Page 34 of The Storm Within

“You’re scary, kid.” He winked then glanced at the shadow. “So, tell me, how do I get home once I get your uncle?”

Ryker wasn’t taking that chance again. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, but total nothingness scared the shit out of him.

Ethan touched his nose.

Eyeing him, Ryker inhaled again, but this time, the smells made his stomach rumble. “You want me to go back to the diner?”

He wasn’t sure he could ever set foot back in the real one after what happened. Yet, that was exactly what he would do if it meant getting his mate back.

Standing, he took a deep breath, drawing a small measure of comfort from holding his nephew’s hand—and another lungful of Roman’s cooking.

But he couldn’t hold Ethan’s hand while going after Nate, and Ryker didn’t want to. He wasn’t taking a toddler on a dangerous rescue mission, even if the boy wasn’t fully human and had some freaky powers that might help.

“Go back to Grandpa.” Ryker released his hand. “He has your grapes, buddy. And thanks.”

Ethan growled again, his fingers curled into claws. But he wasn’t smiling.

He was telling Ryker how to defeat Diobno.

“If I don’t return, your gift is in my ride, buddy. Make sure Grandpa gives it to you.”

Ethan turned and walked away as if Ryker was worrying over nothing.

Too bad Ryker didn’t have that same confidence.

When he no longer saw Ethan, he turned and glanced at the shadow, blowing out a breath. “Third times a charm, right?”

Chapter Ten

Nate pushed himself off the worn, musty carpet to climb onto the bed Ryker had claimed him in just this morning. The blanket still held his mate’s dark, woodsy scent, a smell that brought Nate both comfort and pain.

Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from pressing the fabric to his nose, breathing in the scent to remind himself that Ryker had been real, that he hadn’t been an illusion conjured by Diobno in another cruel attempt to punish him.

But he didn’t need a blanket to convince him of his mate’s existence. The connection between them was still there, and maybe it was a bad thing since it only made the anguish of his absence even more painful.

For a brief moment, Nate had found happiness, had found someone who’d truly cared about him. Someone who had made him feel desired and wanted.

But just like everything else in Nate’s life, it had been nothing more than a cruel joke, a carrot of happiness dangled in front of him, allowing him only a nibble before it was pulled out of his reach.

After Ryker had opened his eyes and was pulled away, Diobno had dragged Nate back here, furious at the fact Ryker had been sucked into the motel right before it had vanished.

But that was nothing compared to the rage Diobno felt about Ryker being Nate’s mate.

Honestly, he thought for sure his uncle would physically beat the crap out of him for it. He’d never seen the man so livid in all the time he’d known the jerk.

But Diobno hadn’t, and Nate had figured out why. He’d thought it odd his uncle had given in to Ryker’s demand to stop pretending to be his father. Diobno gained too much pleasure from another’s misery.

It wasn’t until Nate had passed one of the rooms that he’d seen Diobno’s physical form curled on the bed, the injuries he’d sustained from the fight more serious than Nate had thought.

Diobno had only weakened himself further when he’d come after Nate and Ryker in the shadow, most of all when he’d conjured the powerful illusion of the diner. To create so many details, including the five senses, the interacting waiter, and Ryker’s dad required a lot of magical heavy lifting.

But his uncle just couldn’t help himself. His thirst for revenge was too great, even if it cost him. But Nate knew another little secret Diobno would kill to hide.

His uncle had been the one who’d opened Ryker’s eyes, not Nate.

Although Diobno would never admit it, the bear shifter terrified him. In his weakened state, his uncle might not come out the victor.

And it had enraged Diobno to release the bear shifter. At least Nate had gotten some pleasure out of this by watching his psycho uncle finally lose at something.

---