Rejected Warrior Book 2

TRICORA

That low-life piece of shit! How could he do that to my Riley! I go storming out of the cells and down the halls to their section of the palace.

When I arrive at the doors, I walk into the bedrooms when I hear crying coming from the room. My heart breaks for this girl because she didn’t deserve an asshole like him.

I open the door when she jumps up in a panic. The moment she sees it’s me, she runs at me full speed, crashing into my arms.

I see the staff brought food, but she is so thin and can see the marks everywhere. I motion for her to sit and eat.

“Where did Jack go?” she asked.

“He is currently locked up in our cells being dealt with between the doctor and Theo.”

“Oh no! Jack told you! Oh, this is bad! Kyro will be on a warpath! Oh, goddess Cora, he is going to hurt me!”

“Jack is having the doctor silence Kyro temporarily for now. He is thinking about making it permanent.”

“Cora, if he does and Kyro gets out, he will beat me for saying anything.”

“Riley, sit down. There is something you should know. Theo talked to Kyro, and Kyro stated that he should have killed you and the pups when he had the chance.”

She gasps, covering her mouth as the blood drains from her face, so I continue. “That’s why he is thinking of making it permanent. He would rather you and the pups be safe than be in danger.”

“Deep down, he loves you more than anything and is absolutely disgusted at what his wolf has done.”

“That’s why he came to Theo and let him chain him up, hold him down, and thanked him for having the doctor administer the meds.”

“Now every week he will have to get the shot again. If he misses, we will have to put you and the pups on lockdown until he is found and dealt with.”

She nods when we hear a knock at the door. It slowly opens with Theo and Jack walking in. You can tell Jack is heartbroken for what Kyro has put Riley through. I feel Riley tense behind me when I place my hand on hers.

“It’s okay, he doesn’t have his wolf right now, so he is okay. We are having our secretaries keep tabs on his short schedule so we don’t have any issues.”

***

STERN

When I walked in and saw Riley stiffen up, my heart sank. Why didn’t she ever say anything to me so I would know what to do? Did Gunner know?

Oh, goddess, what if they knew and didn’t say anything? The fact that my staff had to sneak her food so she could feed our pups. OUR pups! What a monster Kyro turned into.

Once Theo and Cora take their leave and close the doors behind them, I just fall to my knees and down to the floor, crying like a little child.

I hear her run over, trying to have me at least sit up when I just lay there.

“Why did you not say anything to me? Did Gunner and Trannon know? Riley, I am so sorry for what a monster Kyro became. I will do anything to protect you and the pups!”

“Jack, why does Kyro hate me? Am I that bad of a mate?”

I slowly sit up, leaning against the bed, pulling her into my lap so she straddles me. I place my hands on the sides of her face and look straight at her.

“Riley, you are perfect and everything I needed! I have no clue why Kyro is acting like this. If I have to make this permanent, I will without a second thought.

If I do though, most likely I wouldn’t survive. If, by chance, I do, I can never return as an Alpha to the pack. I won’t be able to protect them at all if I don’t have my wolf.”

“You need your wolf though!”

“Riley! I would rather have you alive with our pups than ever have my wolf again. I would rather live a secluded life if that means I get to keep you in it.”

“To do that, if I have to get rid of my wolf, so be it, and if I die in the process, so be it. I will know that both you and our pups will be safe.”

I grab her face, crushing my lips to hers and taking that moment just to touch her with love and not anger. I lean back and reach for the food, handing it to her.

“Please eat, Riley. I want to make sure you are getting enough food.”

“I have gotten plenty in the last hour, thank you. I am glad, though, your wolf has been taken care of because I didn’t know how I would have ever told you about what Kyro was doing.”

“It’s not like we could exactly have a private conversation.”

“That’s not it, is it? There is something else that you aren’t telling me, isn’t there? Riley, please, I need to know everything he has done to you.”

I watch while she has an internal struggle with her wolf about what to say and if she should or not.

I see tears start to slowly roll down her face and can’t help but think this is bad. Goddess, what if our pack knows about it? What then? Now I will for sure be the biggest asshole there is.

She shakes her head no and tries to jump off my lap when I catch her, just holding her to me.

I feel her body start shaking while sobs tear into the silence around us when my heart starts to sink. I just hold her until she quiets down, just clinging to me.

“Riley, please, I need to know…”

“I lost a pup a couple of weeks ago.”

I just hold her while she starts crying again and I can’t help but cry too. I look for Kyro in my mind and when I spot him, he slowly lifts his head to look at me, laying it back down.

I storm over to where he is and grab him by his fur on his nape with my other hand around his muzzle.

“You piece of shit wolf. You beat her till she lost one of our pups! It could have finally been our boy that we wanted, but you killed it. What kind of wolf does that shit to their mate?”

“I will never be able to be an Alpha again and will have to give up everything we have worked for to get our life on track. You threw it all away for what?”

“You will never come out again and the moment I can get rid of you, I will.”

I return to look at Riley and see that she has fallen asleep on my chest, crying. Goddess, me, what have I done? How could I ever make this right?

I just stare at the wolf in my mind when a voice is heard echoing through.

“Make the right choice and everything will fall in place.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?