Page 6

Chapter six

Ryann

Raider, Wren, and Kit walk in and immediately go in three different directions. It’s clear as day that something has gone really wrong. I had intended to keep an emotional ravine between us, but, apparently, judging by the anxiety that grips my throat, I’ve failed. It’s only been a day since I met Raider. Am I that starved for contact with people?

“What happened?” Callan calls in distress and chases after Raider, only to stop, turning towards Wren, and then Kit.

“Ask him!” Raider shouts and waves a hand in both Kit and Wren’s direction.

I watch as Callan glances back at the hallway as Kit disappears into his workplace, slamming the door behind him.

Callan turns towards Wren, who is climbing the stairs and about to disappear.

“Stop and tell me what happened?” Callan barks.

I feel the weight of that bark punch into me, forcing me still, demanding knowledge I don’t have. How powerful is this alpha? I’ve never felt anything like it.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Raider stuck, unable to ignore his alphas bark. Wren, likewise, is frozen on the stairs. He fights and fights hard, his expression turning black with fury.

“Tell me why Kit is upset!” Callan says in a quiet voice that holds a hint of thunder.

This is an alpha who will do anything to protect his pack mate. I stand in awe, watching the transformation roll over him. He would kill for Kit, there is no doubt in my mind. The nerdy-looking alpha is hiding a vicious side of himself.

“We went into a store,” Raider says, cracking first, “and Kit was fine, he was fine, and then he saw Wren talking to someone- ”

“Who?” Callan asks. “Who was it?”

Wren looks at Callan, but we’re all looking at him. “He said his name was Freddy. He said they were friends.”

Callan spits out a curse with such violence that it makes my eyebrows rise.

“For future reference. Kit has two friends. They are me and Raider.”

I see the exact moment that barb hits, and Wren disengages from the conversation, but Callan doesn’t. No, he’s already turning and is at Kit’s door, tapping softly.

Wren escapes upstairs, and with a glance around, showing that Raider has vanished, I climb the stairs, too, following the enigmatic alpha.

I find him sitting on a bed in the room beside mine. His has a deep burgundy theme going on. I like it better.

“He didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yes, he did. I’m not one of them,” Wren says softly and puts his bag down.

“You could be. Easy enough to see you fit here like a missing jigsaw piece,” I point out.

I’m not sure why I’m helping him. I only know it feels so wrong to leave him like this. He’s miserable and alone, and I know that feeling. Oh, boy, do I know that feeling.

Wren scratches his chin. “Maybe I don’t want to fit in.”

“Sure, that’s your choice. Pack life isn’t for everyone.”

I wander into the room, noting that he keeps it the same as I do whenever I stay anywhere. I bet there’s a still-packed suitcase in the wardrobe, and he’s ready to go in just a couple of minutes.

“How was I supposed to know?” Wren mutters.

“You weren’t. If you don’t share, and they don’t. How can you?”

Wren shifts in agitation. “I hurt him. I didn’t mean to, but I did. He looked at me like I was someone he needed to be scared of.”

He stands up and swings his arm at the wall. I watch him and wonder if I should try to stop him. The hole is impressive.

“Did that make you feel better?” I ask.

“No!”

“You know what might make you feel better?”

“What?” he snaps.

“Talking to Kit. Finding out who that guy was and what he did that upset Kit that much.”

“He wouldn’t tell me.”

“Have you tried?” I shrug my shoulders. This feels like I’ve crossed a line I’m not comfortable with. “It’s your call, but it’s just an idea. Seems to me like if Kit knew you would be on his side, he’d be less upset. ”

Wren glares at me. “Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”

I shrug, masking the fury his question incites. I walk to the door and lean on the frame, giving him a cool once over. “Kit was kind to me.”

Wren exhales roughly. “Me, too.”

“So, fix it,” I say and leave the room, only to bounce into Raider’s gigantic frame. He slams a hand across my mouth and pulls me into his room, shutting the door just before the sound of Wren leaving his bedroom and descending the stairs sounds, leaving me helpless and at Raider’s mercy.

I stare up at him, my skin tingling everywhere he’s touching me. This alpha is my undoing.

Raider leans down, brushing his lips across my cheek until he reaches my ear.

“What’s your angle?”

“Angle?”

“What are you trying to do here? What do you want?”

I put my hands on his chest and shove him back, but it doesn’t move him even a little bit. His chest is so hard and warm.

“I don’t want anything. You’ve got me prisoner, remember?”

“Except you’re more like a guest, and you’re happy here. What is your story, Ryann? What are you running from?”

I shudder at the way he drags out my name. All of a sudden, I can taste him again. I can feel the stubble on his jaw brush against my face. His peppermint scent and taste, though faint, is there in my memory.

“My story is simple. I’m a traveller who came here by chance.”

“Where are your things?”

“My things?” I ask in a daze. It’s so hard to think.

“Where are your belongings?” he rasps, and I shiver and press closer.

He wedges a thigh in-between my legs as one hand slides down to my hips, anchoring me to the spot.

“My things? I left them?”

“Why?” he nips my earlobe.

“Because…”

“Because?”

“Because,” I break out of the trace just before I can utter the damning information. “Let me go, Raider. I’m not telling you shit. You should apologize to your pack.”

He steps back, obviously knowing we’re done, and he’s lost his chance. But I can tell he’s not going to give up. This is just a reprieve .

“And if you ever pull that shit on me again, I will personally crack those babies and roast the fuckers over a fire,” I spit and gesture at his balls.

