And then there were four

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 Ivy, Damian. Not just you, but me, Hale, and Talon have as well. If I could go back in time, I 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."
   "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."
   "The guys wouldn't have—"
   "No, they wouldn't," he quickly said, cutting me off. "But I think someone else might have. Someone who is trying to cause issues for us, and make sure that you are not able to get to Talon. Someone who would benefit."
   His words confused me, and to be honest, I wasn't sure who that would be. There were so many people that were close to us and Allison wouldn't poison Talon.
   She needed them.
   "Do you think it's Allison?" I asked with hesitation, unsure of how he would respond.
   "As much as I don't want to think she would do that, I don't see why she would. We are more useful to her if we are alive. Otherwise, she has no way to get to power. Regardless if Damian is sitting in the Alpha position, we all rule together," he replied as he stroked his chin, staring off into the distance.
   "That's not good."
   Slowly, his eyes met mine again as he gestured for me to come to him. My feet moved me forward without a second thought until he pulled me onto his lap. "No, it's not, and that is why I need you to be careful. Trust no one, Ivy. Make sure that you watch your back, and when I do come, I want you to be prepared."
   Nodding, I pressed my lips to his in a gentle kiss, "I won't let you down."
   "You could never let me down, Ivy. Even though I have changed from how I was before, I want you to know it isn't you. I am trying to find the person I was before I lost you. Honestly, I think I am like this because I don't have Talon."
   I didn't know what it was like to have siblings, considering I was an only child, but I could feel the pain of his missing brother through the link. He had opened himself to me emotionally, and the pain of losing Talon was tearing him apart.
   "I will bring him back." I said again as I kissed him, "but I have to go now before the others wake up."
   Standing to my feet, he patted my back end gently, causing me to look back at him with a grin. I still remembered what he had told me before about twins and needing to mate together, but after everything I had read about their kind-it was mistranslated.
   Mating with them together was how I produced an heir... Not to form the bond.
   Something I didn't bother to correct them on because having children right now was not on the agenda. Although some day it would be nice. The idea itself fills me with pride.
   Hale walked with me out to Kate's car, whose eyes bugged out when she saw him coming with me. "Uh-did I miss something?" she stuttered.
   "No," I replied with laughter as Hale placed my bag In the car and kissed me one more time.
   "Be safe, Ivy," he said, running his hand through my hair. "I expect you in one piece when we get there."
  "Funny you say that because I was thinking the same about you, Hale. James and Damian are going to flip out when they find out you let me go."
   Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced back at the house, and turned to Kate and I. "You need to go now. James will be up soon."
   Wasting not another moment, Kate and I were speeding down the driveway towards the highway. Her lead foot became an asset in our getaway.
   "How long until Damian knows you're gone?" she asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
   "Not long," I smirked just as a roar echoed in the distance, and my phone began to ring repeatedly. "Do you mind if I put this on speaker?"
   Opening and closing her mouth, she shook her head with a grin across her face. "Go for it."
   Taking a deep breath, I answered the call, "Hello, Damian."
   "Get your ass back here right now, Ivy!" He yelled into the phone, causing Kate and I both to laugh. We weren't trying to be disrespectful, but it was hard not to laugh at Damian sometimes when he got angry.
   A vision of him pacing the living room with his ears turning red from how pissed off he really was taunted my mind and made me smile.
   "Now, Damian. This is a team effort, honey," I replied, putting on a fake heavy southern accent. "We all have to work together. Team work makes the dream work."
   "Damn it, Ivy. Kate, I swear to god you better turn that fucking car around right now! This isn't a game. Talon is fucking bent and you're both going to get yourselves killed!"
   Nervousness seeped off Kate at Damian's words. I knew the complications for myself, but I never took into account the complications for Kate.
   Reaching over, I gave her knee a gentle squeeze to help reassure her. My touch seemed to calm her racing mind as I put my attention back on Damian.
   "I know what's wrong with him, Damian. The problem isn't with what I'm doing. You need to figure out who is behind it and why. Talon won't hurt me, no matter what you think. Just for once in your life, trust me."
   My statement was met with silence as crashing sounds echoed through the background.
   "I do trust you, Ivy," he replied exhaustedly. "I just can't lose you."
   There was a weakness in his words that he didn't care if even Kate heard. It was fear that forced his choices, and now more than ever, I could see that clearly.
   "I promise I will be okay," I sighed. "And I know I will see you soon."
   Hanging up the phone, I put it on silent, and leaned back into my seat taking in what I was really doing. Part of me knew I was in way over my head, but there was something else inside me driving me to go to him.
   It was a force I couldn't ignore, and I was more than willing to take a leap if need be to save him.