Page 56 of Betrayed Mate

My blood ran cold. I didn’t like being excluded from that meeting.

“She’s right.” Ryker nodded, glancing at me. “Besides, we’re the ones who have a relationship with her. She trusts our judgment but probably not yours yet.”

That made sense, but something didn’t quite feel right about it all.

“But I don’t want Ember on her own without one of us with her, so—” Ryker started.

“I’ll stay.” Raven typed into her phone and hit send. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to her. The queen will be waiting for you in the study. She told me to inform her when you guys are ready.” Her phone dinged, and she held it up, revealing the message:I’m logging into the call now.

“Okay. We shouldn’t be long.” Ryker bit his bottom lip before heading out of the kitchen without a second glance in my direction.

Kendric kissed Raven’s cheek, and the three Grimstone members followed their alpha.

Great. Things between Ryker and me were going to be even more strange, and he’d excluded me and left me alone with a vampire. If he wasn’t getting back at me for groping him while I was asleep, I didn’t know what he was thinking.

I couldn’t hide a yawn. “I guess I’ll go back into the bedroom.” I didn’t want to stand here and have a stilted conversation.

“Wait.” Raven blurred to my side.

She glanced in the direction the men had gone. When her attention settled back on me, a tinge of red outlined her irises.

Holy shit. She was channeling her vampire magic. What the hell did the vampires have in store for me now?

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

My wolf inched forward, ready to push Raven’s magic off me. If she attacked, I wouldn’t have time to shift. I almost called out for Ryker and the others, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to put them in the middle of whatever this was.

Obviously, the vampires had it out for me, and I needed someone to continue the search for Briar. I hoped those four would.

I clutched the plate in case I needed it to defend myself.

Raven’s eyes returned to their normal shade, and she propped her weight to one side and placed a hand on her hip. “You think a plate would keep me from killing you?” She wrinkled her nose, scanning me.

I huffed, trying to hide the fact that a chill ran down my spine. She was far too observant. “What are you going to do?” I whispered as the men vanished from sight.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you always this dramatic, or is it because you’re weak and vulnerable?”

My wolf growled, the sound vibrating in my chest. I hated feeling weak and getting called out on it made me want to prove that I wasn’t, which was stupid. IknewI wasn’t up to snuff. “Just do whatever you’re going to do and get it over with.”

Tsking, she looped her arm through mine to support my weight. She then led me into the bedroom where the five of us were staying. She pushed me toward my bed and shut the door.

That made sense. There was no risk of the guys overhearing us and intervening in here.

My heartbeat quickened, so I tried taking a deep breath to calm down. A predator always loved it when the prey became scared, and I refused to allow her to enjoy this moment more than she already would.

“No harm will come to you, Ember.” Raven chuckled, shaking her head. “I just want to speak to you alone.”

I tilted my head and blinked. “What do you mean?” Her wording had been precise, and thanks to the lack of sulfur in the air, I trusted her.

Taking a few steps toward me, she lifted both hands like she was coming toward a scared animal. “There’s something off with Ryker. There has been for a few months now. It began a few days after he first arrived here when he left on his own to run an errand.”

“Why are you telling me this instead of discussing it with him?” There were so many red flags being tossed around right now, but I couldn’t deny that I was curious.

“Because he’s keeping it from his pack, and there’s no way he’ll be willing to tell anyone outside them.” She lowered her head and sighed. “In fact, it’s caused problems between Kendric and me because he’s adamant that there isn’t anything wrong. He claims it’s how Ryker is choosing to process his grief, and when I tried to push it…”

Silence filled the space between us.

“Why do you think something’s off?” If his pack members didn’t feel there was anything wrong, then there most likely wasn’t. “They would know best.”

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