Taelin-“I can see something is bugging you, so I am offering to listen. If there is any way to get through all of this, we need to be able to have some we can confide in. You are in a new place, with new people, but if something is bothering you, talk to me.” Ryker said.With the way he spoke, I wondered if he did care about me or something. If there was anything I knew without a doubt about the man standing next to me, was that he confused me to no end. One minute he tells me that his priority to his pack only, the next he is making me feel things I never thought possible, and now he was concerned about what was bothering me.Sighing, I decided to tell him what happened when I returned home. In order to tell him that though, he needed to understand who Theo was. I just hope it didn’t upset him to know I had considered choosing him as my mate.I also included how I received my ring, which I then explained I wore it now as a promise to do everything in my power to help him. Lastly, I
Taelin-I was sure I didn’t sleep for more than a few hours, but I felt fully rested. After getting a shower and a fresh change of clothes on, I made my way down the stairs. Since I knew Sara was working the monitors, I went to see if she wouldn’t mind if I joined her.“Well good morning sunshine. I hope you got some rest.” She said, sounding like the chipper Sara I first met, instead of the timid girl that came to my room a few hours ago.I had barely entered the room before she greeted me. Her observations of her surroundings were at least good. Considering she didn’t even turn around when she spoke.Sitting in the rolling chair that was next to her, I smiled at her. I didn’t know what it was about her exactly, yet I truly felt like we were friends. It didn’t make me feel so awkward.“I did. If I am interrupting you, I can leave if you want. I was hoping to get a little insight on how things worked though. Since my job is to help safeguard everyone here, I thought this would be the
Taelin-The moment we were outside, I took in a deep breath. It was nice being outside in the brisk morning air. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly early morning, but it still felt like it was extra fresh this morning. It was different than being on the top of the roof, being that the air was thinner.I expected Ryker to say something, at least give me an idea of what we were doing, but no. He just started checking the cameras near the front door. While he did so, I kept my attention on our surroundings.By the third camera, on I didn’t sense any danger. Not letting my guard down, I remained vigilant. I tried not to let my thoughts stray from what I was doing, even if Ryker was blatantly ignoring me. Was the only reason he had me come outside with him to watch his back?I couldn’t complain, considering it was my duty as a member of the Royal guard. A fact I couldn’t allow myself to forget, regardless of how much this man got under my skin. Although, I was unable to deny that it bothered me ho
Taelin-Before I could react or do anything, Ryker grabbed my wrist and pulled me into what I believed was his office. He didn’t release me until we were both inside and he closed and locked the door behind him. Stepping back, I was having a challenging time not getting annoyed with how he manhandled me.“What in the actual fuck?” I knew I raised my voice but didn’t care.“I don’t want to alarm anyone. My office gives us the ability to speak freely without anyone hearing us. I need this to stay between us for right now, hopefully, no one overheard us or knew what happened. The last thing we need to do is upset anyone or cause anyone to become worried. We work so well here because we can remain calm. This, on the other hand, it would not bode well.” Ryker explained, unmoved by my reaction.“That doesn’t give you the right to treat me like that.” I glared at him, before readjusting my anger and speaking more reasonably. “While I understand your need to keep things low-key, I’m not entir
Ryker-No matter how hard I tried to figure Taelin out, I couldn’t comprehend why she got under my skin. It wasn’t like she was my mate, considering I couldn’t have a mate. I had even tried to mark a chosen mate once since a pack is only as good when both their Alpha and Luna are strong.The moment I had marked her though, her life slowly drained from her body. She had been a strong member of my pack and while I never thought much of her than a potential Luna, her death hadn’t sat well with me. That was when I truly knew I was cursed.So why did being around Taelin make me want to find a way to break my curse? It wasn’t like I completely liked her. She pissed me off in ways that I was surprised I haven’t tried to rip her throat out.Being around her, not only calmed me, but I could tell my wolf was calmer around her. The moment I thought she was dead something changed inside of me. From the moment I met her, I wanted nothing more than to send her on her way.Now, I hated the idea of h
Taelin-As Ryker held me, I felt this sudden need to tell him the truth. I had my doubts that he would respond the way I wanted him to, but the way he was acting right now made me wonder if I was just being silly. He was so tender and caring, that I just wanted to tell him everything that was bothering me.With the way things are now progressing, this might be the only chance I will have to tell him that he is my mate. As I debated on what to do, I welcomed his warmth and leaned into him while he gently stroked my hair. One thing I knew for sure, he was far from the jerk that I had thought him to be.“I wish I could take away your pain, but we need to figure out what is out there so we can find a way to go outside. If they are targeting human territories, we will need to load up on more supplies.” Ryker interrupted my thoughts.As much as I hated to break this moment we were having, he was right. My thoughts of telling him the truth was going to have to wait for now. Soon though, I kn
Taelin-In a split second, once Ryker was no longer in the second beast’s way, it rushed toward me. Pinned between it and the car, I had nowhere to go. I knew this was it, I was going to die.Looking around, I tried to look for my dagger, but I couldn’t see it. What had I been thinking to come out here and try to face these creatures? Just one blow to them and I injured myself. If I had used any other part of my body, I could have done worse than dislocate it.Just then the beast staggered back as it tried to claw at its own back. As the beast turned, I realized that Ryker had my dagger. He had jumped onto the back of the beast and had my dagger buried to the hilt in its back.Taking the chance I was given, I quickly fixed my leg, trying not to scream out in pain. Once I felt like I could get back on my feet, I got up and started forward to help. Only to stop as I remembered something.Returning to my car, I opened the back door and located a tranquilizer gun. Pulling it out, I checke
Ryker-Rushing to Taelin’s side, I pulled her into my arms and held her close. When she had gone off on her own, I had thought the absolute worst. It only intensified when I saw the large rogue jump off the building to run to the woods.I wanted to yell at her for behaving as she had, but I was too overwhelmed with emotions at seeing her alive. I did my best to cover her naked body from the other males from seeing, while at the same time I didn’t care. She bombarded me by saying she was my mate, then left without giving me time to process it.“I am fine.” Taelin’s soft voice filled my ears, nearly making me tear up.Without a word, I pulled my shirt off and helped her into it. Once she was covered, I lifted her into my arms. I knew she could walk, but I needed her close, as did my wolf.Neither of us believed she was our mate, but at this moment, I didn’t care. Besides, even if she were my mate, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. If I marked her she would only die.By the time