Feral Born (Viciously Yours #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Playing Catch Up

We stood frozen, staring at each other in shock for a moment before he tried to get up. I hid a smile as Ryan started murmuring curse words while yanking at the bankets. Shoving himself up into a standing position, he immediately started to tip to the side. Reaching out with one hand, I grabbed onto his shoulder and pulled him straight. His cheeks flushed red as he finally tore the blankets off of himself before scooping me up in a tight hug.

"You came back." He whispered.

Taking a deep inhale of his scent, I said, "I told you I'd always come back to you, didn't I?"

Instead of replying, he pulled me tighter against him and clung to me for awhile. When he was satisfied that I was really there with him, he pulled back and ran his gaze over my body. It wasn't sexual in nature but instead the type of look someone gave when they analyzed a wound. Most of the injuries I had gotten from the battle had already begun to heal but the deeper ones were still a bit tender. His fingers brushed against my bloody skin gently looking to see if I had any serious bites or cuts.

Raising my hands, I tugged his face back up to mine, "I'm fine, Ryan. None of the wounds are serious."

Chocolate brown eyes with a slash of bright red now in them, searched mine before he seemed to sag in relief. "What happened while you were there?"

"I should be asking you that. My yard's destroyed and you have red in your eyes."

His unique eyes rolled, "Jasper tried to stage a coup while you were gone and died by my fangs for his efforts."

Feeling a jolt of happiness shoot through me, I joked, "Told you, you were getting meaner."

Ryan laughed and looped his arms around my waist to pull me against him, "Well, what can I say you're a bad influence."

"Clearly." I said gesturing to his eyes.

I was pretty sure I knew what had happened for his eyes to turn a quarter red but most of my kind thought it was a myth. No one had heard of something like this happening for over hundreds of years. But from the old stories, I was confident that this wasn't something to worry about.

The laugh lines by his eyes disappeared as his gaze latched onto my newly seared wrists. He snatched them both up with a speed that now rivaled my own and pulled them up so he could see them clearly.

"None of them are serious, huh?" He growled, the red of his eyes expanding. "Then what the fuck is this, Buttercup."

Ryan's tone was harsh but the grip on my wrists were gentle, a tell that it wasn't me he was angry with. The tone though, the tone I didn't appreciate. Snarling a little, I broke free of his grip, "Exactly what I said they were, not serious."

His body seemed to shake in rage as his eyes were almost completely red, "They chained you, didn't they? But these are burn marks. Silver and titanium don't burn you, just like silver doesn't burn me. It poisons us so why is the skin burned..."

Not liking the turn this conversation was taking, I snapped my fingers in front of his face. As soon as he stopped speaking to focus on the noise, I spoke calmly, "Ryan, listen to the noise. Listen to how it repeats, focus on the rhythm of the sound."

His breathing slowed as he watched the movement of my hand and the sound it created. Keeping up with the rhythm, I waited until the red of his eyes decreased to the original quarter it took up. Once I was certain he was calm, I stopped the noise and waited.

"By the moon, what the hell was that? Am I some wolf version of the hulk now? I mean that'd be cool but I think it'd raise a lot of questions if people saw a giant green wolf running around the woods."