And Then There Were Four by Lilith Carrie
Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Bella Donna

Damian POV

Hearing Talon was probably too far gone was not the news I wanted brought to me. I had sent a group of men to the northern woods of Canada to find him, and out of the eight I had sent, only two came back. Talon had torn them apart, and according to Ralph-he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed it so much, according to Ralph, he feasted upon the fallen bodies as if he was dining at the table of the gods. A sight! was glad I didn't have to witness for myself.

No matter what Ralph said- my brother wasn't a monster.

*Damian, we have a problem, Angel stated as he quickly entered my office.

"What kind of problem?"

'The kind where Ivy knows about Talon," he replied with emphasis on her name, stressing the importance of the situation.

*How the fuck does she know anything? I snapped, seething with anger as my hand slammed down upon my desk "I made sure everyone knew not to say anything to or around her. I can't have her upset if things don't turn out right."

"I know," Angel replied looking at me with regret, “unfortunately, it was leaked to her and there is nothing that can be done with it now.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhaled deeply, trying to wrap my head around the shit show that was about to happen. I had promised her no more secrets, and here I was lying to her again. "How did you find out?" "Kate mind linked me and told me they ran into Allison on campus. Allison told Ivy some things, and Kate couldn't lie to her. She hasn't told Ivy everything, but they should be here any moment, and from the sounds of it, Ivy is on a warpath."

Of course she was. My little vixen was a force to be reckoned with, and everything about her made me proud. I just wished more than anything I could be the man she was expecting me to be.

Until we figure out Talon, though I wasn't able to.

Instead, I would have to rely on James and Hale to soothe her. When this was all over, I would make sure to make it up to her. I would get her away from this place properly, and give her the relaxation that she needed.

Show her how mates should be treated. It's what she deserved.

Thinking over Angel's words, I tried to understand why Allison was there. For her to be on campus means she was solely seeking Ivy out. Which meant she had inside information on Ivy, and her whereabouts at all times.

That thought alone was uncomfortable. *Angel, when Ivy gets here, can I count on you to round up border patrol leaders and tell them to sweep the area and double down on security. I have a feeling we are being watched."

"Of course, Alpha," he replied bowing his head slightly. "I will see to the task myself."

The sound of gravel beneath tires caught my attention just in time to see Ivy slamming her car door, storming towards the house with a stern gaze in her eyes.

*Shit, she's here, I muttered just as James and Hale walked into my office.

"Why is Ivy pissed?" Hale asked as the sound of someone clearing their voice caught all of our attention.

She stood there with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot with a fuck you look in her eyes. She was beyond upset with us, and 1 suppose she had every right to be.

"Ivy is pissed because the three of you failed to inform me about Talon. Instead, your bitch of a godmother Allison so delightfully informed me of your failure to explain Talon's dire situation. So which one of you assholes is going to start explaining first?"

Opening and closing my mouth, I tried to figure out where to start. There wasn't much I could say to make things right Ivy"

Chapter 64: Bella Donna

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Holding her figure up, she closed her eyes as she laughed," don't even try to deny or push the topic off me. I want you to tell me right now what is going on, Damian. I have a right to know."

"You do have a right to know." Hale interjected as he looked towards me, shaking his head, "we shouldn't keep this from her anymore."

Hale was right. We should be keeping this from her anymore, and I was a fool to think I could.

She was the Luna to this pack, and in the end, even the Alpha bows to his mate.

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Ivy POV

I hadn't expected Hale to be the one to speak up first. In fact, I had expected it to be James, but for some reason, he seemed so unsure as he passed glances with Damian. Giving a reluctant sigh, Damian shook his head and took a seat behind his desk. "Okay."

"Okay?" I asked with shock as I raised my brow. "Does that mean you will tell me everything?" Gritting his teeth, Damian stared at me, unimpressed by my attitude. Not that I gave a shit.

He was the one heading this operation, and he was supposed to be over this kind of thing with me. We had promised each other no more secrets. To be open and honest. Yet, here we were once again.

"Yes, I will tell you what I know," he sighed. "May I begin?"

Nodding, I walked towards the sofa and sat down. My legs were shaking from the adrenaline running through my body and if I wasn't careful, it was going to take me to the ground.

"We did find Talon." Damian finally admitted causing my heart to swell with anticipated hope of Talon finally coming home, "but from what we know, he has lost his way. He has taken on his more animalistic side, and with that, he isn't responding to any of us. Even Hale can't get through to him, and they are twins."

"How is that possible?" I asked, looking at Hale, "you guys have always been so close and connected. Surely he has to be reachable."

Letting out a heavy breath Hale's shoulders sagged, "we think he has been drugged, Ivy."

"Drugged?" Taking a moment to let what Hale said sink in, I furrowed my brows and tried to understand how a werewolf... or shifter, as they called it was so easily affected by drugs when they heal so fast.

"Yes, drugged," Damian replied, "and he has killed many people in the process of trying to recover him because of this situation."

"That's not possible. You guys heal though... like stupid fast. How can something small affect you?" Turning to Damian, I watched as a smile spread across his face." What the hell is so funny?" "Nothing is funny, Ivy. I'm just shocked you have been researching our kind."

