Page 36

B lair doesn't throw another fireball, but he doesn't extinguish it either.

Instead, he glares at me, and I see the question in his eyes.

I'm not the best with people, but after a few weeks with them, I'm pretty sure I've got the gist and also a firm understanding of swear words.

Right now I'm on a limited time frame before he ignores my request and does what he feels is best, not only for Serena but his pack.

Why does he care what I have to say?

It doesn't matter; the fact is he does, which means I need to say it.

"They aren't a threat," I rush to explain because I know that's what Blair's worried about. It's why he attacked first without question. Honestly, the fact that he was able to sense them at all is amazing; even I wasn't aware they were there until after he lit the trees on fire.

Now that they've made themselves known, it's impossible not to feel their power, though. It's old and well beyond what any of us is capable of.

The only people I've ever met that come even close are my father, though his is because of his experiments, and Serena.

It's no wonder my father’s been chasing after her all these years.

Blair's eyes snap up, and I can't stop myself from turning to follow his gaze. The best way to explain this is probably to show him, anyway; not to mention, I'm curious.

A woman with fair skin and long red hair walks out into the clearing from beyond the charred trees. Thankfully, the damage isn't too bad; they didn't get to burn for long. She doesn't look old, maybe one or two hundred years at best, but I know better than to believe what I see.

No, if I had to guess, I'd assume she's probably closer to a mega-annum, maybe even an eon.

"Theo?"

Serena's voice is low, as if she's talking to herself, but it's impossible to miss. Ever since I found her in the woods that first night, it's as if I've been in tune with her, and every night we spend together only makes it feel more concrete.

So I don't think I'm imagining it when I sense a hint of familiarity, and that would make sense because how else would she know the dryad's name?

I watch as 'Theo's' face transforms, a huge smile pulling her lips up as she claps her hands together in what appears to be excitement.

"Serena!"

One second she's in front of us, and the next she's gone... no, not gone, behind us.

Pike's on her so fast I didn't even see it happen. One second, Theo was there standing behind Serena; the next, she and Pike are rolling on the ground. Pike pins her below him, his canines growing to those of his wolf as he growls at her.

If anyone ever questioned if Serena is also the wolf's mate, I think it's clear now. I've never heard of someone with so many fated mates, but Serena has these three plus the prince, and I'd bet every book I own that the bear she's trying to save is one as well.

"Your men aren't very nice, Serena," Theo whines, her lip out in a pout in the face of a man who looks seconds from ripping her face off.

Serena stands frozen, her eyes wide, looking at the pair of them for a moment before she shakes herself and seems to snap out of it.

"Shit, Pike!" She makes it all of two steps before Blair's got her, his tail wrapped around her waist, hoisting her up into the air so that her feet can't touch the ground. I'd heard he was a snake shifter, but I had yet to see him shift.

We don't have snakes shifters anymore, not for a few hundred years at least, and never of that size.

Serena groans, kicking and scratching at the scales of his tail, but he doesn't flinch, doesn't even bat an eye.

"Damn it, Blair. Put me down," she hisses, glaring daggers at him that make me happy they aren't directed at me.

"Not until we know what the hell is going on, Hops." Storm's voice is harsh and demanding, but his eyes are full of concern as he looks at her. These men might be a little overbearing and protective, but it's impossible to miss the way they love her.

My heart beats faster as I stand on the outside looking in. I've always wanted a place to belong, a home like the ones in the books with parents and siblings who cared. I'd never dared dream of having a lover, but...

Is that what this feeling is? Longing?

What would I give to have what they do? To have a proper family, a pack who is willing to live and die for you...

It took a while to get everyone on the same page, but with Blair's hold on Serena, everyone seemed willing to at least listen. Apparently, Serena and Theo had met before; that's how Serena got a horse to get to the castle after I left her in that town, which feels like another lifetime ago.

"You left her alone, beastless, in a realm she didn’t know shit about where people hate anyone with dark elemental magic?" I cringe hearing Storm say it like that because it sounds bad, but the alternative was worse.

"Knock it off, Storm. I don't need you to be all growly over something that happened forever ago.

Ryker didn't owe me anything. He'd already saved me from those creepy-ass woods and whatever goes bump in them.

I'd rather take some upset townspeople." She smacks him in the arm, but he seems unfazed as he continues to glare at me.

Rolling her eyes, she looks to Blair as if he might offer her assistance.

He's also staring me down, though he doesn't look as murderous.

"My father had returned, and I knew she wasn't safe with me anymore.

I didn't know who she was, or that she was who Draven was looking for, but nobody's safe with him.

It was safer for her to be anywhere else.

" I force my mouth closed, swallowing down the rest of the words that want to spill from my lips.

