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Gordon threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Dizzy and lightheaded, I clawed at him. Thank all the gods he didn’t get far before Kyle appeared, his eyes flashing with rage. He lunged at Gordon, forcing him to drop me onto the ground.
“Kyle,” I choked out, my vision fading in and out as I struggled to stay conscious. My body seemed to be made of pain. I wouldn’t be able to help him. All I could do was watch as the two men fought, fists flying and teeth gnashing.
Finally, Kyle landed a brutal punch that sent Gordon tumbling to the ground. Panting, Gordon glared up at us, defeated but defiant.
“I have a message for you from William,” he said to me, spitting out blood. “If you turn yourself over to the hunters, he’ll leave Blackwood Creek alone. Show mercy to all the other wolf shifters and go to the hunters without a fight.”
I panicked at the mention of my father. Could it be true? Would handing myself over really save everyone else? But what if he was lying? What if it was all just another twisted game?
Before I could process these thoughts, Gordon swallowed one of their suicide pills. I watched the light leave his eyes. Fucking coward.
Kyle cursed under his breath, his face pale and sweaty, clutching his ribs as he moved slower than usual. “Dammit!” He rushed over to me. Cradling me in his arms, he tried to get me to say something, anything, but I couldn’t find the words.
Frustration etched across his face as he searched my pockets, finally finding my cell phone. Without hesitation, he dialed Ridge’s number. “Tori’s been attacked, hunters, a message from William. We need you.”
I couldn’t see Ridge’s reaction, but the panic and fury in his voice was unmistakable. “I’m on my way. Hang on, Tori.”
With that, my strength finally gave out, and darkness swallowed me whole.
Groggy and disoriented, I awoke to soft murmurs in a dimly lit room. Ridge sat by my side, his hand gripping mine while Kyle paced back and forth, tension radiating off him. The memory of the hunter’s attack sent a tremor down my back.
Kyle noticed me awaken, speaking before I could say a word. “Don’t, Tori. Do not beat yourself up about it.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know you, and you’re already thinking of all the ways that attack was your fault. You know as well as I do that bastard was one of our father’s best and was here to deliver a message first and foremost.” He turned to Ridge. “If she turns herself over to the hunters, he’ll leave Blackwood Creek alone. She’ll be showing mercy to all the other wolf shifters if she goes to them without putting up a fight.”
My heart rate spiked, anger and fear intertwining, but Kyle shook his head. “It’s bullshit, Tori. William wants you to turnyourself in because he wants to ‘fix’ you, but in no way is that going to stop him from coming after the shifters here. He’s got a fucking vendetta against shifters in the world. After all, his daughter is a shifter, which means his wife had an affair with a shifter. He’s embarrassed and angry.”
The bitterness in Kyle’s voice matched the icy fury coursing through my veins. Ridge’s grip on my hand tightened as he glared at the floor, jaw clenched.
“I’m just grateful you got her to me safely, Kyle.” He looked at me, those wonderful eyes full of storms.
Kyle’s gaze softened. “Rest, Tori,” he said, concern marring his face. “Take a break from training. I’ll check on you again soon.” With that, he left the room, leaving Ridge and me alone.
“Promise me you won’t even consider doing what William wants.” Ridge’s gaze locked onto mine. Memories of my “father” and his maniacal hatred toward shifters rushed back to me. Even when I had thought wolf shifters were monsters, I still believed William took his vengeance too far.
“Kyle’s right.” I struggled to hold back tears. “William wants to get the monster out of me, but I will never turn myself over. Everyone else would still be in danger from that degree of hatred.” I couldn’t understand why I was still so affected by how much William hated me. I should have been used to it by now.
Ridge held me close, his warmth enveloping me like a protective cocoon. He tried to help me forget about the terrifying incident with small talk. “So, how’d you like that witch pill? Quite the miracle cure, huh?” His tone was light, but his eyes were clouded with concern.
I forced a smile, trying to keep up a stoic façade as my emotions threatened to overwhelm me. “Yeah, it was definitely something else,” I said, grateful for the distraction.
“Actually...” Ridge sounded a bit lighter. “If Kyle and I keep getting along this well, I might have to replace Clawson with himas my best man at our wedding.” He grinned, but the playful joke was the final straw.
Tears spilled from my eyes as I broke down, unable to hold back my emotional baggage any longer.
Ridge’s expression shifted to panic, thinking he’d made things worse. “Did I say something wrong?”
I hiccupped through my sobs, shaking my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…I never thought I’d be upset by the idea of my father not wanting to walk me down the aisle. But it really hurts that the man who raised me and loved me so much when I was a child now actively hates me and wants to ‘fix’ me.” I clung to Ridge. “We were like any ordinary happy little family for years. That relationship being transformed so hideously and suddenly has made it hard for me to believe a relationship of any kind is solid. And now there’s this other shifter man out there who probably is my real father, and I know nothing about him. Or if he even might have wanted me.”
Ridge rocked me gently, kissing the top of my head from time to time as he held me, letting me get it all out. Pain and fear mingled with an ache for something more, something that would anchor me in the storm of emotions threatening to tear me apart.
I hiccupped again between sobs. “Maybe I’m rejecting the idea of fated mates so much because it’s selling this perfect idea of someone who will never, ever reject me. It’s just too dangerous for me to believe in. I don’t think I’d be able to survive it if you ever turned on me the way my father did.”
As I said the words, I finally grasped the niggling thought at the back of my mind that I could never pinpoint. A cold sweat broke out across my skin, but deep down in my gut, I knew something like that would never happen with Ridge. He had been nothing but protective and caring, even when we were enemies.
“I want to trust you and believe we’re meant to be together, but I can’t help feeling insecure. I have to protect myself and my heart,” I said. My vulnerability surprised even me, but I needed him to understand why I was so reluctant to accept our connection.
Ridge tightened his embrace, providing warmth and comfort as he whispered softly into my ear, “I know how much you’ve been through, and I understand your fears. But I promise you, no matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you. I won’t ever turn my back on you. You’re not alone in this.”
His words were like a balm to my wounded soul, and I desperately wanted to believe him. As I looked into his eyes, I found a fierce, unwavering devotion that took my breath away. And in that moment, I allowed myself to hope, to believe in the possibility of a future where I wasn’t constantly fighting against the world and my own heart.
