The Wallflower Mate

11

Driving on the speeding highway, Ryker chanced a glance to the sleeping female body that buckled and curled up in the passenger seat. Old tears stained her cheeks.

As soon as she was inside the jeep, she cried until her eyes were red and puffy. Her nose was red from blowing her nose often. Never in his life had a woman cried that much in front of him.

He glanced back to the quiet highway. It was dark outside. Only the headlights of the jeep guided them on the highway.

His enforcers could handle harsh training weather or even trek through mountains and heavy snowstorms, but when it came to a female crying, those bastards ran faster than you could blink. Presently, they were running in their wolf form and would more than likely make it there before Ryker.

Abraham leaned forward between the passenger and driver seat. He looked at Mary.

"I never knew that a female could cry that much," Abraham whispered to not wake Mary.

"It wasn't pretty too," Ryker whispered back and turned his head to see if she heard him.

Abraham chuckled softly. "What are you going to do?"

"Alpha Ivan was aware a female was potentially coming with us. He just didn't know who. I'll call him to let him know what happened."

"That male that stood next to her on our first day here..." Abraham's sentence wandered off.

Ryker remembered the male. At first, he thought the male was a potential mate to Mary. That day, he never felt more possessive of anybody. Without thinking, he had every intention of ripping Mary out of the male's arms.

Fortunately for Ryker, the male was her brother. Judging by the proximity the two had at the welcoming party, he was overprotective of her, which means he was going to make this situation a thousand times harder.

"I'll call him," Ryker murmured.

Regardless of her brother's overprotectiveness, she was way past the age of needing a guardian. They considered her an adult with equal freedom as a male, even with her not being mated. Ryker didn't manipulate her decision to come with him. Ryker gave her an opportunity to which she took.

Ryker's eyes skimmed the time on the dashboard. It glowed 12:37 A.M. it was late, and they have been driving for several hours. Their destination still a few more hours away. If Mary wasn't with them, he would push through, but with Mary, it was a different story.

Looking back on the highway, he caught sight of a highway sign that read, 'Rest with the luxury of no stress. Exit 274'.

"There is a hotel on the next exit, "Ryker whispered.

"We are stopping?" Abraham asked in confusion. "Aren't we supposed to meet up with Kalum in a few hours?"

Kalum was Ryker's human Personal Assistant. As a prime investor in many businesses, one downfall was the frequent travels to the human cities to promote engagement with rich people and attend special events.

Ryker would have preferred to go straight home, but he needed to be at this event. He needed to be there to continue his investment cycles and hopefully seek better business opportunities near his pack.

"We told him we would be there in the morning," Abraham reminded him.

"He only needs one of us to be there." Ryker made a point in adding just as he pulled off the exit.

When they arrived at the parking lot of the hotel, the brothers got out of the vehicle and exchanged a few orders and words. A few minutes later, Abraham left Ryker and Mary. In order for him to make it in time, he needed to quickly find the nearest wooded area and shift into his wolf form.