Alpha Rylan
Chapter Five
Dawn
The restaurant is stunning.
I haven’t seen civilization in a while, let alone wealth.
This place might be simple and cozy, but I can’t ignore the little things that scream money.
From the richly stained table to the elegant art pieces hanging on the wall, it’s clear why Rylan loves this place.
The heat from the roaring fireplace to my left reminds me of how warm it is in here. It’s like invisible chains of heat are wrapping around my wrists, making me more and more nervous.
I feel Rylan’s hand on the small of my back. “Ready to sit?”
The uneasy feeling in my stomach wants to come out, but I keep my lips sealed. If I say something, I might upset Rylan, and that won’t help me get to Lucy.
My poor little sister must be cold and hungry outside. Guilt gnaws at me.
“You look worried,” Rylan observes, pulling out a chair for me. I sit down quickly, making sure my outfit fits neatly under the table.
Rylan sits across from me, gently moving a vase of beautiful purple flowers so he can see me better.
Every time I look at him, I see an alpha who’s never had to fight for anything.
He’s never seen the horrors of life outside a pack, or how not having a family can break you.
I have to keep reminding myself that it’s my fault. I chose to leave them.
“I wonder why,” I mumble, looking down at my hands clenched in my skirt. If I meet Rylan’s gaze, it might shatter the mask I’ve been wearing.
He sighs. “I’m willing to compromise.”
At his words, I decide to look up. His silvery blue eyes are like a curtain, hiding something I want to discover.
His face is as steely as his eyes, but he still manages to look indifferent. What would he do if I slapped the indifference off his face?
Would he handcuff me again?
Is he scared of me?
“I don’t believe you,” I say confidently, placing my hands on the table. “I don’t believe you can change.”
Rylan seems to ponder my words. When I first met him, he was firm in his beliefs of possession and protection.
His faith in the moon goddess made him even more rigid and forceful, which made me particularly uncomfortable.
He’s even hesitant to touch me, as if I might infect him with some terrible sin.
“I’m trying,” he says in a rough voice. “I really am trying.”
I don’t believe him. “If you really wanted to change, you wouldn’t have trapped me and kidnapped me. You would have accepted that I don’t need you anymore. That I’m better off alone.”
Rylan leans forward in his seat, looking conflicted. If I hadn’t seen it in his eyes, I would have been worried by his blank face. He’s good at erasing his emotions, like wiping a whiteboard clean.
“I did it for your own good, can’t you see that?” he says, almost pleading. “You’re sick and getting worse.
“I can handle it, as an alpha, but you... Do you really want your sister to be alone when you eventually waste away?
“I would have been happy to take her in, but I would follow you soon after.”
I shake my head at him. “I don’t think you understand. I refuse to be held captive here. I can’t even start to believe in your religion. If it means I get sick, then so be it.”
My stubborn side is showing, and Rylan is left to try and calm it down. My hands ball into fists on the table.
“At least tell me where your sister is,” Rylan says softly, biting his lip distractedly. “So I can save her.”
Fate decides to intervene at that exact moment.
A loud and almost deafening crash echoes from behind me.
The sound of broken glass scattering across the floor makes me spin around in fear; the beautiful restaurant we saw earlier is now a scene of destruction.
The sight of it all would have scared me before, but the shards of glass are like twinkling stars of hope as I realize who caused them.
Lucy. My precious sister.
Standing on the other side of the broken window, in all her ten-year-old glory, is my sister dressed in dark leather clothes, which I’ve never seen her wear before.
Her light blonde hair is pulled up in a braid, her eyes glaring fiercely over a black cloth tied to cover half her face. She’s used a brick to smash the window.
Neither Rylan nor I have a chance to move before Lucy is behind me, the blade of a knife dangerously close to my neck. I take a deep breath, my eyes finding Rylan.
He looks unfazed by what he’s seeing, not saying a word.
“Put the knife down,” he says calmly, looking as if he isn’t bothered by this at all. I know that this is his alpha-like experience showing. He doesn’t want Lucy to hurt me.
He clearly doesn’t know that this strange, small girl is my sister. To him, she could just be someone trying to hurt the alpha’s mate.
Lucy has a short window to get out of here before the staff hiding behind the tables call the police.
