And There Were Wolves

fifty | lantern, burning

Lantern, burning / Flickered in my mind / Only you

Alpha Leonidas agreed that he would send a few of his pack members to go looking for Eros in the Center, Ryker would also send a few of the Ethereal members to help. Young Seb would come with us once we managed to locate Eros/Ares, but he would be accompanied by his sister, a pack warrior named Yelena. Although Young Seb seemed unhappy with his sister's babysitting, Alpha Leonidas' words were definitive. It was either Yelena or Beta Adler and, of course, Young Seb would prefer his sister rather than the grumpy Beta.

As we drove back to the North, I tried to read Ryker's mind and when I came up with nothing, I decided to ask him directly, "What are your plan for Alana?"

There was a long moment of silence inside the car before Ryker finally glanced at me and replied, "I don't know." He inhaled a deep breath and let it out. "Dmitry already locked her up again. Her dad kept asking to see me. When we were in Erebus' territory, he made several attempts to mind link with me, but I blocked him. Ryker's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Her dad, Harold, is a good man. Fuck! How am I going to tell him that her daughter is a killer? The one who killed my brother, the previously well-respected alpha?" He raked one hand through his hair — one of a few things that he often did when he was at his wit's end.

"He will understand that his daughter must go through trials," I answered carefully, "or whatever the law is in your pack."

"I know he will," defended Ryker with an exasperated sigh. "But I also know he would kill her once he found out. Alana's dad is a stern but proud man. Don't you get why Miles prefers to stay in the Center? His father has no tolerance for rule-bending or inappropriate behaviors. At least not under his roof. He's well respected for that, amongst other council members."

"She's his daughter. I'm sure he won't want to harm her."

"You don't know the man, Xy." Ryker shook his head. Despite his unwavering focus on the road, I could sense that he was grappling with something internally. "He'd rather he kill her with his own hands than have to leave with a disgrace of not raising his kids right. He wouldn't want her to taint his legacy."

I kept quiet about that since he was right about one thing. I didn't know Alana's father. Soon I drifted to sleep as the car moved and Ryker drove us all the way home. I couldn't feel it when the car had come to a parking mode. I could even hardly hear the door on my right being swung open. That was how tiring this whole day was, how tired I truly was. I hadn't felt that I'd been using too much of my power until my body gave out like that. Yet when his arms made a contact with my skin, one around my shoulders with his hand gripping my left arm and the other was on the back of my knees, a warm tingly feeling spread all over my body. I tried to open my eyes, trying to let him know that I was okay with walking on my own two feet, but both of my eyes refused to be awakened from their peaceful slumber so, in the end, I let Ryker carry me all the way into the house.

A few minutes later, I felt my arse touching the surface of a mattress, than he slowly lowered the rest of my body. He let go of my legs first, then his right hand was holding the back of my head while his left arm was still supporting my shoulders. With more than enough care than needed, he placed my head against the soft pillow before he withdrew his arm. I felt him planting a soft kiss on top of my head before I heard his quiet steps moving farther away. Then that was all consciousness I could afford at that moment before a few seconds later, sleep came at last, heavy and deep, and I was once again being pulled back to a dreamless, soothing rest.

Oddly enough, I woke up early the next morning. I felt more refreshed and my back felt less tight than it'd been last night. I decided to take a quick shower since last night I hadn't cleaned myself up and had been sleeping in my t-shirt and jeans. A few minutes later, with a towel wrapped around my head to prevent droplets from dripping off my hair, I walked downstairs and headed to the kitchen.