This place had a simple beauty to it, like something out of a storybook or a fable. The still pool didn't have a single ripple, but it wasn't brackish or stagnant. Jo looked away from the fantasy scene and back at Ryker, who looked torn. He turned away from her and took a few steps, his hands deep in his pockets, and she caught the scowl on his face.
"If you're a part of the mountain mafia, you can just tell me."
He stopped short. "What?"
Jo shifted uneasily, picking up on Ryker's own tension. It was crazy how in tune she was to him already, and that in itself made her a little nervous. "Whatever Duncan was talking about. I thought maybe it's about your family or something that you do...and I thought it could be that you're mixed up in something criminal?"
Ryker stared and then started laughing. It was a full laugh, and he turned back toward her, crossing the distance between them with his long, sure stride. He caught her up in a surprising hug. For a moment, she tensed up, not expecting it, then after a moment she relaxed, looping her arms around him as he nuzzled the top of her head with his cheek.
"So...you're not a mafia man?"
"No."
"You don't grow illegal pot?"
A huff of laughter. "No."
"All right." She squeezed him tight and then leaned back so she could catch his eyes. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
He pulled back and reached up, his hands cupping her face, his thumb brushing her cheek with an unexpected tenderness. His eyes were soft and there was a hint of fear and anticipation in them that he couldn't quite mask, along with a healthy touch of desire.
"Before I tell you, can I kiss you?"
"Ryker..." Was he scared she wouldn't let him kiss her afterwards?
"Just once." His fingertips brushed her hair as he leaned down toward her, his lips so close to hers she could already almost taste them. "Is that--"
Before he could say anything else or ask again, she pressed her lips to his, melting into the kiss as she drew closer to him. He hesitated for a moment and then kissed her back, powerful and gentle at the same time.
One of Ryker's hands curled into her hair, the other moved to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
Jo felt a soft moan escape her before she could stop it--that had never happened during a kiss before, it hadn't even occurred to her to try and hold back. The sound seemed to ignite Ryker though, because suddenly the kiss was hungrier, more demanding. Jo found her lips parting, giving access to Ryker as he deepened the kiss. Her hands threaded through his hair, wanting him closer. Every part of her felt on fire, and she didn't know whether to be scared or excited by the feelings Ryker was evoking in her so, so quickly.
As if in response to her thoughts, Ryker suddenly groaned and pulled back just a fraction, resting his forehead on hers as they both breathed heavily.
"I think you'll be the death of me, Jo Scott," he mumbled against her lips.
"Quite possibly, if you always end kisses so abruptly," Jo scolded him, only teasing a little bit.
Ryker chuckled, but pressed another kiss against her lips at the same time. Then another.
"One more," he muttered, kissing her again, this time with a tenderness that stole her breath away.
"That's better," she said, nodding like a fool in a daze. "You should always end them like that."
He chuckled again, smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear before stepping back from her. Even though the day had quickly warmed up, she still felt a chill from the sudden loss of his body heat.
"I still have to tell you...it's not fair if you don't know. Before..." He cleared his throat, his expression going blank as if he was trying to hide his thoughts from her. "Before things get more serious."
"Okay..." Jo said hesitantly. Honestly, it was hard for her to be worried. Even if he was a crazy axe-wielding mountain man, she was pretty sure she could take him.
Ryker stuffed his hands in his pockets again, looking away from her. This time he seemed pensive, as if he was thinking of how to say what he wanted to. Jo leaned against a tree, letting him take his time. She didn't want to pressure him if it really was that hard for him to talk about.
"Do you believe in the supernatural?" Ryker asked, looking back at her with a suddenly intense gaze. The lightness that usually colored his hazel eyes was gone, leaving an intense, dark woodsy color.
Jo straightened, alarmed. This was the last place she'd expected the conversation to go. And it touched so close to home, she didn't know what to think. "I would never rule it out," Jo said after a minute, giving his question as neutral an answer as possible. How could she not believe in the supernatural, considering what she could do? Didn't mean she was about to go around admitting it.
"My family..." Ryker looked highly stressed, shifting from foot to foot, eyes still focused on her as if she'd bolt at any minute. She was half-tempted to, wondering if he'd found out her secret. But he still seemed to be talking about his family, so she stayed.
