He wasn’t wrong. We were the Alpha pack. Rynn was just a political necessity.
Hopefully Rynn got over this quickly and we could go back to the way things were. It would be a shame to waste that clever mind of hers. Rynn was smart and had a natural talent for spotting patterns. It had made her a strong asset for figuring out migration habits of deer and other prey, not to mention identifying potential shortages in our meager crop-growing attempts.
It had been nice having someone to help me these past few months. Bastian did what he could, but he was often busy smoothing over disputes between packs before they reached blood-feud levels of animosity. And Warrick spent most of his time in the mountains.
Ryker was useful for many things, but doing research wasn’t one of them. He usually handled the hunting so I didn’t starve while buried under paperwork.
Aside from assisting me with the workload. I enjoyed spending time with Rynn. It wasn’t something I’d ever admit to her. Not only due to her status, or lack thereof, within the pack. But because I could easily see myself falling in love with her.
She was intelligent, beautiful, and had an amusing dry wit. More than once, I’d had to cover my mouth to hide a smile or laugh when she’d made some commentary on whatever letter she’d been reading.
In another life, I was fairly certain Rynn would have been my mate. But not in this one. Not the one where I’d fallen in love twice before and had been betrayed both times.
And one of those betrayals had almost cost Bastian his life.
For the sake of myself and my pack, I needed to maintain distance from Rynn. At least emotionally.
There was also the problem of her friendship with Samara, which was a double-edged sword. It was another knock against her in terms of people she was dedicated to before us. If she ever had to make a decision between us and that damn Moroi, I had no doubt she’d choose Samara. Hells, she wouldn’t even hesitate. I was absolutely sure that Samara and Cali held Rynn’s loyalty above all others, even her birth pack.
But I also couldn’t deny that Rynn was almost single-handedly repairing the relationship between the Moroi and Velesians. As much as it could be fixed anyways. The rumors were still circulating and the resentment was still there, but thanks to her quick thinking today, Rynn had now secured major trade deals between all three Orders and the Blood Sovereign, and people tended to be less angry when their bellies were full.
Neither Bastian nor I had been able to do that. In fact, prior to Rynn arriving here, all our future planning was how we were going to make it without any trade from the Moroi. I’d seen the reports of our food storages. They weren’t great. Most of last year’s crops had been decimated by deer and other prey animals that were being driven farther south due to increased monster activity in the north.
Rynn would never truly be a part of our pack, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t all get something out of this arrangement. It hadn’t escaped my notice the way Alexis had been hyperfixated on her during the meeting. If she hadn’t been promised to us, she could have ended up with him or someone similar. Her uncle was the Narchis Alpha. Rynn was always going to be a political pawn.
Better that she was our pawn.
“Think Ryker has found her yet?” I looked back outside, checking the progress of the sun. There were maybe ten minutes until dark. Tension-laced annoyance rose inside me as I scanned the tree line for any hint of movement. If they weren’t back in the next five minutes, I’d go out there and drag Bastian with me.
Not that we stood much of a chance of finding her. I was a shit tracker, and Bastian was good, but not good enough to find Rynn if she didn’t want to be found. Ryker had the best chance out of all of us, although maybe he was just stalking her and maintaining distance in fear of Rynn ripping off his balls. He’d come out a few minutes after Rynn had left and Bastian had still been on the ground, groaning and making increasingly creative threats about what he’d do to a certain lycan when he got his hands on her.
“If Ryker found her, we would have heard the sounds of their fight all the way from here.” Bastian snorted. “Pretty sure she hates him more than she hates any of us, and Ryker has zero chance of winning her over despite his little crush.”
“Is that what it is?” A flash of white caught my attention, and I narrowed my gaze, waiting. “I thought maybe it was just because she was another lycan and very dominant.”
Dominance was something all Velesians picked up on, but the lycanthropes were the most sensitive to it. They craved a pack and hierarchy more than the rest of us.
“You’re so bad at reading people,” he replied with a chuckle. “Our little Ryker is all grown up and has it bad. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t know the first thing about wooing anyone.”
Rynn burst out of the trees, running at full speed. Her white coat blended in so perfectly, it was hard to keep track of her as she raced across the open space between the forest and our home.
She must have stuck out like a sore thumb with her pack growing up, I mused.
“I don’t think what you do can be considered wooing,” I commented.
A silver blur darted out from between two fallen trees, chasing after Rynn.
“I’ve never gotten any complaints.” Bastian moved to stand next to me. “Everyone loves me.”
“Except Rynn.” I grinned. “Your balls recovered yet?”
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
We observed Ryker close the distance between him and his quarry. Strange, I could have sworn Rynn was faster than him. Had she been injured? Ryker pulled up alongside her, and for a few seconds, they ran together.
Then Rynn shoulder-checked him. There must have been something sticking up through the snow, because Ryker stumbled and went down, rolling several times.
Rynn charged ahead, leaving him behind.
