(Ivy’s POV) Jace leapt fast into action and jumped in to help. Theo on the other hand had pulled two kids behind a food stall and growled low before he ran to Jace and helped him fend of the rogues while securing other civilians to safety. Celina moved to my right slamming a rogue into a tree. I looked towards the forest, and to my horror, they kept coming. Countles of them. I quickly took my daggers out and leapt at one of the rogues, slashing its side open before it could reach a group of teens. But no matter how much we tried to fight them off, we were greatly outnumbered. I lost sight of my cousins as people were scatteried in all directions. I threw my knife to one of the rogues hitting them on the head. Then in the corner of my eyes. I saw a kid. A little girl. No more than five. Crying. “Mommy! Mommy, wake up!” She was shaking a woman lying on a pool of blood on the the ground. I then saw a rogue barrelling towards her. I didn’t think. I ran.I hurled myself int
(Ivy's POV)I could feel him staring again.This has been happening all freaking day. No matter where I moved, where I turned, or even when I wasn’t doing anything, I could feel his gaze always following me. It was unrelenting. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Ryker.And the worst part? I didn’t know if I was annoyed or just tired of him constantly doing that. I tightened my grip on the training tool and slammed it harder into the padded target. The impact sent a jolt up my arms, releasing some of the tension coiled in my chest."Whoa, someone’s in a mood," Jace’s voice chimed beside me, stepping closer with that familiar cheeky grin of his.I ignored him and hit the target again, harder this time."What? Don’t wanna talk about it?" he continued, sliding closer like a pest.Theo walked over and smacked the back of Jace’s head."Ow! What was that for?!""Leave her alone," Theo muttered, clearly unimpressed. "Just because you don’t take training seriously doesn’t mean you get t
(Ryker’s POV) I watched her walk away. Every step she took away from me felt like a punishment. And I knew I deserved it. Her words echoed in my mind, louder than any battle cry I’d ever heard. I stood frozen, unable to think straight. My fists clenched, my heart pounding as I stared at her fading figure. A whimper behind me snapped me out of it. "Ryker, I...” Jessica started but I growled, cutting her. "Leave me alone," I said, my voice low and deadly. She flinched, clearly frightened, but I wasn't finished with her. Why can’t she just take no for an answer? How many times must I tell her to back off? Now…Ivy must think I was playing her. I turned to Jessica, my eyes dark with unspent fury. "If you speak to me again, even once after this, I won't be kind. Don't expect anything from me anymore. The next time you try to get close to me or even make the mistake of touching Ivy... I won’t be so kind to you. Understand?!" I spoke, each word left my mouth laced with ve
(Ivy’s POV) Ryker’s brows furrowed as he took in the scene. "What the hell happened here?" Before anyone else could say a word, Jessica shot up from the ground like a volcano. "They attacked me! Out of nowhere! I didn’t do anything! Ivy pushed me! You saw it! She just went crazy.“ I stood there, unmoving. But my eyes had locked with Ryker’s once again. He looked from Jessica to me. And I could see it, the flicker of confusion, of concern, as he looked at Jessica. And it made my chest ache. Why would he say they no longer have relations with one another if in the way he looks at her…it was filled with care? My hand balled into a fist at my side as I lowered my head to the ground, I don’t know why I was angry, am I even angry? No! I must be…tired! Yeah…I’m just tired. Why would I even be angry? Gabriel stepped beside Ryker, his expression unreadable as he scanned my face and then Jessica’s. "You’re saying Ivy attacked you" he asked, his voice calm but sharp. This w
(Ivy’s POV) "So, wait, wait," Celina said, her arms crossed as we strolled past the training grounds. "You’re telling me Jace actually tried to cook dinner for everyone last night?" I laughed softly. "Well, technically, yes. But if you ask Theo, it was more of Jace supervising and him doing all the work." Celina snorted. "Sounds about right. We should never let Jace in the kitchen by himself. Not after what happened last time." We both shuddered, remembering how he almost burned the house down last time he tried to cook. And mind you, it was just eggs and waffles. I don’t know what kind of talent it takes to create such a disaster out of breakfast food. Celina and I were so caught up talking and laughing that I didn’t notice the person in front of me as we rounded the corner of the pack house, causing us to collide into each other. "Oof—I'm so sorry," I said quickly, steadying myself and stepping back. But instead of an apology or even a passing shrug, I was met with an ea
(Ryker’s POV)I walked and followed the scent mindlessly. Although it was faint, I could still whiff it in the air.Then I momentarily stopped on my tracks, wasn’t this the exact same thing that happened in my dream? Yes…it was cutely the same. What’s happening? Is someone playing a cruel trick on me?My chest suddenly began to tighten.Although I found it uncanny, I followed it like I had in the dream, half expecting it to be another illusion of my mind. And I am right. The scent led to the pond again. It was really exactly the same. However, when I reached the clearing again, I paused.She was there. Standing alone. I was apprehensive, and I admit, I was frightened what she’d be doing this time around, but when I took a closer look at her, she was just standing still, her head tilted up, her eyes closed, taking in the air. Her hair swayed gently with the breeze creating a mesmerizing scenery.I stepped forward, and a twig broke beneath my shoe.In a blink of an eye, she spun her h