Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 458: Sense Me

"Who was it this time?" Asher asked, his gaze boring into hers with unnerving intensity. He looked like he was a breath away from committing murder.

Violet shook it off and sat up, stretching her sore limbs before answering. "It was my brother. Micah."

"What does he want?" Asher asked grimly. The fact he hasn’t asked how Micah infiltrated her dream proved that he knew what his ability was.

"He came to check up on me." Violet paused, then added, "He wants me to return to the academy. He says it’s the safest place for me."

Asher’s jaw tightened. "No place is truly safe but he’s right. Baron can’t touch you there, neither can Elijah. Not without risking public eyes or sentiment."

Violet’s face fell slightly. "But we can’t leave yet. I haven’t spent enough time with the others. The mate bond still hasn’t triggered."

"Who said anything about leaving?" Asher gave her the "look". That dark, alpha glare full of fire and determination. "No harm will come to you here, Violet. I swear it. I’ll protect you, even at the expense of my life."

Violet reached forward, cupping his face with both hands. Her thumbs brushed along his cheekbones, soft and grounding.

"I don’t need you to die for me," she whispered. "We protect each other. That’s how this works."

For a moment, Asher seemed to melt completely, leaning into her touch until he snapped out of it entirely.

"I don’t like how easily people are walking into your mind," he said with a clipped voice. "We need to build your shield. Now."

Violet groaned inwardly. That damn alpha tone only meant pain was coming. She had barely slept off the previous training. So this was her fate now.

"I’m going to compel you," Asher said suddenly, already locking eyes with her.

from the last time but Violet’s instincts kicked in, slamming down a mental guard before she even realized what

so hard, it was like he’d smacked headfirst into stone. He recoiled with a sharp

Asher growled, lifting a hand to

damage, still completely baffled by what she had

It’s okay," Asher said quickly, lifting a hand to

dripped sluggishly. With his free hand, Asher pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose while Violet hovered

muttered, blowing into the cloth. "I can’t get

blinked. "Wait, so I can control

say you’re more aware of it than before." He finally settled, his tone more teacher than Alpha. "And as expected, your powers are tightly tied to your emotions.

shrugged helplessly. "I don’t know. You said it so suddenly that you were going to compel me and all I could think was, God knows what you’ll make me do

was instinct but it worked. Still, it was a stroke of luck and I want you to be able to

thoughtfully. "One thing that helps, especially for beginners, is visual

in without distracting him. For someone like you, just imagining a wall can help block trespassers. The strength of the wall will determine how well it holds against an

have to imagine a thick, solid wall in my

beginning, yes," Asher

train, the more instinctive it becomes. Eventually, your brain will know to put it up whether you’re

"Another thing you need is mental awareness. You have to know when someone’s trying to get into your

together

if they do at all. For others, it feels like an itch at the base of their skull or a faint nudge. I think it varies from person

her, dead-on. "But the point is you need to be able to sense it.

feel less like training and more like battle

have to lower your shield now," Asher added. "I need to get into your head. But this time, your job isn’t to block me. It’s to feel

Violet repeated, eyeing him