Page 19

T he drive to Landeena is tiresome and I miss Abbie already. The car weaves around yet another sharp bend, and I hear Ivy retching in the backseat again. I wince, my hands gripping the wheel tightly when Kyson forces the mindlink.

“Pull over, Gannon,” Kyson orders, his tone sharp and I can’t help the snort that escapes me hearing his frustration.

“Already on it,” I reply, steering toward the side of the road. I glance at Damian in the passenger seat, who is holding back a smirk.

“She’s going to puke her guts out before we even reach the castle,” Damian mutters, crossing his arms.

“I don’t why he thought it was a good idea; he should have just commanded her to answer.” I tell him. Apparently Ivy lied to him and the king’s genius punishment was to force her to get drunk knowing she doesn’t drink, or in this case get violently ill.

I pull the car to a stop, and in the rearview mirror, I see Kyson hop out, followed by Ivy who all but nearly falls out the door. Damian snickers beside me, and I can’t help but grin as we watch Kyson trying to hold her hair back while she pushes him away, clearly mortified.

“Oh he’s definitely pissed she lied to him.”

“No, he’s whipped, you watch him come sniveling back to get in her good graces now,” Damian says with a chuckle, shaking his head.

“The sniveling?” I try not to laugh. I’d pay to see that.

“More like panicking now he’s given her damn alcohol poisoning,” I say, pulling a cigarette out of my pocket and lighting it while we wait. “I’ve never seen him like this over anyone before. She’s got him wrapped around her little finger, and she doesn’t even know it.”

Damian smirks. “Not that he’ll admit it.”

“Not a chance,” I reply, blowing out a stream of smoke as I lean against the car.

“He’d rather chew off his own tail than admit a little werewolf girl has him under her spell.

” Damian sighs moving toward the king with bottled water and a little bag.

I watch but remain by the car not feeling like being puked on.

Eventually, Kyson and Ivy climb back into the car.

I quickly flick my cigarette and climb back in and start the engine again.

Thar is when I see Ivy flop onto the seat and lie down under the air-conditioning vent through the limo window, her face pale.

Kyson slides in next to her, clearly frustrated.

“Ivy, your seatbelt,” Kyson says, his tone firm.

Ivy ignores him, turning her face into the seat like she’s pretending he doesn’t exist.

“Ivy,” Kyson says again, more pointedly this time.

Damian snickers beside me, muttering under his breath, “Oh, here we go.”

“Ivy!” Kyson’s voice grows sharper, and I can practically feel the tension radiating from the backseat as his aura ripples out slightly.

Ivy groans dramatically, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Is she… growling at him?” Damian asks, his voice filled with disbelief. “Hmm seems we gotta get her drunk for her to put him in his place.” Damian snickers.

I glance in the mirror just in time to see Ivy giggle and shake her head, clearly amused with her drunk self. Kyson’s expression, on the other hand, is less than amused. He looks like he is seconds away from putting her over his knee and spanking her.

“You did not just growl at me,” Kyson says, his voice low with warning.

Damian leans closer to me, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. “And that’s what he gets for forcing her to drink,” he whispers.

“One,” Kyson says, starting his infamous countdown but we both know he won’t hurt her.

“One and a half,” Kyson growls, and Ivy responds with a noise that sounds suspiciously like a purring meow.

That’s it. Damian laughs over, while I try to keep the vehicle steady on the winding road.

“You laugh now but won’t be when he chucks a tantrum and you have to deal with him,” I say, shaking my head and biting my lip to hold back my own laughter as I listen to the king scold her.

“Are you seriously being disobedient over a seatbelt, Ivy? You do not want me to get to three,” Kyson warns.

“Two,” Ivy says casually, ignoring his tone.

“Now she’s pushing his buttons,” Damian pulls a face glancing in the back, but I slap his chest reminding him to keep his eyes forward.

“Well, aren’t you in quite the mood?” Kyson says, his tone dripping with exasperation. “If I didn’t know your werewolf side was slowly coming forward, I would have spanked you by now.”

“Oh, that’s going to go over well,” I say, glancing at Damian, who’s trying his hardest to ignore them in the back.

“Put your seatbelt on, Ivy,” Kyson says again, his patience clearly wearing thin.

“Put yours on, then,” she snaps back.

Kyson growls low and deep, the sound reverberating through the car. Ivy, undeterred, growls back, though it’s more of a whine this time.

“I like her drunk.” I admit. Damian looks at me with a silly smirk on his face.

“Sorry,” Ivy blurts out suddenly.

