Even though he had told me to run, I didn't. I knew that if something happened to me, my dad would lose his bargaining power so there was no way he would hurt me. Instead, I watched Ryker face-to-face with my dad's wolf.
"You don't want to do this, Atlas," warned Ryker, still in his human form. Atlas seemed to be my dad's wolf. "I know you have been locked out for ten long years, I know you are eager to come out, but you have a clean record, you don't want to taint that. Leonidas will not take you back."
I turned to Ryker, lifting my eyebrow. "Are you scared of my dad's wolf or are you trying to buy yourself some time?"
"Neither," answered Ryker with a frown. "Khrysaor has been in a foul mood and I don't want to kill your father or Atlas."
"Why?" I asked out of curiosity, not because I wanted him to hurt my dad. Although based on what I had read online during breakfast, killing someone's mate was pretty high on the list of ten most unforgivable crimes and would normally warrant a death sentence.
Ryker looked at me as if I had sprouted two horns in the middle of my forehead. "He is your father."
Atlas's growl brought my attention back to him. The copper wolf licked his canines, his eyes were moving back and forth between me and Ryker as if he was trying to decide whether to pounce on him or not. I could tell that he had made his decision when his eyes were focused on Ryker and he widely opened his mouth, his canines protruding and I knew that my dad was no longer my dad. Ryker seemed to notice that too as he turned into his wolf form, his clothes were shredded to pieces. I got away from them just in time as the two wolves, one copper and one jet-black were rolling in the front yard. I raced to the porch and watched them, hoping that these two testosterones would finally realize that they could simply use their brain cells instead of trying to kill each other. Although based on my observation, Khrysaor seemed to be in defense mode, placing his paws on Atlas's shoulders and kept shoving him off now and then, while Atlas kept on attacking him, trying to find a way to sink its teeth into Khrysaor.
I never felt so helpless. This dangerous dancing that they were currently having could end up with one of them being seriously injured. At last, Khysaor shoved Atlas quite hard that it sent Atlas rolling on the ground before hitting the side of Ryker's sedan. Right at that moment, as I watched Atlas slowly rise, I could see in his eyes that he would not stop until Khrysaor was dead on the ground. Shit!
I needed to find a way to stop them from going further so I did what I could do. I ran towards them and right before Atlas could sink his teeth into Khrysaor, I threw myself between the two big wolves which was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done.
"Stop," I yelled at them.
Both of them still had their eyes locked on each other. I could feel Khrysaor's breath fanning the top of my head and the back of my neck. It sent a tingle creeping down my skin. I kept my eyes on Atlas, knowing that if he stopped then the whole thing would end right now but if he chose to continue, I would need to think of a backup plan because I could not turn into a giant wolf, unlike them. "I mean it, Dad," I said one more time.
Atlas looked down, his face approaching mine but I kept my feet rooted to the ground, trying not to move or show any sign of fear while telling myself that deep down inside this furry copper beast, he was still my dad and that he would not hurt me. Although Atlas was unpredictable, he had hurt my arms before and I was not one hundred percent convinced that he would not do it again.
Opening his mouth, Atlas showed off his canines, and I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the worst. Instead, Atlas stuck his tongue out and licked my arm, seemingly trying to coax me and ask for my forgiveness. "Ah, gross! You guys need to stop doing that!"
I heard a deep chuckle from behind me, followed by, "Or maybe you need to get used to it."
"Please don't tell me that you're naked." I was keeping my eyes on Atlas who finally took a step back and walked away towards the back of the house.
There was a slight pause before he answered, "Okay, I am not."
I let out a sigh of relief and turned around to face him only to pivot back around once my eyes landed on his fully naked body. "You said you are not naked!" I felt my face heat as I recalled seeing his happy trails and muscled thighs and what was in between. I had seen him without his shirt on but I had never seen his full package. Oh, god.
The devil laughed then he leaned in and whispered to my ear. "No, you told me not to tell you that I am naked. I am merely doing as you asked, Love."
"Do you have spare clothes with you?" I wanted to glance at his car but kept my eyes on the ground instead, afraid that I might accidentally see him.
"No," he answered from behind me. "I was not planning to shift and scare my future father-in-law."
"He is not your future father-in-law," I corrected, rolling my eyes. "We should head inside then, people may call the police if they see you naked here." I walked towards the front of my house, expecting him to follow behind me.
I led him to the bathroom. "Wait inside while I find something you could put on." I waited until he was inside and the door was closed before I went to the laundry room. I found some of my dad's and Eros's clothes and then brought them to the bathroom. "I am not sure if my dad's clothes would fit so I brought some of Eros's clothes too."
He opened the door slightly and stuck his head out. "Who is Eros? Your scrawny boyfriend?"
"No, that's Brett. Eros is my best friend but sometimes he likes to sleep here," I replied as I handed the clothes to him. "Here try them on."
Ryker simply nodded, not saying anything else, then closed the door. Two minutes later, he walked out wearing Eros's shirt and one of my dad's pants which were too short for his long legs. His legs were probably too muscly to wear Eros's pants which was why he chose my dad's instead. It was somewhat decent. "That will do." I gave him a nod.
