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Ryan’s green eyes still looked panicked, but he nodded slowly.
“Good,” Blayde said. “You need to know that Lycans mate for life. When I saw you this morning, when I caught your scent, I knew you were my mate, baby. My own, sweet mate, and nothing will ever come between us again. I haven’t started the mating process yet, but I will soon, make no mistake about it. ”
Ryan pushed back against him and started to stand up, but Blayde pulled him back down. He twisted in irritation and glared at him. “Will you cut that out? Just because you’re bigger than I am doesn’t mean you get to manhandle me, damn it. ” He pulled out of Blayde’s arms and stood up. “And you can forget this mate business. I have no intention of matingwith anybody!”
Blayde pulled him back to stare down into his face. “Look, Ryan,” he said. “You’ve done some terrible things. I know that, but gods help me, I want you anyway. To give you the benefit of doubt, you may have been on drugs when you killed that boy. We know from the reports that you’re addicted. I think you must have been, because you don’t seem to be all that violent or vicious now. Maybe I can keep you here with me, or take you away somewhere to rehabilitate you. I could take you to Lycanus, our home planet. I’ll make sure you stay off the drugs and alcohol,and I’ll make sure you never hurt anyone ever again. Of course, you’d have to go into behavior training, but that would only be good for you in the long run. I can teach you to be a good mate and make sure you always act properly. ”
Ryan’s reaction took him completely by surprise. He surged back away from Blayde and fell on the floor at his feet before he could grab him. Jumping up, he stood glaring at Blayde.
“Are you crazy?I’m no drug addict! And I didn’t kill my friend!” Ryan was shouting so loudly Blayde figured half the settlement could hear him. “It was the judge! He killed him and now he’s trying to kill me too!How can you think I would do something like that?”
He backed up and turned to run, pulling the long sheet up to free his legs. This time when Blayde came after him, Ryan shoved the broken remains of the coffee table in front of him and jumped back quickly. Blayde fell over it and went crashing to the floor. Ryan backed up right into Kyle and turned with his fists up, ready to fight. The sheet slipped to the floor, but Kyle had seenthe look in Blayde’s eyes when they opened the door of his bedroom and knew better than to touch his naked mate. He held up his hands in mock surrender and backed out of the way, averting his gaze.
Ryan sprinted toward the back door and was out of it and running across the decking by the pool before Blayde could get to his feet and go after him. Blayde’s quick reflexes kicked in and he was outside and on him before he could get very far. Still, Ryan fought him, kicking out at him and losing his balance. He fell backward into the pool and sank like a stone, leaving Blayde standing on the deck looking down into the clear water.
For a split second, Blayde di
dn’t react. Hell, it serves him right, let him cool off that temper. Yet after a few moments when he didn’t come back up, he grew alarmed. Blayde dove in and picked Ryan up off the bottom of the pool, bringing him quickly to the surface and over to the side. He climbed out, carrying Ryan, who was coughing and gasping for breath.
“You were only in there a minute, Ryan, don’t be so dramatic!”
“My mouth was open when I fell. I-I swallowed some water, damn you!” Ryan cried out, spitting and trying to cough it up.
Blayde slapped him on the back and chuckled. “Don’t you know enough to close your mouth, you foolish human?Serves you right anyway for running from me!”
Blayde took him by the arm and dragged him back to his room, flinging him down on the bed and standing over him until he began to settle down and breathe normally.
“Was any of that true, Ryan? Did you kill that boy or not? Tell me the truth, I mean it. I’m your master now, and lying to your master has very serious consequences. ”
Ryan shook his head and stared up at Blayde, his beautiful eyes earnest, though he looked very uncomfortable with the word master. “No! Iswear to you I didn’t, Blayde. ”
Blayde nodded. “Alpha,” he corrected gently. His mate would call him by the proper name. To the wolves, alpha meant master, top dog. His mate would be his to command and Ryan needed to understand that. And even thoughLucas led the pack, it didn’t take away Blayde’s status. He turned to the dresser drawers built into the walls behind him and found some dry clothes. He put them on quickly, throwing his wet jeans and shirt into the bathroom. Walking over to the door, he called over his shoulder. “Get dressed, Ryan, and come back out to the living room. We need to hear the whole story. ” He turned at the door and looked back at him. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this mess. I won’t let anyone hurt you again. ” Henoted Ryan’s mouth dropping open before he turned and walked out, hearing Ryan get slowly up off the bed to get dressed.
