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A sudden movement in my periphery had me turning back to the giant alpha. He was looking over his shoulder at me, before his gaze shifted to Cary and a mix of emotions I couldn’t decipher flashed through his eyes. He was trying to convey something to us, but didn’t have the words. A heartbeat later, he dropped the blanket from around his shoulders and launched himself over the edge of the balcony.
I screamed, as Cary yelled, “No!” We both raced to the balustrade, but the twins beat us there. Their eyes met a moment before Ryder also launched himself over the edge. My heart seemed to plunge into the void with him.
I hit the stone edge of the balcony with a force that made me grunt and doubled me over. My upper body swung over way too far. I felt a flash of pure terror. The drop pulled at me for a moment before an arm banded around me and hauled me back against a solid chest. I could hear ripping noises as I looked down, and saw the giant alpha half climb, half fall, down a vine-covered trellis. He left large swathes of stone revealed in his wake, like scars. Ryder followed silently, rappelling down the trellis as if he was born to do it.
“Holy shit,” I vaguely heard Nick mumble next to me, as the alpha turned while halfway down and threw himself to the ground. He rolled once before he sprang to his feet. His legs wobbled, and he stumbled for a moment before he took off across the lawn. I took in a sharp breath that hurt my lungs in the chill air, as Ryder pushed himself off the wall, somersaulted in midair and landed in a half crouch. He gave chase instantly.
Hunter had said last night the giant alpha was deceptively fast. He hadn’t lied.
“Is Ryder trying to catch him?” Cary asked River, as he gripped the edge of the balcony so hard his knuckles turned white. He looked a heartbeat away from throwing himself over the edge as well. Nick had moved up alongside him and had his hand on Cary’s shoulder, as if he was prepared to hold him back, much the same way River was for me.
I shot Cary a grateful look. I wanted to know, too, but it felt as if my throat had closed up. Trying to catch him didn’t seem like an option that would end well. I didn’t want to see either Ryder or the giant alpha get hurt, especially at each other’s hands.
River still had his arms banded around me, and his dark chocolate scent blanketed me. The warmth and security of his body against mine seemed to strip me of the polite, demure act I’d defaulted to last night. The camouflage that had kept me alive. It bled away, leaving me raw and exposed. I didn’t know the woman who lived underneath it, though. I’d rarely let her out. Maia and Lexie were the only other people who had ever gotten past it, and they’d barely peeled back the surface. Angel had too, but differently.
I felt River send me reassurance through the wisps of our bond that remained, confusing my heart. It made me wonder if maybe everything would be okay, if only we could hold each other. But it was a bittersweet fantasy. I swallowed hard as memories of the last time he wrapped his arms around me swamped me. The joy, chased by terror, of that night.
“No. He’s following to make sure the alpha doesn’t hurt himself,” River said from behind me, startling me back to the problem at hand.
I nodded. That sounded like Ryder.
“If the alpha’s going to come back, it has to be on his own terms. He’s been in a cage too long. If he needs to be out there right now, then that’s where he should be.” River sighed suddenly, with a note of pain, before he squeezed me gently. “People need to have agency over their own lives. You can’t cage people. Even if it’s not with bars and you just want to keep them safe. You can cage people with your expectations and your actions, too. I learned that lesson the hard way and I’m not making the same mistake twice.”
I pulled in a sharp lungful of cold air, as I got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about the giant alpha.Was he talking about me? Or was he talking about Ryder? Was he trying to tell me Ryder might not want to come back?
Knowing Ryder didn’t want me would be a lot worse than wondering if he did.
The sudden buzzing of a phone broke the tense silence, and my panic, as we watched the treeline Ryder and the alpha had disappeared into. River slowly let me go and it felt symbolic after his words. He slid his hands down my arms while I fumbled with my pocket and pulled the phone out.
I could barely meet River’s eyes, feeling entirely too vulnerable, as I mumbled, “It’s Maia and Lexie checking in. I’m going to take this inside.”
Cary nodded, his eyes following me for a moment before darting back to the treeline. Nick shot me a grin. He knew those girls and what was about to go down.
five
Fuck,thisguywasfast.
I wasn’t a slacker by any stretch. I could move swiftly when I needed to, and frequently did. Yet this guy, who was so huge he looked as if he should amble around like a bear, had me breathing hard trying to keep pace. There was a lot of power in that gigantic frame. I could feel a fine sweat break out between my shoulder blades, even though the air had turned cool in recent weeks. The beginning of winter had been an awful time for the Crash to happen, not that there could have ever been a good time.
I didn’t begrudge Wolf his urge to run. I was happy to shadow him while he got it out of his system, but I was becoming a little worried he was going to run forever. Eventually, he slowed enough for me to look around and get my bearings. I recognized a marker on a tree and had an idea.
“Wolf,” I called out, a slight bark to my voice, just enough to get his attention but not enough to be a threat.
He startled and skidded to a halt as he looked around wildly until he located me off to his left. I hadn’t been sure if he knew I was following or not. If he had, he’d forgotten. Running had a way of doing that, clearing the mind of everything but what was in front of you. I put my hands up in a pacifying gesture.
“If you need a time-out, I have a hideout nearby.”
Wolf regarded me with a fierce yet wild intelligence blazing in his eyes. For a moment, he didn’t appear to know me. He growled low in his chest. I took in the way he was standing, slightly hunched and poised to attack. He looked more primitive than he had curled up in the chair in Ava and Cary’s room this morning. His eyes glinted with danger as his lip curled.Was it the forest surroundings playing a trick on me, or was he slipping into a more feral state?
I wasn’t sure, but either way, I didn’t want to spook him right now. I crouched down onto my heels, to appear less of a threat. “You’re free to do whatever you want. You’re just not outfitted for a run in the forest. I’m worried about your feet. I have supplies in the hideout, and I have boots that should fit you.”
Wolf looked at his bare feet, lifting each one slowly. He appeared surprised to see the blood on them. Adrenaline did that to people, blocked out pain receptors temporarily. He moved closer to me and I stayed still, while keeping my body relaxed. When he got close enough, he sniffed the air. As soon as he scented me, he seemed to relax slightly and his eyes lost some of their wild edge.
I stood up slowly. He waited until I was looking him in the eye before he nodded at me. I gestured for him to follow as I turned and took off, heading slightly east. It felt like I’d somehow tamed a wild beast. I didn’t turn and make sure that he was following. I didn’t need to. Every creature in the forest could hear him. He was fast, but no-one had trained him how to be stealthy. The forest had gone quiet around us, as the animals hid while the predators passed them by. Even the birds were quiet.
He stuck close to me as we ran. When we got closer to our destination, I scanned our surroundings to make sure no one else had followed. A few minutes later, I ducked down an overgrown ravine and stopped halfway to the bottom, scanning the trees. Wolf was watching me closely, but he was more curious now than anything else. He’d cocked his head sideways, and he looked intrigued as his gaze darted to our surroundings and back to me repeatedly.
“Can you help me with these?” I gestured to some overhanging vines and pulled them aside. Wolf stepped in closer and pulled a great armful to the side, being careful not to tug any free. He raised his eyebrows at the door made of cut tree trunks hidden behind the dense leaves. I flicked the hidden bolt on the door, pushing it open before I stepped into the darkness inside.
