Chapter 134

*Ryker*


“What am I going to do with you 2?” I growled.
Ariya got in front of Ivan and growled at me, letting her fangs show.
*Ryker! She doesn’t remember!* Zayne shouted in my head.
I couldn’t help but smirk at Ariya. She was trying to scare me, but I didn’t scare easily. Not even when I didn’t have full access to my memories. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. As I exhaled I opened my eyes, letting them change and my fangs came out. I snarled back at Ariya, baring my fangs.
“Ari! Stop! It’s ok!” Ivan shouted, wrapping his arms around her.
Ariya’s eyes were glowing the same color as Ivan’s. They had to have completed the mate bond. Bold considering where they were.
*Ryker!* Zayne shouted.
*Relax, Zayne. I’m in control. You should be able to tell. Seems we have a lot of catching up to do.* I told him.
The air in the room was so filled with tension. I imagined for Zayne and Ivan they were stressed beyond their limits. Ariya didn’t back down after I showed her my fangs. I smirked again. Boss was right, I was definitely intrigued.
“It’s been a while, Ari.” I said.
Ariya growled at me again, “You don’t get to call me that.”
“Oh? Is that so? Pretty sure I get to call you whatever I want.” I taunted her.
*What are you doing? Are you trying to piss her off?* Zayne asked me.
*Yup.* I laughed.
“Ari, hear him out. He’s on our side.” Ivan pleaded with her.
Ariya paused at that point and I frowned.
“Now why do you have to go and ruin my fun, Ivan?” I asked him.
Ivan growled at me this time, “This isn’t fun at all, Ryker. You’re freaking her out. She doesn’t know what’s going on.”
I looked at Ariya, “She doesn’t look scared to me.”
“Ryker!” Zayne growled at me.
I rolled my eyes, “Ari, I want you to show me just how strong you are. After you remember, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to, but promise me you will.”
“Promise to pummel your face? Absolutely. You hurt Ivan and exposed him.” Ariya growled.
I held my hands up laughing, “I didn’t hurt him. I meant to, yes. But I didn't hurt him. I came across a memory I locked on him and in doing so it unlocked both my memories and Ivan’s. When that happens, it takes a lot out of a person. It felt like he was slipping away, right?”
Ariya looked at me confused. She had to know I was a Navi and that Zayne was a wolf by now. She nodded but didn’t say anything so I continued.
“He was out of stamina, that’s all that means. Basically the feeling of him slipping away only means that he’s going to pass out. He’s not falling into a dream. He’s falling asleep. It starts out as darkness. That’s what you’re feeling. That’s what you’re seeing. Zayne already made sure that no one was nearby. He’s constantly checking since most of us got our memories. There’s no need to worry.”
I walked closer to Ariya, keeping my hands up. Ariya shifted uncomfortably but I could tell that Ivan was talking to her in her head finally. Her mind must have calmed down enough for them to have a conversation. I was glad she was timid of me though. It meant she was playing things safe.
“Will you let me unlock yours, little one?” I asked her before moving to touch her head.
Ariya hesitated but eventually nodded her head.
“You and Ivan have to sever the mind link before I do it or he’s going to feel it again. Because you just fed it shouldn’t knock you out. You can share the memory as soon as you have it. Ivan has his own to share with you too.” I informed her.
Ivan hugged Ariya tightly and rested his head on her shoulder. Ariya nodded at me to let me know that they had severed the mind link. I took her head gently in both hands and closed my eyes, searching for the memories that I’d locked. As soon as I found the memory it began unlocking itself. Just like with Ivan, as soon as I found the memory I gasped and removed my hands from Ariya. The pain was over in an instant this time.
Ariya stared at me wide-eyed as the memories flashed through her mind. She had a vacant look in her eyes. Ivan looked at me concerned.
“There’s a lot of memories. It’s going to take a minute. You only had memories of me tied to one time frame. Ari on the other hand has many more.” I explained.
Ivan growled, “Why are you calling her Ari?”
I couldn’t help the smirk that showed up on my face, “Who do you think started calling her Ari in the first place?”
“Her brother, Keothi.” Ivan confronted me.
“That’s where you’re wrong, kid. You didn’t see me the night you lost your parents. So I never had to lock your mind. Not until you came walking in here. Ariya’s words changed slightly. She left out that 3 people called her Ari. You were traumatized that night, I didn’t want to make anything worse. The day you got here I adjusted that memory on you slightly. That way you couldn’t give me away ever. I also helped lock your memories more to keep you safe. That part you should remember now.” I explained.
Ivan seemed confused but didn’t ask any more questions. Ariya came out of her dazed state. Her eyes refocused and she looked at me with new eyes.
“Ryker?” She breathed.
“Long time no see, Ari.” I smirked at her.
She jumped up and hugged me tightly.
“I want to say I missed you but I didn’t remember. I would have missed you though!” She told me, burying her head into my chest.
“I missed you too, little one.” I laughed, “You bit me, you little runt!”
Ariya looked down sheepishly, “Sorry Uncle Ryker.”
“Uncle?!” Ivan said, shocked.
I smiled down at Ariya and gave her a big squeeze before releasing her, “He needs you. You’ll need to show him your memories so he’s caught up to speed. You both need to catch Zayne and I up to speed as well. We’ve been gone for a long time and clearly don’t know what’s happened. You’ll need to have Drake adjust your lock to include Zayne and I. Ivan’s too. I can force my way through but it would hurt both of you. It’s better if Drake just does it. I’ll fix Drake’s lock when I see him. That said, you have until Zayne and I get back to get it done. Don’t delay. We’re going to go talk to Boss and then we’re all leaving for a bit.”
“Ari can’t leave here. Boss isn’t going to allow that.” Ivan said, worried.
Ariya immediately went to Ivan and snuggled into his arms.
“Ariya is going to have to stay in the room. But she can come with us mentally. Specifically with you, Ivan. You can be her voice when we meet with Drake. Boss is going to expect me to break your mind outside of here. He’ll let us leave for a bit.”
“Won’t he come in here then? What if I’m with you guys?” Ariya asked.
“He won’t because he’s going to think you’re unconscious. You only need to pretend to be asleep. Boss will think you are if he goes in there. But you’ll be able to tell because a part of you is still aware of your body even when you’re with Ivan. I need to adjust my lock and Zayne’s lock so we remember when you guys are the only ones here.” I added.
“We need a way to know that you are you. Ivan always flashes his wolf eyes at me and his hair changes. That’s how we know it’s just the 2 of us. If someone else approaches it’s like an early warning system because his hair will change back.” Ariya told me.
“Keep it that way for the 2 of you. When it’s us 2 coming in here, I’ll flash my eyes, Zayne gets his memory back that way, and as long as no one else is nearby or watching then we’ll all have our memories. I’ll also make a contingency for us, that if Ivan’s hair is ever his true color that we’ll automatically get our memories back. That way we can’t hurt you guys by accident.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. I put my hands on Zayne’s head and adjusted the lock on his memories. Then I closed my eyes and focused on adjusting the lock on my own memories. Ivan and Ariya would reach out to Drake as soon as we left and get their locks fixed. I wasn’t completely sure if Drake would just adjust it automatically without knowing who he was adding but I was sure that Ariya and Ivan could show him enough proof that Drake would be willing to.
“You’ll only have a small window of time. Make sure to show each other memories but also have Drake adjust your locks. The lock takes priority.”