“I didn’t ask you to come here and get yourself caught up in someone else’s web. I asked you to do a simple task. After that, you could have gone your own way.” I flicked the medallion. “You did this to yourself.”
Why did my father tell Ryder to visit Beryl? What the hell had he been thinking? I lifted my gaze and looked Ryder in the eye. Wasn’t this man smart enough to not get tangled in a fae’s traps? One look at her and anyone could tell that she was dangerous.
Hot? Yes.
Dangerous? Also, yes.
Someone’s attractiveness doesn’t negate their ability to hurt you. Why couldn’t men think with anything other than their dick?
My hound snarled at the idea of Ryder atop Queen Beryl. My stomach tightened with rage as it burned its way up my throat. I let out a shuddering breath. The jealousy wasn’t like me. I couldn’t let my hound have her way. Ryder wasn’t my mate.
He was hot and strong and a complete idiot.
He stared at me with his jaw slightly slack. My cheeks heated when I realized he was processing my reaction. Before he could put the pieces together, I spun around and began making my favorite drink.
The muscle memory comforted my upset hound. She wanted me to turn back to Ryder and protect him like I’d done earlier. I couldn’t keep him safe against Beryl. I could barely protect myself. Standing up to Jackson and Marcus would bite me in the ass later.
Alvin had made it clear that I would sign my own death sentence if I helped Ryder. What other choice did I have? I knew that Alvin had my death sentence in his back pocket at all times. He would find a way to kill me without causing too much of a stir in the pack eventually.
“What are you doing after work?” Ryder asked.
I threw back an espresso shot and set the cup back in place to prepare another for my mocha before facing him. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
I didn’t expect the smolder that overcame him. He leaned in, his breath warm against my cheek. I inhaled sharply. My lower lip trembled in heady anticipation.
Voice low and rumbling, he whispered. “I’m not going to date the biggest pain in my ass I’ve ever met.”
I reeled back, laughter spilling out of me. Before I could stop myself, I flipped him the bird. I couldn’t explain the rage simmering under my skin. I was used to despair, but the way his words hit my hound and left her filled with sorrow made me angry.
Spinning away from Ryder, I found Cerri staring at us with a queer look on her face. She asked me if I was all right, but I shook her off.
Ryder
I watched Ness stomp away.She disappeared into the back room and left me alone with her coworker, the one who had slipped a potion into my coffee. The blonde offered me a wide, forced smile, but she kept looking between me and the doorway that had swallowed Ness a moment ago.
When the blonde finally focused on me, I could almost feel the wave of protectiveness coming from her. It slammed into me with crushing force.
Ness had some interesting friends outside of the pack.
No. This woman smelled of pack, but I couldn’t find any hint of animal in her. The scent coming from her had another wild tone to it that reminded me of Beryl’s underground court.
“What are you?” The words left me before I could stop them. I shook myself. “Apologies, ma’am. I’m not normally this rude. I’m on edge, and your scent is confusing.”
She stepped behind the counter and put a clear plastic cup down. When she pulled a bottle of glittering liquid out from under the counter, I grimaced.
“Are you going to poison me again?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I didn’t poison you. I asked you if you wanted a charmed coffee and you saidyes. I could have been more forward about what I meant, but I’m still figuring out how to explain that in a way that hides what I’m doing from the humans.”
Alvin’s show had emptied the café. His presence must have left behind a dark cloud that everyone could feel when they came close. I watched a few humans step up to the door, pause, and turn away. The sign in the window said open, but no one wanted to come inside.
That gave us the opportunity to talk about what was going on here.
I stepped closer to the counter and watched the blonde work. She filled the bottom of the cup with her potion and poured lemonade over it. The cup’s contents shimmered until she added a red syrup that smelled strongly of strawberries. When she topped it off with ice, I half expected her to pass it to me. Instead, she shoved a straw into it and lifted it to her lips.
After a long drag on her straw, the blonde said, “I know she’s using you for something. I have my suspicions, but if I get pulled into this, then Ness will never forgive herself. The thing is, I know that you wouldn’t still be here if you weren’t trying to use her, too.”
I opened my mouth to argue and quickly closed it again. The blonde wasn’t wrong, and I didn’t have it in me to lie right now. So, I kept quiet and heard her out.