Sauter (Ironside Academy, #3)(60)
“That’s what I need to figure out,” Cian announced, standing. “We should get going. We’ll be in touch. You need to convince Luis that believing things will happen does half the work.”
Sophia arched a dark brow at Cian, some of her fear making way for curiosity. “You follow the religion, don’t you?”
“What’s it to you?” he shot back, glancing at Isobel like he was contemplating bodily tossing her over his shoulder so he could leave.
She stood, moving with him to the door.
“Just wondering what your thoughts are on Carter’s long-distance bond,” Sophia said, using her sleeve to wipe away the dampness that still marked her cheeks. “If you follow the religion, then you know it’s never happened before.”
“Look at her.” Cian suddenly spun Isobel around, his hands tight on her shoulders, his tension leaking into his grip. “Adorable sex on a stick right here, and it’s even sweeter because she would never dirty herself with someone like me, even if I am an Alpha. I’ve got a bit of a reputation around here, haven’t I? The only thing I think is that I’m a bastard who’s going to be cursed by each of the gods for every day I take advantage of this situation.”
Sophia’s brows both popped up. “O-kay.”
Isobel just stood there, her face heating.
“I think that’s enough prying for one day.” Theodore opened the door, ushering them through.
“Carter!” Sophia called out when they were halfway to the gate. “Thanks.”
Isobel nodded at her, waiting until they were back in the chapel before she cut her attention to Cian. “That was a bit much.”
He smirked, rubbing tattooed hands against his mouth, flashing her a tongue piercing that had her pulling up short.
When did you get that? It was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit back the question because it was none of her business.
“Which part?” he asked, brimming with fake innocence.
“Cut it out.” Theodore punched his shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ve got shit to figure out.”
10
Problematic
Isobel leaned against the tiled wall of Theodore’s shower, completely exhausted. The Alphas had called a group meeting to go over every detail of the “Ironside Employee” with the divination ability, who had foreseen “a terrorist attack” on Ironside. The details had been twisted as much as possible to make sure the story couldn’t be skimmed over.
Cian and Theodore had made it sound like they had been in the chapel with her, the three of them “praying for the officials to find her mate in good health” when two Ironside employees stumbled in, and the situation escalated from there.
The level of performance needed for the entire conversation had drained her.
She washed her hair and scrubbed her skin, wishing for the first time in years that her father hadn’t organised for her body hair to be lasered off. He had been getting annoyed at how much her morning shower routine was cutting into her rigid schedule, but now she wished she had something else to do, something to take up more of her time before she had to drag herself out again to deal with yet another attack that may or may not even happen.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t taking it seriously, but there was some sort of block in her mind, her thoughts recoiling whenever she tried to acknowledge the possibility of what Luis had seen.
There was a horrible, dark place inside her that whispered, You won’t survive a third time.
Gabriel closed the door to his room with a silent snick, pulling off his shirt and dropping it into the laundry hamper as he walked into his bathroom. They were all having showers before reconvening for “movie night.” He was pretty sure they all just wanted to sleep, but it was hard to go their separate ways. Isobel had been slipping them little hints of her own pain all day, and she didn’t even realise she was doing it. She should have been completely settled after last night, but something was off, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.
He had watched her most of the day. Whenever she touched her stomach, that confused dip weighing down her brow, that was when he felt it. The little twinge of pain. Elijah had felt it, too, and he knew from the shift in everyone’s scents over dinner that they had also felt something.
Whatever it was, he knew they all wanted to keep an eye on her.
Maybe it was that infernal chain hooked into her skin, or maybe it was a brand-new layer of hell in the form of a new side effect they had yet to encounter. Whatever it was, she was one of them now, and they would deal with it together.
Well … that and nobody wanted to leave her alone with Theodore.
He turned on the water and stripped off the rest of his clothes, setting his phone beside the sink. After folding a fresh set of clothes onto the bathroom bench, he stepped beneath the spray. He had just ducked his head beneath the warm water when the world around him tipped off its axis. He stumbled into the wall, shooting out a hand to steady himself as his vision blurred.
Suddenly, he wasn’t staring down at his shower.
He was staring at a similar shower floor, the small blue tiles glittering with the shower spray as small, pale feet paced back and forth.
He could feel everything.
Her frustration, her fear, and the giant block of trauma that hovered over her head, threatening to crush her if her mind twisted down the wrong path. She walked from one side of the shower to the other, muttering low to herself.