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Once the door is shut and laughably locked, I can’t keep it in anymore. “I can’t believe you’re here! What are you doing? I thought you were staying in Accalia… how did you even get here?”
I spit out my questions rapid-fire. For some reason, that erases the dark look on his handsome face, replacing it with a heart-stopping grin.
“I took a plane,” he says, answering my last question. “After Jace told me what was going on, I made all the arrangements I could. Warren wasn’t happy, but I reminded him I’m the Alpha. He agreed to be acting Beta one more time on the condition that, when we go home again, I let him stay retired.”
Fair enough. Warren earned his retirement, and my wolf settles a little when she hears Ryker say that we are going home again.
But that explains how he made it to California.
“What about the Wolf District? How did you find it?”
“Jace told me how. It was easy. Actually, the hardest part was figuring out the rental car.”
My jaw drops. “Hang on— you drove?”
His grin widens. “With a roof and everything. I left it on the edge of the Wolf District this morning when I arrived, but when we leave, I’ll drive you back to the airport.”
I… I can’t believe it.
Shifters have a tendency to be claustrophobic, though that’s not a word any of us will ever admit to. Our wolves need to be free to run, to roam, to use their senses. Being trapped inside a metal box takes that away from us. It’s for that exact reason I drive a Jeep, so that I have access to freedom even when I’m driving.
For a wolf like Ryker. The plane would’ve sucked, but it couldn’t be helped. It was the quickest way to cross the country, and time was of the essence for both of us to have to make that trip.
But a full-on car? Instead of running the whole way?
I know why he did it. Until it was too late, the Western Pack wouldn’t have been able to sense him creeping toward their territory. Torture for Ryker, and he did it all for me.
Even more impressive when you realize that this is probably one of the first times he had ever actually operated a vehicle.
We rode in my Jeep together one time and he nearly bent the bar out of shape, he was so uncomfortable driving. And it wasn’t because of me. I’m a freaking awesome driver. It was one of the only escapes I had when I was still playing the part of Omega Gem, and my Jeep was one element of control that I clung to to quiet my alpha side.
The control… that’s what Ryker’s deal is. The freedom and the control, and he sacrificed all that to show up in California to be greeted with an enemy pack trying to convince him that he should give up his mate.
Obviously, he refused. I mean, he’s already dropped hints twice that he plans on leaving with me, and he accompanied his statements with another reassuring pulse through our bond. But I don’t understand… I would’ve guessed that, if he refused, Walker wouldn’t have let him stay in the Wolf District regardless.
But he’s here. And that makes me wonder: how the hell did pull that off?
“I didn’t know you were here,” I tell him. “Not until Walker showed up at the cabin with some crazy idea that we should break our bond.” I wait for him to tell me that that was impossible, and when he doesn’t, I know that Walker told the truth: he did have Christian make the same offer to Ryker. I gulp, my voice going a little thick with emotion as I add, “I refused. Obviously. But he said you were here, that he was giving you the same chance to be free of me.”
Ryker’s eyes flash. For a heart, he wears the same flat, neutral expression he calls up when he wants to hide what he’s thinking. I haven’t seen it in so long, but whenever I do, I’m thrown back to that fateful night in the den when I accused him of rejecting me in favor of Trish Danvers and he didn’t deny it.
Tears burn my eyes, but I’m stubborn enough not to shed them. I blink them back, waiting for Ryker to finally say something.
He nods. “Yeah. The Beta tried something like that when I got here.”
I can’t take it. I wait a few seconds, then prod him with a harsh, “And? What did you say?”
“I told him to go fuck himself, then demanded he take me to my mate before I have Walker looking for his next Beta.”
I let out a shaking laugh as I imagine how Christian reacted to Ryker’s retort. He has to know about the Wicked Wolf’s tendency to go through Betas the same way people go through underwear. Plus there’s the undeniable fact that Christian only got the gig because Ryker killed Walker’s last Beta.
I think it’s a laugh. From the way Ryker sucks in a breath, he hears a sob.
Okay. It’s a sob. It’s totally a sob. One of relief, yeah, but that doesn’t change what it was.
My knees buckle. Before I can even drop a few inches, he’s there, arms around me, pulling me up against his chest. It’s a tight squeeze, a hug that would have a human’s bones groaning in protest, but it’s the type of embrace that comforts both me and my inner wolf.
I don’t realize until right that very moment how I spent the last few hours convinced that Ryker would’ve at least thought about breaking our bond.
