Chapter 2

RYKER

I stood at the doorway, watching as Iris unraveled.

It took a second for her composure to slip back into place, and with it, her rage.

The look in her eyes felt like a thousand silver knives were being fired at my chest. I hated it but still, I did what I’d always done. Let my mask slip into place.

A smirk tugged at my lip as I entered fully into the hall.

Iris didn’t bother holding back her sneer as she stood.

“I’ll… meet you back at the house.” She mumbled to Kade, purposely avoiding any other person in the space.

She didn’t give him a chance to respond before bolting out through the other entrance. A ploy to avoid me completely I assumed.

“Not everything is about you.” Ash interjected like he could hear my thoughts but his eyes never left the door Iris had walked out of.

Eventually, he tore his gaze away clenching his jaw like it personally offended him. “Let’s just do what we came here to do and leave.”

Ash and his undying hatred for this place.

I ignored his grumpy request because unlike him, I actually had empathy.

“You look like hell,” I said softly, shoving my hands into my pockets. “How have you been, buddy?”

Kade was still on the floor, hands clasped, shoulders tense and a face carved by grief.

“His mate died, Ryker.” Ash snapped.

Not because he was sympathetic but because my question had an obvious answer.

Kade was broken.

And no matter how hard he tried to bury it beneath that alpha presence of his, we could all see it.

He stood, dusting off his trousers and started to move past us when I stopped him.

His head snapped to me, then to my hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

His tone was rough. A lie.

“You know you don’t have to put up a tough front.” I whispered. “Not with us.”

Something wavered in his eyes before vanishing. Slowly, he jerked off my touch, his jaw ticking.

“You’re one to talk.” Kade said, then turned to Ash. “I got your message. We’ll talk in my study.”

Kade was already moving, Ash followed closely behind. I hesitated, glancing back at the second exit. Iris. I might have come here to settle a growing threat but I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass by.

I will get her to see past our differences because even if she might not have known it, I did.

Iris was my mate.

And I would fight for us with every ounce of strength I had. That was something I should have done before, when she was mine.

My chest tightened at the reminder of my past failure.

I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

I took one last look at the oak doors before joining the others and the minute the doors of Kade’s study closed behind me, the air dropped.

Unspoken tension hung low in the silence. The last time the three of us were in a room like this, it ended badly. The faint scent of ash and charred wood still lingered.

Before I could sink too far into old memories, Ash spoke.

“The rogues are getting more hostile with every day that passes.”

Kade sank into his seat, leather creaking in the silence. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlinked hands.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Kade said evenly.

“They’re in our territories,” I said.

He let out a dry chuckle. “So I’ve heard. Werewolves draining other wolves dry, like-”

“Vampires.” Ash cut in darkly.

“Vampires are a myth, Ash. Bedtime stories meant to scare pups into behaving.” He paused, a frown tugging at his lips. “Have you actually seen these so-called creatures?”

Neither of us answered.

Our silence was enough.

Kade chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. “That’s what I thought.”

Ash’s jaw ticked, then he stepped forward. “The bodies we found were drained of every ounce of blood. How do you explain that?”

“Must be something else then.” Kade dismissed.

“What? A very ambitious mosquito?”

Both eyes snapped to me, disapproving of my poorly conceived joke. I didn’t care.

“They’re real, Kade.” And pressed. “ And they’re coming.”

“Or don’t listen.” I added with a shrug. “We can leave. Take care of the issue ourselves. Just say the word.”

“Kade’s gaze snapped to mine. “I’m not stopping you.”

“Guys-“

“No,” I cut in, stepping forward. “I’m tired of his hero complex. You think you can handle this alone? Be my guest.”

Kade's hard eyes didn’t leave mine.

“But just know, when this blows up in your face,” I added. “I’ll be taking Iris with me.”

The temperature dropped by a thousand degrees. Ash went still. Kade didn’t.

The sound of his chair scraping was the only warning I got before I was slammed into the bookshelf behind me.

Dust rained down on us.

Ash cursed under his breath.

