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His shoulders righten. It’s the only sign that he’s not as relaxed as he’s trying to appear. “No, I didn’t forget you. You need to understand this, Gemma. I gave you the first full moon to cool off, then I went after you.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not. Maybe I was too cocky, but I thought I could explain. But you were gone. I couldn’t find you. No one could find you. It was like you up and disappeared. I could sense you were out of Accalia, and then you weren’t anywhere. No trace of your scent, no hint of our bond.”
Whoa. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard Ryker mention any kind of bond, especially not one with me.
“A year,” he tosses at me, sounding my carefree than he is. “Do you know how long that is? A year, searching. Despite what you think happened that night, I didn’t reject you. You’re my mate. You’ve always been my mate. Alphas aren’t meant to rule the pack alone. Mountainside needs its alpha couple. So I searched, and I waited, and I hoped that you’d come back to me. Some packmates thought you might be dead, but I thought I would know even if our bond was gone. And then, on Friday night, I felt it. For the first time in a year, I could sense you. I knew you were down here, so close I could almost taste you.”
Friday. I go absolutely still as I think about Friday.
That’s the night when I caught the scent of an unfamiliar wolf. When I snapped my necklace so I wasn’t wearing it, and I’d neglected to drink my chamomile tea the night before.
Holy shit. Talk about a perfect storm of fuck-ups.
Is that how he found me?
“I made arrangements with my Beta to leave Accalia, but by the time I made it here later that night, it was barely a whisper,” Ryker adds, basically confirming my unsaid suspicions. Later that night… oh, about the time I drank the tea Aleks made for me? Hmm… “My wolf’s a stubborn bastard, though, sweetheart. I found you, didn’t I? And, now that I have, I’m not going anywhere.
“It might not be as strong as it’s supposed to be, but I feel our bond. It’s here. Gemma, it’s here.” He raps his chest with his knuckles before resuming his lazy pose. “So tell me you’ll never be my mate all you want. I know better. You’re mine. Sooner or later you’ll agree and come back with me. I’ll just have to wait here until you do.”
Great. Just what I need. Another patient supe.
“No waiting necessary.” I fold my hands into fists. “I’m not your mate, and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind.”
A small, lazy, sexy smile slowly crawls its way over his face.
Not the reaction I was expecting to my heated declaration.
“Know what? That sounds like a challenge to me.”
Challengeagain. And, this time, there’s no mistaking it. He’s not challenging my position in the pack, or my dominance. He’s challenging my rejection of him.
Alphas never back down from a challenge. If I thought Ryker had pushed things by showing up at Charlie’s, showing up at Mea Culpa, breaking into my apartment to leave me flowers and pizza… he would only just be getting started. Especially since Roman Zakharov has given him permission to stick around Muncie.
I have to shut this down. Now.
“It’s totally not.”
A bark of a laugh. “Too late.”
I back up against the balcony door.
Ryker watches my sudden retreat. His alpha aura, the one that has been reaching toward me, licking out at me, trying to lure me closer… he pulls it in some, just enough to give me the air to breathe.
His voice drops. “I’ll never force you,” he vows. “It’s your choice, Gemma. It’s always been your choice. But you’ve thrown out the challenge. I’m an alpha. You had to know I couldn’t refuse.”
I swallow roughly. I can breathe, but I’m so consumed by him that it’s a struggle.
Finally, I manage to say, “You should probably go.”
“The bloodsucker isn’t here.”
I don’t even ask how he knows that. He’s an alpha wolf who’s never once shied away from who—and what—he is. He embraces his nature in a way that I’ve never been able to. My senses are keen, but his are unstoppable. He can probably pinpoint exactly when Aleks was last in the apartment, so of course he knows that I’m alone.
And if there’s a rumble of pleasure coming from him when he mentions that fact, I do my best to pretend I didn’t notice.
“So? Despite what you think, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s my roommate. We come and go as we please, and I’m used to sleeping by myself at night.”
