Hey!
This is the last update for awhile! I have a wedding this weekend and next week, I'm heading off to vacation, which is like nine hours in the car! Ugh! Well, I hope you enjoy - praying I don't disappoint! :)
~Lissa
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"Nora is my sister," Noah started, seated at the granite counter with a glass of water. "Your f*cking brother took her away - apparently, she isn't dead." After convincing Ryker to release him from his cell, I helped him to the kitchen where I offered him some water for his scratchy throat. At first, Ryker argued with me about allowing him to wander the house, though I assured him that he would've received more answers if he provided Noah with some freedom. Surprisingly, Noah didn't fight nor attempt to escape, meaning he had a reason to stay. Instead, he flopped down on one of the stools at the counter next to me. "I was told you're able to find them."
"How did you find me?" Ryker asked, curiously.
"It took some time, but after torturing a few werewolves, one spilled your location," he answered, picking up his glass of water. Then, with a wicked smirk, he glanced towards Ryker. "Silver knives always do the trick."
A chill ran down my spine at the thought of him torturing people - obviously, he caused harm. I should've known he was one for violence, considering his shredded clothes. But, his green eyes and floppy, sandy-colored hair made him seem innocent; he was probably as worse as Ryker. Fidgeting with the tips of my fingers, I looked at Ryker standing near me, his hands against the granite counter. "My brother took her away for a reason - you know why she's alive, don't you? She murdered her own blood and was bitten by a red-eye."
"I'm aware," Noah responded, bitterly. "But, she's still my sister."
"Not anymore," Ryker shot back, shaking his head. "She's overwhelmed with the urge to kill, meaning she won't run into your arms for a hug - she'll run into your arms to rip out your throat." I gave him a hard look, knowing that his last sentence wasn't necessary. His eyes narrowed and he folded his arms across his chest, causing his muscles to flex underneath his shirt. "Right now, she's a ticking-time bomb; if she explodes, we're all doomed."
Noah scowled. "She didn't ask for any of this! She doesn't deserve all of this suffering! She had to shoot our own father to keep him from killing me! She saved me, so I'm going to save her." After his outburst, I felt my chest grow heavy at the love for his sister. It reminded me so much of Ethan who always looked out for me, especially during the hardest of times. His bottom lip quavering, Noah ran his fingers through his sweaty hair, shaking. "I-I need to help her." I looked towards Ryker, pleadingly. He needed to help him find his sister; this was incredibly heartbreaking.
"You can't save her."
My jaw-dropped open at his response and releasing a huff, I slapped his arm. Ignoring the sparks, the frown on my face remained as Ryker flinched and glared at me, his eyes darkening. "Stop being negative!" I shouted, frustrated with his attitude. I turned my attention back to Noah who was taking a sip of his water. "So, you came here for Ryker to track down his brother and your sister?"
"Yeah, you were a lot easier to find than Ethen," Noah said, licking his bottom lip. "I swear, he's f*cking camouflaged himself."
Ryker shook his head. "It's because my brother doesn't stay in one place for long; he likes to travel. It was just a few weeks ago he was in London."
"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."
Noah nodded. "I know."
Relieved, Noah walked back to his stool at the counter and hesitantly, I approached Ryker. He looked down at me, eyes narrowed. "Thank you - you made his day."
"I didn't do it for him," he muttered, shaking his head.
"We'll leave in the morning!" Noah declared, lifting his glass of water. "Dude, I'm telling you, this is going to be an awesome road trip. A hunter and one of the first werewolves ever - we're going to have so much fun." Sarcasm dripped from his words as a smirk came onto his face. Ryker growled at him and Noah's smirk only stretched; he took a long drink of his water. Grinning, I looked back at Ryker who was watching me, his emerald eyes gleaming.
"You better hope I just don't kill him."
* * *
"Careful," Ryker hissed, glaring back at Noah. "If you damage Sheryl, I'll kill you." In the morning, I found myself in a large, black SUV, apparently named 'Sheryl.' Two of Ryker's men were seated up front; Trystan had been the one driving for the last four hours without any coffee. I didn't recognize the man in the passenger seat, though Ryker assured me he was one of his best fighters - he was trustworthy. Ryker and I were seated in the middle of the SUV with a small aisle between us where a pile of blankets and pillows rested. Then, Noah was seated in the very backseat and every time he shifted, Ryker snapped at him. Trust me, I was already getting annoyed with their bickering; Ryker seemed to snap at him over the littlest things.
"Calm your hairy a*s down," Noah shot back, placing his hands behind his head. "I'm just trying to get comfortable - and Sheryl? You named your SUV?"
Ryker growled. "Shut your mouth."
Noah rolled his eyes and looked out the window beside him. Ryker had commanded one of his men to hand over some clothes to Noah, considering his were shredded. He was given a black shirt, some loose sweatpants, and a pair of white socks, which he was wearing comfortably. I was dressed in a pair of shorts and a random band T-shirt with matching sandals - it took me several minutes to rummage through my clothes to find the most comfortable outfit. Also, my hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and other than some mascara, I wasn't wearing any makeup. As for Ryker, he was wearing his usual T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts that clung to his waist by a leather belt.
