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Chapter Twenty-Five

Ryder made it to the window in two steps, and I followed close behind, holding my robe tight to my chest. I pulled the curtain to the side and gasped.

The neighbor’s house was engulfed in flames. Orange and yellow fingers reaching toward the night sky, devouring the structure like a hungry beast. Smoke billowed upward, thick and black against the darkness, making a large cloud overhead.

“What the hell happened?” Ryder asked, turning to face me, his face half-illuminated by the fire’s glow.

I took a step back from the window. “A woman… she attacked me. I heard someone calling for help and I went?—”

“You what?”

“I’m not going to stand around and let someone die!”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re actually terrible at pretending you don’t see things?”

I waved a hand in the air, brushing away his words. “A woman killed my neighbor. She said it was her father… and that he made her the way she was or something. I thought she was going to let me go, but then she didn’t.”

“Son of a bitch,” Ryder said, pacing at the window, running his hands so aggressively through his hair I thought he was pulling it out. “You could have been killed!”

“There was blood everywhere once Kellan and his pack got inside,” I said, wincing as I swallowed. “Kellan showed up just in time. He saved my life. He and the other wolves killed the woman. He said they tracked her.”

“She was the one killing wolves in our territories,” Ryder said, as if he were making sense of everything.

I nodded. “That’s what he said, but she wasn’t… normal. There was something wrong with her. She threw one of the wolves across the room as if it weighed nothing. Her teeth?—”

The distant wail of sirens broke my train of thought.

Ryder looked me up and down. “Did she hurt you?”

“Not even a scratch,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe a few bumps and bruises, but nothing that won’t heal. I have no idea what she was. She was so incredibly strong and beautiful.”

“She was a vampire,” Ryder said, his jaw tense.

I stared at him. “You’re not joking, are you?”

“You believe werewolves, but vampires are a step too far?” he asked, raising a brow.

I scoffed. “Sadly, I believe both… but I’m far more afraid of her than I am of Kellan or his pack. She was unbelievably strong.”

“Dammit,” Ryder said, turning back to the window. “I knew I should have trusted my instincts and come back. I felt something was wrong. I’ve never experienced it before… that pull, it was just so… different. I don’t know… if… maybe?—”

“What?” I asked, shaking my head.

“I don’t know,” he said, his eyes focused on the flashing lights outside my window. “The fire will make sure she can’t come back.”

I cocked my head. “You burn vampires?”

“Or stake them.”

“What about garlic and holy water?”

Ryder flashed a quick half-smile. “They don’t like them, but it won’t kill them.”

“Do they have reflections?”

“Do you believe everything you read?”

“She was just so powerful?—”

Ryder snorted. “Nothing a wolf can’t handle. Or sunlight.”

I turned away from him, twisting my fingers. “There’s something else I should tell you.”

“How is there more?” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and turning me toward him.

“It’s nothing bad, just weird.” I pressed my lips together and closed my eyes, trying to remember how it had felt. “Earlier today, when Trevor dropped off my car, I tried to leave. I was going to go back to Chicago, but I couldn’t even turn the key in the ignition. It was like there was a magnet holding me in place. It sounds crazy, but it felt like I physically could not leave this place.”

Ryder swallowed hard. “You couldn’t leave?”

“No, but now I know you’re safe and that everything’s well… everything will be okay once I’m gone,” I said, gesturing toward my bag. “It’s for the best.”

“I understand,” Ryder said, his voice low. “I’d like to beg you to stay, but I know that this isn’t the life you want. I never wanted you to get caught up in any of this.”

I touched his arm. “This is exactly why you can’t give in to Kellan’s demands. I’m leaving anyway. You don’t need to give up your pack for me. You need to protect them and lead them. They’re with you, and not Kellan, for a reason.”

He turned to me, his blue eyes reflecting the fire’s glow. “You’re right.”

“Promise me you won’t step down,” I insisted.

He nodded slowly. “As long as you’re safe, I promise. But I’m going to keep an eye on you until the minute you leave.”

“I’d like that,” I said, leaning my head against his arm.

“When do you plan to go?” he asked, stroking my hair.

I shrugged. “A day or two, I think. I can pack up some of my stuff and send someone for the rest of it. I guess I’ll sell the house or something. Could you visit me in the city?”

“Yeah, maybe. I’d love that,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He cleared his throat and turned to look into my eyes. “Before you go, would you let me take you out on a proper date?”

The request caught me off guard. A smile grew on my face, and I nodded a bit too aggressively. “I’d like that.”

“Excellent,” Ryder said, his lips curling at the ends. “I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone I feel as strongly about ever again.”

“Oh, please,” I said, pressing my lips together. “That’s obviously not true. You’ll find someone. I’ve heard that all the women in the area drool over you.”

Ryder drew in a slow breath that puffed out his chest. “I don’t drool over them.”

“I would love to go out with you,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’m sure I’ll never meet anyone like you again in the city.”

“You’re right, you won’t,” he said, flashing me a confident smile.

We stood at the window, watching the firefighters battle the blaze that consumed my neighbor’s house. Their silhouettes moved urgently against the orange glow, hoses arcing water onto the flames while they shouted back and forth.

There was nothing left but a smoldering, blackened skeleton when the sun kissed the horizon. Smoke continued to rise from the remains, but the flames had been thoroughly extinguished.

“It’s just gone,” I whispered with a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe it really even happened.”

Ryder turned to face me, his blue eyes searching mine, before he bent down and placed a soft kiss against my lips. “I’ll pick you up around eight tonight.”

“I’ll be waiting,” I said, biting my lip as visions of our last encounter flashed through my mind.

After Ryder left, I crawled into bed, pulling the covers over my shoulders. My mind kept replaying the night’s events — the vampire, the wolves, the fire — but eventually, exhaustion won out and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Insistent knocking jolted me awake. I squinted from the sunlight beaming into my room and reached for my phone. It was early afternoon, and I felt sickeningly groggy, but at least I’d managed to get a few hours of sleep.

Whoever was out there knocked again.

I shuffled to the window first, peeking through the curtain. My stomach dropped when I saw a police officer standing on my porch, notepad in hand. Another officer was scanning my property, looking carefully at my windows, the surrounding trees, and the lawn.

Great.