All of a sudden and without warning, he leaned in and planted his mouth on mine. The rest of the clothes he did not end up wearing dropped on the floor and the next second, I could feel his big palm on my lower back as he pulled me into his warm embrace and kissed me slowly almost as if his lips wanted to memorize each millimeter of my lips, the shape, and texture of it. This kiss was different compared to the kiss we had shared back in the club, and somehow this felt more intimate. It was not a 'let's get naked' kiss, it was more of an 'I want to know you better' kind of kiss. It was not a kiss meant to fuck, it was a kiss to make love. And if I let him, I felt that he would be able to slowly make his way to my heart. The thought alone scared me and was enough to make me place my hand on his chest and take a step back, breaking the kiss. My lips felt cold without his pressing against them.
"What was that about?" I laughed nervously as I grabbed the clothes he had dropped off the floor.
His reply was unexpected. "I have always wanted to kiss you."
"You have done plenty of kissing back at the club." I placed my free hand on my waist and lifted my brow questioningly at him.
"No, those were different." Ryker shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips, still moist after the kiss. "Most of it was Khrysaor and his impatience to get into your pants. He can't wait to mark you." He let out a deep chuckle, shaking his head, then his silver eyes were focused on me once again. "This time," his silver eyes held mine and I felt my heart beat faster as I waited for him to finish his sentence, "This time, it was all me."
* * *
"Okay," I replied to him then walked past him to the laundry room. I dumped the clothes into the laundry basket before walking back to him. "I will go and find my dad." I walked out of the room, past the kitchen to the back door. "Dad?" I called out but no one replied. I walked out and there was no one else in the backyard. No sign of my dad or his wolf. "Dad? Where are you?" I walked down the steps and looked around but as far as I could see, he was not there.
"He's gone."
I turned around and saw Ryker standing by the door, he had his arms folded as he leaned against the doorframe. "Your dad's gone."
"What do you mean he's gone? I saw him go here a few minutes ago." I stared at him, appalled. The thought of him getting himself injured scared me. Perhaps he had broken his ribs when he had banged against Ryker's car. Would a werewolf be able to heal itself? I would not know. There were mixed answers about this on the internet. Some said that a mate's saliva or blood would be able to heal him but my dad had no mate. I felt my heart pain as I remembered my mom but I brushed it off. What had happened had happened and there was no way of changing the past. I knew I had to live with the horrifying fact that my dad had killed my mom but it was easier said than done especially when I did not even know his reason, not that it would justify his action.
"He was bidding his farewell when he kissed, well, licked you." Ryker hung his head, deep lines of frown occupying his forehead. "I am really sorry, Xy."
"You knew he was saying goodbye and you didn't even bother to tell me?" I asked him in disbelief.
He let out a deep sigh, his voice was timid, sending a ripple of unease up my spine. "He looked rather guilty when he kissed you but I didn't expect him to leave. Not until I followed you here and could no longer smell his scent. He went East as far as I could tell."
My body began to shake and I was not sure what it was until he sprinted down the stairs and stood in front of me, his thumb tracing my cheeks and wiping my tears. I was crying. Everything else around me looked the same as before, the world looked every bit normal, but I felt like there was a hurricane of pain inside my heart. The air felt thicker and I had trouble breathing. My dad had left me. He was saying goodbye and I did not even know that. He had left without words and I was not sure how I should carry on to live my life with this fact.
I had no one. My mom was dead and now my dad had left. I stared at the house where I have grown up, there were so many memories shared here but all I could feel at that very moment was pain. How would I continue to live my life here when the only beating heart in this house belonged to me? When those memories would do nothing but haunt me of what had once been my life and how different it was now. My hand clutched the front of my shirt and I sobbed. Hard and as harsh as the current reality. Ryker put his arms around me, rubbing my back and telling me that things would get better but I knew it would not.
Brett had used to tell me about how wonderful life would be for me once I was free from my super protective dad and yet this did not feel like freedom. This felt like abandonment. He clearly no longer cared about me if he had decided to leave or perhaps I no longer held value to him that he did not even bother to bring me along with him. Instead, he had left me with unsettling emotion in the pit of my stomach, wondering why he had chosen to leave me behind, why he would not say a proper goodbye.
"I am so sorry, Xy, I wish I could wave a magic wand for you. I wish I could do something to make you feel better," said Ryker, his voice was filled with pain, almost as if he could feel my pain even though I knew it was not possible. "But I am afraid there are some things you must learn the hard way, My Love. Atlas looked unstable, I think your dad is just trying to protect you."
"So he is trying to protect me by leaving me alone?" I took a step back and he dropped his arms, letting me go. "Knowing that I have no one else but him?"
"Yes," Ryker answered with no hesitation. His silver eyes held mine. "If I were him and if leaving you would be the best course of action to protect you from my wolf, then yes, I would leave you."
I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air, hoping that somehow this pain would pass into oblivion. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel his silver eyes intently watching me. Slowly reopening my eyes, I breathed out. "Okay," I said to no one.
If Ryker seemed to notice my odd behavior, he did not say anything. He cleared his throat, shoving his hands inside the pockets of my dad's worn-out jeans. "Let's get you to school or else you'll miss your rehearsal."
I pulled up my phone and watched the time. It was already half-past nine, I honestly did not see any point in going to school now so glancing up at him, I shook my head. "No, I am not going to school today."
"Okay, what do you want to do then?"
I could only think of one person that could explain everything to me. The same person who had promised that he would meet me and explain everything. "I need to meet Eros." I hit the speed dial and put my phone against my ear, waiting for him to pick up the call.