14
Ryder
My dragon roared.It demanded that I run after Ness, but I knew that I had to stay here. She’d done the right thing. I had work to do here.
I grabbed the phone from Bruce and held it to my ear. “We’re not playing games, Alvin.”
Alvin laughed. In the background, the creature let out one last wet and weak bleat before falling silent. My dragon roared, so loud that I couldn’t hear what Alvin said next.
Ness was in trouble. Alvin made the sacrifice. He would use the binding spell against my mate soon. A part of me screamed to go to her, but I held firm. I couldn’t go running whenever she needed me. There were others who needed me now.
My beast heard Janessa’s whimper. The sound fractured the beast. On one hand, the beast wanted to run to our mate. On the other hand, we both knew that the pack needed us more. Ness had survived so much up until now. She would keep finding her way through every obstacle in her path.
Ness would come back to us.
Electrical energy crackled across my tongue. It sparked in the air. Overhead, the clouds darkened. Beside me, Bruce lifted his gaze to the sky. His attention slid towards the direction Ness had run. He put a hand on my shoulder, told me to stay here, and then ran after Ness.
I reached out for the man, but he moved quickly. Bruce disappeared before I could keep him here. If I ran after them both, then the pack would be defenseless.
Connor gave me a nod, a slight lift of his chin, as if to say that he would stay behind and protect the pack, but I couldn’t leave them in his hands. Even if he hadn’t destroyed my trust in him once, he wouldn’t be able to hold Alvin off alone. If Jackson and Marcus arrived while I was gone, they’d be screwed.
The air smelled of smoke, fresh meat, and ozone. However, I couldn’t smell the unique scent of death. That meant Alvin wasn’t here. He wasn’t lurking just out of sight with a dead animal.
“I will have my pack, one way or another,” Alvin said. “No one, not even a lizard, will usurp me. If you think that your position is secured, think again. I will put you on your knees, too. I’ll make you do things that make your past look like a daydream.”
My beast growled in challenge. I wasn’t sure how Alvin thought he would trap me in his ritual, but I wasn’t going to give him the chance to try.
“Come out of hiding. Face me like a real Alpha. Or, are you scared that I’ll defeat you?” I kept my chin up and my attention ahead even though my beast thrashed inside me.
The pack needed to see me with a level head. If they could see how my beast fought against me so that I could rescue Ness, then they would never trust me. They would see me as a broken man, just like my father.
The need sliced through me. It nearly sawed me in half. Her name tumbled through my mind, over and over until all I could think of was her. Which was odd as the beast dug its claws into me as if it could reach down to the earth that was our territory.
As both Alpha and Mate, I had a desire to protect both. Only faith kept me in place.
“We’re never going to escape,” Janessa whined.
Haylee shook her head. “That’s not true. Ryder is doing everything in his power to hunt Alvin down.”
Beside her, Kelsey nodded in agreement. I noticed that they held hands, their white knuckles nearly hidden by their bodies. They trusted me to protect them, but they couldn’t deny their fear, either.
The brothers had been hiding their scent with the witch’s spells. I scanned the landscape around us for signs of movement. They wouldn’t surprise me this time.
“Inside, everyone.” I motioned for them to file back into the house.
They all shared looks. Connor touched my shoulder and started pushing people towards the house. If they were all inside, it would be easier to protect them. Walls allowed limited entry, narrowing down attack opportunities. I could keep an eye on windows and doors.
Ness’s mother wrung her hands in the doorway as shifters passed her. She looked in my direction, her gaze pleading for me to do something else. I couldn’t leave, though. My hands were tied, as much as I hated it.
Had I not stepped up to become this pack’s Alpha, then I would have been able to chase after my mate. I would be right by her side, protecting her from whatever Alvin had planned. I hoped that Ness’s mother could see how torn I was, as well.
“Alvin is spineless,” Ness’s mother said. “He isn’t going to show up. No one is. This is just another one of his attempts to strike fear into us. You can leave. Go gether.”
My breath trembled, shuddering out of me. I lifted my gaze, though. More than a dozen faces watched me expectantly. Though Ness’s mother was probably right, leaving now would make a statement. It would tell the pack that I valued Ness above all others.
You will fall without her. You cannot lead without her. Don’t sacrifice what makes you whole.
I hushed my beast. I had to walk a fine line right now. The pack had put their trust in me, and I had to live up to their expectations now.