“You’re lucky I’m patient,” Kyson mutters, his voice dripping with irritation. “If you were anyone else, Ivy, I would not put up with this attitude. Hormones and werewolf instincts or not.”

There’s a scuffling sound from the backseat, followed by a startled yelp from Ivy. Damian and I both turn to look, making sure he hasn’t lost his temper with her. But he only rips her onto his lap, clipping his belt around her.

“Ivy, now your seatbelt is on,” Kyson says smugly, clipping the belt across both of them as she squirms to fix her pants.

Ivy huffs, clearly embarrassed, while Kyson leans back with a satisfied grin, resting his chin on top of her head.

Damian shakes his head, still laughing. “Well I’m glad I don’t have a mate, they seem like hard work.” Damian mutters.

“Yeah,” I say with a chuckle. “The poor bastard doesn’t stand a chance.”

The sound of Kyson’s purring fills the car, and Damian raises an eyebrow. “He’s purring now?”

“Hopefully she passes out soon, or I may go back and beat him if I have to listen to that the entire drive.” I chuckle as Damian looks at the directions and what’s along the route.

“Well, check that hotel, I don’t wanna drive through the night. Pull over at the next rest stop. I need to inform the King and let a few guards drive ahead to check it before we arrive.” Nodding, I speed up.

After pulling over at the rest stop, I switched out drivers with a couple guards in the car behind us.

Now I sit in the back of the car with Kyson and Damian, watching as Ivy sleeps against him.

She looks so small and fragile in his arms, her skin pale and marked with scars that tell a story none of us fully know yet.

Kyson is tracing those scars now, his fingertips moving across her back under the thin blanket Damian handed him earlier.

Damian clears his throat, drawing Kyson’s attention. “We may need to take an alternate route. I don’t like the Black Forest—too many hiding places for an ambush,” he says.

Kyson sighs, glancing down at Ivy before nodding. “It’ll add an extra half-day’s drive,” he says reluctantly.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take,” Damian says firmly, his eyes darting toward Ivy briefly.

Kyson’s expression softens, and he nods again. “You’re right. Whatever is safer,” he says. Relief washes over Damian’s face, and I know he and I both worried Kyson would argue. But when it comes to Ivy’s safety, he doesn’t take risks.

Damian shifts in his seat, addressing me. “Did you find out more about her history? Her last name? Anything?” Making me realize I forgot to tell him I contacted her old Alpha.

I shake my head. “Not yet, but I reached out to the old Alpha. He said he’d dig up her files, and I can collect them next week.”

“I’ll come with you,” Kyson says, and I nod in agreement.

“He was curious why we wanted to know about her,” I add.

“What did you tell him?” Kyson asks, his tone sharp.

“I told him I wanted Abbie’s files, too. Said we needed to assess if they could be trusted among the other servants,” I reply.

Kyson nods, satisfied with my excuse. I glance at Ivy’s sleeping form again, her thin frame making her look even more vulnerable.

Kyson’s fingers are still tracing her scars, his expression darkening.

“He said she was young when she came to the orphanage. Her parents put up a fight. Apparently, her father killed the headmistress’s mate,” I tell them.

Kyson growls low in his throat. “That would explain the cruel punishments. But why let her remain with the headmistress, knowing that?”

I growl in agreement, shaking my head. “It doesn’t make sense. And when I asked why there were only two rogue children there, he got nervous. I think he’s covering for his son.”

Damian nods. “I got the same vibe when I spoke to him.”

Kyson’s head snaps toward him. “You weren’t assigned to look into it. Gannon was. So why did you talk to him?”

Damian meets his gaze without flinching. “Same reason as Gannon. I needed to know if she was a threat to you. It’s my job as Beta.”

Kyson’s expression softens slightly, and he peers back down at Ivy. “Well, is she?” he asks, a chuckle slipping out.

Damian smirks. “She is,” he says.

Kyson raises an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Don’t tell me it wouldn’t break you if she suddenly left,” Damian says, challenging him.

Kyson growls at the suggestion, his hold on Ivy tightening. “She’s not leaving me. I won’t allow it.”

“My point is proven. Physically, she’s no threat, but she could break you in other ways,” Damian says with a laugh.

“She won’t. I won’t allow it,” Kyson snaps back, though the tension in his voice betrays his worry.

“But she could,” Damian presses.

Kyson sighs, tugging Ivy closer and burying his face in her neck. Damian chuckles while I try to stifle a laugh.

“Shut up, both of you,” Kyson growls, though his tone lacks real venom. I know he’s aware of how amusing we find his obsession with Ivy, but he doesn’t see it that way.