Declan came back thirty minutes later, and in that time, I’d figured out exactly nothing. Flames still coated my arms, and my feelings where he was concerned were still muddled.

It hadn’t helped that this past half hour Inarus had been sweet in a way I wasn’t accustomed to. He was patient with me, and he made jokes that made me laugh. I didn’t know if he was flirting. I didn’t have a lot of experience with men trying to flirt with me. But this had felt like flirting, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

It just further complicated things.

He’d said he understood that my relationship with Declan was complicated. I’d assumed that meant he’d back off and give me time to sort things out.

I’d been wrong.

Should I say something?

“You’re frustrated,” Declan said as he came into the room and closed the door behind him.

“It’s that obvious?” I picked at a string on the hem of my shirt.

He flitted a glance towards Inarus but otherwise didn’t acknowledge him.

“What do you need?” Declan took a step toward me but maintained his distance.

I sighed and ran a flame coated hand through my hair. If only it were that easy.

"Liquor," I suggested. "Or coffee. I guess I could settle for coffee."

“I don’t think I’ll be giving either to you anytime soon,” he said with a chuckle.

I smirked. Good luck with that.

I’d raid the entire Compound if I had to. It was doubtful that I’d find coffee, but I’d certainly find liquor.

I smiled at the thought of either man dealing with me while I was intoxicated.

Maybe that was all I needed. A night where I could just let loose and forget about all of my troubles.

“How was the meeting?” I asked.

“We can talk about it later,” Declan dodged. He tucked his hands into his front denim pockets and tried to look nonchalant.

Hmmm … He wasn’t going to get off that easy.

“I think now is a good time. Don’t you, Inarus?” I flicked him a glance just as Declan let loose a deep growl.

“He isn’t privy to Pack concerns.” Declan snarled. His fangs descended and curved over his bottom lip.

Woah, where had the anger come from?

Inarus stepped forward, placing himself between Declan and me. I closed my eyes and groaned. Okay, I should have expected this sort of reaction since I’d baited him, but did he really have to go for it all, hook, line, and sinker?

“What do you think you’re doing?” Declan said. His voice was deceptively calm.

Oh no. This wasn’t going to be good.

I tried to step around Inarus, but he held an arm out to block me.

I watched Declan’s eyes track the movement and saw them flash to liquid green. Shit.

“Don’t touch my mate,” he snarled. He took a threatening step forward.

“Hey! Guys! Let’s both take a breath here. We’re all friends.”

“We’re definitely not friends,” Inarus said. His eyes locked on Declan’s in challenge, and I could all but feel the testosterone ratchet up.

Declan’s nostrils flared, and I felt his rage roll through me.

I needed to de-escalate the situation, fast.

I ducked under Inarus’ arm and, without thinking about what I was doing, I extended both arms out, one towards each of them.

“Stop!” I shouted.

They both froze. I stared at Declan and then Inarus, realizing that I'd frozen both men in place with my new telekinetic abilities.

Inarus was staring at the hand I had extended toward him, my palm facing out.

“I—” I didn’t know how I’d done that. His mouth twitched, but he didn’t say anything. I mentally slapped myself, realizing he couldn’t.

I looked to Declan and saw strain on his face and felt a shove against the foreign power inside of me. My head started to pound.

I frowned and lost concentration for just a moment, long enough to hear Inarus shout out to Declan.

“Don’t!” he yelled, right before I felt the weight of a stone wall slam into my skull.

I dropped to my knees and cried out.

"Dammit, I said don't!" Inarus swore and rushed to my side. His eyes were livid as he shouted angrily at Declan, “You can’t shove against a mental hold without hurting her.”

I cradled my head in my arms and moaned as wave after wave of pain rolled through me. It felt like I had the worst migraine imaginable.

“Make it stop,” I begged, hating the whine in my voice.

“Aria—” Declan was beside me, his hand rubbing small circles along my lower back in comfort. “I didn’t mean—”

“To what, hurt her?” Inarus said. “That’s all you ever do.”

