Ryker was influential in every way possible. The way he entered the room demanded everyone's attention. It was like he thickened the air in the room with his presence. It was powerful.
Mary didn't realize that their brief side trip was to a human city. It enthralled her at how busy it was here in the bigger cities than back at home.
They had entered a skyscraper building. Dark tinted windows reflecting in the sunlight. People opening doors for them. It was unusual for someone like her.
Mary's eyes zipped to Ryker who walked to her side. Hastily, her eyes looked over his attire and confusion flooded her.
He told them he had a business meeting, but his jet-black hair smoothed back and tied in an outlandish ponytail. With the medium-length taper fade cut and heavy stubble growing, he looked like a rocker.
He wore a plain black block t-shirt and a dark flannel overshirt rolled up to his elbow. Slightly ripped black denim jeans looked like it's gone through a life cycle of its own. Rocker studded bracelets and daring silver necklaces of every kind. He finished the look off with black combat boots and black sunglasses.
Mary looked at the people around them and saw how different they were in styles. They dressed all business-like while Mary wore Ryker's clothes. His cardamom and clove scent rolling off from her in a possessive blanket. Any living, breathing werewolf within a twenty-yard radius would guarantee to smell them both.
Yet even with the way they dressed, the people who worked there greeted them with respect and smiles.
"I should have brought some clothes," Mary murmured quietly to them both.
He turned his head to look down her body leisurely and then met her eyes with his dark sunglasses.
"If you hadn't cried all night, we would have stopped by a local retail store nearby..."
Mary sighed, and her shoulders sagged. She tried to hide her tears all night, but it saddened her. She upsetted her brother. It was the last thing she wanted to do because of their close relationship. She also found she misses her family already. This was something she has never done before.
"I'm sorry," she fussed.
"Never mind what you are wearing. These people won't say or look down on you if they value their job," Ryker threatened.
Suddenly, familiar people appeared at the entrance of the skyscraper building.
Abraham grinned at them with his hands stuffed in his jeans while the enforcers gave a friendly wave towards her
"Let's go," Ryker said finally.
Together they walked up to Abraham.
"How are things inside?" Ryker asked as soon as he reached his brother.
"Well, seeing that you arrived an hour and twenty minutes late to the meeting, I could complete the last details of the charitable event this evening," he replied casually.
Ryker didn't mention the reason they were late. He remained silent and added to the suspense why they were late.
A movement to Mary's right snatched her attention to her right. She looked up to see a tall brunette, human man walking towards them. His eyes were on Ryker first before it slid to Mary.
His eyes did a quick assessment of who she was. She could see the equations and hypotheses going off in his head like light bulbs.
Clothes, messy hair, swollen eyes, late for the meeting.
Conclusion - his side chick for the time being. A booty call.
But then his eyes miraculously slid back up to greet her and his assessment halts.
No, not a booty call. She was too plain.
Instantly, she didn't know what hurt her more.
Mary could read his thoughts like sentences in a book. He has every right to judge her upon appearance. It was a normal reaction after all, but she couldn't help but feel hurt from his evaluation.
"Good to see you, boss, " Kalum greeted before looking at Mary again. "This is..."
"Mary. A friend of mine," Ryker explained.
Kalum nodded his head before greeting Mary.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Kalum."
"Nice to meet you too. My name is Mary." Mary slid her hand into his outstretched one with a smile on her face.
Kalum hesitated. He didn't expect her to smile at him. Stunned for a moment, his hand held hers a little longer than necessary.
Then he blinked and turned to Ryker, who wore an unreadable expression on his face.
"Uh, so, everything is set. Just appear at the River Center at six and we are good," Kalum said stiffly.
"Thank you, Kalum. You see, we weren't expecting to be attending any event. The clothes we brought with us are not fit for these kinds of events," Abraham chuckled.
"That is no problem. I have a friend who owns a men's wear shop. He will help if I make a call," Kalum answered.
Kalum only said men's wear. It relieved Mary to hear she wasn't going. Perhaps she can do some city touring. That sounds exciting. But her exploring thoughts came to a stop when Ryker spoke up.
