Rynn and Cade were only allowed in there to talk. Selene had expressively forbidden them from doing anything other than boiling water, and even that, she suggested they ask for assistance on. She had graciously given me permission to use the kitchen because I was capable of making basic meals without setting anything on fire.
Ryker was the only one she hadn’t addressed, and that was because, despite her calm demeanor, Selene was afraid of him. Or maybe wary was the better word. Despite that, she was adjusting quickly, and I was confident she would fit in here nicely. Assuming we got Warrick to not kill her over having to share his kitchen.
But he was rarely here, so he’d just have to deal with it.
I didn’t entirely understand Selene’s reasons for wanting to be here. She was the opposite of Rynn in that she was quite good at word games. We often had lunch together, and I could converse with her for hours and still learn nothing substantial about her.
It made Cade paranoid, but my gut told me Selene wasn’t a threat to us. Outside of Remy and Marie, there seemed to be no one else she cared about. Her family, including her parents, were still alive. But she never spoke of them and they hadn’t written to her.
I was more interested in why Selene had been the one offered to us for this alliance. This had been an opportunity for the Dragomir clan to get a spy in our pack. Why waste it?
“Why are you pushing this?” Cade studied Ryker. “The only one more hostile to Rynn than you when she first got here was Warrick. Now you’re following her around like a sad puppy. Bastian’s right. She’s never going to fuck you, not even if you convince us to let her into the pack. Which we never will.”
The lazy grin stayed on my face, even as I swore internally. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to Cade privately yet about the potential mating bond between Ryker and Rynn. Or that we’d both been incredibly wrong about Ryker having no chance with her. My plan had been to tell him all that this afternoon and then figure out the trip to Fervis, but Ryker had already been in Cade’s study when I’d arrived.
“And if she did?” Ryker pushed off the bookcase, a yellow sheen rolling over his eyes. “If she did fuck me? Would that change anything?”
“Ryk,” I warned. “Drop it.”
“No,” he growled. “Rynn is mine.”
Anger raced through me at the possessiveness of his words. I’d accepted that I couldn’t have Rynn, but he couldn’t have her either.
My grin morphed into a cruel smile that I so rarely directly at my own. “Really? For someone who is yours, she sure has gone to great lengths to avoid you lately.”
“Not helping, Bas.” Cade gave me a warning look before shrugging at Ryker. “He’s right though. You need to get over this crush. It’s not going to end well.”
“And the stupid bet you two have going?” The wolf peeked out through Ryker’s eyes as his glare bounced between the two of us before settling on me. “You’re just pissed because she’s not falling for your bullshit like everyone else.”
The tenuous hold I had on my temper snapped.
“Or maybe you lost your head over the first girl willing to fuck you.” I laughed. “Poor little lost pup. Convinced nobody would ever choose you, so you overcompensated with a mating bond.”
“Mating bond?” Cade’s brows shot up, but before he could say anything, Ryker was in my face, his fist gripping the front of my shirt.
“She did choose me,” he snarled. “Not you.”
“Funny.” My smile widened enough to show off my fangs. “Because it was my bed she was warming all last night until the sun rose this morning. Looks like I won that bet after all.”
Ryker went completely still. For a second, I thought he might go for my throat. Adrenaline coursed through my blood, and part of me was curious to find out if I was faster.
But then he dropped his hold on my shirt and stepped back, his expression closed off. The anger I’d been feeling a second ago went ice cold. “Ryk,” I started but stopped at the look in his eyes.
“Maybe Rynn didn’t choose me,” he said quietly, “but neither did you. Guess that bet was more important than me.”
Fuck. Panic gripped me. For once, I didn’t know what to say or how to fix this. I’d fucked up. Like seriously fucked up.
Ryker moved past me, his shoulder slamming into mine. I grabbed his arm to stop him. To explain what’d really happened between Rynn and me. But I was too preoccupied with finding the right words, which meant I missed the fist flying towards my face.
Pain erupted as my head snapped to the side and I staggered back several feet. By the time I glanced back towards Ryker, he was gone.
Cade filled my vision a second later, looking more pissed off than I’d seen him in a long time. “What the fuck did you just do?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rynn
I froze in the hallway as Ryker burst out of Cade’s study. The light, calm feeling I’d gathered after spending a couple of hours with Selene evaporated as adrenaline crashed my system.