She doesn’t say a word, not wanting to give Rylan any clues about her age.
“This girl is innocent. I suggest you stop before you do something you might regret,” Rylan continues, slowly standing, keeping his palms flat on the table.
In any other situation, I would be grateful for his negotiation skills, but now, I want to be far away from them.
Lucy’s voice isn’t her own, as she says, “Move another inch and she’s dead.”
The fear painted on my face is like a warning sign for Rylan, stopping him from doing something he might regret.
The flash of fear in his eyes, the fear of losing me, makes guilt settle heavy in my stomach.
Lucy probably didn’t have any other choice to get me out of here, but it still irks me that she had to threaten my life in front of him.
With Lucy’s guidance, I’m slowly forced to my feet. Rylan just watches, his eyebrows furrowed. He feels helpless, I can tell. He thinks if he makes a move, it might get me killed.
“I’m sorry,” I manage to say, unable to hold it back.
I feel the bond between us resist. The last time I felt it, it was a strange, painful sensation in my stomach that took a whole week to subside.
Now, that sickening, guilty feeling creeps back with every step I take backward. I try to push it down.
Lucy might be shorter than me, but her boots give her enough height to match mine, which is enough to guide me over the shattered window.
My foot almost snags on the sharp shards jutting out dangerously, but I don’t look down.
I can’t tear my eyes away from Rylan. Especially not from his darkening eyes, as he stays seated at the table in the center of the room.
“I’ll get you back,” he murmurs, knowing there’s no way out of this.
“I’ll tear the world apart.”
That’s the last thing I hear from my mate, before Lucy and I vanish into the dark streets.
***
“What was it like inside?” Lucy asks, her curious smile wide.
We didn’t exchange a single word until we made it back to our original camp. It was too risky, as we stuck close to the walls, until we finally made it out over two hours later.
Unfortunately for my weakened legs and awkward dress, the walk was painful, but Rylan’s house was on the other side of the pack, and we couldn’t change that.
“No,” I deflect gently, poking the fire with the end of a blunt stick. “You have to tell me how you found me.”
Lucy is tough; I’ve always known that. But, I had no clue she was capable of pulling off such a successful rescue mission from an alpha.
She should be in school right now, braiding other girls’ hair and doing their makeup. Not living in a forest with her messed up sister every night.
She sits in front of me in the dirt, her legs stretched out and covered by a tattered blanket we’ve had since we first ran away.
The firelight dances on her pretty features, deepening her already almost black eyes. Her hair has darkened since we’ve been out here, but it’s always been so golden and beautiful.
“I followed you,” she says smoothly. “I knew you were going to meet with him. You couldn’t help yourself.”
Sometimes Lucy makes me feel inferior to her. She slowly nibbles on the edge of a loaf of bread we swiped from a closed market stall on our way back, eyeing the dress I’m wearing.
“You know me too well.”
“Yes, well ... now you can tell me what it’s like—”
“Hold on,” I interrupt, raising my hand to stop her. “You followed me to Rylan’s estate? Where did you sleep that night?”
Lucy seems annoyed at my lack of answers to her question. “Slept in his wine cellar.”
“Okay, well, inside his home is amazing. He’s very wealthy and has some incredible things. You would have loved it, if it wasn’t the most oppressive and watched place in the entire world.
“You would have dug a hole through the wall soon enough,” I tell her.
She seems disappointed at my words, but she expected it. I know for a fact that she doesn’t want to live Rylan’s life any more than I do. It’s the biggest reason why I haven’t given myself to him.
I stand while Lucy watches me. Slowly, I unzip my dress from the back and shrug it off.
During these cold nights, I could use the extra fabric. Right now, though, I want a symbol to thank Lucy with, so I stand, taking the dress I took off, to throw into the fire.
The flames consume it in an instant, sparks flying up, as the fire eagerly devours every inch of the expensive fabric.
Lucy watches it silently, a satisfied smile on her face, as what was once beautiful slowly turns into nothing but ashes.
“He won’t ever find us. It’s over now,” Lucy murmurs.
For some reason, I don’t believe her. She mustn’t have seen the look in his eyes in those last moments.
And at that moment, I can’t be so sure.
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