｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★"And then the mate bond clicked for me and it wasn't your mother.":･ﾟ☆

Sky

"I did." Andreas states.

"You did?" Beatrix demands in shock and Andreas looks to the both of us apologetically as we stare at him in shock horror.

"Why?" I demand, trembling with rage, this woman has done nothing but try to pull my family apart.

Andes shrugs lightly, "Farrah was always a prude and now apparently she has been striving to break up my friends' mate bond, I wanted to see it for myself."

"You wanted petty drama." Riven demands incredulously as my parents stare at him with warning glares.

"I did not want petty drama." Andreas snarls and Riven shies away, losing his little confidence and instead choosing to tuck Octavia further into himself as a form of comfort.

I barely conceal my protective growl of rage, even as Andreas shoots him an apologetic look.

"I wanted to know what the fuck you were thinking." He jabs a finger in Dowling's direction.

"That is none of your concern." Her tone is strong and indignant, but I see the way she glances at Stella, Octavia and the other students.

She doesn't want to destroy her reputation, nor does she want word reaching back to the queen but from the tidbits of royal gossip Octavia has been sharing with Riven and I it would seem Luna is already aware and annoyingly approving of it.

"Isn't it," He drawls, "You appear to have torn my family apart. Granted I did the same but I didn't have a choice in the matter, you did."

"It has been 17 years Andreas," Dowling begins, looking down her nose at him. "Things change, relationships grow and change, we decided to explore different bonds during the war."

He tilts his head to the side in curiosity.

"Is this about your second mate bond?" Andreas suddenly turns to Silva who looks like he wants the ground to swallow him whole, even if there is some kind of amusement in his eyes.

Wait-

What the fuck?

Silva never said he had two mates. Or rather a mate and a potential it seems.

"Andreas-"

"Ah it is," Andreas cuts him off with a light grin, "You were hoping that if Silva started to like you then the two of you would eventually create some relative form of mate bond. Unless of course you thought you were mates."

I swallow down bile at the thought.

"How dare you." Farrah rises to her feet, eyes flaring with power and Harvey quickly does the same. "We are done here."

"What do you think gave you the right to cause a rift between my friends, hurt my son and his mates, and blatantly disrespect them all while acting like an entitled bitch." I think when he sounds more calm it's an entirely different level of terrifying rage.

"I tire of your comments Andreas," Dowling states and I tense, "I think it would be best if you leave. Permanently."

No. no, no no, no. I've not had time with him yet and if what he said was true then he's been trying to find time for me, and if not finding time then finding a way to keep Beatrix and I safe.

I turn to Tavi who is looking between the pair in concern, even while Riven has kept his head ducked down to snuggle into the top of her head. Our gazes connect and I try to convey my desperation for her to step in.

"Actually," My mate intercedes and I sigh in relief.

"The Royal household has sent word to all outposts and schools to begin war training immediately." Octa refuses to look away from me, smirking in delight as she blatantly ignores the headmistress even as she speaks to her. "The message should arrive on Monday but I already filled out the paperwork for Andreas to be signed off as an additional leader."

"Excuse me." Farrah steps towards my mates and I tense, moving to stand but Irene places a hand on my arm and forces me to sit down again.

"The Queen has decided to go over all leaders' heads and implement her own trainers, General Lykos will be doing rounds of the training encampments to check on progress."

Octavia finally turns to face her and the two hold gazes before Dowling strides from the room.

"Well that went well." Andreas declares.

"What the fuck."

"Why would yo-"

"Andreas-"

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Well that was an absolute shit storm." Octavia murmurs as we walk back to our dorm, her arms wrap around Riven and I's waists as she snuggles in between us.

"It could have been worse." I murmur, thinking of all the arguments between Lykos and my mate.

"Helios, I want my bed." Riv moans and I chuckle.

"Yeah, me too-"

"Sky." I pause at that voice, freezing in shock as Octavia and Riven look at me in question.

"Go on, I'll see you both later." I murmur to them, glancing at a hesitant Andreas waiting for me back down the hallway.

Octavia nods with a small smile, waving to Andreas before she walks into our room but Riven hesitates. Worry shines in his eyes as he looks between me and my- my father.

"I'll be fine." I murmur gently, stepping forward and curving my body to block Andreas' view of Riven and I curl a hand around his wrist. "You don't need to worry."

"Can't help it." He whispers, eyes shining with tears of frustration and I slowly reach up to wipe one away, staring at him with gratitude for his care.

I give him one last smile before squeezing his wrist and stepping away towards Andreas who has turned away and leant against a wall to give us some semblance of privacy. I ignore the flash of gratitude for his care as I listen to Riven's retreating footsteps, most people wouldn't notice how Riven struggles yet he saw it straight away, on some level at least.

We stand in the dim hallway, staring at each other for long moments. His face is so carefully blank but his eyes, there's something broken in the eyes I have seen in the mirror staring back at me. The sunken cheeks, dark eyes and pale skin are suddenly more prominent.

