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I cling to the last thing he said instead. “That’s not your job. Your job is to be the Alpha of the Mountainside Pack. You were gone for almost a week, Ryker. Don’t drop what you’re doing to come down here. I promise you. I’m fine. Besides, I’m heading home right now.”
Translation: I’m going to the apartment, not your townhouse. Ryker could try to push me, but we both know that I’m stubborn enough to leave him out on the balcony if he insists on rushing down into Muncie anyway.
He’s not giving up without a fight, the stubborn alpha.
“The pack survived the week without me. Anything they need from me can wait until tomorrow.”
I gentle my voice. Ryker’s wolf is evident in the edge of his tone, and if I don’t calm him, he’ll shift and run down the mountain even though I told him not to.
“Come tomorrow,” I say instead. “Take the night to be with your pack.”
“Gemma—”
I swallow, then force out, “Please, Ryker.”
He huffs. “Fine. But I’m telling you, I’d much rather spend the night with you.”
How does Ryker do that? With one frustrated yet completely honest murmur out of this male, I forget all about the threat of my father, the menacing ruby, the infallibility of the Fang City’s constant patrols. Maybe I’d grown complacent, so sure that the Cadre’s security would keep any other shifters out, but I can shove that all behind me when Ryker opens himself up to me like that.
Of course, then I think about how we left things earlier today. He swore we would finish the conversation I walked away from, but now that I called him, showing him some of my vulnerability, he’s good enough to drop it.
He is.
Ican’t.
“About this morning…”
Ryker’s reaction is the opposite of what I expect when I change the subject the way I just did. Instead of being angry again, he actually chuckles. The warm sound rushes right through me, sending a flash of heat all the way down to my toes. “What part of this morning? When I took you up against the wall?”
Ah, Luna. I glance around. Supes have amazing hearing, and while I didn’t give a crap if anyone on the street overheard what I was telling him before, this… this is private.
My cheeks are already heating up as I remember vividly what it was like to have Ryker’s big body caged around me. “Uh. I was actually referring to what happened after that.”
“Oh. You mean when I bent you over the bed and made you scream my name.”
“Ryker!”
Another chuckle. “Sorry, sweetheart. Can you blame me for wanting to remember the good stuff? I’d rather do that than have to think about you leaving me.”
Oof. That one hurts a bit. I doubt that’s what he intended by his blunt honesty, but still. I rub the heel of my hand against my chest as if that’ll soothe the sudden sting.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
He goes quiet.
“Ryker?” I look at my phone, checking to see if the call is still connected. “You there?”
“Yeah. I’m here. I just… don’t apologize. I pushed. You pushed back. I should’ve expected it. You’re an alpha. You acted like an alpha. I’m the one who couldn’t take the challenge.”
“There’s no challenge,” I tell him. I mean it, too. Maybe we’ll never see eye to eye, and the two of us being alphas means that we’ll probably always butt heads, but the challenges ended when I decided to see how the two of us could work together. “I might not always be able to tell you what I’m thinking or what I’m feeling… it might not come out right or at all… but there’s no more challenges. I promise you that.”
“Hey, you called me about the envelope just now,” he reminds me. “It’s a start.”
It is, isn’t it?
Huh.
7
