Page 36 of A Wolf’s Wound
Hannah
Ryder doesn’t answer me at first. Honestly, he doesn’t even seem to see me for a minute. I’m not sure Gavin does either. They’re both looking in my direction but both men seemed locked into their fight, each getting ready to land another verbal blow.
Ryder’s arm is tense. His whole body is. But his arm is so rigid that it feels like I’m touching warm concrete. His face is beaded with sweat, and his mouth is turned down in a scowl.
But it’s his hands that I can’t stop staring at. They’re balled into fists, like he’s about to start swinging. Would he really punch his brother? That would be bad enough in a regular family, but in the Stone family, a beta punching an alpha is unheard of.
I look back at Ryder’s face, and to my great relief, he’s staring back at me now. I feel the muscles in his arm relax, not by much, but enough to make me think that maybe this fight is over.
“I’m sorry, Hannah,” Ryder says softly. He glances around, but no one else has noticed the argument brewing between him and Gavin.
“Me too,” Gavin says.
“I appreciate the apology, but you guys need to both calm down,” I tell them. “We’re all on the same team here.”
“Even if we have different ideas about how to play the game,” Ryder adds. He holds out his hand to Gavin. “I’m sorry, Gavin. I let my temper and fear get the better of me. You’re a great alpha and I’m honored to be your beta.”
“Thanks, Ryder.” Gavin shakes his hand. “I’m sorry too. You’re the best beta an alpha could have.”
“Thanks,” Ryder says. “And you’re right that trying to provoke this person could be too dangerous. The last thing either of us wants is for someone else to get hurt.”
“I appreciate your dedication,” Gavin tells him. “And your passion. But I’m glad you’re willing to try my approach. If it doesn’t work, I promise we’ll reevaluate our plans together.”
Ryder nods, and Gavin looks at me.
“Hannah, I want to make something very clear. You’ve probably already figured this out, but let me say it anyway.”
I wait, feeling my own muscles tense up. Gavin still looks so serious. What is he going to tell me? What was I supposed to have figured out?
“You have the full protection of the Stone pack,” Gavin continues, and I let out a relieved breath.
“For as long as you’re in Stonehaven and probably even after that, if you want.
We consider you a member of the pack now, and that means we’ll protect you with our lives.
And not just because of our ties to the Blackwood pack but because we care about you. ”
“Thank you, Gavin,” I say, genuinely touched. “I just hope it doesn’t come to that, for everyone’s sake.”
“Don’t mind Gavin,” Ryder says with a teasing glint in his eyes. “He masks emotion with being very stern.” He says those last two words in a near-perfect imitation of Gavin, and both brothers laugh.
“And Ryder loves to undercut sentiment with jokes he thinks are funnier than they are,” Gavin says, taking a playful swipe at his brother’s head.
“Ow!” Ryder protests. He bares his teeth and snaps them at Gavin. “Better sleep with one eye open.”
“I always do,” Gavin says and they laugh again.
I laugh too although joking about being on high alert seems a little inappropriate, given what we’re all dealing with. But both Gavin and Ryder seem to find it hilarious, and I’m glad that they stopped arguing.
“Okay, it’s getting late,” Gavin says when they’ve calmed down. “Ryder, you and Hannah should get going.”
“I thought I was staying in the main house tonight,” I say in surprise.
“There’s actually another place that is better suited,” Ryder says. “But it’s a bit of a drive, so we should get going.”
“Okay,” I say, confused. “Um, good night.” I look to Gavin as Ryder puts his hand on my shoulder.
“You’ll be fine,” Gavin says reassuringly.
“I’m taking Hannah to the cottage,” Ryder says as we pass his parents.
“Good idea,” his father says.
“You’ll be safe there, dear.” Lori nods. She grabs my hand again and squeezes it. “I’m so glad you were here tonight.”
“Thank you for everything,” I tell her as Ryder scoops up Shadow. And then we’re in the car and driving deeper into the compound.
“Where is this cottage?” I ask after we’ve gone a few miles on the pitch-black road. Our headlights are the only lights I can see anywhere around us.
“It’s on the edge of the compound. It’s more like a safe house than a cottage,” Ryder explains. “It’s been part of the Stone pack for generations, but we’ve updated the security and reinforced all of the locks. No one gets in or out unless they’re supposed to.”
“Why do you think I need to be there? Wouldn’t it be just as safe to stay in the same house as your parents, so they could hear if anything happened?”
“That would be safe,” Ryder says. “That also could put them in danger.”
“I didn’t mean to imply I’d want that,” I say quickly, and Ryder smiles.
“It’s okay. You didn’t. I know that was the original plan, and I promise I didn’t lure you out to the compound under false pretenses,” he says.
“I believe you,” I say. And I realize, looking at his profile, that I do.
Being around his family and the rest of the pack tonight has helped me start to see Ryder in a different light.
He’s not as arrogant, closed-off, and imperious as I first thought.
He’s also passionate and caring, and will clearly go to great lengths to protect those he cares about.
“Good,” he says. “I don’t think I have the energy for another argument tonight.”
“It has been a long one,” I say, stifling a yawn. I look in the back seat and am reassured to see Shadow curled up in a ball and snoring softly. “I can’t believe everything that happened tonight.”
“The cottage is comfortable,” Ryder says. “It’s small but we made sure that whoever stayed there would have all the amenities they needed. Sometimes members of the pack or humans have had to stay for a while,” he adds.
“Do you think I will? I know we keep talking about how this is just for tonight, but I have to admit that now that I’ve had time to think more about what happened earlier, I’m a little freaked out,” I confess.
“Oh-ho, a crack in the armor!” Ryder grins.
“Not a crack,” I protest mildly. “Just trying to be logical here.”
“I appreciate that,” he says. “And I can’t say how long you’ll have to stay, or will want to stay, at the cottage. If your apartment door can be fixed and the security in your building beefed up tomorrow, you could be back in your own bed tomorrow night.”
“But it could take longer,” I say and he nods.
“I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner here,” Ryder says, looking worried. “But I also don’t want you to go home unless it’s as safe as possible.”
“I mean, are you going to tell me I can’t go to work, or call April, or do whatever I want tomorrow?”
“No,” he says, looking horrified at the mere suggestion.
“Then I won’t feel like a prisoner,” I assure him. “I’ll feel like a guest.”
“A guest in a very exclusive property,” he teases and I smile.
We lapse into silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. In fact, as we drive deeper into the night, I feel safer than I did in my apartment. Something about Ryder does make me feel protected.
But will that feeling be enough if another attack happens?