Somehow, I don't think they want to hear that I would have happily let her stay with me forever if it had been possible. They might be willing to let me train her, but I don't think they like me, and I can't say I blame them; I don't like myself either.

"Don't worry, little kitty, I kept your mate safe," Theo says as she skips around. You'd never know that she was just pinned to the ground by Pike, who was more than ready to rip her throat out if needed.

Not that she can die, at least not that I'm aware of.

Storm pulls a face at her nickname, but I don't understand why. They all seem to have nicknames for Serena; maybe it's just something for the woman?

Why are people so confusing?

"Ryker?" Serena's voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I look up to find her staring at me.

Shit, I totally spaced out for a second there. Was she talking to me?

I push a hand through my hair and fight the urge to step back. It's not just Serena looking at me, but everyone now, and the only time I get this much attention is when it's a bad thing.

"Hey, it's okay." Serena takes a step forward, raising a hand as if to reach for me.

Her eyes meet mine, and I'm not sure what she sees, but she lets her hand fall to her side.

For a moment, I worry I've upset her. I'm no good at this.

I don't know what I'm doing, but I want to.

I want to be normal, to joke and understand the way her mates do.

"Sorry, this is..." I trail off, unsure how to explain it.

"A lot?" Serena offers with a soft smile that feels like it's just for me. She takes another step toward me, and instead of the urge to run, I find it grounds me. As if her presence is what I need.

My chest feels tight, and I feel my beast stir.

No!

I take a step back, and Serena freezes. I see the hurt that flashes in her eyes before she masks it.

My beast pushes to the surface, trying to break free, and I feel like I'm choking on the panic. The idea of him here with them.

No, I have to keep them safe. I won't hurt Serena, and hurting anyone here will no doubt do just that. I'm not my father; I'm not a monster… at least I don't want to be.

The rumble in my chest feels foreign; never has my beast reacted like this, and I'm not sure what to do about it, other than leave.

I can't hurt her if I'm not around.

"Ryker?"

Her voice is so low, her eyes so full of concern that I don't deserve; it would break my heart if I had one.

"I'm sorry." It's all I can think to say, and even then I hardly manage to choke the words out before I let myself slip into the shadows and out of sight.

Serena's been begging me to teach her how to do this trick since I first started training her.

It's not that I don't want to, but more so I'm unsure how.

It was something I stumbled upon when I was young.

My father has always been rough, but one day after a particularly bad beating, I ran and hid.

He wasn't done with me, he never was, but I knew if he kept at me, I wouldn't survive.

I sat in the back of a dark closet of the library in the run-down castle of Salona and cried, praying to the gods and wishing I could be invisible.

A voice answered me in my mind; they apologized, saying things I didn't understand before they explained that in times of need, I could be one with the darkness. They said it was the least they could do.

I never heard that voice again, but ever since that day I've been able to use the shadows, at first to run from Draven's beatings and now to run from his manipulation.

"That guy gives me the creeps." The meaner twin, Storm, says, his lips pulled down in a frown as he scowls at the space where I just disappeared.

"You give me the creeps." Serena snaps back without hesitation, seeming to catch him off guard with how harsh her voice is. He looks at her as if she slapped him, but she turns and walks away, disappearing into the woods, headed back toward the castle with Theo hot on her heels.

"Good job," Blair says, and even I don't miss the thick sarcasm that drips from his words.

Storm curses under his breath before chasing after Serena, yelling for her to wait up. I don't need to see her to know she doesn't.

The rest of them file out, following her as well, but Blair hesitates a moment, his gaze sweeping the clearing as if looking for something.

"I know you’re still here." His voice is low enough that I know he only means for me to hear him. Blair is very aware of just about everything; it’s a wonder Serena ever made it out here alone.

“Serena’s special. Something about her isn’t like the rest of us, and I know you see it.

Right now she likes you, and despite what Garrett says and how Storm feels, I don't think you’re bad…

” He trails off as if getting his thoughts in order.

I stand frozen in place, unable to move.

It's silly because he has no way to actually know if I'm here or not, but I feel as though he does.

"If you hurt her, I will kill you. No matter how much she might like you, Serena's been through enough."

He's right. I know he is just from the little bits and pieces I've heard of her past. But more than that, I don't want to hurt her.

It's a strange feeling wanting to protect someone, to go against the very nature of who you are and who you were raised to be.

If I hurt her, I'd happily do it myself.

I watch as his lips pull up just slightly before he turns to follow after the rest of them without a glance back.

I want to go with them, to be a part of something bigger than myself, something that matters.

I want to matter.

But I know that's not something I can do. Not right now, at least, maybe not ever.

For now, I'll be here when Serena needs me, anyway she might, because she's changed everything for me.

She is everything for me now.

Which means I need to figure out a way to kill my father.