Chapter 122

*Ivan*

I watched as Ariya slept on my lap. Her stress and anxiety was through the roof before she fell asleep. I wished that I could make it all go away but I understood her frustration. At first we wanted nothing but to get our memories back so we could make our escape. But after learning about Boss's ability to control the gravity it made it seem nearly impossible. How could you fight someone that controlled the gravity beneath you? You would have to be able to stabilize yourself and none of us had a way to do that. Time ran out and Boss had Ariya fight me because he was under stress of everyone that worked for him doubting his rule. Ariya and I had fought at max speed, thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could knock Boss out in a surprise attack that no one was expecting, we could escape. Then we found out he had another ability. Now we don't know if he's one of those people that has 2 abilities or if he can steal other people's abilities. Regardless, it made him that much more dangerous.

I knew Ariya was frustrated. She wanted to leave this place and never look back. She was worried about my safety more than her own. I wanted nothing more than to get her out of here before Boss decided he wanted to torture her. He wanted her broken each time and I couldn't figure out why. He would give her a little bit of hope and then crush that hope. We had to get her out of here before she really got hurt. I needed to remember why Drake had me infiltrate and why I never left. I wasn't even sure if Drake knew. His memories had been blocked on certain things and none of us knew why. It was like we were all missing important pieces. It was frustrating not to see the whole picture.

To add to it, Ariya and Keo were desperately trying to figure out how to swap places instantly. They had gotten quicker at it but it still took about 5 minutes if they were passing information. Swapping could be useful. If Keo was better at something with their abilities than Ariya was, he could do it. They could both practice different things and if an instant swap was needed it would be like fighting a person that had mastered both aspects. We were still going to work on each area individually but learning hand to hand combat skills takes time. Getting into better shape takes time. Being faster takes time. Every aspect of enhancing a person's abilities and strengths took time to master. It was time that we might not have.

Then there was the issue of the Enforcers. Boss was only the first obstacle we would have to overcome. The Enforcers were so much worse. They were under Boss's control which was starting to make sense now that we knew Boss had more than 1 ability. His ability was something that couldn't easily be overcome. Which is why the Enforcers would likely listen to him. The problem was that each Enforcer had their own set of skills that were on a level higher than Drake.

Boss mentioning Ryker had bugged me because I couldn't remember anything about him. I knew he had trained me. I knew training was difficult but that was all I knew. I couldn't remember details. I wanted to ask Boss but it would be a risk. If I didn't remember and Boss had expected me to remember he would know that my memories had been tampered with. Which would lead us to a whole other slew of problems. But Boss might be the only one with an answer. I just wasn't sure if I should take the risk. What bugged me the most is that I knew not remembering much of anything about Ryker meant that someone had tampered with my memories. That bothered me even more. What else did they know about me? Who tampered with them? Were they able to see the lock that Drake had placed on me long ago?

"You can play it off, Ivan." A familiar voice said to me, Ariya and Keo's Mom.

"You locked a part of yourself when you locked my parents?" I asked, grinning.

"Always the quick one." She grinned at me, "Yes I did. Ivan, I know you're lost in your thoughts and I want to help, but I really must help Ariya and Keothi."

I smiled at her, "I understand. I'm glad I got to see you and I bet they'll be glad to see you too. What do you mean I can play it off?"

"Ivan, Ryker trained you 14 years ago. Think hard on when you first infiltrated and some of the answers will come to you. Boss knows what he saw. He believes what was shown to him. If you don't remember Ryker as much he won't question it if the question is asked correctly. It happened 14 years ago, Ivan. Just try to remember. It will come to you."

"I will. Will I see you again?" I asked.

"I think so. There's plenty of moments that can come up that will give me an opportunity to reach out. You have to go back now. You and Ariya can't both be asleep. You'll need to leave soon anyway. It's getting late."

I gave her a hug, "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I know I have a Mom but you've always been like a second Mom to me."

She gave me a big hug in return, "You've been like another son to me. Thank you for keeping Ariya safe and always watching out for her. She loves you as much as you love her. Don't ever doubt that. You both are capable of so many things. You just have to believe something is possible and you'll find a way."

As quickly as she showed up she disappeared. I felt her presence in Ariya's mind and I knew that they were having a conversation with Keo. I could see it as it happened. It was kinda of weird because I was still capable of thinking my own thoughts at the same time as understanding everything that was going on. I chose to listen closely to their conversation, knowing that Ariya would know I was there. I also knew that she would want to discuss things with me. It was easier for her if I had been fully paying attention.

I couldn't help but wonder what Ariya and I would be able to do when we finally got a grasp on the mate bond and our shared abilities. When the conversation mentioned about us all being able to switch places, my eyes went wide with shock. I hadn't even thought about it. My parents had mentioned that we would be able to use each other's abilities. The ones that didn't change us physically. But when we had initially bonded, I was able to bite down on Ariya. I wasn't sure if that was from my wolf or from her. I hadn't thought about it. If we swapped places would we be able to use each other's full abilities? If Ariya was in control of my body, could she shift into my wolf? My body shivered in excitement at the thought. If it hadn't been for her and Keo being able to actually swap we might not be able to do that. But if we could both control each other's side that would open up new doors.

There were so many things that needed to be worked on that I had to slow myself down. We couldn't do everything at once. But we could work on each thing a little bit each day. One thing might help the other. It was like looking at things through a different perspective. I knew I needed to talk to Drake, so I made a mental note of everything so I could talk to him tonight.

Ariya began to stir awake in my lap. The tears formed in her eyes. I wiped them softly from her face and kissed her on her forehead.

*Did you have a good talk with your Mom?* I asked her in our mind.

She grinned at me, *Yes. I miss her though. I'm glad I have another memory of her.*

*So we're going to be able to try to swap places, huh?* I grinned at her.

*Something like that.* She smiled at me.

*Good cause you're going to need to eat even more when we start your hand to hand combat training. Oh and also when you start running like crazy.* I told her.

*I don't know if eating food in your body is going to change me from being hungry in mine.* She giggled.

*Guess we'll have to see.* I told her.

*Wait, why am I going to be running in your body?* She asked.

A huge smile spread across my face, *I mean you'll have to learn how to control my wolf if you can shift while you're in my body. That means learning how to run as fast as I do.*

*Shut up. Do you really think we can do that?* She asked excitedly.