Forget about me

Chapter thirteen

Ryder

Alexandra's protests fall on deaf ears. Dad's right. Making her a member of the pack is the easiest way to protect her from another gang. That would mean she belongs to us. They can't demand we hand her over. I still have no idea who Alex ran from or what gang we're dealing with but if dad's worrying about it, it can't be good.

"Fuck no!" Alex shouts as she shoots off the bar stool and backs away from us shaking her head in disbelief. "You can't honestly be considering this? I won't do it! You can't make me!"

"Don't be so stubborn girl. It's for your own protection or would you like to be handed over to him?" father snaps at her.

She huffs out a cold laugh. The sound is broken and tired. I can see it in her eyes. She's so tired. My beautiful angels' wings are broken. She's forgotten what it feels like to fly. Because he locked her in a too small cage where her wings grew until they broke against the bars.

"You're crazy if you think a tattoo will make him give up. He'll wage war only to make a point. Making me a member will only increase his want. You brand me as yours and you'll make sure Sebastian won't give up until one of us is dead!" Her voices rise to a shout as she throws her arms out.

Sebastian.

Fuck.

"Sebastian?" Jem voices the name that stuck in all our heads. Alex's mouth falls open. Her eyes widen as she realises her mistake.

Please. I silently beg the stars. Please don't let it be who I think it is. Please tell me that Alex, my girl, wasn't in that monster's clutches for years.

I turn to my father. "Sebastian fucking Gild? Son of the leader of the undead?" I hiss needing him to confirm it to believe it. Dad nods. Cursing under my breath I drag a hand through my hair.

"You fucked Sebastian Gild?" Hunter spits at Alex making her flinch. "Out of everyone in the entire world you couldn't have spread your legs for anyone else?"

Blood boiling, I stalk over to him and slam a fist into his face. Shade and Jem look ready to do the same. Grabbing his throat, I pull him close holding him a hairsbreadth away as I snarl "Shut your fucking mouth."

Hunter lowers his gaze. His jaw clenches but he doesn't say anything else. Pushing him away I turn to see Alex hugging her arms around herself head hung low in shame. Leaving the idiot behind me I walk over to her. She flinches at my raised hand and it breaks my heart. Slowly, carefully I place my hand under her chin and tilt her head up to look at me. "You are not to blame." I murmur to her softly. Seeing the tears, she's desperately clinging onto I stroke my thumb across her cheek. "Sebastian Gild is a psychopath and a sadist. I don't give a shit that you fell for him, I give a shit that you escaped him."

She shakes her head snivelling lightly in effort to keep from falling apart. "I didn't. I never fell for him." She lowers her gaze. Light brown lashes flutter against her smooth skin. "He was convenient. Charming, kind, at least in the beginning. But most of all he could offer me protection. Better the devil you know than the many you don't." She mutters darkly. "It happened slowly. He stripped me of my life. Isolated me from everyone. Before I knew it, I had nothing and no one but the cage he built for me."

"Look at me, love." Hesitantly her ice blue gaze lifts to meet mine. "You survived. No one blames you for that. No one." That steadies her a bit but I can still see the guilt, pain and shame swirling in her eyes.

"They'll come for me, Ryder. You have to let me go. You have to. Please." Her eyes implore me to understand. I realise that she's scared, not for her own life, but for ours. For everyone in this city, member of the pack or not.

"And how far will you get before he catches you?" dad asks. I've never been this angry at him before. Still, I'm relieved he changed his mind and is backing us on this.

Alex shrugs. Her gaze drifts from mine. The fight in them dying out. It's scary how quickly everything drains from her. To see her eyes, go cold and empty. "Can you kill a ghost with a beating heart?" she whispers to herself, but in the silence we all hear it.

Slowly, my hand moves from her cheek to the back of her neck drifting up into her hair. Pulling her to me I place a kiss on her forehead. Wishing I could kiss all her wounds better. Find her every hurt and soothe them. It pains me to see her like this. To see my beautiful and happy Alex so empty and numb. The lust for blood rises in me. The need to make anyone who has ever hurt her scream. I'll hunt them down, every single one and show them what fear and pain really feels like. I will tear them apart for every scar they've placed on her, visible or not.

Releasing her I turn and head back to the kitchen. Pulling out a drawer I take what I need. Walking back to Alex and sink to my knees at her feet. Her brows furrow and I resist the urge to reach up and smooth out the skin there. Bringing the small knife in my hand to my other palm I drag the blade along the skin opening a small slit.

"I will protect you with my life. I will never raise a hand to hurt you. Any enemies of yours are enemies of mine. Your pain is my pain. I will soothe your fears and chase away your demons. Where you go, I go. This I swear to you on my blood. Always."

I make her my promise by using the ritual we use to initiate someone into the pack. They swear a blood oath to our leader after proving themselves. Their loyalty. My proof will have to come later. When I take over after my father every single member of the pack will have to swear a new blood oath to me. Anyone who doesn't challenges me for leadership.

Blood drips onto floor by her feet. The slow drip of it is the only thing that can be heard. Silence hangs heavily around us. Without hesitating Shade sinks to his knees next to me. Our shoulders brush as I pass the knife to him. Like me, he doesn't flinch as the blade bites into his skin. His blood joins mine on the floor as he recites our oath. Jem follows suit. His voice steady as we bind ourselves to her more permanently than the word inked onto our skin does. We stay there for a moment waiting for Hunter to join us. He doesn't. Instead, he stalks from the room in silent protest. My jaw ticks in irritation. He's stubbornly clinging onto the hurt from years ago. Too angry and scared to realise that there's more to this story. To her story. She didn't leave us. I know she didn't. None of it matters. Not really. Not anymore. She's here now and we're not losing her again. Hunter can lick his wounds for however long he needs. He'll fall at her feet soon enough.

Because we are wolves.

She.

Our moon.