And Then There Were Four

Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Talon and Zane My brothers were turning into fools for this girl, and the most annoying part of it all was that Hale expected me to accept her as well. She may have been a lot of things fiery, smart, and gorgeous-to- look at with hips that enticed a man. But at the end of the day, she was exactly what Damian had stated-a complication. “Talon, have you heard from Damian?” Zane asked as he stepped into the doorway af.my room, with concern on his face. Shaking my head I sighed, “no sir, I have not. He is supposed to be here by now, but you know Damian- he tends to do what he wants.” Zane, Ivy’s father, was an aging man with many different complications of his own. He had once been human, but when he mated with Allison, my godmother, it unlocked a dormant werewolf gene that laid within him passed-down through generations.” That was one of the reasons why we didn’t mate with humans. Our-pups had a chance to be more human than wolf and with repeated mating, the werewolf gene always stayed dormant unless a wolf máted with them and anlocked “Thonestly don’t understand him. He is supposed to lead this pack once Allison and I step down and he doesn seem to act like he wants to do it.” “I know, but with Damian being the oldest of us, it’s rightfully his throne.” I replied, reminding him that even though we don’t all agree Damian should be the next Alpha, we respected him too much to take that position from him. “Talon-” Zane replied, giving me a look that let me know what he was going to talk about how are things with Ivy?”. Thesitated in my response. Ivy was a topic Damian didn’t wantus talking about, and I couldn’t tell Zane that Ivy had already mated with James or Hale. If Damian found out, it would and could be disastrous. “That isn’t a conversation to be loosely had. I replied in a very soft and subtle tone as to not bring attention to unwanted ears. Zane looked around the area, and nodded before gesturing for me to follow him. It was obvious he wasn’t going to let this conversation go. Why would he?

Ivy was his only child. With Allison unable to bear children after an accident with a rogue when she was younger, Ivy was all that they had. Allison had made it obvious on many occasions that she didn’t care for lvy, and growing up I remember Zane never having a problem with that, until he learned Ivy was our mate. Then that changed things. It gave him more power and hold- at least that was my opinion, I followed him without question through the house until we were safely behind the closed doors of his office. *Tell me.” His voice was firm and authoritative, and I knew that even though he wasn’t of Alpha blood, he was a wise man you didn’t want to cross. “Ivy has mated with both James and Hale.” There it was, the actual truth finally slipping free. Zane’s eyes widened in surprise, but a smile crossed his face as he nodded. “Good. What about you?” “What you are asking for isn’t a good idea, Zane.” I replied, not wanting to talk about mating with Ivy. “She doesn’t deserve to live a life like this.” Zane’s face darkened over as an evil glint settled within his gaze. “That isn’t for you to decide. The moon goddess selected her for the four of you, and that never happens, Talon. I know that your past is what keeps you from accepting her, but this must be done. Once you join that mate bond, Damian won’t be able to say no to her.” Anger filled me as I thought of our previous conversations. The day that Zane found out that Ivy was. Damian’s mate, he was determined to get his daughter here. He hadn’t cared about her before that moment, and in fact, had often discussed how he had messed up earlier in his life by having her. Now he sat here acting like a caring father, but the thing was all he cared about was the power he would have with her being our mate. I knew that if Ivy could see how her father was, she would be disgusted by him. But Damian made us promise and swear to never discuss the issue of her father with her. Eventually, Ivy would see exactly what kind of cold hearted monster Zane really was.

“We still have time, Zane. I will do what I want on my own time, and that is final.” Zane didn’t like what I had to say, but I far outranked him in strength and power. There was nothing that he could do from a wolf’s perspective, because he didn’t amount to what I did. The only reason why I tolerated the man in front of me at all was because of Damian and Allison. Allison took us in when my parents were killed, and raised us as her own. There wasn’t any way I was going to hurt her mate after the way she had helped us, but slowly, every day, I was changing my view on that. “Don’t forget what the end game is, Talon. Our pack was selected by the goddess to hold the power we do, and we have to show unity in order to head all of it. I may be working to make Damian smart in all aspects of business, but each of you have gifts that make you different from others.” Zane’s words were like a jab in my heart. We all did have gifts, and I was the one they called upon when it came to war. I was the brother who was more animalistic than reasonable, and it was the biggest reason I kept my distance from Ivy. “Understood, There was no point in arguing with Zane, and getting away from him right now was for the best. Zane nodded his head, and quickly I stood to my feet, making my way from his office, slamming the door behind me. If he didn’t know I was pissed off before, he surely knew now. “Talon, I was looking for you. Damian replied, coming down the stairs with a curious look upon his face. “What were you talking to Zane about? Jesus, christ. Can I not get a break with all the questions? Sighing, 1 pinched the bridge of my nose and inhaled slowly. “Update from Hale and James. Nothing new. They should be back tomorrow.” Damian stood staring at me, his brow raised in question. I knew he knew I was lying, but I didn’t want to continue the conversation with him and Damian knew when it was a good idea to let it go and not push the issue. “Very well.” His reply came slowly, and as I went to pass him, his hand reached out stopping me. “Have you seen Ivy today?”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Fucking hell!” I yelled, about fed up with everyone looking at me like I was her babysitter, “no I haven’t fucking seen her. I’m not her keeper! Y’all go out and fucking check yourselves!” Damian stood with a shocked expression on his face as I pushed past him towards the back door. I needed to run and let off some steam before I did something that was going to be questionable. I didn’t want to end up hurting someone, and if I kept on the road I was going down– That is exactly what would happen.