To my surprise, we walked all the way to the meeting. I was even more surprised because just like before, Ryder acted as though there was nothing wrong between us. His feigned smiles and conversation was completely believable and even though I knew he could hear at least one of my speculations telepathically, he didn't respond. He just kept holding my hand as we walked along the long road. Eventually, the same feeling I had when I went to the Obsidian house happened when we crossed some sort of magical divider set up near the end of our journey in a direction past Tyriette I had never been. None of my senses sharpened, but I could feel something wash over me as if uplifting.
"The Donahue coven enchanted the border from any dark magic," Ryder informed, looking down at me in amusement as I registered the feeling. I didn't verbally reply and Ryder looked straight ahead. "I always used to like crossing it because all the bad within me is just dissolved into nothing. It was better than any high I've ever had...but it just doesn't affect me anymore. It hasn't for years."
"Why? Because I took the big bad wolf out of you?" I joked. He stopped walking and looked down at me, and threatened to drop the hold on my hand.
"No matter how much I love you, there will always be an evil part to me, Ashlynn," he huffed and I was starting to see his breath mix with the autumn air. "Every werewolf possesses a fraction of demon blood. Some more than others but it's still there. You might not have to worry about it or even see it in me, but everyone else does. When I became a True Alpha, it just made me immune to suppressing it."
"You talk about yourself as if you're some tyrant with no sense of morality or compassion," I muttered and he bowed his head while I grabbed his hand with both of mine. "You think magic not working on you is because it can't suppress 'True Alpha evil,' but have you ever thought that maybe being True Alpha means you're less evil than us all and there's nothing to suppress?"
He frowned and lifted his head because he never thought of that option. He suddenly forced a sad smile and reached a hand up to my cheek.
"I keep trying not to think about whatever I am because the Donahues have the book that will tell me hopefully everything I need to know," he replied, searching my eyes. "But every time you say something like that, it makes me not care what that guide says...I just want to be how you see me."
"I'm not the only one who sees you better than you see yourself," I said truthfully. Even Andrew had reluctantly admitted to Ryder's character once before. No one could really deny it. Other than making questionable decisions that normal teenage boys made, he hadn't really been immoral or cruel enough to even associate himself with the word evil.
"Yeah, well I don't really care how anyone else sees me but you," he responded with an arrogant smile before leaning down to finally press his lips to mine, which is what I've wanted for days—especially today. That only led to me eagerly kissing him back and quicker than I expected, his hands both made it to my waist for him to pull me into him. Even though my eyes were closed, I felt them tingle as if when I'd open them, they'd be the bright purple Ryder had seen once before. It made sense to feel my wolf want to come out because by the tightness and sharpness of the grip Ryder had on my waist, I could bet money his was starting to present himself. I waited for his canines to sprout in his mouth and wanted to relish in his powerful red eyes, but I was too into kissing him. By the time his hands had found my ass and I thought he'd just pick me up and take my innocence then and there at the side of a road after pressing me against a tree, we both pulled away at the sound of a car pulling up. We exchanged one look and several breaths because well, we were out of breath.
"Uh..." a voice began to say and we looked over to see Trevor in a window-less Jeep. "Am I intruding on some intentional stroll in the dark or do you want a ride?"
"Actually—"
"I think I've made Ash walk enough today," Ryder said before opening the passenger door for me. I climbed in while trying to figure out how to calm down the turned on feeling from what just happened. Ryder shut the door and climbed onto the back of the Jeep, muttering to Trevor about not wanting to sit by him. Trevor noticed the tension between us rather than the usual insults he took from Ryder.
"So is there a reason why you were walking?" Trevor asked and I leaned on the frame and refused to truly answer him. "Alright...thanks for the ride, Trevor. You're welcome, guys. Awesome."
"Can you just shut up?" Ryder asked while hanging onto the moving Jeep.
"Or I can just not give you a ride," Trevor retorted.
"I don't need your piece of shit Jeep anyways," Ryder said before letting go of the frame. Trevor immediately hit the breaks out of some abrupt care and then Ryder had walked around to the passenger side. He removed his jacket and placed it on my lap, thinking to me: Hold on to this for me. His eyes met Trevor's. "Take her to the house. I'll get there faster on my own without having to hear you speak."
Suddenly, Ryder stepped back from the Jeep and dared Trevor to drive off with a nod to the direction down the road. Trevor didn't waste any time before driving off quickly. I didn't know what Ryder was doing, but I ended up figuring to think 'Race you there,' which he accepted with 'I get whatever I want when I win though.' I looked back to see him running, but he vanished entirely.
