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“To see Ryan!I’m going to find out why hetried to make a fool of me. ”
Nikolai and Kyle both jumped up to grab his arms, and Lucas snapped at him. “No, Blayde! Don’t go to him like this. You’ll hurt him, and you’ll never forgive yourself. ”
Blayde shrugged both his cousins off him and turned to shout at Lucas. “Don’t tell me what to do about my own mate! I would never hurt him! But I’m going to get the truth out of him. He’s going to learn never to lie to me again!”
Lucas stood up and faced him, his features stern. “When you mated with Ryan, he became a member of our pack and now he’s under my protection. I forbid you to deal with him while you’re so upset. ”
Blayde turned away and threw himself back down into his seat, but he turned an angry face toward his brother. “You forbid it? Don’t try to get between me and Ryan, Lucas. I’m warning you!”
“Leave this until morning, Blayde. You’re exhausted and so is he, I’m sure. Try to get some sleep and in the morning, we’ll try to sort all this out. ”
Reluctantly, Blayde nodded. It was true, he was exhausted. They’d worked late the night before getting the ship into outer space and finding the wormhole. He’d only had a few hours’ uneasy rest away from his mate. He moved slowly down the corridor to his quarters and fell onto the bed, not even bothering to get undressed. He was heartsick and uneasy, finally falling into a troubled sleep.
The next morning, he overslept a little. After a quick shower, he pulled on his clothes and hurried to the comm deck. The others were already there and Lucas handed him a hot cup of coffee. “Are you ready to speak to him?”
Blayde nodded. He’d done little else than think of him all night. He badly wanted to see him, to hear his voice.
Lucas turned to Nikolai and Kyle. “Go get Ryan and bring himhere. ”
Blayde jumped back to his feet. “No
! Don’t youtouch him!” Hair sprouted on the back of his neck and his fangs descended. He leaped toward his cousins, but Lucas was there before him, catching him around the shoulders and pushing him back halfway across the room.
“Stop it! They won’t hurt him or even touch him more than is absolutely necessary. You’re not thinking straight when it comes to him. Now sit down over there and let them bring him in here! You’re too emotional when it comes to Ryan, and youcan’t be trusted around him right now. ”
Nikolai hesitated and then spoke up urgently to Lucas. “Why don’t we take him out now? This would be a perfect time, and no one will even know about Blayde’s connection to him. I know it’s a change in plans, but with this new turn of events, Blayde can’t be trusted not to tip our hand. Kyle and I can pretend to kill him right now and bring his body up here. ”
“Don’t you dare harm him!” Blayde said in a voice that sounded like a growl, his face red and blotchy with anger.
Nikolai glanced over at him. “Give me some credit, Blayde. I would never harm your mate. We’ll bring him to you. ”
Instead of sitting down, Blayde prowled restlessly around the room as Nikolai and Kyle left to get Ryan. After a few moments, he seemed to get himself under control. He turned back toward Lucas, who was watching him closely. “What the hell am I supposed to do about this, Lucas?I can’t take him to prison,I won’t. ”
“No,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “The pack takes care of its own. He’ll be taken back to Lycanus 3 and then we can decide what to do with him. I think you already know he can’t be allowed to go free until we settle this. If he admits it, then we’ll deal with it. Intensive training, rehabilitation. Maybe psycho-therapy. Judge Partland testified he was on drugs when he murdered that boy, so his mind may have been clouded. The judge said Ryan and the boy were lovers, Blayde. ”
Blayde shot him a fierce glare and turned his head away, waiting tensely for Ryan to be brought to him. Despite his fury at the idea his matehadn’t trusted him enough to tell him the truth, he still had a physical craving to be near him.
“I need to talk to him,though I don’t know what to believe anymore. I can’t believe Ryan would do something like that. And no matter what you say, Idon’t trust Partland not to have faked the vid and lied about everything. I won’t be separated from Ryan. If Ihave to, I’ll take him to Lycanus. We can start over there, and no one could touch him. ”
“Blayde, I’m sure he can be rehabilitated, especially if he was on drugs when this happened. Let the pack help you. You can’t give up your own life. ”
“Lucas, he is my life now. I told him once that I would try to rehabilitate him. Try to help him somehow, but if hewon’t trust me, I can’t help him. I don’t know what to do. ”
Lucas walked over to put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, brother. I’ll do anything I can to help you, you know that. You just have to tell me what you need. ”
“I don’t know yet. I need to talk to him, to see him. No matter what he’s done, he belongs to me. ”
Chapter Six
Ryan was dreaming of the past. He and Blaine were in the hall closet, deep behind the musty-smelling clothes, hiding from Aunt Betty. Blaine was crying, so Ryan wrapped an arm around him. A nervous boy, two cycles younger than Ryan, with thin shoulders, Blaine curved inward when he was trying to hide inside himself, like now. Ryan whispered to him to stop crying, Aunt Betty might be able to hear him. Suddenly the door flew open and Aunt Betty was reaching for them, her cruel fingers pinching and pulling at their scrawny arms.
With a start, Ryan sat up in bed, gasping. It took a moment before he realized where he was so he could try to catch his breath and calm down. His stomach burned and ached, and he rubbed it absently. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Blayde would be down to see him soon, he was sure of it. The nightmare had been bad, but it was only a dream, he reminded himself firmly. He heard a noise at the door and his heart leaped in anticipation. Blayde must be coming.
The door swung open and banged against the wall. Nikolai and Kyle stood there looking at him with undeniable disapproval on their faces.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Ryan had a strange feeling that something was terribly wrong as he looked at the two huge men. Their faces were grim and unsmiling, their posture stiff. “Is it Blayde?” he asked nervously, sudden terror gripping him. “Has something happened to Blayde?” Confused and scared, he jumped to his feet and would have run out the door to find Blayde if Nikolai hadn’t caught his arm and pulled him firmly back.
“We’ll take you to him, Ryan. He’s fine, don’t worry. ”
