Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(7)

It’s eerie and comforting at the same time.

You should hurry up and get to the office, Atlas sends directly to me, and before I can answer him, mostly with snark and attitude, North's words trickle into my mind.

I can see her from where I am, Bassinger. She's perfectly safe, for now. If she needs a minute alone, then now is the best time for it.

I duck my head to hide my grin, burying my nose into Brutus’ soft fur and taking one last deep breath, and then get back to walking down the rest of the path to the offices.

Everyone I come across gives me a wide berth as I pass them, not at all surprising, with a few mumbles and glances of fear. But there's a lot more smiles and quiet acknowledgments than there were before, mostly from the Lower Tier families and, God, do I hate the way that sounds even more now.

They were all far more competent in the fighting than the Upper families. Gabe had told me about the people he’d helped hide in the school, about the Shields who had worked together to offer their families and community what protection they could… I will never have respect for the others who just cowered and ran, all while holding ten times more power than the others who chose to stay.

Never.

I smile and wave back to them all trying to look docile and not at all like the killing machine that they've all just witnessed me being, but I don't attempt to approach any of them or stop to have a chat. I don't want to push it. And honestly, I need to get this conversation with North and Gryphon out of the way.

I don't think it is going to go well.

There are three TacTeam personnel standing guard at the office doors, but none of them attempt to stop me or speak to me as I walk past them with the shadow pups. Again, not surprising, and I’m sure if North had spotted me out of his window or on some big security camera of his, then he’d have warned them of my arrival.

Actually, I’m sure Gabe called ahead.

I stupidly left my key pass behind at the house, but one of the personnel is nice enough to swipe his to get me into the elevator up to North's office. When I thank him with a smile, he gives me a curt nod back, one hand resting over the butt of his gun subconsciously as though even knowing we're both on the same side he can't help but reach for it in comfort. I won't hold it against him.

It seems strange to me that the elevator has music. Such a normal and boring thing to have while the world around us burns.

“That’s a little dramatic, Bonded. There’s barely any scorch marks out there,” Gryphon drawls as the elevator doors open, his hands reaching in to grab a hold of me and drag me out into his arms. It feels a little desperate, a little bit too eager for my calm and sure TacTeam Bonded, but I accept it without a word.

It’s been a shit day.

“If you haven’t already figured out that I’m a little dramatic in the supposed privacy of my own head, then that sounds like a you problem,” I grumble under my breath, but my arms are just as tight around him as his are around me.

I take a moment to let myself soak up some of his strength, leaning on the solid weight of him as he just lets me melt into him without a word of complaint. He’s been my safe place since he showed up at my shitty dorm room and manhandled me into the bed to take away my horrible period pains, even when I couldn’t accept it or admit to it.

I need him desperately.

It's also as though seeing the images of Sage’s supposed betrayal and all of the bullshit that had come after that fucked-up moment has sapped the last of my energy away from me.

It's a strange feeling, because the entire time my bond was in control and using so much of my gift, I didn't feel as though I was using up my gift or running out of power. I never feel as though my gift is going to run out. But usually, when my bond slips away and I find myself back in control, I have no energy left, as though I have run an ultra-marathon.

This time has been different.

Whether it was because of my other Bonds and the way I had been passing energy on to them, or if it was the Gifted soul that my bond consumed, it was only after hearing about Sage that the bone-deep exhaustion took over. I’m pretty sure that’s been more of a defense mechanism than something that is really affecting me physically.

I give myself a full minute of squeezing Gryphon back as hard as he’s clutching me before I move to pull away, stepping back and taking a look around.

North's offices look far more untidy than I have ever seen any of his spaces look before. The couch is still half made up from where Nox tends to sleep on it, blankets and pillows and his ever-present pile of books stacked there, waiting for his return. There are files and boxes of paperwork littering the floors everywhere and a computerized white board has been set up behind his desk, blinking away with all sorts of information.

My eyes finally land on North himself, looking older than he had just a few hours before, the toll of the day weighing heavily on his shoulders. The first stirrings of my bond start up in my chest. I don’t like to see him under such pressure. I can’t stand to see the ways that it’s affecting him to be at the helm of this community and be responsible for so many lives.

How he’s still standing is beyond me.

“We've moved Sage into one of the more comfortable cells in the underground bunker here,” Gryphon murmurs quietly, and I glance back to him with a curt nod.

It’s now or never, I guess. “I’m here to talk with you both about her. I can't believe that she did this… I won’t believe she did it.”