No, that wasn’t true. I wanted to tell him to stop. Some part of me wanted to defend Declan. Inarus goading him wasn’t helping, but the pain in my head kept me from saying anything.

The door opened, and James strode in with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” He dropped his bag on the floor and rushed over to me. “Ari, what happened? Are you okay?”

I shook my head. I definitely was not okay. I wiped my nose, my hand coming away stained in blood. Shit.

“This is your—”

“Shut up,” James shouted at the men instantly silencing them both.

Finally.

“Give her some space,” he said and made shooing motions at both men. When Declan and Inarus had taken several steps away from me, James crouched down and, with his hand beneath my chin, forced me to meet his gaze.

“I need you to pull the fire in. I can’t help if I can’t touch the rest of you.”

I gasped and blinked back tears. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do anything but try and roll with each fresh wave of pain that pounded through my skull.

“Inarus, can you help her pull the flames in.”

“No,” his voice was gruff. “Doing anything to quell her abilities will only cause her more pain. She’s like this because he shoved against her mental hold.”

I didn’t need to see who he was pointing at to know he was referring to Declan.

“I thought you were the one freezing me,” Declan snarled.

“It doesn’t matter, and the arguing isn’t helping. If you can’t help, then leave. She doesn’t need this right now,” James admonished.

The pounding in my head was slowly subsiding. My head still hurt like hell but at least it was becoming bearable.

Declan took a few steps forward and dropped to the floor beside me. “Aria, I’m so sorry. If I’d have known—”

His gaze collided with mine, and I saw so much regret right before he closed his eyes and a serene expression washed over his face.

A wave of peace washed over me and the flames began to recede along with most of the pain. I stared wide-eyed at Declan, watching the rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled carefully measured breaths.

Like a slow moving tide, the pressure ebbed in my mind. I sighed in relief and pushed my hair away from my face.

When the last of the flame died down, James swept me into his arms and carried me toward my bed. He laid me on the sheets and pulled my comforter over me before kicking off his boots and resting on top of the comforter beside me. He didn’t say anything to either of the men, just wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close against his chest.

A single tear slipped down my cheek, and I tried to push past the lingering ache. At least I wasn’t on fire anymore.

James combed his fingers through my hair in a tender gesture, and I heard the door to my room open and close. I assumed both Declan and Inarus left, but then I heard the scrape of a chair on the hard stone floor.

I didn’t bother lifting my head to see who was sitting in the chair. I knew it was Declan.

“Are you any better?” James whispered into my hair.

"A little," I whispered back. I didn't know why we were whispering. Declan could hear us either way, thanks to shifter's heightened senses.

“Just try and close your eyes and get some rest,” he suggested. I snuggled deeper against his chest before I realized he’d come into my room with a duffel bag.

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

James sighed. “I’m going to Florida for a while.”

“Why?” What was in Florida that he needed to go see?

“I have some Pack business to take care of.” He was being vague, but I didn’t have the energy to pry further.

“How long will you be gone?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Hopefully not very long. A week. Maybe two.”

I bit my lower lip. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want to be left alone to deal with the mess that my life was right now. James was my person, the Christina Yang to my Meredith Grey. I needed him.

I also knew that if I asked him to stay, he would. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t exploit our friendship that way.  

“When do you have to leave?”

James kissed the top of my forehead and sat up. His grey eyes were gentle as he looked down at me and rubbed his thumb beneath my chin.

“I was coming to say goodbye when I walked in. I don’t like leaving you like this, but you’re in good hands.” He flicked a glance toward Declan seated in a nearby chair.

I lifted my head and saw lines of sorrow etched into Declan’s face. He was tearing himself up over this.

“The bond is a powerful thing,” James said. “Trust in it.”

He leaned down to kiss my forehead once more before standing. “And try and stay out of trouble.”

I watched James walk out the door, then turned my body to face the other way on my bed.