Page 14 of Collar Me Crazy
The rumble of another vehicle made him look up from the supply inventory he was pretending to concentrate on. Emmett's truck pulled into the drive, and the alpha wolf climbed out.
"Afternoon," Emmett said, approaching the cabin with his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets. "Thought I'd check on you. See how things are going."
"Things are fine." Ryker didn't look up from his clipboard. "Just busy with patients."
"Uh-huh." Emmett leaned against the porch railing, his stormy gray-blue eyes taking in details that most people would miss. "Heard you had a visitor last night."
"News travels fast."
"Hell, Twyla probably knew about it before it happened." Emmett's tone was casual, but there was steel underneath. "Varric's concerned."
"Varric's always concerned about something."
"This time he's concerned about you doing something stupid. Like running from what you're meant to face."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you do." Emmett moved closer, his alpha presence carefully controlled but unmistakable. "Question is, you gonna keep lying to yourself, or you gonna deal with reality?"
"Reality is that I'm exactly where I need to be. Helping creatures that actually need help, staying out of everyone else's business."
"And what about your business? What about what you need?"
"I don't need anything."
Emmett's laugh was harsh. "Right. That's why you look like you haven't slept in a week and your wolf's practically clawing its way out of your skin."
Ryker set down the clipboard and faced him directly. "What do you want, Emmett?"
"I want you to stop being an idiot." Emmett's expression turned serious. "You think you're protecting people by keepingyour distance? All you're doing is making yourself miserable and missing out on something that could be incredible."
"You don't understand?—"
"I understand plenty. I understand what it's like to think you're too broken for anyone to love. I understand being so afraid of screwing up that you never try." Emmett stepped closer, his voice dropping. "I also understand what it's like to realize that fear's just another kind of prison."
"This is different."
"How?"
"Because when I screw up, people die." Ryker’s words were sharp and harsh.. "They always have. They always will."
"Maybe. Or maybe this time is different. Maybe this time you get to choose." Emmett studied his face. "That seer didn't come here by accident, Ryker. And she didn't run screaming when she met you, either."
"She should have."
"Why? Because you're afraid of what might happen?" Emmett shook his head. "Fear's a shitty compass, brother. Tends to point you away from everything worth having."
A gust of wind carried that familiar scent again, along with something that called to every protective instinct Ryker possessed. His wolf whined, pressing against his ribs like it was trying to break free.
"I can't," he said quietly. "I won't be responsible for what happens to her."
"Then don't be responsible for her. Be responsible to her. There's a difference." Emmett headed back toward his truck, pausing at the driver's door. "And Ryker? Whatever you're afraid of facing? It's gonna find you eventually whether you run or not. Might as well face it on your terms."
After Emmett left, Ryker stood alone on his porch, breathing in the sharp November air.
Maybe Emmett was right. Maybe fear was just another kind of prison.
But some prisons existed for good reasons. And some doors were better left unopened.
