The Wallflower Mate

6

Ryker was extremely annoyed with himself. He should have turned around and walked away. He should have let her fall flat on her face on the cement. It would serve her right for not looking at where she was walking. Yet the moment he kissed her, he knew there was something there.

The ebbing feeling didn't make him feel any better. It annoyed him even more. Shoving his hands through his hair, he walked the dark streets of Mary's neighborhood. There was nothing threatening that would linger around. This town was way too small for that.

Besides, he grew up on the most dangerous streets where burglaries happened on a daily basis and fights breaking out were nothing new to him. Yet he still kept an ear out on his surroundings.

He walked a couple more blocks and saw the car they came in sitting in a dark corner. He had told Abraham to wait here while he took care of "business". Abraham knew him better than that, but didn't question him.

When Ryker reached the passenger side, he knocked on the window hard enough to wake up his sleeping brother. He jerked awake, startled by the noise. Rubbing his eyes, he looked over at Ryker before unlocking the car door.

"So, did you take care of business?" Abraham asked while starting the car and pulling onto the quiet street.

They both knew the answer already, but Abraham wanted him to say either way. However, Ryker was just as stubborn as Abraham. He would be a dead man before he admits he still has resolved what he felt towards Mary. Honestly, he doesn't even know where to fucking to begin.

"It doesn't matter," Ryker mumbled, but they both knew that was a lie. It did matter which was why they traveled thousands of miles to visit this pack—which was also why Ryker stood next to the restaurant's waste bin out back and waited for Mary to end her shift.

"She might not be so bad, Ryker," Abraham mentioned.

"No," Ryker said firmly. "I mean it when I said I'm done going to go there again."

"Did Lottie fuck you up so bad that you can't even get over her?" Abraham retorted, dumbfounded with his brother's unwillingness to deal with female wolves.

"Don't!" Ryker lashed out at the mention of the female who broke his heart. He gave her everything he could except for money and rank. If she had asked for his life, he would have given it to her. It was that simple. She used his affections for her to make herself feel better. He was a fool to trust and to fall in love.

Abraham turned onto the road that led to Alpha Ivan's house. Their surrounding changed quickly from an open landscape to woodsier surroundings. The moon sat high above them while the radio played rock music softly in the car.

"I'm just saying—"

"We are here strictly for business," Ryker interrupted heatedly.

"Ok, if you want to lie to yourself, go right ahead," Abraham shot back just as angrily. His own temper rising with his brother's.

They came to a full stop in front of the house. Abraham holds Ryker in the highest respect. With the two growing up rough during their teens and struggling on their own for the last five years, Abraham trusted his brother with his life.

He knew Ryker struggled with trust issues. Ryker changed since Lottie. He became colder and less nice towards females. He didn't hurt them because both brothers believed in never hitting a female, but his words were biting and cold. With him being this cold, Abraham thought females would find him unsuitable and a total asshole, but it was quite the opposite.

When Ryker rose to his position and slowly earned a reputation in the werewolf community, gaining his wealth through investments and bridging business partners, Ryker started gaining a pool of females around his feet. They didn't mind his cold, biting bark or his unflattering words.