And Then There Were Four novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Defying Damian

James POV

A few hours later and I couldn’t stop pacing the living room. She was planning something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but my gut feeling was hardly ever wrong about things.

“Would you stop pacing?” Damian sighed as he lifted his bourbon glass to his lips and shook his head. “It’s giving me a migraine.”

Stopping in my tracks, I stared at him with frustration. “She is planning something. I know it.”

“She has no idea where to look,” Hale reassured, “she wouldn’t be able to do anything. Now, if you would like to be helpful, we need to search through these books and find a cure for Bella Donna.”

Hale wouldn’t get off the issue of Bella Donna being the drug that was affecting Talon. The moment Ivy had suggested it, he had run with the idea, and he wouldn’t allow any other suggestion to be made.

“What makes you so sure it’s that?” Damian asked as if the idea was one he couldn’t wrap his mind around. “I don’t want us to assume something we aren’t sure of.”

Laying the book down in his hands, Hale sighed, shaking his head, “Ivy knows a lot more than you give her credit for, Damian. We need to start listening to the things she is telling us.”

“Do you honestly think I don’t?” Damian snapped, “I have been trying to protect her since the moment she got here and every time I turn around, you both or she is going against everything I say.”

“We all have fucked up in regards to lvy, Damian. Not just you, but me, Hale, and Talon have as well. If I could go back in time, would change things, but what happened made us stronger. She will be the Luna of this pack and even without the ceremony, she already is. We need to trust her.

Damian sat staring at us with disbelief. “Is this what you both think?”

Looking at Hale, he nodded in agreement with what I was saying. Ivy needed to be taken more seriously, and we didn’t agree with Damian trying to protect her from everything.

“Yes, and to top it off, she is changing.”

“Changing?” Damian asked with confusion, “what do you mean?”

“I know you can’t tell because you haven’t marked her, but something is different about her than it was before. Like something inside her is slowly waking up, and it really started to happen after Hale claimed her again.”

Silence fell between us as I took a seat, and Hale went back to his reading. Damian was not the kind of man to look vulnerable, but staring at him now, all I could see was fear in his eyes. He was afraid of what I said, and I wasn’t sure why he was afraid.

Damian had always been the strongest of all of us. He had been the one who had taken charge when our parents died. He was also the one who always took a back seat in things to make sure we were put first.

I didn’t understand it. In fact, his personality didn’t portray a man who would do something like that. Instead, he came off as cold and unlikeable. An Alpha who was ruthless and didn’t care for the feelings of others.

It was an act, though. My brothers and I knew the truth without him having to admit it.

Damian was terrified of losing Ivy and even more terrified she would reject him.

“Maybe we should reconsider the idea of keeping her out of this,” Damian said, breaking the surrounding silence. “Maybe it’s time I give her a chance to be a part of this instead of always trying to push her away.”

A smile lined my face, hearing his words. “I think that is a wise choice, brother. She is sleeping right now, so in the morning, I think we should all three surprise her and tell her what we have decided. It will make her happy.”

Nodding his head, Damian stood to his feet and put down his empty glass, “I’m going to head to bed. I will see you both in the morning.

Chapter 66: Defying Damian

“Likewise,” I replied as I joined him. “Hale, I take it you’re going to stay up for a while?”

Hale was silent as he read, and a nod was the only acknowledgment that I received. No matter how much he was trying to act normal, I could see the truth. He was far from being alright and that concerned me.

I could only hope that Ivy was able to fix him like she was convinced she could fix Talon.

Ivy POV

Silence.

The sky outside was still black from the blanket of darkness that had clouded the land. I knew what my objective was, but thinking about it now, I couldn’t help the doubt that seeped into my soul.

Was I really making the right choice?

Grabbing my backpack, I quietly moved through the house and down the stairs towards Kate, who had better be waiting just outside. I knew that as soon as I left pack territory, the patrols would wake Damian, but by that point, we would already have a head start.

Dim lighting from the living room had me freezing in my place at the bottom of the stairs. My eyes cast glances towards the open space, searching for a figure that wasn’t where I had expected him to be.

Hale sat quietly in his chair with his eyes trained on me. “I had a feeling you were up to something. Especially after James mentioned something about it before he went to bed.”

Sighing, I slowly moved forward, stopping in the entryway, and smiled. “I have to do this, Hale.”

“I know,” he replied, catching me off guard. It wasn’t the response I had expected from him, and yet he was okay with me leaving to go after Talon.

“Why are you okay with this? The others would have chained me up to keep me from going.”

The corners of his lips turned up into a small smile as he nodded. “Yeah, I know. But I think you’re right, Ivy. I think it’s Bella Donna poisoning, and I’m starting to wonder if someone close to us did it.”