Chapter Seven

I still wasn’t ready to go home but I knew that I had to so I drove behind Chase since he stayed at the Lake house while I showered and got dressed. Abeloth was snorting in my head that we didn’t need a babysitter or an escort home.

“Shit is going to hit the fan,” Abeloth said.

“I get that feeling too,” I said to him.

“Guess we’ll know soon enough,” he mused as we entered lower Aurora and headed to the house.

I wasn’t looking forward to this. Lucas had a quick temper and when he was pissed off like I knew he was then you were in for the ride of your life. I had embarrassed him and the lair. As a Sire’s son I was one of the lead examples and the only one to reject my bonded half.

“Good luck brother,” Chase said as we climbed out of our cars.

“Did he send you to the lake house to look for me?” I asked him.

“No, I figured that one out all by myself, give me some credit,” he said with a smile.

“You really ruined my last day of freedom there,” I said to him.

“Shit Ry, that woman was in her twenties,” he said to me.

“What is that you’re always saying to me? Live a little, don’t bang just one girl,” I used his own words against him.

“Well yeah, but that was before I met Melissa,” he said.

“How is that going?” I asked him as he opened the front door.

“Really well actually, I like her family, she likes mine and we’re taking things slow,” he said to me.

“Chase the celibate Sire,” I said and laughed.

“Dad’s probably in his office,” he said and then laughed at me as I swallowed.

“It’s been nice knowing you,” I said as he laughed again.

I headed up the stairs and paused on the landing. I could smell Lucas there and I knew he was sitting in his office. He would also know where I had been since I knew that Chase would have called him the moment he saw my car there in Fairview.

“Ryder,” Lucas said as I still stood there on the landing.

“Dad,” I said as I walked to the doorway of his office.

“Take a seat,” he said.

I closed the door behind me and sat down opposite him and looked him in the eye. I knew what was coming and my reaction would depend on how soon he lost his temper with me. I wasn’t going to back down and he wasn’t going to like that.

“Care to explain what happened on Friday night?” he asked me as he leaned back in his chair.

“Not really, you were there,” I said to him and he smiled as he watched me. It was a dangerous smile.

“Seventeen and suddenly you think you’re a man?” he asked me.

“I’m not a kid anymore, my choices are my own to make,” I said to him.

“You represent me and this lair!” he said suddenly angry.

“It’s still my life and you have an heir, so my actions aren’t all that important,” I said to him.

“You took a vow when you merged with your beast to not reject your bonded half,” he said with a sigh.

“Abeloth rejected her as well,” I said to him.

“Which is why the Elders haven’t demanded your presence for punishment yet, we can still rectify this,” he said to me.

“Rectify this?” I asked.

“Yes Ryder. You’ll meet with the Elders and Tia and complete this bond, do the marking and things will settle down,” he said.

“No,” I said.

“Excuse me?” he asked as he stood up.

“I said no,” I said and stood up as well.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked me angrily.

“You know what Dad, I don’t need this bullshit. You of all people should understand this! You can’t force me to do this!” I said angrily.

“Ryder, you will do this! We don’t reject our bonded halves!” he yelled at me.

“I won’t!” I yelled back at him and left his office.

“Don’t walk away from me!” he yelled as he followed me to my room.

“I don’t care what you or the Elders have to say! I’m not doing this!” I said as I grabbed a bag and started shoving my clothes inside.

“So you’re running away?” he asked me.

“I’m not running, I’m leaving, there’s a difference. I won’t stay here and be pressured into making some whore my bonded half, I don’t care who says what! I’d rather reject this lair than do that,” I said to him.

“Careful Ryder, if I cut you off, I cut you off completely. The Elders won’t be happy with this and neither am I,” he said to me.

“Fuck the Elders, fuck this lair and fuck you,” I said and stood with my bag in my hand.

