To Be Claimed

✙ Chapter 7 ✙

"That's great," Noah responded, sarcastically. Ryker growled, clenching the edge of the counter with his hands until his knuckles turned white. "I need you to track down Caine."

"I'm not betraying my brother."

Next thing I knew, Noah was leaping from his seat, stomping towards Ryker. When the two were only a few feet apart, I noticed the angry expression on Noah's face. His green eyes were narrowed and his teeth were gritted together, pushing out his jaw. With his destroyed clothes and splattered blood, I thought he was a little scary, though Ryker looked calm - obviously, he wasn't afraid of him. "You're the only one who knows where he is. I've searched my a*s off for him and he isn't anywhere to be found."

Ryker growled. "Once again, I'm not betraying my brother."

"You aren't necessarily betraying your brother - he just wants to find his sister," I blurted, stepping forward. Hesitantly, I continued, hoping I didn't make things worse. "I mean, it wasn't right for Caine to take her away without telling anybody."

In disbelief, Ryker looked at me. "Now, you're siding with him?"

"I'm not siding with anybody," I said, shrugging. I looked at Noah who was watching me with curiosity. Then, he nodded for me to continue, knowing I was the only one to persuade Ryker into helping him. Tossing my hands into the air, I looked back at a frustrated Ryker, one who looked about ready to strangle Noah. "You've been concerned about your brother; this is your chance to go help him! Just look at the situation - he wants to help his sister and you want to help your brother! If we work together, we can help both of them!"

"But, I'm not promising I won't beat the sh*t out of Caine," Noah added, seriously.

I frowned at him. "You aren't helping."

"Caine took her away to protect all of us," Ryker said, shaking his head. "Not only is she a red-eye, but she's still able to tap into dark magic."

"It was wrong for him to take her away, even if it was for protection," Noah argued, breathing heavily. "We didn't even know she was alive until a week ago." That must've been tough - thinking your sister was dead, then discovering she was alive. To make things worse, she was a red-eyed werewolf with the urge to kill; he must've been experiencing a lot of guilt. If she hadn't killed her father to save him, she wouldn't have became a red-eye. He wanted to fix things - he wanted to save his sister and I didn't blame him. "It wasn't his decision about what to do with her! If anyone, it should be me with her right now! Not her mate or her best friend - I'm her older brother, the only family she has left."

I looked at Ryker. "Come on, just help him."

"My brother doesn't want to be found," Ryker said, quietly.

Desperately, I stepped in-between him and Noah, staring into his emerald eyes. "What if somebody was keeping Caine captive? Wouldn't you want to know where he was?"

"That's highly unlikely."

"Ryker!"

"Cherry."

I gritted my teeth together at his nickname for me. "Help him find his sister." He stared down at me for a long moment, watching my expression. I was dead serious; a worried brother wanted to find his sister and he was refusing to help. Ryker pinched his lips together and took a step back, gripping a handful of his dark hair. He was arguing with himself, debating whether or not to help or not. When I folded my arms across my chest, he released a sigh and gestured towards Noah behind me. "If I take him to his sister, I can't be responsible for anything that happens! But, I-I'll track them down - I'm warning you, though. You won't be happy with the state your sister is in."