And There Were Wolves

fourteen | my heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

* hopefully today is a good day *

Ryker frowned, the lines were invading his once smooth forehead and I wondered if it was something awful or something that was difficult for him to tell me. Surely the sorceress had said nothing but bullshit considering I was still alive and breathing.

"What is it?" I placed my hand on his arm, urging him to tell me.

He drew a deep breath. "Ten years ago, Alana told me about her feelings for me. I always like her and she's the person I grew up with but I always value our friendship more than anything else so I didn't act on it but when she told me about her feelings, I told her that there is a possibility that she's not my mate or I'm not hers. I told her that we should wait until our eighteenth birthday so we will know for sure, so we won't hurt anyone. Then she cried and told me that she already knew she was not my mate because my mate is already dead. She mentioned crossing the northeast border and met a sorceress who told her about it which was why she finally decided to confess her feelings for me." Ryker pinched the bridge of her nose, his face was filled with remorse. "I didn't believe her and went to meet the sorceress myself. She told me the same thing she has told Alana. I still refused to believe it, I was only fifteen at that time and I chose to wait until my eighteenth birthday came. When it did and I did not find my mate, I was devastated. I grieved for her," he swallowed a lump in his throat, "For you."

"So you gave the relationship a chance," I finished his story.

Ryker nodded. "After a year of searching around the continent and not finding you, I finally accepted and made peace with what the sorceress had once told me." His lips formed a sad smile and his silver eyes glistened. "I met Dmitry in Siberia. He came back here with me and became my Beta when I finally became Alpha."

"I still don't understand." My mind processed everything that he had told me but my heart felt like there was something missing. Like one missing piece of the puzzle. "I am not dead so I don't get why the sorceress would tell you that. Although my mom died ten years ago, could she perhaps be your mate?"

"I don't know," he shook his head, his frown deepened and there was this troubled look on his face when he said, "Though I hope not. That would be crazy." His eyes met mine and he shook his head. "I am not saying that there's anything wrong with your mom, it's just that she's your mom."

I gave him a small reassuring smile. "I know what you mean." I pulled out my phone and read a message from Patrick informing me that my bike was fixed and I could pick it up. "I have to go to Patrick's, by the way. Gotta get my bike so I can go to school on my own tomorrow."

Ryker let out a small sigh. "Why do you still need to go to school anyway? I thought you've graduated."

I could feel a tinge of warmth creeping up my cheeks. Back when we had been making out at that club, I'd told him as such. "I still have to prepare for the prom and graduation ceremony."

"You can always have your prom here, I can make that happen so that you don't need to travel to the city."

I had to be honest, his offer sounded really tempting especially since right now the distance between the North and my school was at least thirty miles longer than previously when I had stayed in my own home. Furthermore, after what had happened two days ago, I was not sure if I wanted to face Cindy and her gang. I've watched them do terrible things before to other students, I had zero doubt that they would do worse to me. There were more pros than cons here except for one thing: I still didn't trust Ryker Cromwell.

There was something about his story that didn't match up. I could tell that he was hiding something from me and I would figure it out. Plus, I hadn't entirely forgiven him for what he had done. With everything I knew, his offer sounded even more suspicious than generous. I needed to find out the reason why he wanted me to be here so much. There must be something. So even if I had to endure Cindy and the gang, I would bear with it for the time being.