Ryder asked his question again. Jackson growled, a low rumbling sound that permeated his voice when he answered. Alvin hadn’t given them any orders. Instead, Jackson and Marcus had been acting on their own. They’d attacked with the hopes that they could make Alvin proud.
My stomach turned. I caught myself, mid-step, ready to run for the door. I couldn’t let Ryder do this alone. I had to stay, even if it was only to show solidarity. Ryder could handle himself in combat. He didn’t need my arcana to help him control Jackson. We’d already witnessed that.
I had to stay, if only to prove that I could take responsibility for my pack.
Ryder cast a look in my direction, though, as if he could tell that I was having second thoughts. He gave a curt nod. I knew what he was trying to say. It was okay if I wanted to leave.
But it wasn’t okay. I couldn’t leave him alone down here. Jackson and Marcus had nearly taken Ryder from me once. I’d sat in Ryder’s lap and listened to his flagging heartbeat, failing as a poison attacked his body. If I left him down here with Jackson and something happened, I would never forgive myself.
It occurred to me that the real reason for my determination had surfaced rather quickly. Though I’d told myself that I was doing this for my pack, I knew that it was Ryder that compelled me to stay. I needed him in my life.
Without him…Oh, but there would come a day when he wasn’t here. I wasn’t even sure that he wanted to stay and become our new Alpha. Though he’d addressed the pack as the next Alpha, I didn’t know how much longer he would fill that role. At some point, he would want to run again.
I couldn’t make him stay. The only person who could ask anything of Ryder was Bri, his mate.
The ever-churning thoughts filling my head seemed to spill out in every direction. I could barely contain myself as my fears and worries tumbled out of control. My hands shook, so I made sure to hide them when I crossed my arms once again. I couldn’t hide the way my chest heaved, my lung too shallow to pull in a proper breath.
What was happening to me? It seemed as though someone had drained all the confidence from me and left me a hollow husk. Only when Ryder reached back and touched my elbow did the world stop spinning violently.
I sucked in a breath, forcing my chest to expand, and steadied myself. The spiral stopped, if only for a moment. I desperately wanted to retreat upstairs and hide in my old bedroom, where I didn’t have to think about the world outside for a while.
Ryder didn’t pause the interrogation, though. He understood that our time was limited. He pushed Jackson, who spat out reluctant answers. Jackson and Marcus hadn’t heard from Alvin since the night Alvin took me. They had no idea where he was or what he was up to.
When Ryder asked about the witch, Jackson laughed. They had no interaction with the witch. That had been all Alvin’s doing.
“Are you done with me now?” Jackson asked with venom in his voice.
“Are you done attacking your own packmates?” Ryder countered.
Jackson laughed. The keening manic sound chilled me to my bones. I clenched my jaw, my arcana suddenly filling my mouth. Where it had been hard to grasp earlier, it now flowed through me as it fed on my disgust.
“Let me go. I promise I’ll be a good little mutt like your breeding bitch back there.”
Ryder’s fist connected with Jackson’s face before I could even speak. Mouth open, I could only make an incomprehensible noise as Jackson’s head snapped to the side. He laughed again and spit blood onto the concrete floor.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t tried to put a little dragon inside her yet. I see the way you’re always up her ass. I assumed you were protecting your incubator.” Jackson turned a bloody grin upon Ryder.
The growl filling the room warmed me. I realized that the basement was filling with electricity. Moisture beaded in the air. Could he summon a storm inside? I wasn’t about to find out. I leapt forward and put a hand on Ryder’s arm.
He barely acknowledged me. The corners of his eyes creased ever so slightly when I touched him, but that was about it.
“Don’t listen to him,” I said to Ryder.
His jaw loosened, but only barely. Ryder still had his glare trained on Jackson. Fists trembling at his sides, Ryder hovered over the bound man. This could end poorly if Jackson kept pushing Ryder.
I wondered why Jackson would test Ryder’s limits. It was clearly a bad idea since Jackson was in a pretty vulnerable position. Then I realized that Jackson was waiting for Ryder to slip up. If Jackson could catch Ryder in the midst of a mistake and take advantage of it, then maybe he could escape.
Understanding what was happening, I put myself between the two men. Ryder and I had to work together. If he got upset with me for intervening, then we would never be able to lead this pack.
Wait, we?
Since when did I want to lead this pack? I’d never wanted that kind of responsibility until now. Why did I want to share it with Ryder all of a sudden?
I had too many questions and no way to answer them just yet. I needed to sleep so that I had the energy to straighten out my own thoughts. Everything was a twisted jumble like headphone cords in my pocket. I didn’t have what it took to untangle them right this instant.
“I think we’re done here,” I said.
“Oh, did I remind you that you’re late for your breeding session? Of course, you would want to get that done as soon as possible. I don’t blame you for trying to bind the dragon to you by bearing his child. What else do you have to offer him?”