Chapter Ninety Six

*Ivan*


Boss had left the room after their discussion. I saw Ariya start to break apart in front of me when Boss told her that she was earning not being tortured because she was telling him everything he needed and wanted to know. He believed that the information he was getting was going to help him in his fight against us. He was only partially right. Ariya had carefully planned on the information that would be hidden and Drake did a good job of making sure the lock took those memories the second someone else was around.
I flashed my wolf eyes at Ariya and pulled her into my arms. She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile. I could see the tears in her eyes as they threatened to fall. I looked at her concerned. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. She buried her head into my chest and cried. I sat there holding her in my arms for a bit while she melted in a puddle.
“You know he’s not getting anything that we wouldn’t be willing to tell him if we were all in front of him right?” I told her, softly.
“I know, but he’s a master of strategy. What if something I tell him does lead to our downfall?” She sobbed.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. The most important things are locked by Drake. He even created a whole reason on why you don’t know what I look like, Ari. I think Boss is starting to get blind by what he wants to see.”
“So he misses what he should be seeing? That the truth is we’re not monsters like everyone thinks we are. Why would they just kill you guys? Your parents, Caleb’s parents? All to what? Try to hurt the Blood Borns? You guys being near us puts you in danger.”
“Shhhh. Don’t blame yourself, Ari. We need you guys more than you need us if you think about it. We need to have our blood drained. You guys don’t need us to be able to survive. You need blood. But that doesn’t mean it has to come from us.” I said, trying to console her.
I understood exactly where she was coming from. But I think I only understood because I had lived through all of it with her in a way. She was alone for part of it but we grew up together. We were together most of the time the night of the attack. When we were separated a part of me wondered why everyone hated the Navi. But eventually, over time, I began to hate them because that was what the world around me told me to do. But when I found out that she was a Navi I was torn as Justin because I didn’t have the memories of being a Navi. I only knew that they were monsters to be feared and taken down. But I knew Ariya. She wasn’t a monster. But then she attacked me. It wasn’t until I remembered being a wolf and remembered Ariya as a kid that I realized she was only trying to survive.
“People will only see what the world shows them. Even when I was Justin. I hated us because I was told to hate us. But I never hated you. I never feared you. I had a crush on you but was too afraid to show it. As Justin I believed that the Navi were monsters. When I found out you were a Navi I was confused. I was confused because I believed Navi were monsters but I never thought of you as one. I was torn more because when you attacked me, I thought it proved that you were a monster. But knowing what I know now and having the memories of being a Navi, I know you were only trying to survive.” I told her.
“So what do we do?” Ariya asked me.
“I think we should continue doing what we’re doing. Continue to show Boss that you’re cooperating. Continue to show him that you’re not a monster. Continue to tell him the reasons we did different things. If someone shows you time after time who they are, you should believe it. Unfortunately I don’t know if Boss is going to see it. Which is why we have to get stronger. We have to be ready to fight if we need to. But only in defense. I think offense is best suited in a worst case scenario but if we’re trying to prove to them that we’re not going to hurt them, then we have to stay on defense.” I told her.
“We have to be willing to go on offense if necessary though.”
“I agree. But only if absolutely necessary.”
“What if they never get it?” Ariya asked me.
“Then we make sure that we’re strong enough to protect ourselves and each other. We make sure that no one can beat us. We show them that as long as they don’t come after us, we won’t go after them.”
“So when do we start?” Ariya asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Whenever you want, princess.” I said, kissing her softly.
“Can we do it after we complete the mate bond?” Ariya asked me.
My body shivered at her request and my wolf eyes glowed at her. Ariya giggled at my body’s response and reached up to kiss me softly. I looked at her lovingly. I wanted so badly to complete the mate bond right now but one more thing needed to happen before we could.
“I guess I need to go speak with Drake real quick then.” I told her.
“Don’t forget to bring back food. Drake will wait for you in the forest and then he will let me know before you come back in to make sure that I put the barrier up so you can see it.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be back in a bit then, princess.” I told her.
I gave Ari another soft kiss before I left the room. I felt my memories fade like usual and began to walk towards the entrance of the building. Boss had threatened the staff about being anywhere near Ariya’s room along with being near me. It made me smirk internally to myself because I didn’t run into anyone for the first 100 feet. I passed by Adam and Jess as I headed out and they both went pale when they saw me. They didn’t even attempt to speak to me, much less look at me. I got to the front entrance and the guards even seemed nervous. Boss must have spoken to them as well because no one even tried to bother me. It was just the way I liked it.
Boss knew I hated everyone trying to be close to me. That I kept to myself. He respected it and seemed to appreciate that I didn’t just blab everything to the first person that would listen. Boss was similar in that way. He would talk to people but he never really gave any real information to anyone.
I left the building and made my way to the forest. As I got close to the forest I could feel my memories coming back and my hair changing. I got a sudden urge to shift and run in my wolf form. My body shivered violently and my breathing picked up.
“Everything ok, Ivan?” Drake asked me.
I shook my head trying to get the words out, “No…Need…Shift…”
I pulled my shirt off over my head and kicked off my shoes quickly. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I needed to shift suddenly. My body shook violently and felt like it was going to explode. I shifted, landing on the ground on all 4 paws. My body still felt hot, like it was going to explode. I yelped in pain.
“Ivan, Ariya needs to feed from you when you get back to her. For now, run. It will take it away for a bit but you need to make sure that Ariya feeds from you or it will come back. It’s at the beginning stages so it should only last for 5 or 10 minutes.” Drake told me.
I did as Drake said and took off running. I ran as fast as my legs would take me. After about 10 minutes the heat died down and I no longer felt like I was going to explode. I ran back to where I left Drake waiting for me.
“All good?” Drake asked as I shifted back into my human form.
“Yeah. I think so.” I said, trying to catch my breath.
“It’s probably only happening because she hasn’t fully drained you yet. You got your memories back and you’re at the right age. If she feeds a bit from you then it will hold it off temporarily. She needs to fully drain you for it to not come back. That is unless she doesn’t feed from you for a while. It needs to be consistent. I know you both are trying to keep a low profile but Boss isn’t going to give her as much blood as she actually needs. My guess is that she’s starving right now. Which even though you guys haven’t completed the mate bond yet, doesn’t mean it’s not going to affect you.” Drake told me.
I nodded, “I need to get back to her but I need my lock adjusted a little bit.”
“Ariya explained it to me. Just be careful, ok?”
“We will.” I promised.