by Sedona Venez
My pulse raced, but I didn’t move. “You know what we are, Ryker? We are over. Now leave me the fuck alone.”
He stared at me coldly. “Your wish is my command, Light.”
AN HOUR LATER, I SAT in the serene environment of the private meditation terrace overlooking lower Manhattan. I sighed, dialing the one person I wanted to talk to right now. “Storm?”
“Is everything all right? Light? Talk to me.” Storm's voice was husky from sleep.
I paused. “Is Knox there?”
“Yeah, but he’s sleeping. Finally. Jeezus, the man is a sex machine. I feel like I rode a horse.”
I laughed. “Well, you know what they say. Ride a wolf-shifter, save a horse.”
Storm muffled her snicker. “Stop, you’re going to make me wake him up.”
Knox grumbled in the background. “I’m not sleeping. I’m giving you time to recoup for round three.”
Storm groaned. “Go to sleep, Knox.”
“Sounds like you have it hard… literally,” I pointed out playfully.
I heard scuffling and a door slam.
“Light? Sorry. I had to escape the room. Plus, I can hear in your voice that you really want to talk.” She paused. “What’s going on? Issues with Ryker?”
“No. No issues.” I curled my legs under me, enjoying the rooftop deck space with brilliant 360-degree views of Manhattan. “Nothing a couple of shots of Patrón can’t resolve.”
“Uh-huh.”
I groaned. “Okay, the man is making me crazy.”
“Ryker?”
“Yes, Storm. Ryker. What the hell! Keep the fuck up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What does that mean?”
“Reason told me everything. And I know you like him, a lot.”
I sputtered. “I don’t like him. He’s an arrogant asshole with a stick lodged up his ass sideways.”
“So tell me what’s really going on.”
I wiped my now damp forehead. Dammit, I needed to keep it together. And even though I hadn't seen him since our argument, I could still sense him somewhere at the other end of the penthouse. I pressed my fingers along my temple, trying to ease the pressure from the stress. It didn’t work. There was one person who could do that now, and he was not my ideal choice for the job.
“Just stressed,” I responded flatly, curling up into the plush cushions.
“Uh-huh. I can tell you’re hiding something.” She paused. “First, start explaining why our mental connection didn’t help relieve your pain.”
I sighed, hesitating to give voice to my worst fears. “You’ve been replaced.”
Storm was silent.
“Did you hear me? When I was around Detective Prick, it was erringly silent when Ryker touched me. I felt nothing. No irritating human emotions. Just…” I swallowed hard. “Calm.”
Storm cleared her throat. “Oh my God! Ryker is your mate?” she hissed. “Demi was right about the prophecy? She’s never right.”
I rolled my eyes. “Surprise. She got this right.”
“So what’s the problem? Zone in on the shifter and make him yours.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“Bullshit. You’re upset.”
“No.” I paused. “Yes. I fucked up and now it seems like he’s pulling away.”
“Have you asked him why?”
“I know why. I pushed him away.”
“You’re afraid he’ll reject you because you’re an empath,” Storm stated.
“No!” I blurted out too forcefully. “No. What?” I sighed. “Why would you even say that?” I continued. “That’s not even the point.”
“Then tell me. What’s the point, Light? Because I don’t understand a damn thing you’re saying right now.” She paused. “He balances you, wants you, but you pushed him away.”
I hated how she always had a way of cutting to the chase. “Wait, what? What—what do you mean?”
“When he asked you to give the relationship a chance, what did you say?”
“I wasn’t ready to hear it then.”
Storm sighed. “What do you think he’s telling you with his behavior?”
I paused to think. “That… maybe… he’s changed his mind?” I slumped in the chair, sighing heavily. “What if I waited too long?”
“You weren’t waiting, Light. You were making sure you could give him what he needs… all of you.”
“Yeah, but in the meantime, he’s moved on.”
“Or he’s protecting himself by not taking any more emotional risks.”
“So what do I do?” I bit my lower lip. “I’m going to his charity gala with him tonight.”