"What about evening gowns?" Ryker asked.
Her head snapped from Kalum to Ryker.
"Actually, I was thinking about exploring the city."
"That late at night?" Abraham questioned and looked at her like she was crazy.
She may not have been trained to fight like all of them, but she knows how to protect herself too.
"Yes, she has quite a few selections of evening gowns for Mary," Kalum added.
"I don't think..."
"If you want to explore the city, we can do it tomorrow. Tonight, we must attend the event together." Ryker didn't wait for her answer.
He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her with him. Obviously, he was worried about her. She felt irritated but what does this mean for her. Ryker had announced to everyone that she was his friend.
This means she needed to stop all thoughts about him.
"Text me the address," Ryker ordered without looking back.
Glancing behind her, Mary saw that Kalum had already taken out his phone and started typing. Abraham and the rest of the enforcers began conversing. Interested in who would go, Mary turned to Ryker.
"Are they joining us?" she questioned.
Ryker glanced behind them to look at his brother and the enforcers.
"Yes, but those boys like to do their own thing when we hit the human cities. We'll see them tonight," Ryker replied.
"What about you? Do you join them usually?" she asked curiously.
He opened the jeep door for her to get into the front passenger seat. Propping his hands on the door and the top of the car, he bent his head down to look at her.
"I do," he answered.
"Then--"
"I promise your brother I'll take care of you, Mary. You'll be going to the event. Enjoy, relax. Have fun. You came out to explore the world, didn't you?" he challenged with a raised eyebrow.
"W-well," she stuttered and crossed her arms underneath her chest while settling into her seat already.
Ryker was right. This was her opportunity and suddenly, going to a major event of the year didn't seem so bad after all.
They didn't head straight to the shop right away. Instead, they stopped by a local small diner and had a quick bite before heading to the shop.
Once they were there though, the young woman associate didn't waste any time noticing Ryker's rough appearance. Immediately smitten and attracted to the dangerous aura Ryker extruded, she sauntered over and introduced herself.
Mary couldn't blame her. Who wouldn't be attracted to such fine species? He was perfection in every way.
"Good afternoon. My name is Sara. Are we looking for something today or just looking around?" Sara batted her eyelashes.
Immediately, Mary found her fakeness to be repulsive. Flirting wasn't something that Mary was accustomed to. In fact, she never pushed too hard or cared too much for it. The male she selects as her mate should appreciate who she was as a person.
Already bored with the lady associate, she scanned the small shop. It was a beautiful shop. Decorated with white walls and marble floors to make the outfits that hang on the walls stand out for their customers. Beautiful glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings to provide more than adequate lighting for the shop. On one side was for men's wear, and on the other side was for women's wear.
The shop owner filled the shop with glimmering shoes, beautiful dresses, expensive jewelries, and purses. Suddenly, Mary wanted to flee. This was all exquisite, but she had no money. She ran away from her family.
Mary was homeless.
Ryker's gentle touch on her back jerked her back to reality. She looked back at him, unable to hide the frustration and anxiety that was eating up inside of her. His face was expressionless. If he knew it agitated her, he showed no sign of sympathy.
Mary was thankful for that. She would have fled the scene and sob a few tears. The anxiety of leaving her home and everything she knew was still lingering in the back of her mind. This resulted from abiding by societal norms and doing what she thought would guarantee her a mate.
Now that she has done something she never thought she would have, she was out of her comfort zone, and if Ryker showed her an ounce of sympathy. She would cry like a baby. That was the last thing Mary wanted.
With a deep inhale, Mary squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
"Would you like an associate to show you around?" Ryker asked.
Mary shook her head. She wasn't used to being catered to. She liked her independence and besides, all she needed to do was search for a dress. How hard can that be?
Ryker nodded before dropping his hand back to his side. The lady associate was quick in pulling him away, leaving her all alone. Slowly, she walked around the lady section.
Her fingers touched the many fabric materials. Some were soft as clouds and others were rough with sequin patterns. Some were more conservative while others were revealing.
After looking over the selection. Mary reminded herself that this was her time to focus on herself. She could do whatever she wanted. She picked a few dresses and heels randomly before walking into the women's dressing room.