"My family is...different. In a way that some people might call supernatural," Ryker said finally, carefully.
Jo frowned. Was he trying to tell her people in the town thought his family was crazy? They seemed to respect him too much for that. But there was no way that they were actually supernatural like her, right? The coincidence of that would be...no, it just wasn't possible. "What do you mean by that?" she asked. Because he was being about as clear as mud.
He stepped farther away from her. "I can show you, but you have to try to not freak out. I promise, it's all going to be okay and nothing's going to hurt you."
Jo opened her mouth and then closed it for a moment. Well, that was one way to freak her out, by telling her to not do it. "Are you a ghost hunter...?"
"No, just--" Ryker ran his fingers roughly through his hair, making it stand on end. "We're werewolves."
Oh. Jo didn't automatically assume he was lying or crazy or anything like that since she herself had some weird stuff going on. Still. Werewolves... She nodded once. "Okay."
Ryker watched her with wary hazel eyes, as if he was afraid she was about to run back to the truck. "I'll shift, and then you can see for yourself. Is that all right?"
"Yeah, just...um..." Jo walked over and sat down on one of the tree roots, feeling a little like she was disconnected from herself. She should be freaking out, right? Because this was an incredibly wild and impossible claim from the man who had just kissed her. But she wanted it to be true, somehow. When she was situated, she nodded again.
It was quick, almost too fast to follow with her eyes. One moment, Ryker was standing there and the next, there was a massive wolf standing in a circle of shredded material that Jo recognized as Ryker's clothes. There hadn't been any sounds of bones crunching or some kind of magical whoosh. Whatever transformation had occurred had been almost instantaneous but not sparkly or fancy. Just a lightning fast shift from human to wolf.
Jo froze, caught somewhere between surprise, fear, and excitement. The wolf was twice the size of a normal one, with shaggy brown, white, and cream colored fur shot through with bits of gold. Tawny eyes watched her, and the wolf swiftly laid down and put his head down on his legs, looking like a dog that wanted to play but wasn't sure how to ask. He army-crawled toward her for a couple feet and then stilled, looking up at her.
Jo found herself fighting the urge to giggle, even as her breathing rate picked up. Maybe it was from nerves, but she didn't think so. There was just something so funny about this giant wolf crawling on its belly toward her with those puppy-dog golden eyes peering up at her. And that it was Ryker...
It was Ryker.
Jo inhaled sharply as she realized what all this meant. She leaned forward, resting on one knee as she hesitantly reached a hand out toward wolf-Ryker. Her heart rate was probably off the charts. Good lord, he was a giant. When she was kneeling she was barely taller than his head with him laying on the ground. He pushed his head into her hand with a soft whimper and she found herself smiling.
"You're beautiful," she said quietly, before she realized what she was saying. Instantly, her cheeks went red. This was dangerous. Animals were so easy to talk to, she was going to have to keep reminding herself this was Ryker.
Ryker licked her hand and she snorted. "Ugh, gross," she scolded him jokingly, sitting back down. Was it weird she had just joked with a wolf? She stared Ryker in the eyes, trying to process what had just happened. He really had just turned into this wolf in front of her. The shredded clothes were still lying in the clearing beyond him as proof.
He was supernatural. Like her.
"You're real," she murmured, more to herself than to Ryker, stroking the side of his head again. He shifted forward again and cautiously put his head in her lap, never taking his eyes off her. It was like he was afraid she would suddenly run away. But she had promised him she wouldn't freak out, so she wasn't going anyway. Honestly though...her early detachment was breaking down. Internally, she kind of was freaking out now.
But not for the reason he would likely assume.
Jo buried her face against wolf-Ryker's neck, hiding her expression from him. Maybe it was crazy to seek comfort in a wolf, but the warm heat, the soft fur...the large body...it was what she needed right now as her feelings threatened to overwhelm her.
She wasn't alone.
She closed her eyes, fighting back the urge to cry as her chest tightened with more emotions than she could name right now.
She wasn't alone.
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A/N: Thanks for reading Chapter 26, there will be a new chapter posted next Sunday, 3/14! Thanks to everyone for reading, commenting, voting, and adding this story to a library or reading list!