“What do you want to do?”
My heart raced. Time for the truth. “He scares the shit out of me. He’s the one man who changes everything I thought I knew about myself.” He was the one man who stripped away my mask and laid me out bare and vulnerable. “I’ve spent my whole life building a fortress and defending myself from being hurt again.”
“Listen to me. Tell Ryker you’re an empath.”
“No.”
“I can’t force you, but I’m done with secrets and walking on egg shells. Look at what it almost got me. If I had been upfront with Knox about the Credence Curse, I would have avoided that whole nasty incident with Luke. And maybe he wouldn’t be running loose right now. So you think about that.”
I was silent.
Storm continued. “Tell him. Believe me, I know it’s scary putting your heart out there, but he’s worth it.”
“Yeah, until he knows I’m sick. Wolf-shifters run away from the weak or take advantage of it.” My lips pursed, remembering what Nolan did to me. I didn’t know where he began and I ended. It was sick and twisted and the thought filled me with rage and queasiness.
“If you’re still harping on Nolan, let that shit go. Besides, I’m not entirely convinced dark magic wasn’t at work that weekend.”
“I can’t let it go. And I can’t trust any man to do the right thing.” I sighed. I hated feeling this way, but a whole lot of shitty life lessons had taught me nothing good comes out of trusting men. They were good for one thing… instant gratification. I’d leave the sappy love relationship shit to weak-minded women.
“Do you know he refuses to sleep with me?”
Storm snickered. “And how is that bad?”
“Shifters are innately sexual beings. And with my sucky luck, I find the one shifter in New York who refuses to fuck me. No, he’s waiting until I give myself to him mind, body, and soul. Who the hell says shit like that anymore?”
Storm sighed tiredly. “Show him who you really are, Light. Let him in. He’s a good man and he wants you. The real you. Any man who refuses to fuck you until he gets the whole package is worth taking the risk. Isn’t that what you told me about Knox?”
I was silent.
“You’re a hypocrite," Storm snapped. "You can give out advice about taking chances, but you can’t accept it. Now pull on your big girl panties and show him what he’s getting. The real you. Not the party girl Light. Show him the pain you deal with every day. Let him behind the curtains. If he runs, which I highly doubt, then he wasn’t for you. But if he stays… he’s a fucking keeper.”
I dashed away the tears rolling down my cheeks. That’s exactly what I was afraid of… He would stay and one day he would regret it when the going got rough. My body stiffened when I felt his presence before he even said a word. I looked over my shoulder to find him standing there looking gorgeous but deadly.
“Pack meeting. There’s new information you should hear,” he declared before turning on his heel and walking away.
Pack meeting? My pulse raced at the thought of belonging to him and being a part of his pack.
“Hey, Storm. Let me call you back.”
“Okay… and think about what I said.”
“I will.” I hung up the phone and walked into the penthouse. No one was in the living room, so I walked farther in, moving toward the voi
ces. I hesitated for a second before stepping into the office.
Ryker looked over at me. “We need your help with something.” He nodded over to the two interactive whiteboards. One was blank; the other was a murder board with information on everyone who had been killed so far. Soar circled some names, then stepped back, staring at the board.
I appraised Ryker. “Any news on the hunt for our client list?”
Ryker crossed his arms. “No. But the good news is no more clients showed up dead.”
“Yet.” Jackal finished.
I walked up to Soar and stared at the board. I used my finger, wrote “Shadows,” then drew a line from it, connecting it to Celina's name. “There’s a pattern. And we’re missing it.” I wrote Greco’s name and circled it.
The entire team looked skeptical.
“Why are we doing this, again?” Bones demanded with a pained look on his face.
Ignoring him, I looked over at Ryker. “Did you find the name of the person who owns Swodah Unified?” I inquired.
“His name is Baptiste Thomas,” Ryker responded.
“So what else do we know so far?” I questioned.
“The Shadows paid Greco to break into your safe. And Celina slept with him as some sort of added bonus,” he commented.