“Touch her, and-

“Careful Kade,” I rasped, even as his grip tightened around my neck. “People might get the wrong impression.”

“She’s a member of my pack,” he growled. “She’s my responsibility.”

I couldn’t help the grin that formed.

“You sure that’s all?”

His eyes darkened.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were-“

“Enough!” Ash snapped, frustration bleeding into his tone. “Can both of you cut the dick measurements out for now? We have a serious problem.”

Kade’s furious gaze lingered longer than necessary.

Finally, he let go.

I sucked in a breath, rolling my shoulders as I straightened.

Ash exhaled sharply. “Besides… Iris would never take you back after what you did.”

His words hit the bullseye. My grin faltered but I recovered quickly, swallowing the bitter taste of regret.

“Never say never, brother.”

Ash ran a hand down his face. “This affects all our packs. Our duty is to them first.”

I pushed off the bookshelf, dusting myself off. “Looks like you’re stuck with us.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Ash continued. “I lost two scouts. Ryker lost a delta. You will lose people too if you keep pretending this isn’t real.”

The room fell silent.

Ash looked between us, hope flickering in his eyes. He still believed we could fix this. He had no idea how wrong he was.

“We do this,” Kade said finally, “and nothing is kept from me.”

Ash nodded immediately.

Kade’s gaze shifted to me. “Nothing.”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Whatever you say, Alpha.”

His lips twitched… half snarl, half restraint. He hated that. Which was exactly why I said it.

“My beta will show you to your rooms,” he said. “Don’t cause trouble.”

I couldn’t help myself. “And when this is over, we can go back to hating each other properly.”

Kade ignored me this time, ordering his subordinate to show us to our rooms but of course I couldn’t just follow orders. I was an alpha, pride was literally in my DNA.

So instead, I slipped through the pack grounds until I stopped in front of Iris’s house. My pulse hammered against my chest as the wind picked up her scent.

It was a burning furnace compared to the others. Strong. Hypnotic.

My wolf stirred.

Mine.

“Relax,” I muttered under my breath. “We’re just looking.”

Even I didn’t believe that.

I let my eyes flutter close, filtering through the noise and focused on just one. Her.

“I’m just going to go to bed, Camille.”

Her voice sounded exhausted and it made my heart tug. I was never close with Katrina. She dated my best friend, but she always made it clear she thought she was above us.

But to Iris?

She had been everything.

And now she was gone.

Her footsteps echoed in my chest. I moved silently across the side of the building, making my way up the old tree right beside her window and settled there.

I watched silently as she closed the door behind her, her eyes still red and glassy. She slid down the wall, pulling her knees to her chest. Then she broke. Her quiet sobs made my chest ache and I leaned forward unconsciously.

The branch creaked. Her head snapped up. Everything in me went still. I held my breath, watching as her eyes narrowed into slits, directly to where I was.

I was hidden by the shadows.

I was certain she couldn’t see me.

But then she pushed off the floor, eyes still locked on the tree and I panicked.

My wolf growled, urging me to go to her but I did the opposite. I ran. I didn’t stop until I was back in my room and even then I could still feel her eyes on me.

Those violet orbs staring at me without hatred or disgust, it made my pulse go wild. I forced my legs to move to the bed. It groaned as I sat at the edge, burying my face in my hands.

My heart wouldn’t stop racing.

I dragged a hand down my face and dropped onto the bed. Only to jerk slightly when something dug into my side.

“What the-”

I reached beneath me, fingers brushing against something solid.

A phone.

I turned it over in my hand and frowned. Mine wasn’t missing. So whose?

I pressed the power button.

Dead.

I flipped it over, inspecting the device, cracked screen, cold to the touch. Seems like someone had left it here.

Without a second thought, I tossed it on the nightstand and went back to thinking about ways I could get Iris to notice me again.

A huge outdoor apology?

The thought alone made me snort.

Iris would have my head… and my balls if I ever did something like that.

The rest of the night went in a blur of recalling her voice, her eyes, that look… until my mind drifted off into the dark.

And even in the dark, she followed me.