And There Were Wolves

fifty seven | say you'll see me again

A surge of relief washed over me. "What about me? I'm fine." I chuckled. They were being worried for nothing. Wanting to assure them further, I added, "Look, I know I was mad at Ryker before but I'm fine, we're fine now. We haven't talked in a while since you know, you lost your memory and stuff, but Ryker has explained to me about everything and I no longer have any grudge against him or anything you might be worried about. We're fine, Er. Don't worry about me," I tried to reassure him.

His eyes grew sadder and he tightened his hold on my shoulder. "Xy, Ryker is gone."

"W-what?" I looked at him then moved my gaze to Dmitry. "What is he talking about?" Then my eyes were on Eros again. "What are you talking about? What do you mean he's gone? He was fine last night."

"He left," Dmitry finally said. His hand moved and that was when I saw a white envelope that he'd been holding. He handed it to me. "He left this for you."

I stared at the envelope for a long time, having no intention of taking it. "You're joking, right? Please tell me this is just a sick joke! That you both are trying to prank me! This isn't funny, lads! I am seriously going to be pissed right now."

Dmitry's face was emotionless. "Read it and you will understand."

All the three of us remained in silence for a long time before I took a deep breath and grabbed the envelope. I tore the envelope open and pulled the folded paper out. Then I began to read. I read it once. Twice. Three times. And I still believed that I was dreaming. I curled my free hand, the one that wasn't holding the piece of paper, into a fist. My nails bit my skin, breaking the surface until they drew blood and I was convinced that this was a painful reality and not a dream.

"He rejected me," I finally said to no one. "Ryker rejected me as his mate. He left. Even after what happened, after what we have shared together." My voice broke. As did my heart.

"That fucking bastard," Eros cursed out loud.

Dmitry's only comment was, "He has his reason."

"He told me to move on." I looked up and met Dmitry's deep brown eyes. "He told me to forget him and give you a chance. What kind of sick joke is this? Where the hell is he?"

"He is gone," answered Dmitry. "He has long gone for hours now and you will not be able to find him."

"You have that mind link thing with him, right?" I asked, looking at him expectantly. "Tell him to come back. Tell him that I demand an explanation."

"He has left the pack. That severs whatever ties we have." Dmitry shook his head. His face remained impassive and it angered me so much. His Alpha, his best friend had just left and he showed very little care and no emotion. Was he even human? "I can no longer connect my mind with him."

"Then do something!" I shoved him with my hand out of frustration. It did nothing to him, he didn't even flinch. I was almost convinced he was made of stone.

"There is nothing to be done. He has made his decision." Dmitry gave me a hard look, I could see a flicker of anger there and wasn't sure whether it was for me or for Ryker. It didn't matter either way. "You should respect his decision."

I'd spent the next three days locked up in Ryker's bedroom. Everything ached the first two days but now I felt numb. I felt nothing. There was a massive hole in my heart when he'd left and I was convinced that I couldn't fill it no matter what I did. No one could replace him. Dmitry checked up on me every hour of every day, bringing me food. Eros persuaded me to eat and get out of bed. Even Trish tried to get me off the bed and go to London with her, promising a week full of parties and stress-free. None of them succeeded. I was wasting away in those blankets, inhaling his smell and hoping that he would return. Funny enough, I hadn't cried. Not one single tear. Not until Dmitry knocked on the door and let himself in one afternoon.

He caught me hugging Ryker's pillow and burying my face there. I knew how pathetic I looked but I didn't care. He who mattered most had rejected me and left me. Nothing else mattered. Not anymore.

"You should clean up and eat. Living a sedentary life for long periods of time can cause damage to your physical health, not to mention your mental health too. You can develop poor blood circulation, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, blood clots, metabolic syndrome, and even death. The muscles that were in an elongated position will become used to this and want to stay elongated. The muscles that were in a shortened position will become used to this and will want to remain shortened. As a result, your body essentially becomes dysfunctional," he explained at great length. "Combined with not eating, at this rate, your body will give in and you will die."

I dragged my eyes to meet his. He was standing by the bed. A look of concern filled his face. Under normal circumstances, I would've been surprised to witness that many emotions on his face. "It doesn't matter," I replied. My voice was hoarse and my throat hurt just by speaking those simple three words after not speaking or drinking anything for three days.

I moved my gaze elsewhere, not wanting to have another look at Dmitry and see how pathetic my current condition was in his eyes. I heard him making noises around Ryker's sofa but wasn't interested in seeing what he was doing. A few minutes later, he surprised me by lifting my body off the bed with his muscled arms. "Put me down!" I tried to yell but all I could manage was a loud whisper instead.

"I am not letting you waste away in these sheets doing nothing but die!" he growled at me for the first time. Then he brought me to the sofa and put me down. "Drink!" he ordered, pointing at a cup of tea he had made for me. "And eat." He pushed a plate full of crackers. "Eat small and periodically so you will not upset your stomach."

Surprised by his anger, I tried grabbing the teacup but my hand was too weak. Dmitry grabbed it for me and placed it against my bottom lips. "Drink slowly," his voice was once again controlled and soft. After I finished taking a few sips, he put the teacup back on the table and reached for the crackers. "I am afraid you have to eat bland simple food now until your body turns back to normal."

I let him feed me two crackers before leaning my back against the sofa and staring blankly at the ceiling. Upon feeling his warm touch on my hand, I glanced down to see him wrapping his hand on mine. Slowly I dragged my eyes up past his muscled arm to his shoulder and up until my eyes locked with his rich chocolaty eyes. "There is a well-established neural connection between the lacrimal gland and the brain limbic system associated with emotion. Stifling your body's need to cry in an emotionally difficult situation is unhealthy, Xyrra."

And that was when the dam finally broke and tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Dmitry held me against his chest, but when my tears started wetting the front of his shirt, I tried to back away but his arms enveloped me, preventing me from doing so. He moved his hand up and down my back, caressing me like I was a lost child and he was trying to comfort me.

"If he does not plan to return," Dmitry muttered against my head, "then you should be the one to bring him home, Xyrra Ascroft. You are the only one who can."

"He rejected me, Dmitry," I managed to say through my sobs.

"But not because he does not love you," he replied. "It is because he loves you too much that he did what is necessary, what he thought was best for you."

I backed away slowly then looked Dmitry in the eye. "What do you mean?"

Dmitry took a deep breath. He had one hand cupping the side of my face as he said, "Ryker is infected by the Mad Wolf disease. That is the real reason why he left."

888888888

Dear Readers, anyone's still here? Please leave a comment ("Yes") on this line to let this author know.

Reason being is because this author is torn whether or not to publish the 2nd part/chapter/book (;

even if it's just stayed in your wildest dreams, ah-ah, ha in your wildest dreams, ah-ah, ha~~~