Chapter 60

chapter Sixty

*Ivan*

My mind went back to Boss as soon as I realized I couldn't shift back. I growled loudly. I wanted to fight something right now. My body was shaking with rage.

"What are you waiting for? Fight me. I can take it." Drake said.

I didn't hesitate. I was angry. I was angry at everyone. Everyone but her. I wanted to kill Boss. I was angry at Drake for separating us. I was angry at Keo for dying. It was a horrible thing but it was how I felt. I was so angry at everything. I lunged at Drake angrily and he grabbed me and threw me across the woods. I landed heavily, rolled and lunged again. We continued for a while before I finally started to run out of energy. Drake didn't hurt me and I didn't hurt him. That was the good part of fighting someone like Drake. He really could take it. Getting a decent hit on him and hurting him was unlikely.

"You ok?" Drake asked me.

I whined. I needed to get back to Ari. I couldn't stay like this if it meant I couldn't be near her. I couldn't take anything happening to her because I wasn't there.

"I think it's the lock, Ivan. Let me try something." Drake said.

Drake put his hand on my head and changed the lock. He got the distant look in his eyes that Ari got when she was talking to them. I assumed he was reaching out to Caleb and Keo to let them know to come back. Sure enough, about 5 minutes passed and Caleb came walking up with Keo. Caleb was in just a pair of pants and I cocked my head to the side. Confused. I felt a curtain cover my mind as he walked up but the curtain only covered the back part.

"I think this is gonna work." Drake commented.

"He can't shift back though?" Keo asked.

"He couldn't when he tried this last time. Let's wait for another hour and have him try again. I think he's going to be able to but I think it just hasn't been long enough. But it could have also been the lock I put. I adjusted it. He should be good now." Drake said.

"Do I need to go?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, just for now. At the hour mark head back to us." Drake said.

Keo and Caleb nodded and then took off again. I felt the curtain lift and cocked my head to the side.

Drake laughed, "I adjusted it. It's more like the lock that we can make to protect certain memories. Instead of it locking completely down, if you're in wolf form it should just cover it. You should still be able to access those memories but it will take some effort. No one else will be able to touch them though. When you're in human form it should act almost like it always has. It should disappear, but you should still be aware of most things. You just won't be able to find the words to explain any of it if it's super important, like Ari knowing you are Ivan. She will be able to honestly tell Boss that she has no idea who Ivan is."

I whined thinking about Ari forgetting me. I didn't like forgetting her, but I knew I still cared. Even when I was Justin.

As we came up on the hour mark, I tried to shift back again. My body shivered and I felt it change. I gasped for breath when I shifted back. Drake came up and steadied me.

"You ok? Looks like we did need to just wait a bit."

"I'm ok. I need to get back to her." I told him.

"In the morning. You can't make it suspicious. We have another test to do." Drake told me.

I growled, "What now?"

"Ivan, your hair changed."

My eyes grew wide, "No"

"It's ok. They'll be here in about 5 minutes. We'll see what happens." Drake reassured me.

Sure enough, Caleb and Keo came walking up. As they got closer, I could feel the memories get boxed up. Instead of disappearing though, I was aware that they were there. But I knew it was safe.

"What's your name?" Caleb asked me.

"Justin." I told him.

"Heartbeat stayed the same. Do you know who we are?" Keo asked me.

I nodded my head. I wasn't totally sure what was happening. But I knew Keo wasn't going to hurt me.

"Who's Ivan?" Caleb asked.

"Someone that Ariya knew as a kid. He needs to get his memories back before she gets hers back." I answered.

"Yeah, but who is Ivan? Do you know his true identity?" Drake pushed.

"No." I answered.

"Seems good. I don't notice a change in heartbeat." Keo said.

"His hair didn't change either, so it looks like I don't need to use the saran wrap." Caleb added.

"Alright, run away again so I can add you back to the allowed lock people." Drake laughed.

"How long do you need?" Caleb asked.

"You guys need to be 5 minutes away for me to fix it, but you can run back as a wolf." Drake answered.

Caleb and Keo took off. I stared at Drake confused. He held up a finger as if telling me to wait one minute. After a minute the box of memories opened back up and I had them back. My eyes glowed blue.

Drake smirked, "Your hair changes back when you remember. That's good. It will tell us if we really are talking to you or not. It might also give you a slight disguise."

I laughed, "Ari is going to love my hair being back to how she remembers. She said that I looked different but couldn't explain it."

Drake laughed, "She was fascinated with your hair. Come, I need to fix the lock before they get back."

Drake put his hand on my head and fixed the lock again, adding Caleb back to the group that I would keep my memories around.

"Drake, did she really bond with Caleb?" I asked him.

Drake laughed, "You're not jealous are you?"

I growled at him which only served to make him laugh harder. Caleb and Keo showed up seconds after and Caleb shifted back.

"She probably would have if we remembered how to actually complete the bond." Caleb laughed.

"What do you mean? Didn't Drake lock all the memories? Wouldn't he have remembered though?" I asked.

"No, the bond part was something Derek and I agreed to locking forever ago. It's the one thing that makes you guys more powerful and us more powerful at the same time. That is going to be especially true for you and Ari." Drake told me.

I blushed, "So she's not bonded then?"

"Nope. You will have to do that. ONLY if she wants it to happen." Keo growled at me.

"I wouldn't do something she didn't want." I growled back.

"As long as you tell her everything first." Keo said.

"What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"I'm just saying, make sure to tell her everything. Including the reason your eyes are blue and not yellow like Caleb's."