Page 33 of Betrayed Mate

“You always have to push him, don’t you?” Xander sighed, and then his eyes glowed. After a few seconds, they returned to their normal color, and he nodded in the direction of the car. “Let’s go. Ryker saidokay.”

My back straightened. I hadn’t expected him to give in to my request so easily. Maybe he was desperate to get me out of the way.

Hearing how close the three of them were to us now, I headed back to the vehicle. Truth be told, I didn’t want to be around Ryker any more than I had to. The more time we spent together, the more I didn’t like the way he handled things.

Xander stayed close by my side, glancing back every few seconds like he was hoping that evidence would suddenly materialize to prove that the two of us hadn’t lost our minds.

I kept my gaze forward. A part of me wanted to be wrong because, if I wasn’t, that meant another species existed that I knew nothing about. A shiver ran down my spine, and the coldness settled in my chest in the form of another emotion I was beginning to feel all too often and wanted to channel into rage to burn it away.

Fear.

Soon, the woods began to thin, and the moon rose high in the night sky. Owls hooted in the distance, and the Suburban appeared in the darkness. My legs immediately dragged, exhaustion crashing over me. I didn’t have the energy to crawl inside, so I leaned against the side of the vehicle and sank down to the asphalt of the parking lot.

Xander came to my side, and I expected him to open the door and tell me to climb in, but instead, he lowered himself to the ground next to me, and the two of us sat in silence.

The weight of the world pressed in on me. I didn’t know how long we sat there, but as I got more comfortable sitting beside him, my emotions came on stronger. Comfort wasn’t helping me hold myself together. The dam inside me was near to breaking, and pain, anger, and heartache crushed my chest.

Footsteps stomped in our direction.

Ryker.

He came into view, his eyes dark with anger as he pointed right at me. “You’re going to pay for this.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Even as anger flamed through my body, exhaustion had taken root, making it impossible to stand on my own two feet. Despite my annoyance, I couldn’t order myself to get off the ground. Instead, I crossed my arms and scowled, hoping that I didn’t look constipated. “Because losing my pack wasn’t payment enough?” My voice cracked, making me sound weak and pathetic, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t done a damn thing to justify him talking to me that way.

The luster in his eyes lessened for a moment before it reappeared so heavy that I could barely see the actual color of his irises.

He stalked in our direction, a few twigs sticking out of his hair. The moonlight glistened on his shirtless body, and my traitorous eyes focused on the contours of his muscles and stalled on his chiseled six-pack. A different kind of warmth spread through my body, one I refused to acknowledge. Instead, I forced my eyes upward toward his face, which was way too handsome for the cruel person he was.

“Don’t pull that card on me.” He jabbed a finger at me. “We lost our pack too. You aren’t the only victim.”

A bitter laugh shredded my raw throat. “Oh, you’re making sure there are plenty of victims.” Adrenaline finally pumped through me, allowing me to climb slowly to my feet.

Xander lightly tugged my arm, trying to get me to sit back down.

“Donottouch her,” Ryker snarled, his eyes glowing even behind the thick sheen. His hands clenched as Kendric and Gage hurried into view behind him.

Kendric’s forehead creased, and he blinked with what had to be surprise while Gage’s eyes widened and he lifted both hands.

“Okay, damn!” Xander dropped his hand. “I was just trying to help.”

Baring his teeth, Ryker’s chest heaved even more than before. “She doesn’t need your help. Got it?”

In fairness, I agreed. I could handle my own damn problems just fine, but I didn’t like that Ryker had made the determination for me. “If he wants to help me, then that’s between him and me. You don’t get to make that decision.”

Ryker’s hateful gaze landed squarely on me, and he rasped, “Maybe I don’t make the decision for you, but I can and will influencehischoices if he doesn’t agree with me.”

A sour taste filled my mouth. Alphas like him were the worst. They didn’t hesitate to cut down a person or compel them to obey their commands. All the powerful packs, including the late king’s, had a way of making sure they got their way, and it was one reason that my pack had been more reclusive than most. We’d kept our heads down so that we could live our lives on our own terms as much as possible. That had worked well for centuries—until several days ago.

He smirked and tilted his head in mockery. “What’s wrong? Upset that you can’t get your way? What are you going to do? Punch me again? The first time, you surprised me, but believe me, lil rebel, I will tame you like I did the rest of them.”

Lil rebel?

How ironic. All I’d ever wanted was to live in peace. Even now, I just wanted to find my sister and run away to where our enemies couldn’t find us. A fresh start somewhere to build a brand-new life that wasn’t haunted by the ghosts of the pack we’d lost.

Still, I refused to let anyone break me. I might want to live in peace, but that didn’t mean I’d allow myself to be terrorized or broken by a bully. “I willneversubmit to you.”

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