“You’re here.” Theodore said. “You’re an Ironside person as well.”
“I’m here to serve the Ironside people, so not really.” Sophia shrugged, curling her hands around the mug like she needed the heat to warm her. “Look, I’m sorry … I don’t know why I thought you could help.” She shook her head. “Luis was having a massive panic attack and I just … for a second I thought it was going to happen like now. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Were you trying to get to me?” Cian asked, entering the room again. He picked up Isobel’s chair, nudging it up against Theodore’s before dragging another chair to her other side and dropping into it, boxing her in.
Isobel shifted nervously, uncomfortably aware of the tension lining both of the Alphas, of the hardness in their guarded eyes and the way they were treating Sophia like some sort of double agent trying to lure Isobel into a secret lair full of Ironside spies, just salivating at the mouth for the opportunity to tear back into her skin.
She leaned forward a little, drawing Sophia’s focus. “Ignore them,” she suggested. “Cian was there in Vermont and Theodore had to spend all that time in the hospital with me. They’re just being careful. But … I am a little confused. Isn’t this something you should be taking to the officials? To your mom? If your lives are in danger, you need to tell someone.”
“Oh, I will.” She laughed dryly, all humour wiped from the sound. “Watch them double security for themselves and their precious Alphas. No offence.” She flicked a quick glance to either side of Isobel. “Again.” This time she looked a little guilty for the harsh words.
Theodore and Cian stayed quiet, Theodore’s hand falling to the top of Isobel’s spine, his fingers brushing against the base of her neck.
“You said in your message that you needed the Alphas,” she prompted Sophia.
Sophia nodded, staring down into her mug. “Ashford, specifically.” She glanced up to Cian, her expression wary. “Have you seen anything?”
He responded, “I need to already be aware about something before I can use divination to find out more about it.”
“So?” Sophia swallowed, her face wincing. “Could you? Find out more?”
“About someone running around the academy murdering people?” Cian asked dryly. “Yeah, I think I could spare the time. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.”
“First step is to take it to the officials,” Theodore said firmly, his grip drifting up so that his fingertips could reach more of Isobel’s skin above the collar of her shirt. “Make it official, make a big deal about it, and do it tonight. Then follow it up again in the morning. Ask them outright what they’re doing about it. You’re right—they will tighten security for themselves, but singling out us over the rest of the student body is far more difficult and impracticable than simply tightening security around the entry and exit points to the academy. That should handle the situation if the attacker is from outside.”
“And if they’re already in here?” Isobel asked, masking a shudder.
She had seen enough of death and almost death.
“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.