A leaned forwards and read the top of the book upside down; it read:


    Bound By Blood.


    "Bound by BLOOD!? Nah ahhhhh," Ajax stood up and immediately went towards the chained door but stopped when it shimmered and turned into a metal one, shutting before he could leave.


    "Sit," Mandy clicked her fingers and pointed back at the couch, "This will not take long at all.."


    "Ajax," A stood up after the shapeshifter did not move from his spot, "you want to mind-link with us, right?" His gaze drifted from what Mandy was doing, and he looked at A, "This is the only way.."


    Ajax nodded his head, and A ced her hand in between his quite muscr shoulders, assisting him to the couch. She removed her hand quickly and watched in fascination at what her mum was doing. Now, on the coffee table, was a small cauldron-


    Malia barked out augh, "A cauldron! Next, we will see green skin and a wart on her nose!"


    A held back a chuckle and couldn''t help but check her mum''splexion.


    "I heard that," Mandy replied, making A and Malia still. The guys looked around, trying to see if there was a ghost or someone her mum was talking to.


    "Did she mean me?" Malia asked.


    "Yes, I did mean you. And no, I do not have warts nor green skin," Mandy chuckled.


    A''s eyes widened, "You can hear our wolves!?"


    Ajax and Finn tensed upon hearing this.


    "Sometimes, if I focus enough. Although, your wolf seems incredibly loud. It didn''t take a lot of effort on my end to try and listen." She replied.


    So fricken bizarre.


    Malia stayed quiet, afraid now at opening her big mouth. She could no longer insult people with a witch in the room!


    A continued to watch as her mum threw different liquids together in the cauldron, along with some already cut up herbs and the asional flower petal. Somehow, the liquid was bubbling in the pot, and A could see her mum chanting something incoherent under her breath. Was it Latin? She couldn''t tell.


    "Okay, each of you, bring your index finger out, please," Mandy instructed.


    They raised their fingers, and one by one, their fingers were sliced quite deeply. A flinched at the pain; it felt like a paper cut.


    "Now squeeze as much blood as you can into the cauldron until your skin re-heals itself," Her mummanded. Grimacing, they each squeezed on their fingers, pointing downwards into the bubbling liquid. Mandy continued with her chanting, and A watched as the liquid formed into a glowing pink form. After two minutes, their minor wounds healed, and Mandy finished her chanting.


    They pulled back their hands while Mandy poured the form equally into three sses.


    "This will bind you three together. There is nothing more to it. I removed parts of the spell that would bind you fully together. Meaning, if one of you got hurt, then the other would feel it. If one of you died.. then so would the other."


    At the mention of this, Ajax leaned away; his normally slit cat eyes were now dted. A rubbed his back gently, and a small purr began to erupt from his chest; she watched as his eyes went back to normal.


    "All you need to do is drink.. drink all of it.. And that''s it.. you can mind-link one another," Mandy concluded.


    A grabbed one of the sses, and the other two followed suit, "Bottoms up!"


    Ajax, A and Finn each downed the glowing liquid, grimacing as they did so. It tasted sweet, then acidic and back to sweet again; they could not tell if it tasted great or not. The potion didn''t give enough time to tell in between each taste. Once they drank it all, they looked at each other, not feeling any different.


    A looked back at her mum, lost on what to do.


    "Well, try and mind-link him!" Sheughed.


    A turned to Ajax and tried to reach out with her mind. She tried to feel that tether that keeps a mind-link together. Ever so slowly, A could feel the faint line forming, and like invisible fingers, she gripped onto the line, "Ajax, can you hear me?"


    Ajax gasped and pped his hand, "A!? So this is what it is like to mind-link. You guys, this is awesome. Wait, is Finn here? Finn? Hello?"


    A rolled her eyes, "Ajax, hold on. We need to reach out for him to get into the link."


    After a bit of fiddling between the tethers, A could almost feel the knot tying together, forming the three-way mind-link.


    "Finn? Can you hear me?" Ajax mind-linked.


    "Well, shit. Now I have to put up with you in my head as well.." Finn replied.


    "Guys.. It looks like the ''Prisoner''s Club'' has gone to a whole new level! Mind-linking!!" Ajax almost screeched in their minds, causing A and Finn to flinch.


    "What have I done?"


    A and Finn stared at each other before bursting intoughter.


    "Hey! None of that!" Ajax jumped up and looked at them sternly, speaking aloud, "We just drank that awful potion so we can mind-link! Don''t go having your own private conversations now. Otherwise, I will do the same.. But with A.." He winked at her.


    And as though on cue, Mandy stood up and transformed the door back into the chains before packing everything up. A nced at her and frowned. She seemed paler than earlier and had a slight sheen of moisture on her forehead.


    "Are you okay, mum?" A asked and came forwards, cing a hand on her arm.


    "Yes, yes.. don''t worry about me," She waved her off.


    But A was still concerned, "Was there a lot of magic used? Or did you put too much strain on yourself?"


    Mandy chuckled and ced the grimoire in its spot on the bookshelf. Turning around, she sighed and ced her hands on her hips, "It was a hard spell. It wasn''t something simple you asked for. But with some chocte and a good night''s sleep.. I will be as good as new. It''s like working out. I am only fatigued."


    A''s brows rose at her mum''s exnation; she hugged her, "Thank you. I didn''t realise."


    "It''s okay," Her mum ced a strand of A''s hair behind her ear, "I know you need all the help you can get today. I am happy to have helped."


    A''s eyes widened, "You can see the future?"


    Mandyughed, "No. But I know you are about to do something reckless.. call it a mother''s instinct. But I also know you won''t back down now. Even your mate couldn''t change your mind."


    Another thing A never told her about. Damon was her mate.


    "How did you.. are these some witchy senses?!" A blurted out.


    Her mumughed heartily, and to the point, her eyes teared up, "Oh, A.. not everything is supernatural, you know.. John phoned your dad, and he told us. But we really shouldn''t have had to hear it from John! You should call more often!"


    A smiled sheepishly. "I know, I''m sorry, it''s just been a little messy right now. I promise to call more, okay?" She apologised before pulling her mum into a hug.


    For the remaining part of the morning, A spent time with her parents and, with Finn''s help, taught Ajax how to mind-link. There wasn''t much to it, but Ajax, of course, made it seem harder than what it was. She was thankful that he was only linked to her and Finn. Otherwise, she could only imagine the amount of mischief he would get into.