When I arrived back upstairs to our quarters, I was fully prepared to take a shower and wash off all the food-smell and grime that I'd accumulated during my time in the kitchens. Much to my surprise, however, I walked inside to find Ryder leaning against the kitchen counter as if he had been waiting for me.
My eyes widened, "I thought you were leading the pack training today?"
"I was," he answered. "Until Marvin informed me that you'd be leaving your kitchen duty early and insisted that you be the one to explain why."
I sighed, closing my eyes and hanging my head downward slightly as I held up my bandaged hand without a word.
Ryder began to laugh.
I quickly looked back up, shooting him daggers. He thought this was funny?
"I'm sorry," he said with an amused grin as his laughter came to an end. "What happened?"
"The hot stove happened," I mumbled, my face turning red with embarrassment.
I could tell he wanted to laugh again, but he refrained. Instead, his smile remained and he began walking towards me.
Before I could say anything else, Ryder gently took my burned hand into his and held it tightly, but not so tightly that it hurt. He seemed very focused as he stared down at the gauze and tape, making me feel rather confused. We stood there like that for what must have been an entire minute before he began gently rubbing his hands over mine, and then slowly brought my hand up to his lips and planted a soft kiss over the bandage.
I stared in silence, completely stumped and unsure of what he was doing, and he didn't bother to explain. His expression suddenly seemed as though he was satisfied, and he began unwrapping my hand.
"Um," I finally spoke up. "The...lady who wrapped my hand said to leave the bandage on. She said if I did that, it should be healed within twenty-four hours."
He ignored me.
Too puzzled to argue further, I allowed him to continue unraveling the layers of gauze and tape that surrounded my hand until it was completely bare and exposed once again.
I braced myself for the stinging, burning pain to start back up. When the woman wrapped it in the gauze, the pain had subsided completely.
He held my hand up, examining it thoroughly as a smile slowly formed on his face, seeming quite pleased with himself. I felt even more confused than I had previously as I watched him, but nothing could've prepared me for what I saw when I turned my attention to my hand.
The burns were completely gone. It was fully healed. No redness, no blisters, no pain. Just like that, my hand was back to normal.
"What the hell was that!?" I gasped, yanking my hand out of Ryder's.
He finally made eye-contact with me again, his eyes seeming to sparkle a bit with a soft smile still painted on his face, "You're healed."
My jaw dropped, "Well I see that, but how?!"
Ryder chuckled lightly before running his hand through his hair, "I quite literally summoned the Moon Goddess out of a bonfire, and you're asking me how I healed your hand?"
He had a point. I'd seen enough oddities from him during my time in Moon Wave to know good and well that he was gifted, but he continued to surprise me.
"What...are you?" I asked, not really knowing how to phrase it any better.
He chuckled again, "I'm not quite sure. Noelle and I were both born with abilities, however I have more than she does, and mine are typically stronger. For years, I thought I was a healer, much like Lena, but as I got older, I started to question that theory. It wasn't until I took over as Alpha that I knew...I was something else."
He paused for a moment, seeming to ponder over his next choice of words carefully.
"Moon Wave has always been one of the most peaceful packs. The Alphas throughout history have almost always been chosen for the peacekeeping position, and we've historically been much more devoted to the Moon Goddess than any other pack. I, however, am the first Alpha of Moon Wave who has ever had these abilities, and the first wolf in centuries to be granted the gift of direct connection to the Moon Goddess. I've asked her about it before, but her answers have always been vague. All she will ever tell me is that she chose me and our pack. All I can assume is that she appreciates our strong, dedicated faith in her."
I listened intently, coming up with even more questions that I was now sure even Ryder didn't have the answers to. I'd expected him to have all of the answers already, but it turned out, my mate knew just as much about himself as I did.
"What else can you do?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.
"Hmm," Ryder said, scratching his chin a bit as he took a moment to think about it.
"Well, you already know I can summon and communicate with the Moon Goddess, and you now know I have healing abilities. You may remember that Noelle and I can communicate telepathically, but that's not to be confused with a traditional pack mind-link. We're not able to block each other out like you can with a mind-link. I can read other's thoughts too if I want to, but I choose not to unless it's a very serious situation. I can influence and alter the mood of anyone near me, and with meditation, I can see what is happening anywhere in the world through someone else's eyes, as long as I've met the person before. If I wanted to, I could see what was happening in Polar Moon through Lena or Elijah's eyes right now. I can also communicate with souls who have passed if I open myself up to it...and I think that pretty much sums it up."
My mouth was slightly agape as I listened to my mate explain. I was completely and utterly shocked. Even though I'd witnessed him use a few of his abilities already, I never imagined he'd have so many more. This man before me possessed such powerful abilities that he could likely rule over all seven packs if he wanted to, yet he was so peaceful, fair, and kind. It made sense that the Moon Goddess would only gift someone like him with such abilities – if that kind of power fell into the wrong hands, the world would suffer.
"Are you alright?" Ryder asked, as I'd been silent for quite some time now, lost to my own thoughts as I processed everything he'd just told me.
I quickly nodded, not wanting to worry him, "Yes, sorry. That was...that was just a lot to take in."
"Understandable," he replied. "Most people don't know the true extent of my abilities, and unless they're a Moon Wave pack member, they certainly don't know about my connection with the Moon Goddess. As my mate, I'm trusting you with that very sensitive information, Zahra."