My face tightened. “So she stole the list for them?”
“Exactly,” Soar interjected, “and now that she’s dead, we don’t know if she gave them the list or hid it.”
I frowned. “I think she hid it. Someone broke into her apartment and tore it apart looking for something. It’s safe to say the list.”
Bones snorted, then paced back and forth. “That shit doesn’t make any sense. Why would she steal the list for them?”
Jackal stared at him. “You all right, man?”
Bones bristled. “Yes! But we’re standing here making up shit as we go.”
Ryker and Jackal exchanged a brief look. Something was going on, but I couldn’t delve into that right now. Something about Celina was nagging me. I tapped Soar. “Anything else we’re missing?”
He shrugged. “We already know the Shadows figured out how to harvest Other organs.”
Turning to stare at the whiteboard. “Okay.” I blew out, tired. “Well, we also know the Shadows are buying a shitload of Manhattan property. But why?” I tapped my chin before drawing a money sign on the board. “You and I know Manhattan property is not cheap, so they’re spending more money than they’re bringing in from the sale of organs.” I turned to stare at them. “They need more organs.”
“That means they need to go big. Get more organs, fast,” Rip theorized.
“But they only want the strongest Others. That’s why they’ve been going after Others who are enforcers and second-in-command,” Ryker interjected.
“They would need to find a meeting or maybe an event, something big with plenty of Alphas or seconds-in-command,” Soar observed.
“Yeah, but if that was the case, why didn’t they stage an attack at Vivica’s party?” Bones demanded.
Ryker laughed. “Not all of the Alphas are into kink, not in public at least. Besides, Vivica’s clients aren’t only Others. They’re humans too.”
I looked at the whiteboard. “Wait a second. Your gala tonight. No humans are invited.”
Soar scowled. “Shit! She’s right. We’ll have to beef up security.”
“If I were the Shadows, that’s where I’d hit.” I looked at him determinedly. “So it’s settled. I’ll be ready at eight? That’s not a problem, is it?”
Ryker frowned. “It might be dangerous.”
I walked over to him, kissing him gently before stepping back. “I’m ready to trust my Alpha, as you should be ready to trust me.” I smiled. “If the Shadows want to bring it, then we’ll be there… together, to stop them.” I turned on my heel, leaving Ryker stunned.
I STOOD IN MY CLOSET wrapped in a towel, frantically looking overdressed. “Not this one.” I pushed it out of the way. I looked at another dress, a red couture dress that was nearly see-through. “God, what was I thinking when I bought this?” The door knocked.
“Who is it?” I peeked out to see Rosa sauntering in looking stunning. Her golden-tanned skin contrasted beautifully with her skin-tight black evening gown. It was unfair how beautiful she was.
I smiled saucily. “Look who’s filling out their dress like a stripper.”
Rosa twirled around. “And if I play my cards right tonight, I might get some dollars bills stuck down my dress by a sexy wolf-shifter.”
I growled playfully. “Go get him.”
She winked. “I plan on it.”
I stared at the box she was clutching. “What’s that?”
Rosa smiled, extending a huge box. “Special delivery from Ryker.”
I looked at the box warily. “Is it a rattlesnake? Poisonous gas?”
She looked at me curiously.
I looked at her sheepishly. “In case he didn’t tell you, we had a horrible argument and I said some not so nice things, things I’m not fucking proud of right about now.”
“No. It’s not a snake or gas. He would never hurt you, Light. He likes you too much.”
I rolled my eyes, grabbing the box. “Yeah, likes me,” I grumbled while opening the box and pulling the tissue wrap aside. “Oh.” I pulled out a stunning backless grey gown. “Well…” I cleared my throat. “Okay, he likes me a little.”
Rosa sat at the edge of the bed and smiled proudly. “That dress tells me he likes you more than a little.” Her smile disappeared. “So why are you pretending you don’t want him?”
I fidgeted. “It’s complicated.”
She looked at me with clear green eyes that seemed to reach into my soul, reading everything. “It’s an ex-boyfriend.”
