Page 74 of The Powers of Nyx

I KNEWit.

The pulsating need to claim Ivy grew stronger. It was a pounding, echoing urge that wouldn’t quiet down. Even though she was an arm’s length away, with her cheeks pink and lips swollen from stolen kisses, I wanted more of her.

More of her lips on mine, of the soft sounds she made as we kissed. More of her hands on my body, taking everything I had left to offer her.

She already had my heart. She claimed it the first time we met.

But soon, she’d have my body, too.

And I couldn’t fucking wait.

The front door pinged, and the alarm by the bedroom door alerted us to the return of the others. Ivy was right—it had taken them only ten minutes to ruin any moment we might have had. At least she’d been okay with my confession. It probably wasn’t the wildest thing she’d ever heard, at least.

The door to the bedroom slammed open and Wolfy appeared, an almost wild glint in his eyes. Immediately, they locked on her.

Ivy turned, an Oberon Academy blouse in her hands, and lifted her brows as she took in the others. “I told you I was okay.”

I lifted a lazy hand and waved it in their direction, ignoring their glares. “Yeah, shetoldyou she was fine.”

Based on the dark, murderous glare from Adrian, I had a feeling I was one comment away from being beaten. Would be worth it, though, with the revelation that Ivy was mine. It didn’tmatter how many glares—she was mine and that was all I cared about.

Elias ripped the shirt from Ivy’s hand and pulled her into his arms. He dropped onto the bed with her in his lap and buried his face in her neck.

But Ivy chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair. “I’mfine. Really.”

“Then what made your magic react?” Maeve asked, panic filling her voice. “You said you would explain.”

Any amusement fell from Ivy’s face as she sucked in a breath. “A couple of things happened. One: Rowan made me have coffee with his mother.”

I coughed, sending her a look. “We werebothforced, you mean. Sheis a menace.”

Ivy rolled her eyes, but she relaxed. “Two: Rowan and I are definitely mates. That’s why my magic reacted the way it did.”

I smiled proudly, way too happy about being claimed as her mate. She glanced over at me, offering me a reassuring smile as the others watched on. They didn’t even matter to me in this moment. I was damned Goddess Blessed having her now.

“But you didn’t complete the bond,” Elias said, finally lifting his head from her neck.

Sighing, Ivy twisted in Elias’s arms. “For starters, it’s not like we exactly hadtimeto, you know, have sex. Especially because I had a feeling you three would be on your way back. No offence, but it didn’t feel right completing a bond knowing you guys could storm in at any moment.”

“Yeah, we didn’t want you guys getting jealous.” I yawned and stretched my arms over my head as Adrian sent me another annoyed glare. “So, we packed.”

Adrian’s gaze softened. “Sorry, man,” he said finally, running a hand through my hair.

I sat up and shrugged, though I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty thathefelt guilty. “I’m not mad, but you sure do know how to give a guy blue-balls.”

Ivy grunted and gagged. “Let’s not dive into the prepubescent terminology, thank you. Especially when referring to howsacredyou guys say mate bonds are.” She sent me a glare, then one to Adrian. “Otherwise, sex is off the table.”

My brows shot up, though a smile tugged at my lips. I tensed, sitting up straighter. “Off the table?”

She nodded. “Yep. I will not deal with it. Also, I will not deal with jealousy. So—” She patted Elias on the arm, and after a growl, he released her. Ivy slid off his lap and stalked over to Adrian. His arms opened, and she circled her own around his waist, burying her face in his chest. She continued speaking, her voice muffled by his shirt, “—no hogging, no bitterness, no jealousy. Okay?”

Ivy moved to Maeve hesitantly, but I saw the relief on the vampire’s face as soon as Ivy wrapped her arms around her. Out of all of us, Maeve was the best at hiding her emotions—but I had a feeling she wasn’t used to having someone to protect. It was one thing being an agent—but another having a mate.

Ivy murmured something to the vamp, keeping her voice low, and eventually they parted.

“Can we all agree to be a bit more...civilised about the whole sharing thing? I vaguely remember hearing promises that thiswouldn’tbe an issue.” Her hands went to her hips, and she looked around the room. “Because as much as I get it’s hard for you guys, it’s overwhelming for me, too. There’s only one of me to the four of you, and Iwantto share time with all of you equally.”

I released a breath, but it was Elias who spoke. “I’m sorry, Angel.” He rose from the bed and stalked towards her. Unintentionally, my body tensed, but I had to remind myselfthere was nothing wrong with this—even though part of me was a little jealous that they’d had more time with her. “I suppose the wolf is still struggling to grasp what it’s like to share.”