60: Ada's POV

I’d seen Darius angry or hurt before. I had not seen him furious before this moment. His eyes flashed ice blue as stalked toward the bath. The steam coming up from the hot water made my eyesight seem blurry, but my body tensed as he approached. Nik continued lathering the soap through my hair, a light hum vibrating in his chest. 

“Get up, Ada,” Darius growled, extending a hand over the water, “Now.”

I swallowed. The command in his voice was deadly. My thighs clenched as I moved to shift off of Nik’s lap, but Nik’s hands fisted my hair as his voice echoed in my mind, *Do not move, Ada.* I stilled and kept my eyes on Darius’ face. Nik loosened his grip on my hair and casually cupped some water and brought it up to rinse out the soap. 

Darius’ hand fell and he stepped into the tub, shoes and clothes still on. His hands reached through the water and gripped my hips. He tugged roughly, but my body didn’t budge an inch. His fangs were out, drool dripping down his chin while he growled at Nik, “Release her.”

Shadows swirled beneath the water, shrouding my body. Nik continued working water through my soap-ridden hair, “I will do no such thing, brother. Not unless *she* asks me to.”

The grip on my hips tightened painfully. I winced and sucked in a sharp breath. Darius’ grape-hyacinth eyes met my gaze. I gave a small, nearly imperceptible shake of my head. He snapped his teeth mere inches from my face, the water sloshing up and smacking into my cheeks. Nik’s shadows raised out of the water, gently shoving Darius back. 

Nik’s silky voice seemed to echo through the bathroom, “I told her I would wait until tomorrow to deal with you, Darius. But if you insist upon doing this *now,* then let’s do it.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you have to say,” Darius spat, fingertips extending to claws, “Ada comes with me. That’s a direct order from your future Alpha King, *brother.*”

The body beneath me remained relaxed. I found myself leaning more into him, away from Darius. Despite the heat from the water, goosebumps covered my skin and a chill ran down my spine. Sahara’s voice echoed into my mind, a single command, *Wield it.*

I retorted back, quickly, *We haven’t told Darius about our gifts, Sahara. He is not our friend right now.*

*Wield it,* she repeated. I tapped into the cool ice running through my veins and moved my hand in a swirling motion toward Darius. The water around him cracked as it froze around his waist. A section of water a foot in each direction froze solid around his entire body. The damp clothes on his torso had frost crackling up them. Sahara paced in my mind, a low growl echoing, *Good. Now hold it there.*

I held my hand in place as Darius looked down at the ice surrounding him, eyes wide and jaw slack. Nik’s voice rushed into my head as his body tensed, *What are you doing, Ada?*

I didn’t grace him with a response. Instead, I climbed off his knee and stood. Hot water sloshed off my naked body as I stepped toward Darius. His eyes followed me through the water, ice blue as he struggled against his cold prison. My voice was firm and felt like it wasn’t entirely my own, “You no longer make the rules, Darius Ashford. You will not dictate where I go or who I lay with,” fire erupted in my left palm as I held it above the water, “Your hands will not touch my body and your dick will come nowhere near me unless I say otherwise. You are not one with the power here. Do not try and cage me like I am in your prison. Can you agree with everything I’ve stated?”

Darius nodded slowly. I shot the fire at the ice surrounding him, melting it instantly. Nik remained in the water, watching the interaction with a smirk on his lips. My legs ached as I waded back toward him. Darius spoke slowly, “Why didn’t any of you say something?”

Nik shrugged beside me, “You didn’t give any of us a chance before you started acting like an idiot.”

I leaned into Nik’s side and crossed my arms over my chest, “Leave, Darius.”

He swallowed roughly, giving a slow nod. As he climbed out of the tub, sloshing water all over the floor, Nik spoke softly, “Fix this, brother. We are *all* her mates. We need to find a way to work this out.”

Darius dipped his head and grabbed a towel, “Something tells me that begins with the murder of our father. And that… I have to do alone,” his eyes met mine, back to their usual deep color, “One day, you’ll forgive me, Ada. I’ll work to make that day soon. For now,” he sighed, “At least keep up the illusion that you’re following what I ordered so that my father doesn’t suspect what’s coming. Can you all do that for me?”

Nik dipped his chin down. I nodded slowly and he left without another word.