Page 30

Chapter Thirty

“Wait here,” he said, putting the truck in park. “Don’t get out.”

Before I could ask more, he was already sliding out of the driver’s seat. The door hung open as he paused, turning back to me with worry etched across his face.

“I don’t like this,” he muttered. “It’s Paul.”

I squinted through the windshield, confused. “Paul? I don’t see?—”

That’s when I spotted him. A man, completely naked, emerging from between the trees. My mouth fell open as I instinctively shrank back against the seat.

Ryder’s voice grew firmer. “Stay in the truck, Everly. I mean it.”

He slammed the door shut. Paul approached cautiously with his head bowed, a posture that seemed rather submissive.

“You’re different,” Paul said, his voice making its way inside the cab. He sniffed the air. “Something changed.”

“Why are you here?” Ryder asked, keeping his voice calm.

Paul shook his head. “I made a terrible mistake. Ryder, I don’t know if… will you ever be able to forgive me? Can you take me back? I should never have left the pack to join Kellan. I was weak… so easily tempted by empty promises.”

Ryder stood with his feet planted firmly and his hands balled into fists at his sides. “You weren’t tempted, Paul. You were fooled.”

Paul nodded emphatically at Ryder’s words. “You’re right. I was completely fooled.” His voice cracked with desperation. “Please, Ryder. I’m begging for your forgiveness. Let me come back. I’ll do anything.”

Ryder’s broad shoulders tensed beneath his shirt as he stood in the moonlight, facing the naked man. The confidence he’d shown during our date was still there, but harder and more — he was a leader. It was more than enough to show me that there was no way I could stay and allow him to give it up to Kellan.

His pack needed him.

“You understand that if I let you back in, you’ll be at the bottom of the pack,” Ryder said, his voice sharp. “It would take a long time to regain my trust. Maybe years. Maybe never.”

Paul dropped to his knees in the dirt. “I’ll do anything. Anything at all. Just let me come back.”

I shifted in my seat, feeling like I wasn’t supposed to be there watching this moment between the two men. Part of me wanted to look away, but curiosity kept my eyes fixed on them.

Ryder crossed his arms. “Did something happen between you and Kellan? Why the sudden change of heart?”

“He treats me like trash,” Paul said, his head dropping as if it were too heavy to hold up any longer. His face contorted with an array of emotions before he looked up again. “The things he’s done to me. I know he hates me because I was loyal to you. He’ll ask questions about your pack, and when I don’t know the answer, he hits me. Says I’m keeping things from him… that I’m not being loyal. I’m afraid of what he might do, Ryder. You have to help me.”

“Jesus,” I whispered, my fingers gripping the edge of the seat.

“It’s not right,” Paul said, shaking his head. “It’s not like you. He told us all that you’re going to step down. That soon, all the wolves in the area will be bowing to him. Is it true? Are you stepping down to him?”

Ryder’s face remained impassive, revealing nothing. The silence stretched between them for several long seconds.

“It’s under control,” Ryder said, his voice flat.

“Do I even have a pack to come back to?” Paul asked, his eyes glassy.

Ryder let out a slow breath. “Yes, you do. Now, get up and don’t come back here without my permission. I will be in touch soon.”

“Thank you, Ryder. Thank you,” Paul said, nodding. Without another word, he turned, and his body began to contort before he disappeared back into the darkness of the trees.

Ryder stood motionless for a moment, staring after him. When he turned back toward the truck, his expression was unreadable. I felt a chill run through me that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Ryder pulled open the driver’s side door and held out his hand to me. I grabbed my purse and took his hand.

“This is why you can’t step down,” I said when we got to the door. “They need you.”

“Everly,” Ryder said, shaking his head.

“I’ll miss the hell out of you, too,” I said, forcing a smile. “It’s for the best. Besides, shouldn’t you be with a woman who is like you?”

A noise moved through Ryder’s chest. “I should be with who I want to be with.”

“Sorry,” I said, digging in my purse for my keys.

“It’s fine,” Ryder said, glancing toward the trees. “Just frustrated with all of this.”

I opened the house door, my keys jingling in my hand. The night had taken a weird turn, but still I wasn’t ready for it to end — not like this.

“Would you like to come in?” I asked, turning to face him. “I don’t have any wine as good as what we had at the restaurant, but I have some juice or maybe some diet soda.”

His eyes scanned the trees behind him before meeting my eyes. “I would like that.”

Once inside, we didn’t talk much about what had happened with Paul. Instead, we found comfort in each other’s company, in the simple normalcy of being together.

That night, I fell asleep curled against Ryder’s chest, his strong arms wrapped protectively around me. For someone who carried so much responsibility, he slept deeply beside me, letting out a few rumbling noises from his throat every so often as he dreamed about something.

We stayed that way until late morning, the sun high in the sky, when we finally stirred. He smiled at me as my eyelids fluttered open.

“Still beautiful,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“What do you like for breakfast?” I asked, my nose scrunching as I tried to think what I could offer. “I have eggs, sausage… toast or bagels.”

He tucked his hands behind his head. “A guy could get used to this.”

“Well? What do you like?”

“All of it,” he said, grinning.

He sat on the sofa, checking his phone while I cooked. It was so calm and peaceful, and everything I wanted when I moved out to the country. I’d never felt more… I wasn’t sure what it was… happiness?

“All right,” I said, setting his plate down on the table. “Scrambled eggs with cheese, overcooked sausage, and heavily buttered toast.”

“Perfect,” he said, sitting down.

Ryder put his clothes on after we’d crawled out of bed, but hadn’t bothered to button up his shirt. He looked more delicious than my food.

“I need to get to work,” he said reluctantly as he finished the last bite of food. “Have some projects I need to get set up with the crew today.”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, waving a hand. “I should probably start boxing everything up.”

He stood and started buttoning his shirt. “Thought we weren’t going to talk about that?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I said, lowering my head.

“Hey,” he said, hooking his thumb under my chin. “You don’t need to turn your beautiful face away from me or be sorry about anything.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m just using you or something,” I said, frowning. “I love every minute I get with you, but we know this is the right thing to do. I don’t belong here.”

Ryder didn’t respond. He pulled me in for a soft kiss, his lips lingering as if he were trying to think of any excuse he could to stay.

“Ryder,” I said as he pulled away.

“Yes?”

“What happens after I leave and you refuse to give Kellan the pack?” I asked, wrapping my arms around my middle.

Ryder let out a heavy breath. “Things will just go back to how they were before you got here, I suppose. He’ll keep antagonizing me. Anyway, I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, ignoring the twinge in my heart as he opened the door and slipped out of the house.

I moved to the window, watching as he walked toward his truck. He opened the door and paused, his head tilted upward, and his shoulders tensed as he seemed to sniff the air.

Instead of getting into his truck, he walked around to the bed and, without warning, he slammed his fists against the side panel. The metal caved inward with the force, leaving two deep dents in the steel.

I rushed outside, pain jolting through my bare feet when I stepped onto the gravel. “What’s going…”

My voice fell away as I looked into the bed and stumbled backward, barely managing to stay on my feet. Tufts of dark fur, and a limp paw hanging over the edge.

A wolf.

A dead wolf.

“Oh, my god!” I breathed, looking at Ryder. The world around me started to spin.

Ryder turned to me, his chest heaving with barely controlled rage, his knuckles bloody from hitting the truck. “It’s Paul.”