I saw his fist hit me in slow motion but it felt like a train had hit me instead. I should have expected this, I was out of line but right now I didn’t care. I dropped the bag as his other fist connected with my ribs. I kept my arms close to my body and just tried to block him.

“Stop it!” Rylee yelled as she and Chase barged into my room. I hadn’t once hit him back, I wouldn’t hit my father.

“Fuck this,” I said and picked my bag up again as I wiped the blood from my mouth and walked past him out of my room.

“Ryder!” he yelled and Rylee tried to grab my hand. I pulled my hand free and walked down the stairs as Chase ran behind me.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked me, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Leaving,” I said and opened the front door.

“Ry, wait, don’t leave like this,” Chase begged me.

“It doesn’t matter Chase, I can’t stay here and I won’t be forced to bond with someone I don’t want to be bonded with,” I said as I reached my car.

“So you’re just leaving me?” he asked angrily.

“You’re the future Sire, your place is here,” I said to him.

“So are you! We always said we’d do this together,” he said as he tried to stop me.

“Get your hands off me Chase, I’m leaving and that’s final,” I said as I pushed him out of my way and climbed into my car.

I drove away from the house without saying another word and without looking back. Abeloth had wanted to separate from me in my room when Lucas had started hitting me but I kept him at bay and now he seemed to settle down.

“You did the right thing,” he said in my head.

“Did I? I yelled at my father,” I said to him.

“He’ll get over it,” he said and turned on his side to sleep.

My phone rang a few times and between Lucas, Rylee and Chase they would try to call me every hour but I ignored them. I heard my phone ping and looked at the text message.

-Disconnect the gps of your car, located under the dashboard. Switch off the location on your phone. I can see that you’ve just left Aurora. Drive to Chicago and ask for Wentworth at the building on the corner of East 91st Street and South Jeffrey Boulevard, you’ll know it when you see it- Rev.

I pulled off next to the road and found the gps in the car. I pulled the wires loose and then I switched the gps location on my phone off as well. I wondered who Wentworth was and why Rev wanted me to go see him, I also knew that Rev was doing this without my father’s knowledge.

It took me less than an hour to reach Chicago and I drove to the address that Rev had sent me. I parked across the street and looked at the warehouse like building. That had to be the place, everything else looked like houses.

The door on the side opened as I neared it and a man looked me up and down, trying to assess my weaknesses and strengths. Abeloth didn’t like it and I had to keep a strong hold on him not to separate and kill this man.

“Name?” he asked me.

“Ryder Grey,” I said and he nodded.

“Follow me,” he said and walked into the building.

“I was told to ask for Wentworth,” I said at his retreating back.

“Referral?” he asked me.

“Rev Harris,” I said and he stopped short and turned back to face me.

“Rev sent you?” he asked me looking like he didn’t believe me.

“Yes,” I said as I took in my surroundings.

“Then you’ll have to go see Wentworth directly,” he said and motioned for me to follow him.

I followed him up a staircase and down a hall. He stopped in front of a door and knocked twice before opening it. He motioned for me to walk inside and then he closed it behind me. I stood in what I assumed was Wentworth’s office and looked around.

“What’s your name boy?” the voice came from the side and I turned towards it.

“Ryder Grey,” I said as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Wentworth Black,” he said and offered me his hand which I shook, “take a seat and tell me why you’re here.”

“I was sent here by Rev Harris, he told me to ask for you,” I said as I took a seat.

“Ah Rev Harris, man of few words,” he said and smiled. I couldn’t really place him.

“Honestly I don’t know why he sent me or why I came here,” I said as I looked at him.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Seventeen,” I said and he frowned.

“Well Ryder Grey, this is the secret Elite unit of the Elite Hunter Team. We’re a small division and we go where nobody else wants to go. We handle the most dangerous and vile of our kind, you must have something good if Rev sent you to me,” he said.

“I didn’t even know there was an elite unit,” I said to him.

“Exactly,” he said with another smile.