And There Were Wolves

thirty four | a string that pulled me

I nearly choked on chocolate rice puff and dried berries. "W-what?"

His silver eyes caught mine, and he looked as if he was trying to understand me or something. "He is charming and closer to your age, so I understand the appeal here." A small frown appeared in between his brows, giving a little indication that he was trying hard to think of what to say. I simply decided to listen while I ate my cereal.. "Judging by the ladies' reaction, I know he is good-looking, too. And he is really a kind man, there's no doubt about it there. I know him, I watched him growing up. He's okay, I guess. Or well, maybe one even considers him as a catch."

It was then that I failed to keep up the blank expression I had been giving him. Was he serious? It was unclear if he was attempting to discredit or praise Miles. I wasn't even sure where this conversation was heading until I heard what he said next.

"But you should know that Miles might have a mate out there. He hasn't found her yet, but one day he will and that could complicate things." He cleared his throat. "For the both of you. And well, for his mate, too." He ended the speech and looked at me expectantly.

"Is this really what it takes?" Disbelievingly, I set my spoon down and scoffed. During his speech, I managed to finish my cereal and drank the leftover milk.

His frown deepened. Confusion was written all over his face. "What does it take for what exactly?" he asked carefully. Perhaps he thought I'd given him a trick question or something.

"What it takes for you to notice me," I answered matter-of-factly.

In a brief moment, Ryker blinked. "I always notice you."

"Yeah, not for the last twenty-four hours. You pretended that I didn't exist. You just ignored me and every time I entered the room and you happened to be there, you left." I didn't realize that I'd been hurting until I noticed the pain and accusation in my voice. "And I don't appreciate this either. I'd prefer if you didn't talk to me only to lecture me about right and wrong. I may be new to all these wolf things, but I've read tons of articles and I understand that every wolf has a mate. I'm not stupid enough to ruin that for Miles or his mate. So if the only reason you're talking to me is just to tell me to back off, you don't have to, you can stop now. I get it. I got enough people accusing me of this. One even slapped me while doing so." I jumped off the barstool and wanted to put the dishes out as quickly as possible so I could go to my room.

While I washed the dishes, he watched me silently. It was only after I finished drying my hands and turned to leave the kitchen that he walked over the island and approached me. "Xyrra."

"No." I knew it would take him a while before he brought up Alana, but I knew he would bring her up, eventually. It was probably one of the reasons he was mad at me — because I'd broken Alana's nose. They might not be dating now, but I knew he still had feelings for her even though he would probably deny it if I asked. "I've apologized to her. I'm not going to do anything else beyond that."

Stepping aside, I made my way toward the stairs. I'd had enough today, and all I wanted was to get a nice bath, then do some writing before going to bed. I needed something normal here. Not crazy witch stuff, some weird werewolf bond thing, and certainly not drama with my mate's ex-fiancé.

I was sitting cross-legged on my bed with my Wattpad on my screen, in the middle of writing this epic love story that I had in mind, when I heard a knock on the door followed by, "May I come in?"

"Door's not locked," I told him, feeling lazy to go over there.

Through my peripheral vision, I saw the door swing open and Ryker entered. He walked towards the bed but didn't sit on it. He was still maintaining a safe distance.

"What is it now?" I said without looking up. "This is not a good time, I'm busy."

"This won't take long. Give me your hand, please."

Upon hearing that request, I looked up and my eyes instantly locked with his silver eyes. "What?"

"Your hand." He gestured to my left hand. I followed his gaze and saw the reddening skin around the knuckles that I hadn't realized before. "You must've sprained it earlier."

"I'm fine," I said, not giving my hand away. I still had so many ideas that I needed to jot down before I forgot.

"Would you just give me your hand, please?"

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and closed my laptop. I moved to the side and lifted my hand so he could take a look. Ryker opened the First Aid kit he'd been carrying and started to treat the swollen part. He put ointment there as well as some cream, before he put a bandage over it. I watched him as he meticulously did all that. I couldn't help but wonder what was in his mind, pondering whether he was doing this simply because this was the right thing to do or he was actually pissed but managed well in not showing it.

"You're staring," he commented when he was nearly done.

"You're being nice," I replied, pointing out what I'd found odd.

His hand came to a halt, and he raised his eyes to meet mine. "I'm not trying to ignore you or tell you what not to do."

"You did try to ignore me." I gave him a pointed look, and he didn't argue, "But yes, I know you're not trying to tell me what not to do. All you're worried about is my safety."

"Yes," he replied before shifting his attention back to the task at hand.

"You could have spared Dmitry the trouble of following me around. I don't need a babysitter."

He released my hand, yet it appeared that he wasn't done with me as he placed his finger on my chin and turned my head. "Does your cheek still hurt?"

At first, I wasn't sure what he was referring to, but when his knuckles touched my left cheek lightly, I hissed in pain. "Okay, it evidently does. I'll go downstairs and bring a pack of ice for that."

Ryker stood and walked away. A few minutes later, he returned with a cloth and a bag of peas. "I figure we could use this. This won't melt and make a mess on your bed." He wrapped the bag of peas with the cloth before pressing it gently on my cheek. I held it against my cheek and he let go of his hold.

He cleaned up the mess and grabbed the First Aid kit. "Okay, about your babysitter comments earlier, I won't ask Dmitry to follow you around, but the next thing you want to go to the South again, you need to tell me."

"Why? So you can haul me back here and chastise me?"

"No." He looked at me incredulously. "So I can come with you, of course."

Well, that was new.

"Of course," I muttered in return. He nodded at me and headed for the door. Just as he was about to shut the door behind him, I hurried over and caught the handle in the nick of time. "Wait. I have one curious question."

He waited for me to continue.

"Why aren't you the least bit mad that I broke your fiancé's nose?"

"Ex fiancé," he clarified. "She hurt you." He nodded at my cheek. There were lines on his forehead as he frowned. "If you hadn't punched her, I think I would've done something a lot worse than just breaking her nose."

Ryker closed the door behind him, leaving me thinking about the whole conversation that we'd had just now. About Alana, Miles, and the South. Was he jealous of Miles? I dismissed that thought right away, knowing that it was next to impossible.

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Anyone's curious about what happens next? More surprises are in store, and the real question is : Are you ready for it? ;)