My eyes widened when she got it that fast. “Yes.”
“A good-looking ex who was hung like a horse?”
I couldn’t help the smile. “He wasn’t that good looking, but Jeezus… he was hung.”
“And?”
I dropped the dress on the bed. “I was just out of college and wasn’t into relationships due to all the Credence curse omen shit. So I played around, made a lot of bad mistakes with men. And one day, all of my bad decisions caught up with me when I met Nolan, a wolf-shifter.” I stared into space. “I knew it from the first moment I met him.” I smiled sadly. “I should have run as fast as I could, but I didn’t.”
“He cheated on you,” Rosa guessed.
I laughed coldly. “No. If it were that simple, I would have gotten over the experience years ago.” I swallowed, tasting the bitterness in my mouth, thinking about how bad things eventually got. “I lost a piece of myself to him. I can’t describe how, even now. He started controlling my interaction with my family. The clothes I wore. Where I hung out or didn’t. The sad part is I should have known. I ignored my instincts. I gave away control. And eventually, I turned my back on my family because they hated him, rightly so. My whole world started revolving around him and he loved it.” I looked at her pointedly. “It was freaky because it wasn’t the type of woman I was.” I sighed heavily. “The thing is I knew the relationship was toxic, but the more I tried to pull away, the more I got sucked into his web of manipulation.”
She looked at me worriedly. “That sounds more like dark magic.”
I stared at her. “See, that’s exactly what Storm said.” I shrugged. “I don’t know what to believe. All I know is things got so bad I started losing track of time. Days ran into weeks. I stopped thinking. I was like some fucking zombie. When my family staged an intervention, I knew I had to leave him, but he begged me to stay and even planned a romantic weekend trip to California.”
Rosa’s mouth dropped open. “He was trying to hide you from your family.”
“How did you know that?” Rosa was freaking me out.
“He was a controlling asshole,” Rosa noted simply. “What happened?”
“Put it like this; I woke up to the sound of the door bein
g broken down. It was Storm rescuing me.” I licked my lips. “Apparently, I had been missing for weeks. And Nolan was nowhere to be found.” My teeth gritted. “The bastard had me holed up in some luxury beachside villa.” My fists clenched just thinking about it. “After Storm hauled me home, I couldn’t even remember my fucking name for days. My mom had me examined for drugs, but get this… I wasn’t drugged. My fucking system was clean.”
Rosa pursed her lips. “Dark magic.”
I arched a brow. “Why does everyone keep on saying that? It wasn’t dark magic. I was weak. I let him control me. Take my life away, take my family away. I have to own up to the weak woman he made me.”
Rosa wrapped an arm around me. “You are way too hard on yourself. The bastard knew how strong you were and manipulated you with magic. All of the signs are there, honey.” She grabbed my face. “You’re mad at yourself for something you couldn’t control.”
My hands trembled. “I promised myself I would never let that happen again.”
Rosa scowled. “If you’re comparing my nephew to him, then I take fucking offense.”
I gave her a small smile. “I know Ryker is nothing like him.”
She looked at me, confused. “Okay, if that’s the case, then what’s stopping you from giving him a chance to prove it?”
I sighed tiredly. “Now? Nothing. I decided hours ago that I want the crazy Alpha. Now he’s the one who’s angry at me.”
Rosa clucked her tongue. “So that’s why he left with Soar.”
My back straightened. “What the hell! He’s not going to the gala tonight?”
“Oh, he’s going. He said he had a meeting to go to first.” Her face tightened. “He left instructions for Jackal and Rip to escort you to the gala.”
“Oh, hell no! That asshole ditched me?” I jabbed a finger at her. “I told you he was pissed.”
She crossed her arms. “So? Are you going to fix the problem?”
“Oh, I’m going to fix it all right.” I stood. “He said he wanted me mind, body, and soul. And I’ll be damned if I let him renege on a motherfucking offer.” My eyes narrowed. “The gloves are off. And I plan to fight dirty to get him back.”