Guilt weighs heavy on my chest, tightening around my heart as I take in the exhaustion lining my fathers face.

"Can we talk?" He rasps, his eyes continuing to scan my face.

My mouth is glued shut when I go to reply so I settle for nodding weakly and following him through the specialist hall.

The walk to the training grounds is silent, the atmosphere is heavy and grieving, clogging my throat. This isn't going to be a fun talk but it's the talk I have been waiting for.

The one with answers and explanations.

"I invited Dowling to the dinner because I wanted to see how all the old players were interacting with each other."

Well that's not what I was expecting.

"I knew things had gotten bad but I wasn't expecting it to have all gone to shit." He confesses quietly, "But I'm sorry if I caused you pain this evening, it wasn't fair of me to play soldier during family time."

I don't know what to say.

I swallow heavily and glance away, choosing to look into the forest instead.

"Has Saul told you much of your mother?" Andreas takes a seat on one of the raised training platforms, bracing his elbows on his knees so he can rest his chin on his clasps hands as he stares up into the dark sky.

"He said she left us, that the pressure of war got too much." I whisper into the silence.

I don't like to think about my mother, about how she chose to leave me, it was easier to focus on my dead father who was forced to leave us. Except apparently he was but wasn't forced to leave?

Andreas nods hesitantly and gestures for me to sit beside him on the mat.

"I fucked up with your mother." He blurts out and I stare at him in slight shock and apprehension.

Andreas glances at me, swallowing heavily as his head ducks down with guilt.

"The truth was we were falling apart long before she got pregnant with you and we tried to use the pregnancy as a way to bring us back together." He begins quietly as we both stare out to the forest, both refusing to look at the other as he confesses. "It was the right thing to do at the time, I would have never left her pregnant and unsupported anyways but we felt as though we owed it to you, to give you a chance at having two parents in a normal relationship."

He scoffs and I get the impression that he's shaking his head.

"And then the mate bond clicked for me and it wasn't your mother."

I feel my eyes widen in surprise, I had always assumed that they were mated and it just didn't work out.

"You were a few weeks old by then and it all went to shit. I never told your mother who my mate was but she had her suspicions, she became paranoid that I was going to take you from her, that I was going to start a new family without her. She became paranoid and I became traumatised by war... it was a- dark period for us."

"Irene was the only person truly caring for you at that point, I'm sure you know that she herself was in the early stages of pregnancy so was out of the field but Saul and I were at the front lines with Farrah and Ben under Rosalind's command for months."

There was a pause, filled with weighted silence as my father considered his next words.

"Seeing your brothers and sisters die in battle," his voice is low and soft, haunted by grief. "It screws with your mind, twists your thoughts and I got angry, I was raging at the world and Saul was the only person to ever be able to stand being in my presence. But then we got sent home for leave."

A sick feeling settles in my stomach at where this is going.

"Your mother and I fought- argued and I punched through a wall, you were screaming in your bassinet and I froze." He takes a shaky breath. "I just froze Sky because I did the one thing I truly feared. I became my father. I punched the wall, but what happens if it's not the wall the next time, because there always is a next time with these situations. I know there's a next time."

I watch him silently, seeing the way his eyes have gone glassy and unseeing.

"Your grandfather was bastard to say the least and had a habit of beating his children and I swore, I swore I would never be like him. That I would do everything I could to give you a better life than I had." He proclaims, ducking his head as his shoulders sag. "After that fight everything changed, I was paranoid, fearful of myself. I could barely stand to be near you out of fear. It was like there was this little voice in my head, whispering about all the ways I was going to hurt you. It went on and on and on for weeks on end, constantly talking about how I would hurt you by accident, hurt you on purpose or how you would be taken from and eventually I went insane."

"And then I snapped."

"The mission you died on...." I trail off, thinking of the reasons he could have left.

"There was no mission Sky." His voice breaks and I get the impression that he's crying, "I broke and I tried to burn our house down, I was just so desperate for the voices to stop, so desperate to stop worrying about hurting you that I just wanted to get in over with. It felt inevitable."

He clears his throat. "Irene had lost Belle by that point and to be honest I think seeing the strongest woman I know break over losing her child only added to my fears but Irene was clinging onto you as her lifeline in her grief, so I had to see her everyday and I could never turn her away when were essentially grieving the same thing."

"We fought, she and I, I scarred her face and Saul drove a blade through my chest in retaliation. They got you out of the fire but your mother had already run out of fear, not that I blame her. Irene took you back to Saul's cottage and Rosalind dragged me half dead back to Alfea."

"I don't remember much of what happened next, only that when I woke up my mind was quiet for once, the voice was gone and a little girl with red pigtails was running around calling me dad. They took my memories of you Sky, of your mother."

Tears drip down my face.

