“I’m okay, though. They’re healing.” He holds up his hand and moves it around in a circular motion, proving there isn’t any more pain.
“What if next time you can’t heal because you’re so hurt? Huh? What then?” I question. “What happens then? Because I know for a fact there will be no coming back for me if you die protecting me. I can’t allow that to happen because I won’t be able to survive it.”
“Nothing will happen to me. I can promise that.”
He reaches for me, and at first, I jerk from his grasp, but when I see the hurt look flash in his eyes, I stop fighting him. Sighing, I put my head on his chest and wrap my arms around his middle.
“Want to know how I can promise you this?” His hand rubs circles onto my back as he speaks. His touch settles the pacing wolf in my head. She’s just as frustrated as I am right now, maybe more.
“Yes.” I close my eyes and try to focus on Ryker and his touch, instead of the danger that looms somewhere outside.
“I’m too fucking stubborn to die.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “And I made a promise I would never leave your side again.”
I soak up his words, trying to find comfort in them. “This wouldn’t be a problem if I was able to shift,” I mumble.
Ryker pulls back some so he can look down at me. A determined look is on his face as he speaks. “I promise you, Pruitt, one day, we will be mated.”
I really want to believe that…
This time I’m careful to keep my thoughts to myself. Only, I have this pit in my stomach that something terrible is going to happen, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
I spend the rest of the day looking out the window, trying to come up with a plan that doesn’t get anyone killed, but by nightfall, I’m still drawing a blank. I try to get some sleep, but when Ryker gets up in the middle of the night to take his turn on patrol, I can’t fall back to sleep. So instead, I lie in Ryker’s bed, watching the ceiling fan spin.
Light is starting to come through the window when I decide to finally give up on sleep and climb out of bed. I change into a pair of workout leggings and a cutout tank top Remi lent me since I can’t go home to grab my own clothes, and slip on the pair of sneakers she also left before jogging down the stairs.
Halfway down the steps, I hear yelling and commotion coming from the basement. I’ve never been down there before, but the door leading to the steps is open, I slip through it and descend another flight of stairs. The main area is empty, so I follow the sound of grunting and growls coming from behind a double doorway.
When I push the doors open, I find at least twenty pack members standing in what looks like a home gym based on the exercise equipment and floormats. Everyone stands in a big circle around one of the floormats, and in the middle is Ryker and Ransom—fighting? Ransom throws a punch at Ryker’s face, and the sound of it connecting with my mate’s chin makes me wince.
No one seems to be putting a halt to this, so I rush forward to intervene, but someone grabs my upper arm, stopping me in my tracks. I turn to see who it is and find Ranger standing there with a cut on his upper cheek and dried blood under his nose.
“What the hell is happening down here?” I demand, pulling my arm out of his grasp. “Why aren’t you stopping them?”
Ranger watches his siblings spar with a smirk on his face, the dimple on his right cheek showing up as he does. I don’t know if it’s the weird basement lighting or the way his hair is pushed back and sticking up in all kinds of direction, but he looks so much like Elias right now. The Weylyn siblings get their height and jawlines from their father, but their bright blue eyes and personalities from their mother. They’re all the perfect combination of Elias and Margot.
“They’re just sparing,” Ranger explains. He wipes at the blood on his face with the white rag in his hand. “It’s a good way for everyone to get out some aggression, and it’s good practice if we do end up having to go to war with Nicolai’s people.”
I say something but close my mouth and instead spin around to watch the two brothers duel.
Ryker’s chin is a little red from the punch he received, but other than that, he looks fine. Ransom has blood dripping from his mouth, and when he sneers at Ryker, his teeth are also red with blood. I used to take a kickboxing class back in San Francisco, and this reminds me of that, but a whole lot bloodier.
“It’s all superficial wounds,” Ranger says, still standing behind me. “They’ll be healed in no time.”
I continue to watch them, my head cocking to the side as I study how they evade and deflect each punch or kick. They have so much practice protecting themselves and fighting off attackers, something they will need if and when Nicolai makes his move. Then something dawns on me…
“I want in,” I announce, feeling a grin form on my face.
“Excuse me?” Ranger sputters.
“Nicolai isn’t going to go away without a fight,” I say. I spin on my heels to face him. “I can’t always rely on you guys