"I understand. You can trust me Ryder...I know I've never given you a reason to before, but I promise...I'm all in," I assured him, not wanting him to think I'd ever use that information against him or the pack.
He smiled and nodded, "Now, why don't we sit down and eat this lunch that I'm sure you worked very hard to help prepare."
I looked over to the dining room table and noticed several platters were set in the middle of it. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the lunch I'd helped with in the kitchens – shrimp tacos, cilantro lime rice, and black beans.
We both walked over and took our seats at the table before dishing up our plates and scarfing down our food. It seemed that a long morning in the kitchens followed by the plethora of information Ryder had just given me had really worked up an appetite.
"So, Zahra," Ryder spoke up as we were both nearly finished with our lunch. "You just learned a whole lot about me, yet, I still feel like I know nearly nothing about you."
I scoffed, "You know plenty about me – all the bad and the ugly."
"But what about the good?"
I froze and looked up from my plate, locking my eyes with his from across the table, "There isn't much of that."
"I don't believe that for a second. The past couple of days you've proven otherwise."
I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute to gather my thoughts, "I didn't say there was no good in me, there's just not much of it. It's hard for me to be that person. It's not a reflex for me like it is for you."
"And why not?" he asked.
I could see what he was doing now – he was trying to find out about my life before coming here. Was I ready to go there with him? Things were finally looking up between us, and I wasn't sure I wanted to risk ruining that by talking about my past or my life in Night Fire in general.
"Just because you told me about your abilities doesn't mean you get to know my whole life story. Besides, that's pretty much all I know about you anyways," I finally said.
"You've never asked about anything else," he rebutted.
My heart dropped. He was right.
"I'm sorry," I said softly, looking back down at my food.
Ryder suddenly leaned across the table and placed his finger under my chin, tilting my head back up to face him, "My intention wasn't to make you feel badly. Clearly, we both still have a lot to learn about each other, and I still haven't taken you on that date."
A small smile formed on my lips. He was right – the date he'd planned for us before never happened due to Skylar spilling my secrets at dinner that evening.
"What did you have in mind?"
"It's still a surprise," he said, returning the smile.
"So, when is this date going to be?" I asked.
"How about...tomorrow. Late afternoon, early evening. I'll have it all planned out," he told me, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.
I nodded, "Okay. Hopefully I don't do anything to fuck it up this time."
He laughed lightly, "You won't. I have full faith in you, Luna."
~~
After our lunch that afternoon, Ryder went back to assisting with the remaining pack trainings for the day and offered to let me come along and watch. I accepted, at first feeling excited to finally be back in the gym, but the longer I sat there and watched, the more my heart hurt. I knew Ryder wouldn't let me train with the pack members until I'd completed all of my volunteer time and earned the trust of both him and the pack, so I decided to leave halfway through.
I took a walk down to the beach and dipped my toes in the water, thinking back to the day I'd almost drowned in that ocean because of my own ego. I then thought even further back to when Jake showed me the beach and the pier, and quickly found myself cringing at the memory. Although nothing happened, I was now ashamed of my thoughts and actions that day, and I knew good and well that seeing Jake carry me back drunk as fuck must have hurt Ryder deeply.
I had so much work to do.
After a bit of time wandering down the shoreline, I made my way back to the packhouse and then upstairs to our quarters to have myself a snack, take a shower, and get ready for bed. By the time I left the bathroom to get in bed, Ryder was back and ready to do the same.
The next morning, Ryder and I awoke around the same time and went through our routines rather quickly. He assigned me to go back to the kitchens with Marvin to help prepare lunch again since my first day had been cut short, but assured me he'd given clear instructions to Marvin to keep me on meal prep and cleaning duties for the time being – no hot surfaces.
My second shift in the kitchens went rather well. Marvin was the same as he'd been on day one – blunt and full of attitude – but something about him this time around seemed slightly more accepting of me, and for that, I was grateful.
Once lunch was served and I was excused from my shift, I raced back upstairs to get a shower, properly clean up, and pick out an outfit for whatever it was Ryder had planned for this "date." I felt butterflies in my stomach as I washed my hair, thinking about what all this date could possibly entail. The sensation was foreign to me, and at first, startled me a bit, but after a few seconds more, it made me smile.
After my hair and makeup were done appropriately, I went to the closet to pick out the perfect outfit. He hadn't given me any clues as to what we would be doing, so I decided to play it safe and wear something casual, but cute.
I settled for my faux-leather leggings and a dark green crop top paired with my favorite pair of black ankle-boots. I got dressed and looked in the mirror, instantly feeling proud of my choices. Casual enough to conquer whatever was planned, but still cute enough to make me feel confident and sexy.
Just as I was about to turn around and leave the bedroom, I heard the front door close, indicating that Ryder was home now as well. I spun around and raced to the door, only to run straight into his solid chest.
Taking a step back, I looked up at him to see him smiling down at me, a hint of something...different...flickered in his eyes as he took in my appearance.
"I see you're ready for our date," he chuckled. "If you'll allow me to get cleaned up, we'll be on our way within the hour."
Happy Update! Hope you all enjoy! I was able to sit down and write this entire chapter in one day, which never happens, so ya'll got lucky this time! What do you think about Ryder's abilities? Any ideas about what he may have planned for their date?
As always, thank you all for your patience and support! Please remember, I write when I have the time to and have a busy and unpredictable life. Next update will be for Luna Skylar, so stay tuned for that! Make sure to read, vote, and comment!
~V