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.

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

was like he’d smacked headfirst

Asher growled, lifting a hand to

as she tried to examine the damage, still completely baffled by what she had

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

free hand, Asher pulled a handkerchief

the cloth. "I can’t get into your

can control my mental

finally settled, his tone more teacher than Alpha. "And as expected, your powers are tightly tied to your emotions. Tell me, how did you put up that shield

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 this

was instinct but it worked. Still, it was a

is visual

high I can barely get in without distracting him. For someone like you, just imagining a wall can help block trespassers. The strength of the wall will determine how

frowned. "So I have to imagine a thick, solid wall

beginning,

memory. The more you train, the more instinctive it becomes. Eventually, your

is mental awareness. You have to know when someone’s trying to get

together as

even notice until I’ve already got them wrapped in my hypnosis before they realize anything’s off. That is if they do at all. For others, it feels

looked at her, dead-on. "But the point is you need to be able to sense it. Whether someone knocks before coming in or just busts the door down, you have to recognize

This was starting to feel less like training

"I need to get into your head. But this time, your job isn’t to block me. It’s

you," Violet repeated, eyeing him