“Cadence, I don’t want to hurt you. I really, really don’t. But I’m going in there, and if you don’t stand back right the fuck now—”
“That will be all,” Luca's voice cuts in, smooth and infuriating. He walks out of the cells and joins us. Arms crossed, I fix him with a glare as the warriors retreat, leaving us alone.
I fold my arms across my chest and glare. “Doc cleared me. You’re out of excuses.”
Luca heaves a sigh. “It’s not me stopping you. Ryan doesn’t want to see you. He’s not in a good way. Doc said he has maybe a month or two left. He doesn’t want to fight it anymore.”
Getting shot again would hurt less. “No,” I say, shaking my head. My heart pounds against my ribcage, and my breathing turns rapid. “No. That is bullshit. I’m not losing my only family!”
I shove him hard. He doesn’t move an inch. His face is too soft, his eyes stripped of their usual cocksure glimmer. Like he’s already mourning. Already accepted this. It only makes me angrier. “No!” I slam my fists against his chest again. “No!”
“I’m sorry.”
Why is he acting as if Ryan is past the point of saving? It’s not true. He’s going to be fine
“No!” I yell, pushing him again. “No!” I hit him, and he just stands there. Stoic and infuriating. Tears stream down my face as he pulls me into a hug. My breath hitches as a sob catches in my throat. I push him back, my hands flat against his chest, but he grips me tighter, his arms a steel cage around me, holding me as I fall apart, as everything I’ve been holding in spills out. Myshoulders shake with the force of my sobs; each gasp is a desperate attempt to regain control.
He doesn't say anything, he just holds me. The world narrows to the feel of his arms, the sound of my own ragged breaths, and the overwhelming ache in my chest. “I can’t lose him,” I sob.
“I know, Princess. I know. I’m trying to get him to come around. He’s not listening to me.”
“Let me in there, Luca. You fucking shot me. You owe me this,” I say, poking his chest as my anger rises again. He winces at my words and has the good sense to look remorseful. He has apologized a hundred times. But it’s not enough.
I rub my hands across my cheeks, wiping away the tears before my gaze locks with Luca again. We stand fixed in a staring match, waiting to see who will give up first. It won’t be me.
“Fine,” he says finally. “Doc cleared you? And don’t lie to me. I’ll find out, and you won’t like my response if I learn you lied to me.”
“You really think you have a leg to stand on here, Beta?”
“Don’t test me.”
“Ugh. You are unbelievable,” I say, throwing my hands up in the air. “Mindlink him to confirm if you must. Doc cleared me right before I came here. Now, how about you go fuck all the way off and get out of my damn way?”
I glare at him, wondering why the hell he’s still blocking me. “Now, Luca.”
Hefinallystands back, and I burst straight through the door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I find. Ryan is… he’s broken. He sits on the bare cot—the only furniture in the cell he is in—his head bowed forward, his elbows resting on his knees. The silver bars keep him locked in, but they also reduce his wolf’s strength.
“It’s time, Ryan. You need to take a mate. Either you head over to Iron Fang and figure out which of those omegas is your mate or you take a chosen mate. I don’t care who, but you need to do it now.”
“No,” he replies without looking at me. “She’s not there. My wolf wasn’t remotely interested in any of them. It’s too late. I’ve run out of options.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t give up!” If we weren’t separated by silver bars, I would strangle him. How the hell am I going to get him back? He’s so defeated he can’t even see any other options.
“You’ll be a great luna, and Luca can be alpha. You don’t need me. The pack doesn’t need me.”
“Bullshit. Whatever part of your brain is telling you that is lying to you. Not taking a chosen mate is suicide. It’s not giving yourself a chance to feel better. I’m standing here telling you I need you. Stop listening to that voice.”
“This is the reason you need to accept your bond with Luca. If I’m not supposed to find my mate, then you can become alpha and luna of Lunar Eclipse.” His voice is flat, despondent. Like he’s already gone.
“I don’t want to be luna!” I yell at him. “And I refuse to accept this. You need to take a chosen mate. It’s the only option.”
“I can’t. There’s no one I want, no one my wolf will consider.”
“See, that’s the problem. You and your damn wolf are too stubborn. You need to start considering it. You need to go to therapy and work out why you’re letting your mommy issues literally destroy you.”
Ryan’s eyes go so wide they look like they could pop out, but then he barks out a harsh, humorless laugh. “You’re not serious?”
“You go to therapy, or you take a chosen mate right now. Hell, I’ll go pick someone out for you myself.”
