Ryder wanted something from me. He’d denied sexual interest, which was fine by me. It totally was. I didn’t want to see how far those scars reached under his shirt or what his thighs looked like without jeans.
Nope. Not at all.
I marched towards the nearby café. It wasn’t Bad Moon, but it would do for now. The smell of coffee intensified and settled the wild part of me in constant need of comfort. Coffee filled the void that nothing else could.
Ryder didn’t stray far. He hung around, likely trying to find a way to ask me for the favor he wanted. This guy didn’t know me, so I wasn’t sure what kind of favor he would want from me. I kept studying him, glancing away whenever he caught me staring. I couldn’t read him, though. When he wasn’t saving me from my own pack, he kept his expression guarded.
At the counter, I ordered an iced caramel macchiato with an extra shot of hazelnut syrup since they were out of chocolate syrup. Ryder added his order to mine and paid for it, which irked me. I looked back to see if any of Harvey’s lackeys had followed us. If they saw Ryder paying for my drink like this was a date, they would start to think that the two of us were a thing.
I thanked Ryder for the coffee, snatched it the moment the barista set it down, and darted for the exit.
Ryder
The woman escaped once again.I swore and shook my head. My drink hadn’t hit the counter yet. Either I waited for the coffee and let her disappear into the crowds, or I chased after her. I could track her scent, but the myriad of aromas in the mall made that difficult. Between food stalls and perfume shops, I couldn’t smell anything.
She was the Barghest. I was sure of it.
I didn’t understand why her pack hated her. The male shifter’s malice had been damn near palpable. It’d left a sour taste on my tongue when I dealt with him. The others had stood behind him but hadn’t involved themselves. That didn’t absolve them of their guilt, though.
Together, a pack could stand up for those weaker than themselves. That was the point of packs and clans. For whatever reason, they did not want to side with the Barghest woman.
I told myself that I didn’t need to know why. That didn’t matter so long as she could use her power to help me. I’d come to the mall to buy a burner phone I could use while I stayed in town. I couldn’t bring myself to destroy my old phone with all of my contacts and photos, so as long as I stayed in Syracuse, I would keep it turned off.
I never expected to run into the Barghest woman here. She wasn’t anything like I’d expected. The image of a black hound had made me think of an older, bearded man. She obviously didn’t have a beard. She looked about the same age as me, too.
I couldn’t lose my chance to get her help. I ran after her just as the barista called out my name. There went four dollars down the drain. It wasn’t much, but I didn’t have access to my family funds anymore. The only money in my account was what I’d picked up on odd jobs as I moved across the country.
It would be worth it so long as I could get the Barghest to help me.