13
NESS
The sound of flesh on flesh overwhelmed me. The pained grunts and furious growls were too much. Connor put himself between me and the fight, but I wasn’t going to sit back and let Ryder get hurt.
“He’s a dragon,” Connor whispered. “He can protect himself. It’s just a fistfight.”
I put my hands against Connor’s back. I wanted to shove him out of my way, but he’d been hurt enough. Standing here and watching others fight for me wasn’t an option, though.
Asking Ryder to kill Alvin had been a mistake. No one needed to bleed for me. I was tired of the violence and the pain. My own suffering had been enough. Alvin had crossed the line by involving others. This would end here.
I stepped out from behind Connor. He wasn’t fast enough in his state to catch up to me. Heart pounding, I stormed towards Ryder and Harvey. Wolf claws unleashed, Harvey straddled Ryder so he could take swipes at Ryder’s face. Ryder had his arms between his face and Harvey’s claws. Blood dripped down Ryder’s forearms as Harvey tore them to shreds.
I took another step and lightning hit the ground near my feet. The earth smoldered. The smell of char reached my nose. It didn’t stop the two shifters, though. The power of lightning crackled in my palm. I flexed my fingers but couldn’t figure out how to summon it.
For a brief moment, I thought about the woman from the old records. She’d shown up much like I was approaching Ryder and Harvey. Her appearance had been ominous and powerful. Did I have that kind of power? If only I’d been able to read the rest of the record, then I would have some kind of an idea of what I could do.
Without that information, I moved on instinct alone. I touched the back of Harvey’s neck. Electricity leapt from me to him. It didn’t shock him, though. The lightning seemed to shut him down. He collapsed, falling forward onto Ryder’s forearms.
Ryder threw Harvey off and prepared to punch the unconscious man. My lip curled.
“He’s not fighting anymore,” I growled. The thunder that had been trapped in my chest finally reached my tongue. It made my voice rumble.
Ryder stopped and bared his teeth, but not at me. When he leaned forward, I realized that he couldn’t move his feet. My command had stopped him in his tracks. My breath rushed out of me in surprise.
With my breath went my control over whatever arcana I had summoned. Ryder stumbled forward and caught himself. To my relief, he didn’t attack Harvey. Instead, Ryder straightened and directed an inquisitive stare at me.
I shrugged, clueless.
Oh, shit. I had to convince Ryder that I knew what I was doing. If he suspected that I had little control over myself, he would eventually find out that I couldn’t help him. Lying to him felt awful, but there was too much on the line. I had to keep myself and my pack safe.
Even if it meant lying to the only person who could protect me.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said coyly. “You got what you deserved.”
Exhaustion crept in and made my limbs heavy. The power in my voice must have drained a lot of energy. I passed Ryder and bent to help Connor back to his feet. Once upright, he swayed and leaned on me. Maybe he hadn’t been bluffing earlier.
Ryder came over and threw Connor’s arm over his shoulder to help my friend limp away. “Let’s go. We’re not sticking around here.”
I pulled my phone out while following Ryder. The ladies at Bad Moon had covered my shift just as Alvin had said. When I offered to head in to work as soon as possible, they told me to take the day off and keep an eye on Connor.
To my surprise, Ryder took Connor back to his apartment and let Connor have his bed. I stared at the broken man before me. Guilt ate at my conscience. This wouldn’t have happened had I played along with Harvey. Hell, this wouldn’t have happened if I laid low.
Ryder touched my shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. You’re right. Alvin is a monster.”
I swallowed because I couldn’t trust myself to not cry. Unable to respond to Ryder, I did the only other thing I could think of. I crawled onto the bed and curled around Connor. He breathed deep and let out a soft whine that reminded me of the sound I’d heard the night before.
When Ryder left the two of us, I gave in to the tears that had been building inside. I cried until the back of Connor’s shirt was soaked through and through. He didn’t move. Sleep had claimed him. He likely had no idea that I was losing it. Connor had found safety at last, and his body needed sleep to heal.
After a while, when the ache in my soul was nothing more than a dull throb once more, I climbed out of bed and padded down the hall to meet up with Ryder. He stood in the open doorway, talking to someone. For a moment, I stiffened and feared the worst. Then he turned to set down a stack of pizza boxes and closed the door.
Upon seeing me, Ryder lifted his chin in greeting. “Your friends thought it was necessary to track down my rental address and send us some food.”
I chuckled and collapsed onto the sofa. I’d spent more time on this couch than in my own bed recently. This time, Ryder set the stack of pizza boxes onto the coffee table before sitting next to me. Against my better judgement, I leaned into him.
Ryder’s warmth eased some of the tension still nestled between my shoulder blades. I let out a sigh and felt another wave of tears coming. Ryder, however, stiffened like he didn’t know what to do with me. His discomfort made me want to laugh. Instead, I pulled away and gave him his space.
With me no longer on him, he reached forward and opened a pizza box. When he paused, my stomach turned. His gaze slid to me. I could see the suspicion in his eyes.