And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

Chapter 16: Time with Hale Hale POV

HOURS EARLIER

“Hale, what are you doing?” Damian asked, walking into my room. Looking up from my desk, I gestured

to the papers and laptop in front of me.

“Working on my thesis, what does it look like I’m doing?”

Agroan left my brother as he rolled his eyes, as if me doing homework irritated him. In reality, that

wasn’t my plan tonight, but in order to do what I wanted, I had to make sure that my staying behind

from the run was believable.

“Seriously, Hale? I just got home, and we always run together as a group.”

Sighing, I shook my head, “I’m sorry, man. This is important. I have to work on it. Don’t worry, though. I

will run with you next-time.”

I watched as Damian stared at me for a moment as if contemplating what I was saying was true, but I

had never given him a reason to doubt me before, so why start now?

“Fine.” He replied reluctantly, “Hey, what’s up with James? He is acting rather off today.”

I glanced at him with confusion. Of course, I knew what was up, but at the same time, I couldn’t well tell

Damian that it was because of Ivy, even though I was jealous myself. I had wanted her from the

moment I laid eyes on her, and yet, James was the one that got to take her first.

“Think he is seeing some new chick from campus. Who knows, man, he always has to have his dick

wet from someone.” Damian chuckled at my response, nodding his head.

“Yeah, well, as long as he is staying away from Ivy, I don’t care.”

It was still strange how we all were destined for her. On very rare occurrences in history did multiple

Alpha’s share a mate, but to have four Alpha blooded wolves share one mate, well it was unheard of.

“Yeah, well, she has been keeping to herself from what I have seen. Stop worrying about her, and

enjoy your run.”

Damian hesitated before sighing, “Yeah, I suppose so. I will catch you later…”

***************

The conversation I had with Damian earlier in the night caused me to think about what Ivy was asking.

She was a human who had just been introduced into the world of the supernatural, and she had no

idea what she was getting herself into

The fact that James mated with her without explaining everything had irritated me. Ivy deserved better

than that, and it was the exact reason Damian had stopped him the first time he tried it.

James was the youngest of us all, and he didn’t stop to think about what he was doing until he had

already done it. Sighing, I looked at Ivy and smiled.

“Mating will be different with each one of us.”

“Okay, care to explain?” She asked again, and I found myself a little unsure of how the conversation

was supposed to go. I was smarter than my brothers, but at the same time, I was the worst at

explaining things properly. That job usually fell to Damian since he was the oldest, but he was more

complicated when it came to Ivy.

“Each of us likes different things, Ivy. However, because Talon and I are twins, to mate with us means

to mate with us both.” I said slowly, hoping she understood what I meant,

She was quiet for a moment, and slowly her mouth made an ‘O’ shape as her eyes widened, “like at

the same time!”

A chuckle left my lips as I nodded, “yes. At the same time. Talon and I like our one on one moments,

but at the end of the day, we are very close, and sharing you between us at the same time is one of the

things we would want.”

I could almost see the wheels turning in her head as I spoke, and because of this, I knew that it was

going to complicate things if this frightened her. “I see.”

1111

“Ivy, don’t let that scare you. Sex with us would be on your own terms, and we would never force you to

do anything you are not comfortable with

A smile fell across her lips as she lifted the white cup to her lips and sipped on her drink again. I could

see the pink tint to her cheeks and the way she clenched her legs together, trying to hide her arousal.

The idea was one that didn’. trepulse her, but it also made her nervous.

‘Hale, where the fuck are you?’ James asked through mindlink, causing me to hesitate at what I was

going to say to

Ahh, little brother. Is the run done already? Yeah, and Damian is looking for you. Please don’t tell me

you are with Ivy.’

| smiled to myself as I watched lvy stand from her seat and go to the counter to refill the kettle. She was

absolutely beautiful, and the fact that her mind was so extraordinarily bright was something else that

turned me on.

‘What the fuck are you doing! If he finds you there

‘Enough, James. I needed stimulating conversation, and Ivy is a stimulating person.’

1

‘Did you two have sex?!!

I could almost feel the anger and jealousy rolling off of him. Because he had already mated her, he was

going to be more possessive, but it was really bad right now because Ivy declined him any form of

affection right after the bond was complete.

IT”

His fault, of course. He should have listened to what I told him to begin with.

‘Wouldn’t that have been something? But to answer your question, no.’

‘You need to get out of there, Hale. Before things escalate.’

‘In time, little brother. In time.’

Closing off the mindlink to James, I settled my sights back onto the beautiful woman in front of me. She

was completely oblivious to the evils in our world, and yet she was so open to the idea that werewolves

were real. I would have thought she would have run away repulsed like Damian tried to paint, but

instead, she accepted it.

“Why weren’t you scared when you saw Talon change?” I finally asked, causing her to stop in her

tracks and slowly turn to look at me with a grin upon her lips.

“Well, in all honesty, I was shocked. But I worked at a wolf sanctuary in Georgia for two years. So

wolves don’t

frighten me-I mean, they do in a sense, but not in the way you would think. That is why I knew what to

do when Talon’s wolf first approached me. Had Irun, he would have given chase, and there is no telling

what would have happened.”

Smart woman, and absolutely right.

“You are right, Ivy. I am impressed with the way you handled the situation.”

She smiled at me again before coming over to where I was sitting and taking a seat close to me. “Can I

tell you a secret, Hale?”

I wanted more than anything for her to share her secrets with me. To confide in me and trust me to help

her whenever she needed it. “Of course, Ivy.”

“For some reason,” she started before she began to bite the bottom of her lip, the motion making me

want to kiss her more than anything as my wolf paced at the back of my mind. “I feel safe around you

all, except for Damian- | want to be around him, but it’s different. He makes me feel dangerous, and

that scares me.”

I was happy that she felt safe around the three of us, but to hear what she said about Damian, I felt

confused. Damian had always been the one who protected us all and made sure we were doing what

needed to be done. He was the Alpha of us all in a way.

“I am glad that I can make you feel safe, but I don’t know what to say about Damian. He isn’t a bad

person, Ivy. He just has been through a lot in life, and you will have to give him time to adjust to you.”

Nodding her head, she sighed before her eyes met mine once more, “I understand. You should really

go before someone finds you here. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

I hated that she was telling me to leave because I wanted to stay here with her forever, as you wish,

Ivy.”

Standing to my feet, I set the cup she had given me down and walked towards the door. Before I could

reach the doorknob, her voice pulled me back in, “Hale-”

“Yes?” I replied without turning around. I was already fighting to keep my wolf intact, and if I turned

back, he wouldn’ t let me leave.

“Please come back to see me more often. I really enjoyed tonight.”

Smiling, I nodded, “of course, dear Ivy. I will be back again.”

And next time, I will have you going to heights of pleasure you didn’t know existed.