy shifted her weight and brought her face closer to Jon’s face. He felt her breath skirt across his cheeks as she whispered to him. “There are things we can do besides talking.”

The hand that Jon had on Ivy’s arm tightened slightly. The two mates stared at one another, any slight movements causing shivers to run up Jon’s spine.

“And what do you mean by that?” Ivy smirked at Jon’s question. She knew he was being cheeky. Instead of answering, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Jon sighed as Ivy’s lip came into contact with his skin. His hand travelled lower to the hem of her shirt, his fingers peeking underneath the cloth.

“Ivy?” The way Jon said Ivy’s name was a combination of a question and a warning. He had a myriad of pent-up emotions, and the dam he had erected to get through the last few days was at risk for breaking. If Ivy continued in her current direction, Jon knew an overwhelming of passion would flow out of him.

“Yes Jon?” Ivy still had her lips on Jon’s skin. She was moving them back and forth along the right side of his face. She inhaled his scent as she gently teased him.

“What are you doing?”

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