Blayde came back to the living room to sit down again, facing the other two men. “Sorry about that. I guess he’s a little unpredictable. ”
Kyle smiled. “Unpredictable? Yeah, you could say that. I think he’s going to give you a run for your money. ”
Frowning, Blayde flopped down in his chair again, waiting for Ryan to reappear.
Chapter Three
In only minutes, Ryan finished dressing, pulling on the only outfit he had left, a pair of pants and a Tshirt he’d borrowed from a friend when he’d run from the judge and his men. It was at least a size too small and he was almost poured into the jeans, but it was all he had now that his other pair was dirty. He could wash them later, if Blayde would let him use his cleaning machines.
Self-consciously he walked down the hallway. He was barefoot, his shoes having gotten soaked in the mud puddle when he’d first arrived. Ryan hesitated at the doorway for a moment as he came into the room. All three of the huge Lycans turned to look at him, but he felt drawn to Blayde and walked over to stand next to him. Blayde was looking at his tight pants and bare feet with a scowl, but smiled with great satisfaction when Ryan came over to him and made room for Ryan to sit beside him on the small sofa. Ryan sat and faced the other two Lycan shifters on the larger sofa in front of him.
Lucas leaned forward and spoke softly to him. “Ryan, what did you mean a little while ago when you said the judge was the one who killed your friend?”
“I mean he did it. It was the judge and those men he always keeps around him. My friend Blainewas the judge’s boyfriend. His sometime boyfriend anyway. They fought a lot because the judge always wanted him to do things he didn’t want to do. The judge had called after we got through shooting our scenes that night and asked Blaine to come see him. Blaine said he told him to try to convince me to come along. He said the judge had a kind of crush on me, and probably did it just to hurt Blaine. But Blaine insisted I come anyway, and said the judgetold him he’d give us a thousand diamond standard eachif we’d do a love scene together and let him watch. Fifteen hundred if he could join in. ”
He turned to look directly at Blayde. “All we wanted was our money. We did as he asked. We finished partying with him and two of his guys came in. The judge said they wanted to join in. They wanted to fuck us while the judge watched. We said no, and Blaine got really pissed. Told the judge he wasn’t a whore to be passed around. The judge got this pissed off look on his face, but he agreed and told us to go. We left, and got almost to the door when the judge called Blaine back. I told him not to go, but he went anyway. Told me to go home. So I did, and that was the last time I ever saw Blaine alive. Ryan buried his face in his hands. “I never saw exactly what happened, but I know they must have killed Blaine when he went back in there. ”
Blayde sat quietly beside him, just letting him talk. The other two men were listening to his story intently. “The next morning one of our friends called and told me Blaine had been killed and the police were looking for me. I got out of my apartment as quick as I could. I knew the judge must have implicated me somehow. I went to a friend’s house, someone I did films with. He wasn’t home, but knew he didn’t lock his door half the time. I went in and got some clothes and found some money where he always hid it. Then I just took off as fast as I could. I left him a note and told him I’d pay him back. I got a ride with another acquaintance to Lunar 53 where I got in on the slave auction. You know the rest. They framed me for the murder! I never touched Blaine! I swear it!”
Blayde said nothing when he finished, just squeezed his shoulder. Lucas’ lips had thinned as he listened to the account. “Thank the gods you got away from the sons-ofbitches,” he said. “They haven’t forgotten you,though, and I think they won’t rest until you’re dead too. They can’t afford to leave a loose end like you walking around. They’ve probably set something up for you at the prison, like having the guards kill you as you try to‘escape. ’ Rumor has it the judge will be running for President of the Alliance. One reason they were so frantic to find you and put you away before you could talk. ”
Ryan’s face got even paler. He squared his shoulders and looked up at Blayde. “I guess I’m pretty much fucked,then, right?”
Blayde looked back at him and smiled. “Not yet, but I’ll get to you in a minute. ” When he didn’t get the answering smile he must have been going for, he pulled Ryan more into his arms, a little surprised when Ryan didn’t resist. “I’m only kidding, honey. I’ve got you now, and no one is ever going to hurt you again. Do you believe me?”