"Hey, we're coming up to a town!" Noah announced, pointing out his window. "Lets stop for some food!"
"We aren't stopping," Ryker responded, harshly.
"Come on, I'm hungry too," I told him, shrugging. "It'll only take five minutes to order some food and we'll be back on our way!"
Ryker looked at me. "There's only a few more hours left on the road - you'll last." Then, he shook his head and looked forward through the windshield at the approaching town. I frowned and looked back at Noah who was rubbing his stomach, hungrily. Making eye-contact, he held up his index finger and cleared his throat, speaking up. "I want McDonald's - and if you don't stop, I'm going to take a nice, hot p*ss in this leather seat." He started rubbing the black, leather seat beneath him as Ryker whipped his head around with a growl. "Poor Sheryl."
Ten minutes later, the three of us were entering McDonald's, which surprisingly, wasn't that busy. The smell of greasy hamburgers and salty fries shot up my nose. I skimmed over the large menu dangling above, before deciding to settle with what I usually ordered. Approaching the counter, I was greeted with a middle-aged woman with her black hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Judging by the expression on her face, she hated her job. Her blue eyes flickered towards Ryker, a small grin coming across her face. My eyebrows shot up and I looked over my shoulder at him, a little surprised to see him more focused on his cell phone. "Hello, welcome to McDonald's! How may I help you today?"
Ryker nudged my arm. "Pick what you want."
Sparks shot up my arm and awkwardly, I cleared my throat. "Uh, I'll have a regular cheeseburger with a small fry and a Diet Coke."
"And, I'll have two bacon cheeseburgers, a large fry, and the largest Caramel Frappe you have," Noah ordered, grinning.
Ryker frowned. "Who the hell do you think is paying for you?"
Releasing a grunt, I slapped his arm. "Would you stop? It's obvious you aren't poor, so you can afford a twenty dollar meal." He growled, loud enough for the middle-aged woman to hear. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, though judging by the expression on her face, she still thought he was a piece of eye candy. She punched in our orders and handed me a cup for my drink, before Ryker paid and she disappeared into the back. As Ryker started typing on his phone, I walked over to the drinks, filling my cup up. I slapped a lid on and shoved a straw inside; when I looked back at the guys, I wasn't surprised to find the two bickering again. Noah was smirking, obviously enjoying getting underneath Ryker's skin.
Approaching them, I took a deep breath. "Lets go take a seat while we wait for our order." Reluctantly, the two followed me to the nearest table. Noah attempted to take the seat next to me, but Ryker shoved him away and flopped down next to me with a huff. I scowled at him as Noah took the seat across from me, glancing around. I was starving; I had barely eaten anything at all, considering Ryker had no food in his place. "My sister and I didn't eat much fast-food - my parents were health freaks. I can't remember the last time I've had McDonald's. . ."
I looked at Noah. "Really? My parents were the same way."
"So, you feel my pain?"
I grinned at him and nodded in response. Ryker kept quiet, keeping his eyes fixated on his cell phone. Minutes later, our order was shouted and Noah rushed up to the counter. He gathered the bags of food into his arms and happily, followed Ryker out of McDonald's. I trailed behind him, breathing in the smell of our delicious food. We hopped back into the SUV where Trystan and the other man were waiting, humming to the music playing from the radio. I buckled up, before reaching back and grabbing my food.
Pulling back out onto the road, I started eating my cheeseburger. Ryker glanced my direction and it took me a moment to realize that he hadn't ordered anything. Hesitantly, I grabbed my package of fries and extended them out towards him, raising an eyebrow. He pinched his lips together, before grabbing a few and shoving them into his mouth. When he wasn't looking, I grinned to myself - he was hungry, too.
"These fries are so good," Noah moaned, chewing. There was an awkward silence as we ate, listening to the quiet music that was playing from the radio. Ryker was still focused on his cell phone; a part of me knew he was still trying to get a hold of Caine. Suddenly, Noah cleared his throat, speaking up. "Hey, the food is great, but I really can't eat all of it - I was never that hungry. You see, we left a little too early, messing up the entire schedule."
Ryker growled as I looked back at him, confused. "What?"
"You've been nice," Noah told me, forcing a grin. Then, he looked towards Ryker who was about to strangle him. "But, I needed to slow us down."
"No," Ryker forced out through gritted teeth. "I'm going to kill you!"
Noah wiped his salty fingers on his sweatpants, before rummaging through his right pocket. He produced a small, black object that flashed. "If there is one thing that hunters are good at, it's knowing how to hide a tracker." My eyes widened as everything pieced together; with his eyes flashing black, Ryker reached back towards him, his claws extracting. I screamed at him, just as I saw a large figure from the corner of my eye running towards the front of the SUV, followed by us flipping off the road.