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.

Panic flared in her chest and perhaps it was the trauma from the last time but Violet’s instincts kicked in, slamming down a mental guard before she even realized what she had done.

Asher’s mind hit the wall she’d thrown up so hard, it was like he’d smacked headfirst into stone. He recoiled with a sharp hiss.

"Fuck," Asher growled, lifting a hand to his nose as blood spilled down.

"I’m so sorry!" Violet reached for his face, eyes wide as she tried to examine the damage, still completely baffled by what she had done. Or more accurately, how she had done it.

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

He tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose as blood dripped sluggishly. With his free hand, Asher pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose while Violet hovered nearby, watching him with guilt twisting in her gut.

"Just as I thought," Asher muttered, blowing into the cloth. "I can’t get into your head anymore. Not unless you let me in."

Violet blinked. "Wait, so I can control my mental ability now?"

"I’d 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. Tell me, how did you put up that shield just now?"

She 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 this time, and I just didn’t want that."

"So you enacted the wall subconsciously." Asher nodded, impressed. "It was instinct but it worked. Still, it was a stroke of luck and I want you to be able to do it again next time without fumbling."

He tapped his temple thoughtfully. "One thing that helps, especially for beginners, is visual imagery. That works for both mental ability users and non-mental ones."

"Henry’s not even a mental user, yet he’s built his walls so 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 well it holds against an intruder."

Violet frowned. "So I have to imagine a thick, solid wall in my head all the time?"

"At the beginning, yes," Asher replied.

"It’s like muscle memory. The more you train, the more instinctive it becomes. Eventually, your brain will know to put it up whether you’re aware of it or not."

He went ahead to say. "Another thing you need is mental awareness. You have to know when someone’s trying to get into your head, or your dream."

Violet’s brows were knitted together as she listened attentively.

"When I use my ability, some people don’t 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 like an itch at the base of their skull or a faint nudge. I think it varies from person to person."

He 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 both."

Violet inhaled slowly. This was starting to feel less like training and more like battle prep.

"You’ll 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 me."

"Feel you," Violet repeated, eyeing him warily.

"Not like that. But don’t worry, I’ll be gentle." Asher said with a serious expression even though it somehow managed to sound like a flirt.

That shouldn’t have made her heart skip, and yet it did.

Violet nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Alright."

Asher’s gaze locked with hers. Neither of them moved and just stared at each other.

"Concentrate," he murmured. "Sense it."

Violet forced her breathing to slow, eyes fixed on his. She let her shield fall and dug deep into herself. And then she felt it.

Like smoke curling at the edges of her mind, it wrapped around her like velvet and danger. And it reeked of him.

Smoked cedar. Dark spice. A sharp undercurrent of iron. It was powerful. But just when it should’ve overwhelmed her, jasmine bloomed in the center, soothing and intrusive in the kindest way.

Violet’s heart began to race and she didn’t realize how close they’d gotten until the air changed between them. Her breath mingled with Asher’s and he leaned in slowly.

His hand hovered near her cheek, while hers was twisted into the fabric of his sleeve. Their lips were seconds from brushing when someone clapped suddenly and Violet jerked back.

"Oops. Sorry."

Roman stood away from them, a smugly apologetic smile on his face and absolutely no regret in his eyes.

"I just came to announce we’re partying hard tonight!"

Then Roman took off while Asher glared daggers at him.