"I thought my child, that you, was Beatrix. That she was the child I had. So I raised her in a small cottage next to a forest for 10 years until the memories started to resurface, until I started questioning where my son was. Beatrix was 12 by then and I started to lose my mind again, started thinking I was insane when I woke up screaming for someone called Sky."

My hands tremble at his words, he didn't know. He didn't know about me. He was traumatised and needed help, anyone could see that but to take him away from his family.

"Octavia was a helper of Helios in that regard, she gave both Beatrix and I something to focus on while we searched for you, for my past. That's part of the reason why Bea came here, to help me piece together what my life was like before my death."

"So you don't remember us." I whisper, frowning at him in sadness.

He shakes his head lightly, "I remember all the events and key moments but I don't remember the love, the emotions, the little moments of peace. Do you know how strange it is to feel as though you would burn the world to the ground for someone you barely know?"

He shakes his head again. "I am so sorry Sky, for everything and I know that doesn't make it better, and I know-"

He gasps in shock as I grip him tightly, nestling my head under his as I take gasping tear filled breaths. I remain tense and unsure, even as I hug him desperately, that is until I hear his whine of grief as he wraps his arms around my body, gripping me with equal ferocity.

We hold each other until we can both pretend the other didn't cry. Only pulling apart once the tears dry and we can face the world again. I nod shakily, taking steady breaths as we both turn away from each other in a moment of embarrassment.

"We have time." My voice is hoarse and unsure, "We can start from the beginning and work through all of this."

He clears his throat. "I think I'd like that."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

I nestle further into Riven's arms as we rest on Sky's bed, waiting for him to come in from his talk with Andreas. I silently watch as shadows drift along our entwined bodies, doing my best not to tense in fear as they drift closer to Riven.

"Are we going to talk about it?" he murmurs from above me and I wince.

"Are we going to talk about your anxiety?" I grumble but he only sighs at my question.

"We can do, but my anxiety isn't new. This fear of yours is."

"No it isn't." I whisper after some time.

"What?"

"This fear, it isn't new." I confess bitterly. "The shadows have always been like monsters peering over my shoulders at times."

He waits in silence, stroking my hair.

"That's twice now they've hurt the people I care about." I confess, "Twice now that my power has hurt the people I love."

Riv hums to fill the silence as he thinks through his words.

"That's twice now your shadows have tried to protect you from a threat." He counters, "Twice they sought to keep you safe."

I snort and roll my eyes with a huff, "They could have killed Sky and Stella."

"But they didn't. They merely threatened with warning blows."

"But they were still injured."

My mate sighs and I suddenly feel guilty for adding to his worries.

"Pixie," He begins and I wince, "You cannot live your life in fear of your power, in fear of yourself."

I swallow thickly.

"There is nothing to fear, my love. They have forgiven you for the injury, they understand you couldn't control them now you need to do the same." He murmurs gently, "That's what this is about isn't it, you haven't forgiven yourself."

For so many things, for Ricki, for the specialists that died on mission for hurting Sky and Stella.

"I'm not sure I can Riven." I whisper.

"You can." he states, tilting my chin up to face him as he stares down at me with reassuring eyes. "And we'll be here to help you every step of the way."

For the first time in years I believe it. It's not going to change overnight, and it certainly won't be easy but I have my mates and they will support me every step of the way. I smile up Riven, staring at him with pure adoration as I take in his green eyes shining with love.

I lean up to place a gentle kiss on his lips, pulling back to rest our foreheads together as he holds my gaze.

"And Sky and I will be here for you." I declare quietly, voice filled with soft conviction as Riven's eyes slowly close as a tear escapes them. "We're going to be okay, Riven."

He nods slowly as I swipe away his tears.

We hold each other for the rest of the night, murmuring quiet stories of our pasts as we fill the time and for the first time I feel completely safe. Wrapped in my mates arms he tells me about tales of adventures and mistakes.

Laughter bubbles out of me as Riven comes to life, gesturing wildly as a grin splits his face while he retells the tale of Sky trying to steal Silva's whiskey.

"I recall you being the one to rat me out." Sky rasps from behind me as he leans against the door frame with folded arms and a loving smile.

Riven rolls his eyes at our mate as he strides into the room, dropping onto the bed beside us and resting his head on my lap as he lays between my legs. I bend down to plant a kiss on his forehead, holding his gaze and reading the content there, the lack of rage. He nods slowly to me as Riven continues his story.

The three of us remain like that for the rest of the night, curling under the covers when Riven's yawns become too loud and frequent to ignore. I could get used to this, this contentment, this peace. I card my fingers through Riv's hair as he rests his head on my chest, Sky's arms have curled around the both of us from his place on my other side, his front curled against his back. My eyes droop as the rhythm of Sky's breath against the back of my neck lulls me to sleep.

We're going to be okay.

A/N: Training scene coming up soon, what would you like to see?