"Well, yeah." I shrugged. "If I'm to be your mate and the Luna of this pack, then I think it's important I learn about your kind. I actually found a bunch of books up in the spare room I had been staying in before." "That's very progressive of you, Ivy," Damian admitted making me feel a lot less angry towards him than I had been before. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks." Even though his compliment made me smile I couldn't allow myself to get distracted. "Please. Tell me everything you know. What kind of drugs affect you guys?"

"Well, there are a few, wolfsbane being one..." he replied.

"Don't forget Bella Donna and Hemlock," James added.

My brows furrowed at James' remark. "Bella Donna?"

"Yeah, it's a beautiful flower, but it's also very poisonous." James chuckled, "we don't have any of that here though. It's native to South Africa."

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Chapter 64: Bella Donna

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"Do you have a photo of it?" I asked with curiosity trying to see if it was the same flower I had seen before within the house. I knew that it was native to South Africa. I wouldn't be an agricultural student if I didn't but tha wasn't something to point out right now.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, James pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. "I don't understand what this has to do with anything."

"Yeah, Ivy. I thought you wanted to hear what we knew.” Damian replied, looking beside himself. There was something about it all, though, that I had to figure out.

Something Talon had told me when I first got here that never once made sense before, but at the same time, nothing like this has ever happened.

"Damian, when I first got here, Talon had called me a Bella Donna... Doesn't that translate to something that has to deal with women?"

"It's Italian... It means pretty woman," Damian reluctantly said, "what does that have to do with anything?"

"Here.." James finally replied as he turned his phone to face me. "Wanna explain why you're acting weird?"

"I'm acting weird?" I scoffed, "you guys really don't pay attention to anything I'm into, do you?" "Of course we do," Damian snapped, "you are the center of our attention at all times." Even with his quick reaction, I caugh on to the seductive hint he was giving. He was accurate. They did pay attention to everything that had to do with blowing my mind in any position they could get me in.

Deciding to ignore him, though I took James' phone and stared at the photo. "Has Talon been to South Africa?"

"What?" Damian replied, "no... why does that matter."

"It matters because out of all the plants that you guys are affected by, this one would cause a lot of his symptoms and going crazy is one of them."

"That wouldn't make sense, though," Hale finally said as he stood to his feet from the sofa and began to pace the room. "This doesn't grow around here."

"It doesn't have to be, Hale. People import shit like this all the time. I doubt Talon willingly would take this; he was very well versed with nature, and knew a lot about plants."

The room grew quiet as I looked up from the phone and glanced at the three men. Their brows cocked in confusion, and mouths parted open. "What?" James muttered, staring at me. "The hell are you talking about? Talon didn't care about flowers."

"Seriously," letting the shock of their comment roll off of me I took a deep breath. "You know what... We can address that later. Damian, what are the symptoms or characteristics he is showing?" "From what we could tell, he wasn't able to see quite well. He killed quite a few of our men, and on top of that, he was going crazy. All of which a lot of them do-"

"No," I laughed, shaking my head, “all of them don't. I'm telling you this is what is hurting him. We need to leave right now and save him before the toxicity ends up killing him. There is a cure-"

Damian slammed his hands upon his desk as he rose to his feet, staring at me. "I didn't tell you so that you could be a part of getting him home, Ivy. Did you not just hear me when I said that he had killed multiple people on this recovery mission?"

"So you're just going to give up?" I gasped, unsure if that was where he was leading. The idea of giving up on Talon wasn't something that I could jump on board with. Talon was the other piece to my puzzle, and I needed him.

I needed him like I needed air to breathe.

"Ivy, my word is final," Damian replied with a glare. "I will not have you part of this."

Turning towards Hale and James, I looked at them for help. Surely, they wouldn't agree with what Damian was saying. "Hale.. he's my mate and your twin..."

"I know, Ivy, but he would agree with me in not risking you. If he can't be saved, he wouldn't want me to come after him." Hale tried to keep a straight face. He tried more than anything to hold it in, but I could see right through him.

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I could see the tears welling within his eyes that he fought so hard to blink back.

He wanted to save Talon as much as I did. He was just more scared of losing me.

"No," I stated firmly, turning my gaze back to Damian. "I won't stand for this. Where is he?"

Laughter escaped Damian as he watched me, "do you think I would honestly tell you? I know how you are, Ivy, and you're not going anywhere near there and that's final."

Finality was something that only ordinary people lived by, and I was slowly realizing I was more than normal. I was a human in a shifter situation, and it was my job to fight for what I wanted. Whether that be physically

or metaphorically.

"No!" I snapped. The words came out of my mouth in a slow and dangerous growl. A growl I had never in my life ever created before. "You will tell me where he is right now."

Damian stared at me in shock, but something inside him stirred and a dangerous glint crossed his eyes. "You dare speak to me like that."

"I dare do what I need to get my mate back. With or without your help, Damian."

If this was going to be a battle, then so be it. At the end of the day, though, I was going to find him. No matter the cost, I would have to pay

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