Page 38

Ryker

The sharp night air bit through the fire’s lingering warmth at my back. Clouds had swallowed the moon, casting the forest into an abyss of shadows.

My lips tugged up into a smirk. The darkness was my playground.

The low murmurs of the men behind me grated on my nerves as their anticipation reached a fever pitch. They droned on, their voices becoming a cacophony of laughter and obnoxious noises that made it difficult to think.

I drifted from the group, imagining the thrill of tearing through the woods, navigating each twist and turn in pursuit of Cadence. When I found her, I’d reclaim her on the forest floor, showing her again and again what it meant to be mine .

My blood ran hot with need, and every instinct in my body called for me to abandon my post and go to Cadence. The laces of my trousers tightened uncomfortably, and I shifted my position, attempting to adjust myself discreetly. Once I was confident that I had tamed my raging erection, I turned my attention to the lords waiting for my command.

“Hunters!” I shouted, and the men’s excitement grew palpable. “Time to chase your prey!”

They launched themselves onto their horses before diving into the forest, their figures quickly disappearing from view.

Now that the men were free to hunt their willing prey, all I wanted was to return to my mate and fuck her senseless. Standing in the cold while the Unseelie elite screwed each other was not my idea of a night well spent.

Cadence would likely be furious with me when I returned to my chambers, but I would let no one who wasn’t me hunt her.

Not that a single soul would dare touch her after what happened at the ball.

Still, I didn’t want them so much as glancing at her, let alone imagining her naked.

The gods knew I’d killed for less.

My younger brother pulled me from my ruminations when he stepped out of the tree line, a guilty expression on his face.

“Riordan, so kind of you to join us,” I drawled.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he gripped the back of his neck.

“What kept you?”

“Ahh,” Riordan said before he trailed off.

He glanced to the side before his gaze returned to me. I didn’t miss the way he looked right above my head, not making eye contact. Malesh and Eamon, having sensed trouble brewing, moved to stand beside me.

“What’s wrong, Riordan?” Malesh asked.

“Why do you look like you’re about to be sick?” Eamon added.

“Well, I may have done something, and before you jump down my throat, Ryker, I did not encourage her to do anything.”

My eyes drifted closed for the briefest moment, and I ground my teeth together to stop myself from murdering my brother. I knew without a doubt that whatever Riordan was about to say, I would not like it.

“What did you help her do?” I gritted out.

Riordan shuffled in place as he directed his gaze toward the ground.

“I wouldn’t say I —”

“Riordan,” I snapped, interrupting him. “Tell me what Cadence has done.”

Riordan cleared his throat. “She may have, ah… joined the Wild Hunt.”

My brother stepped back, and it was then that I realized I had advanced on him. I dug my heels into the damp forest floor and forced myself to take a deep, calming breath.

“I’m sorry, Little Brother, but I need you to repeat yourself. I could have sworn that you said, Cadence, my Seelie mate, who I know for a fact is being guarded inside my chambers, had joined the Wild Hunt.”

Riordan made a pained noise in the back of his throat before he said, “I, ah, may have snuck her out of the castle.”

He winced as the last word left his mouth, and I realized no amount of deep breathing was going to keep me calm.

“And what the fuck led you to believe that was a good idea?” I hissed, barely managing to contain my rage.

My hands flexed at my sides, each muscle coiled like a spring ready to snap.

Malesh’s gaze bore into the side of my brother’s head as if he were begging him not to answer, but knowing Riordan as I did, I knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

“Because you keep her couped up inside your tower, refusing to let her experience any of the good things our kingdom has to offer.”

He puffed out his chest and if I hadn’t been so pissed off at him, I might have appreciated the fact that he was trying to make my mate feel welcome in our home.

“Did you ever consider what would happen to her if our people discovered who she is to me, or worse, that she’s Seelie?” I said through gritted teeth.

Riordan opened his mouth as though he was going to protest, but then understanding dawned on him, and he closed it again.

“Being my mate makes her a target, but being Seelie makes her a traitor to the kingdom. You and I both know that those who wish to harm me would readily use her against me.”

“Ryker, I —”

“Didn’t think! Yes, Riordan, I established that for myself.”

I regretted the words immediately.

Riordan swallowed hard and dropped his gaze to the forest floor. “I didn’t mean for it to go this far, Ryker. She only wanted a chance to explore our world. To better understand it — to understand you.”

A bitter laugh slipped from my lips. “And what do you think she’ll understand if some bastard from court stumbles across her before I do and considers her fair game?”

Riordan flinched, and I fought to control my anger. However foolish, Riordan’s intention stemmed from a desire to help Cadence feel more at home in our dark world, and I couldn’t fault him for that.

Sighing, I said, “There is a reason I keep her on such a tight leash, Riordan. I can grant her some freedom, but only when my men or I are there to protect her. Out here,” — I waved my hand toward the trees — “anything goes.”

The forest grew eerily quiet, and the sound of distant hooves faded as the hunters moved further away. But the silence only amplified the feeling that something sinister waited inside the woods. Every rustling leaf was a warning. Every whisper of the wind carried an echo of the hunt. I had to reach her before the night stole her from me.

“I’m going after her,” I declared, leaving no room for argument. “Nobody touches her, understood? If you catch even the slightest hint that a hunter is closing in on her, stop them by any means necessary.”

Malesh gave a single nod, his eyes steady and dark. “Understood.”

“What do you need me to do?” Riordan asked as he lifted his chin and straightened his shoulders.

“I need you to stay here with Malesh and Eamon. Take over my post as Warden of the Hunt. Can you do that for me?”

Riordan nodded his head in agreement. “What are you going to do?”

My body thrummed with a wicked sort of excitement as the thrill of the chase coursed through my veins. My senses became sharper, more primal, and I listened to the sounds of the forest as I tried to discern which way she may have gone. The sounds of pleasure met my ears as the revelers immersed themselves in the hunt, allowing all their dark and depraved desires to flow freely.

Cadence was out there somewhere, hidden and waiting. Anticipation coiled tight in my gut, and I swung my leg over my mount. I wouldn’t stop until she was back in my grasp.

The knowledge that she had defied my every order, every warning, just so she could throw herself among the chaos, made a shiver of desire race down my spine. Her defiance was both infuriating and arousing.

I would find her. And when I did, I would ensure that she understood the consequences of defying me.

“I’m going to hunt down my mate.”