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For a split second, I wonder if Aleks somehow decided to follow me up north after all. Stepping out onto the porch, I look for my vampire. Disappointment floods through me when I don’t find him, though I do perk up a second later when I see whoisthere.
“Gem! And… Ryker? What are you doing here?”
Gem is standing a few feet away from my cabin, wearing her trademark tank top, her thumbs tucked through the belt loops on a pair of dark denim jeans. Her long blonde hair is cascading in waves down her back, and I see that she’s still wearing the golden fang nestled between her boobs.
Ryker is hovering right behind, as always. He’s gotten a haircut since I’ve seen him last, his dark hair closely cropped to his skull. It makes the Alpha seem impossibly more dangerous—or maybe that’s just the look in his dark gold eyes.
She breaks for me. Ryker is right on her heels.
“Elizabeth!” She grabs my hand. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“How did you…” I exhale roughly. As much as I wanted him here, I never thought he’d send babysitters after me. “Aleks. He sent you here.”
Gem squeezes my fingers while Ryker’s jaw tightens at just the mention of Aleks’s name. Close to a year after he made Gem his forever mate and he still can’t keep himself from reacting. I get it, too. If I wasn’t comparing myself to the feisty alpha female in front of me, that’s only because I was competing with a ghost.
“He didn’t,” Gem says. Her nostrils flare enough that I know she’s sampling the scents clinging to me. Her golden eyes flash, her dominant aura flaring around her as her claws prick the underside of my fingers. “But he should have.”
She’s not hurting me. If she wanted to, I have no doubt that she would. Same thing with her dominance. As an alpha, if she really turned on the power, Gem could have me bearing my throat to her. This is just a small preview of what she can do.
Ryker picks up on it. Laying his hand on Gem’s shoulder, the simple act of contact has her reining in her aura. Then he says, “You know he can’t. Not without an invitation from the collective,” and she has to reluctantly agree with him.
“Thanks, babe. Sometimes I forget that Aleks is a vamp.”
Ryker rubs her shoulder. “Lucky you. I never do.”
“Wait. So he didn’t tell you I got a summons?”
“No,” Gem retorts, “and when I get back to Accalia, I’m going to ask him why. I know why he can’t come, but he shouldn’t have let you come alone.”
Actually, I’m glad he did. As much as I enjoy having a protector, after what happened with Christian… it’s nice that my mate believes I can take care of myself.
He’s so getting lucky for having faith in me.
“If it wasn’t Aleks,” I ask, “then who told you?”
“Look over there.”
I glance where Gem is pointing. Dash is standing by two other Alphas. One of them I talked to earlier this afternoon. The other, a big, bulky bearded male, must be a new arrival.
She points out the Alpha with the beard. “See him?”
I nod.
“That’s Bishop Dupuis. He’s Alpha of the Sylvan Pack out of the Southwest. I think they’re based around Louisiana or something.”
She looks at Ryker for confirmation. He gives it with a jerk of his chin.
“Thought so. Anyway, Bishop mated this delta she-wolf that used to belong to the River Run Pack. Sofia.” Again, Ryker nods. “Sofia still has family in River Run. When Bishop was put on trial duty, all he was told was that it had to do with the fabled Luna-touched female.” Gem pauses, tugging on my hand. “Hear that? You’re fabled.”
“Gemma…”
“I’m getting there, Ryker. Cool your jets. Anyway, Sofia was talking to her sister about Bishop meeting the Luna-touched female and how they’re not sure you should be able to be on your own. Then, supposedly, you missed your deadline, they had to drag you here, and Bishop started to Chione. Sofia told her sister, it got to Kendall. River Run’s our ally. Kendall told Ryker, Ryker told me, and here we are.”
“But… why?”
Ryker snorts. Obviously, he took the trip because Gem made him, but I wasn’t asking him. I was asking Gem.
“Because I’m still part of the Muncie Pack,” she says. “Pack sticks together, even if one of them is a stubborn lone wolf. I couldn’t leave you to face them alone. That reminds me…” Letting go of my hand, Gem turns to Ryker. She flutters her lashes at him. “Babe?”
