Sauter (Ironside Academy, #3)(41)

The door to the bathroom opened and Kilian stepped out. This time, Theodore was behind him, the Sigma wrapped up in his arms. She was dwarfed by an oversized T-shirt, her head pushed into Theodore’s neck, her eyes closed.

Kilian put a finger to his lips, and Mikel watched, a little shocked, as Theodore laid the sleeping girl down in the middle of the bed. She whimpered, but Oscar shifted to his side, drawing her into the curve of his body, and she settled back down immediately, brushing her nose against his arm.

It was the first time Mikel had seen Oscar hug anybody other than his sister—and even then, it was more like he endured his sister’s hugs more than he initiated them.

Oscar would kill for his sister.

What the hell was this supposed to mean?

Kilian, who had already borrowed a pair of Theodore’s sweatpants, slipped into the bed on Isobel’s other side.

Theodore ducked back into the bathroom and emerged again with a phone, disappearing into his closet to switch out the towel he had wrapped around his hips.

Mikel jerked his head toward the door when Theodore emerged again in dry clothes, and the younger Alpha nodded, casting a quick glance to the bed before tearing his attention away. Mikel began leading him to his office, but Theodore shook his head and strode toward Elijah’s room. He opened the door without knocking, Mikel following him in and closing the door behind them.

Elijah was sitting at his desk, frowning at one of his monitors. He didn’t even look up when he asked, “What happened?”

“I did everything you said to do.” Theodore’s voice wasn’t right. Too tight. Too short, like he wasn’t taking in air at the normal rate. “And you were right. She was completely overloaded. Practically passed out.”

“Good.” Elijah pushed back his chair and ripped off his glasses, tossing them onto his desk. “But it only worked because she’s been ignoring the bond. We can’t do this every night. We need to figure out another way to keep her here and keep her safe until the end of term. Eve has already searched her room—apparently, she has a key. She didn’t mess with anything, but she seemed to be looking for something. Possibly the glowing strings.”

Mikel slumped onto Elijah’s window seat, pulling out his phone and glancing at the message they had all received in the group chat at some point during movie night.

Elijah: Carter is in a bad way. Luckily, those dark circles under her eyes make it look like she hasn’t been sleeping, or we might have to explain why she’s melting into Kilian like he’s a damn cloud right now. She’s obviously not going back to her dorm alone tonight, so whoever decides to bodyguard while pretending to surrogate, listen up.

Elijah: Getting her in a smaller space with minimal clothes so your scent can properly bake into her is a good idea. Sex is a very bad idea. Lots of skin contact is a good idea. Sex is a bad idea. Touching her pressure points and where her veins are closest to the skin is a good idea. Sex is a bad idea. Speaking to her softly and gently is a good idea. Sex is a bad idea. Keeping her in a harmonious, low-conflict environment is a good idea. Sex is a bad idea.

Mikel skimmed the message again, trying to figure out how any of that would knock the Sigma out. He pocketed his phone again and fixed Theodore with a look. “What did you do, exactly? I’d prefer to know that she’s passed out in a good way and not from shock.”

“We rubbed her in all the right places.” Theodore rolled his eyes before realising what he had said and quickly amended: “Like her temples, her neck, her ankles. She relaxed very quickly and passed out even faster.”

Elijah was nodding along while Theodore spoke like he already knew that was exactly how Carter would react. He was also scrolling through the phone Theodore had handed him, simultaneously reading whatever was on screen.

“It’s bad,” Elijah said, glancing up at Mikel and holding out the phone.

Mikel got up and scanned the messages, the photos … the video.

“Well.” He handed the phone back, his entire body growing still, and calm, like it always did before a fight. “She’s even better at keeping secrets than I thought. Pity the one person she chose to confide in was a backstabbing little cunt. She could have used a friend.”

“What happened?” Cian pushed into the room, his bright, intelligent gaze darting between them. “Who’s guarding her?”

“Oscar and Kilian.” Theodore didn’t look up from the phone as he surveyed the messages with a thunderous expression on his face, but when Cian drew closer, he sucked in a breath, closed his eyes, and handed the phone over.

“We have limited options here,” Elijah said, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms. “And we have to consider that the club”—he rolled his eyes as he said the word—“might be behind all of this to begin with. This might be an initiation task.”

“It suits their MO,” Mikel agreed, voice tight with annoyance. “You haven’t heard any of them mentioning her?”

“No,” Elijah confirmed, mouth thinning further. “You and Kalen?”

“Nothing.” Mikel stood, beginning to pace. “If they wanted to recruit her, why wouldn’t they use us to get to her?”

“Same reason they didn’t use you to get to me.” Elijah shrugged. “Same reason they haven’t used me, Gabriel, or Oscar to get to any of these guys.” He waved his hand at Theodore and Cian. “The Track Team doesn’t owe favours; they collect them.”