Raider laughs as he walks out of the room.

I stand there clenching my fists, frustrated and horny. Why is he so hot? It’s criminal.

I stalk after him, ready to rip him a new one. I’m at the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell sounds.

The instinct to disappear silently grabs me. My hand clenches on the rail as I run through my options. At the end of the day, I do what I know. I frown and move down the hallway and duck into the bottom floor bathroom.

“Hello, Officers,” Wren says. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, Wren. Well, first things first, outstanding game on the weekend. My kid was screaming his little butt off.”

Wren laughs.

The other says something, but I can’t hear properly. I sneak out of the bathroom and duck into the kitchen, making sure I’m hidden safely behind the fridge.

“We’ve come about a report?”

“A report?” Wren asks.

“Yeah, some anonymous tip off that you guys have a girl here who might be getting abused.”

My body floods with super heat and then goes ice cold. I hold on to the side of the fridge just in case I manage to fall.

“That’s a really rough accusation,” Wren snaps. “You know us!”

“We know, and we wouldn’t have come, but we, well, really, the person who dropped the tip heard screaming.”

Did I scream? I might have. I can’t remember.

“So, you need to look around?”

“Yeah, look, it would be easier this way. We don’t want to have to go back for a warrant.”

No, no, no. Don’t look around. Go, leave. There’s nothing here.

“Do you even have evidence, or is this because I totaled Branson’s truck?”

There’s some muttering, but I really need to hear the story now. Curiosity was always my downfall. When they speak, I almost let out a squeak, surprised by how close they’ve gotten while I’ve been locked in this need to glean more about my hosts.

The police enter the kitchen, and I pad quickly to the hallway that leads outside.

“We don’t have a woman here,” Wren snaps.

A hand slides up my ribs and pulls me back. I go with him, recognising Raider’s intoxicating peppermint. He quietly opens the back door and pushes me outside .

There’s no time to acknowledge the terror. I shove it aside, quickly get my bearings, and am three steps away when Raider hisses at me.

“Go hide!”

I nod my head, and with a quick look back at the house; I face the forest that backs up their quiet suburbia and take off towards it. They even have their own little fence. With a code. I mutter about wool-headed alphas and yank myself up and over.

Just in time, too, because I’ve no sooner got behind a tree than the back door opens. The two police men wander out, looking around and doing an absolutely terrible job of being officers.

Callan comes out and leads Kit, who looks awful.

“You can go look in my workroom. Sorry, I didn’t know it was important,” Kit murmurs.

“Making another dress, Mogel?”

Kit flinches. I clench my hands and watch as no one jumps to his defense.

Why?

Can’t they see Kit is struggling?

“How is your wife, Brady?” Callan deflects.

The short, stumpy alpha with a bulging shirt smiles widely and stares hard at Kit. “She’s making a dress.” He then explodes in laughter like it’s the funniest thing in the world.

The snide comment pisses me off, but seeing the way Kit just turns to stone has me breathing fire.

I curl my fingers into the trunk of the tree and watch carefully as the taller cop scratches his bald head.

“There’s no woman here. The report must’ve been wrong.”

Brady squints. “Or they buried her in the woods.” Once again, he explodes into laughter, not noticing the disgruntled looks of everyone around him.

I watch them leave, and then stomp back to the gate, waiting for whoever to come out and let me in. The forest is dense and full of different bushes and trees. It’s impenetrable, and I can imagine lots of people get lost in there every year.

Am I surprised that it’s Callan who comes to fetch me? No, not really. The man has responsible as his middle name, I’m sure of it.

I stalk past him, my mouth held firmly shut so I don’t unload on him.

“Ryann?”

I whirl on him. “Don’t you say a word.”

He opens and closes his mouth, but I don’t give him a chance to answer me. I just spin away and stomp back to the house .

Inside, I ignore everyone, taking note that Kit has returned to his workroom, and there’s very loud music playing from it.

“What’s got her panties knotted?”

I see red and whirl on the idiot alpha. “Say that again.”

Wren reaches for me, but I move quickly, knocking his ass on the floor in a move that I’ve perfected. It’s with deep satisfaction that I watch as the big alpha blinks up at me from the floor.

“What was that?” Raider asks sharply.

I curl my lip and toss my hair but don’t answer him. A beta is allowed to have some secrets. I just happen to have a lot.

He reaches out cautiously, but I slap his hand off me, spin him around, and have him incapacitated before he can even commit to the act.

“Wow!”

“My turn,” Wren growls and launches up at me.

I kick out, and, within a minute, he’s laying on the couch, groaning into a cushion.

Raider sits down heavily. “Why did you let me take you?”

I snort. “You got the drop on me. I was distracted,” I say, refusing to look at him.

“But-”

I cut a hand through the air, silencing his inane argument.

“Why did you all just stand there while that cop insulted Kit?”

Callan sits down heavily and tangles his fingers together. “It’s not so much as just stand there, he’s a cop. He could make things hard.”

I scowl. “We teach people how to treat us.”

I turn to the other two. “What’s your excuses?”

Raider blinks. “What did he say?”

Is he this obtuse all the time or is it new? I turn away from him in disgust and look at Wren.

“Well?”

“It’s not my place-”

“Bullshit! You know what, fine. That’s just fine. It’s none of my business. If you want to hurt each other, go ahead. I’m just a beta who is your prisoner. What the hell would I know?”

With that, I storm up to my bedroom and close the door. I need to think.

If they won’t protect their own pack, what good is being here? One thing is clear. It’s not safe here.