***
"What, is tonight get-here-on-time night?" Stormy asked while she sat on the porch of a giant mansion with vines weaving up and down the exterior. She blocked the passage as she sat with Aaron, but that didn't stop me and Trevor from quickly parking and running past them to reach the doorway with inhuman speed once I told him Ryder was racing us. At first, Trevor didn't believe Ryder would partake in such humorous events, but then he was curious as to see how exactly being with me affected Ryder. So he played into the bet.
"What's going on?" Aaron asked.
"Ah-ha, we win!" Trevor cheered, going up for a high five, but then when I was about to collide palms with him, I sighed stressfully, receiving a confused look from him for a second before he sniffed the air once and rolled his eyes. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ryder emerge with his shirt disheveled and his shoes in hand. We had lost in account of Ryder running as a wolf. "Damn it."
"Nice try," Ryder told me in a smile before sitting on the porch bench to put on his shoes. Then he looked up at Trevor. "I told you it's a piece of shit Jeep."
"We'll see who wins when I'm in my real car."
What's his real car? I asked Ryder. He exchanged a look to me before replying with a verbal: "Volvo." And then I busted up laughing because he just had to make himself Edward Cullen.
"Whatever," Trevor grumbled as he turned his shoulders to go inside. "You won't be laughing for long..."
"Come on," Stormy told Aaron as they stood and went inside as well. I walked over and sat beside Ryder as he put on his sneakers and then handed him his leather jacket.
"You win," I told him.
"I always do," he laughed arrogantly. Before I could frown for long, he was done tying his shoes and then quickly kissed my cheek. "Come on, loser."
He towed me past the threshold and I felt another enchantment wash over me, or maybe it was a pure feeling at the sight of the interior. Based off the outside of the house, I assumed the inside décor would be rustic and vintage...and based off Stormy's personality that stemmed from her witch routes, I thought the character of the place would be dark and disturbing, but I was completely wrong. The house was a grand room with sleek floors, walls, and a grand staircase of dark marble. The tone of the room was characterized by black and grey with beautiful gems placed in strategically artistic places like along the banister, on the cowlick of chair arms and in the twinkling glass from the chandelier.
"What'd you expect? A rundown shack with jars of phoenix tails and severed animal parts?" Stormy asked as I gazed at everything we passed in transit to a large room surrounded by glass walls that I knew was a dining room, but looked like an expensive conference room in a business building.
"Maybe," I mumbled, causing Ryder to laugh at me, but I was so enthralled in the aesthetics of the place that I didn't even hit him. In a few seconds, when we passed the doorway of the conference room, it had shifted from a single, long wooden table, to three separate tables, making a triangle and facing inwards.
All the tables were made of beautifully carved wood with symbols I didn't understand, but they were all unique. The one table at the furthest part of the room possessed one golden chair with a face in a sun, mimicking the symbol of the Chateau de Versailles in France. The table angled at its side was set up with three chairs each with recognizable hurricane O's made of only obsidian due to its black and navy nature. The largest table nearest the door had three chairs, each clad with a coat of arms that had a helmet of a knight surrounded by weaponry and mixtures of lightning bolts, crosses, and five point stairs outlined in dark green.
It was self-explanatory on who took which seats aside from Aaron awkwardly having to stay outside of the conference room. I wanted to ask Ryder why he had to sit with his back facing a clear visual aid to the meeting, but Ryder quickly thought to me saying that Aaron had no rights, not as a wolf without a pack and not as a wolf at all.
Suddenly, Ryder placed a recognizable silver dagger on the table that I had no idea how he swiped, but it didn't surprise me because he had broken and entered into Cassandra's house many times before. I just wondered why he needed it here and I hoped he didn't have to turn it into the Donahues as if it was some sort of contraband. I turned to him to ask about why it was here because it's not like it could harm anyone here aside from Aaron (but yeah right). I saw Trevor slide a ring off of his finger and place it on the table in front of him along with removing a necklace from around him. He rubbed its charm between his fingers and rolled it in his hand and suddenly made eye contact with me. His silver-looking-blue eyes narrowed at me before he dropped the charm onto the table. I looked to see what it was, but from here it only looked like a cross. But I knew better than that.
And suddenly, when I wondered what Stormy would put on her table, I was seeing who was joining her instead. Through the glass, I could see two figures moving with such elegance and royalty that I was surprised Aaron didn't stand up to acknowledge them. Actually, the woman had given Aaron one look before I was seeing Aaron's shoulders slouch and his head roll over as if he was in a deep sleep. The couple entered the room, looking like a principal and academic dean overseeing teenagers...and well, it wasn't actually a far stretch.
The male in dress pants and vintage coat with metal embellishments—who I recognized from Marc's funeral—placed a heavy-looking box on their table along with a small fabric bag. The beautiful female who was an older version of Stormy with grayer hair and sharper eyes that almost looked completely white only held three folders, each placed a perfect distance away from her and away from each other. She looked me dead in the eyes and I almost shuddered.
"Let the Tribunal begin."