T H I R T Y - S E V E N

Phoenix

I was dragged out of the awful memory by an angelic voice.

"Nix?" Her soft hands touched my face, bringing me back to the present "Are you okay?"

I nodded, the knot in my throat keeping the reassuring words I wanted to say to her from coming out.

"You don't look okay" her eyes scanned my entire face "Where did you go just now?"

It was crazy to believe that this beautiful angel in front of me, a woman I've known for less than a few months, has come to mean so much to me in a short amount of time.

I could honestly say, Mate bond or not, that I'd die for her...

I'd kill for her...

But most importantly...I'd love her with my entire being until I took my very last breath.

"I'm fine" I finally croaked out, clearing my throat as I strengthened my voice "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine" she whispered "You look...terrified."

I gently took her small hands into my own, squeezing gently before releasing them and taking a step away from her, addressing the other people in the room with us.

"Atlas and Kass will remain here with you Amethyst" I told them "And I will head to and remain in my own panic room for the duration of this Lockdown."

Nova's eyes widened "What?"

"Phoenix," Kass sighed "I really don't think that that's such a good idea man. Shouldn't we stick together in case of another attack? What if that thing has friends? Or worse?"

"One of us needs to be in their respective safe rooms when the messages start coming in" I reminded him "And it's best if I'm the one to be there to control the narrative to the Penta."

"What messages?" Nova asked.

Kassian pivoted in a way to address both of us at once "The Penta pings coded messages to each panic room as a way of communicating and updating each other. We get messages every so often and have to respond to them within a certain time frame."

"How do they know where to send the messages too if they don't even know where everyone's panic rooms are located?" Nova asked, her nose scrunching in confusion "And how much time do you have to respond?"

"You have an hour to respond" I provided "And the second that hour is up, they immediately send another message that you must respond too within ten minutes."

"And how do they even send these messages if these walls are so thick?"

"Echo stones" I said, nodding towards the panel that held the security tablet "They're made from the same stones that are immersed throughout the academy to keep conversations private. The Pack that used to inhabit this Pack centuries ago were clever enough to embed the stones into the walls as they were building. Another reason why this was the best place for the Council House.

"And you can't send your replies from here?"

I shook my head "How would it look like if we're all holed up together in one room?"

"Like we're smart to stick together?" Nova answered "And..."

Atlas' groan of consciousness had all of our attentions snapping toward him.

Nova rushed quickly to his side, avoiding Amethyst's glowing lilac colored hands as she continued to heal our friend.

"Is he okay?" She asked, glancing at the healer "What's happening?"

"He's responding well to the treatment" Amethyst said softly, her lavender eyes glancing at Nova briefly before returning to her patient.

"Then why is he groaning in pain?"

"Because the healing process still hurts" she said "And no matter how careful I try to be, the process of mending bones, muscles, or skin is still painful. As you can see, the wound on his abdomen is almost completely knitted back together."

Nova's eyes snapped to the wound, her mouth gaping open as she watched the flesh heal before her very eyes.

"That's...incredible" She whispered, her fingers caressing a freshly healed scar on his upper chest "How long will this whole healing process take?"

"He's responding better than I could have anticipated" She said, the purple glow fading from both her eyes and hands, as she leaned back on the stool she was occupying and exhaled a deep breath "I would give him about a week, maybe twelve days tops to feel like himself again."

"That's amazing" Nova tracked Amethyst's movements "But why are you stopping?"

"Because the more magik I use, the more my own energy gets depleted" she explained gently "All of his internal injuries are healed and a majority of his external injuries are starting to heal as well. The next couple of days will be crucial because while he may look all healed, the wounds are still frangible."

"On that note, I better head out" I said softly, squeezing Nova's shoulder as I passed her "I'll see you three in about a week."

Kass nodded, dismissing me as he turned his focus back to our best friend.

Amethyst stood, dusting her hands off on her clothes as she locked eyes with me, purpose in those weathered features of hers.

"Can I talk to you for a second Heir Fenrir?"

"Of Course." I nodded my head towards the door and she quickly followed me out.

As soon as I shut the door, she whirled on me, fire in her brown eyes.

"Does he know?" she growled.

"Does who know?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Do not act smart with me Phoenix Fenrir" she uttered "Not when I watched you grow up all the way from a chunky little babe to a hormone driven teenager and now a grumpy adult. I know how smart you are and this little dumb act might have worked on me fifteen years ago but it won't work now."

I sighed "Of course Kassian knows that Atlas is Nova's Mate."

"And he's okay with it?" Her head reared back in surprise "Because that boy is gone to the wind in love with her. I've never seen him so infatuated with someone else before, let alone a fellow Heir."

I honestly think if I would have told Amethyst the truth, that we were all in love with Nova and were her destined Mates, her brain would have exploded and she would have ran screaming from the tunnels and exposing our secret to the world and our enemies.

So instead of telling her the truth, I told her what she needed to hear in order to protect all of us.

"Kassian's a big boy Amethyst" I said softly "He'll get over it eventually for the sake of not only his best friend's happiness but also their business relationship as Heirs."

Her eyes narrowed "That was a very political answer Phoenix Fenrir."

I shrugged "I'm a very political person."

Her eyes narrowed more, if that was even possible, into tiny slits "You don't seem too bothered by this revelation Phoenix. If anything, you're taking this whole situation in stride."

"Why wouldn't I?" my own eyes narrowed "They're my best friends. I'm happy that someone finally found their mate."

"You're not even the least bit jealous of him?" she questioned "Considering that he's younger than you?"

"Nope" I said, turning and striding down the hall "Are we done with the interrogation here? I have somewhere to be."

"I'll be keeping my eye you Phoenix!" she called after me "You're hiding something from me, all three of you are, and I'll eventually find out what it is!"

~~~~~~

Atlas

"Mommy" I watched as my six year old self tugged at her pretty emerald colored dress, her long dark hair curled especially for today "Mommy, why are you crying?"

She sniffled, wiping away the dark smudges underneath her eyes quickly before turning a bright smile on me, crouching down to lift and settle me on her hip.

"It's nothing mi precioso hijo" She smushed her cheek against mine, snuggling close to me even though I tried to get away from her, squealing and shimming out of her grasp "Hey! Where are you going!"

"Mommy don't change the subject" I put my hands on my hip, trying to give her my best glare "Why were you crying?"

Her amber eyes, identical to mine, softened as she bent over and booped my nose.

"It's nothing you should be worried about my little Titan" She said softly "Just grown up stuff. Now what do you want to eat for dinner?"

"Does this have to do with Papa being late again?" I frowned "I told him that it makes you sad when he's late like this. He promised me that he wouldn't do it again."

Tears filled her eyes and my frown deepened further.

I let my small hand touch her cheek, wiping away the tears that started to fall down her pretty face.

"Mommy, you're crying again?" I said "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I did."

She knelt on the cold marble floor, gathering me in her arms and squeezing tightly.

"My sweet, sweet boy" she sniffed, holding me even tighter "You could never, ever do something wrong in my eyes."

"But I made you cry."

"These are happy tears little one" she gripped me tighter "Tears that let me know I did something right at least."

I frowned harder "Well, how do I make the happy tears stop?"

She let out a small laugh"I'll stop crying if you promise me something."

"Anything Mommy" I promised fiercely.

"Promise me that when you meet that one person that's meant to be yours, you'll always make sure that they not only feel safe and protected" She whispered, my father's Beta walking into our kitchen with an apologetic look across his face "But that they're happy at your side too."

"Why mommy?"

"Because not only is Loneliness the worst feeling in the world"  she said "But it's the worst type of pain a person could suffer from."