Going through the number of dresses, she smiled at a few ridiculous ones and cringed at a few. Going through the number of dresses, it ended up taking a lot longer. Especially when zipping the back part of the dresses. Her arms ached from all the reaching.
When she was more than halfway done with trying her dresses, she pulled on one that took her breath away. It highlighted her body in ways she didn't think possible. Her body wasn't too big or too small. It wasn't too curvy, nor was it too box-like. She was in the middle and putting on this dress, stressed her waistline. It made her bottom look like a peach—round and perfect.
It was too scandalous with the lengthy cut that cut up her mid-thigh, and the v-neckline was low enough that if someone grabbed the hem and pulled them apart, it would expose her.
Mary looked at herself in the mirror. Her brother would have her head. He was protective of her. Something like this would never have made it into her closet.
"Mary." It wasn't Ryker but Abraham who called.
Startled to hear Abraham calling her name because she was told they were doing something else, she stumbled in responding to him.
"Yes?" she turned and almost ripped the door off its hinge.
Footsteps coming closer told her he was heading inside the women's dressing room. Awful bold of him, to be honest. She tried stepping outside of the dressing room to greet him but ended up tripping over the hem of her dress in the two in a half-inch heel she had on.
"Shit," she screamed, preparing for her fall.
Thankfully, Abraham grabbed her just in time. His arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up in his arms.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked up at him to thank him. Found that they were close that their nose almost touched.
He blinked.
She blinked.
His lips parted.
Her lips parted.
An awkward silence ensued between them.
"Whoa there," he whispered, but hasn't righted her yet.
"Sorry," she grumbled. "I wasn't thinking."
"It's okay," he replied.
Abraham was a handsome male, which was one of the many reasons she chose him. He wasn't an Alpha, so he wasn't too far of a catch for her to reach. He didn't have a lot of women from her research, which was another reason she selected him.
Yet...
Being in his arms, she felt no sparks. She didn't feel her heart skip a beat. She didn't feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at feeling his close proximity.
It wasn't like how she felt when she was in Ryker's arms.
Suddenly, she was yanked away from Abraham. Mary let out another yelp just as she landed hard upon a hard chest. The smell of cardamom and clove hitting her in waves. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies and her heart was doing sprints.
"Abraham, why don't you go find yourself a suit?" Ryker growled in annoyance.
"I thought you wanted me to check on Mary," Abraham interjected.
"That was before I saw you had your claws around her. Get out," he snarled angrily at his brother.
"Alright. Alright. Sheesh, I swear your mood is giving me whiplashes. We need to hurry and get home. I need normalcy in my life," Abraham said dramatically before walking out of the dressing room.
By this time, Mary had already righted herself in Ryker's arms, but he refused to drop his arms from around her.
Once Abraham's retreating footsteps were out of earshot, Ryker turned to look at her. The dark look on his face should frighten her, but she was turned on by it.
Dropping her gaze, she looked at her feet and picked at her evening gown. That didn't stop her from feeling his gaze sweep over her body.
"Do you like my brother?" Ryker questioned.
"What?" Her head snapped up that the top of her head slammed against his chin. She heard him grunt in pain and she cowered away with her hands on top of her head.
"Crap, I'm sorry," she quickly said and to touch his wrist and pull them back, so she can see the damage she has done.
There was no bruise, but she cut his lip. Ryker's tongue darted out to lick the blood on his lip. He touched it gingerly with one of his thumbs. His eyes slowly on her.
"Well?" he growled.
"I don't...I don't like him," she said, but wondered if she should tell him she had wanted Abraham to be her mate.
He scrutinized her face for a good minute before he nodded his head. His eyes now trailing over her body again.
"But it's none of your business if I do," she added. His hazel eyes darkened to a fierce brown. All tints of green or blue hue in his eyes disappeared. Slightly mesmerized at how his eyes changed color, she spoke without thinking.
"He's nice and kind. I assume a wonderful male to mate with," she admitted.
Those eyes narrowed almost into slits. Without saying a word to her, he spun and walked out of the dressing room, leaving her speechless and confused.