Chapter 30

Ruby was surprised to see Ryker walking as if he did not just have his hands tied behind his back or had not been sitting on a cement floor for twenty-four hours. Ruby offered for him to lean on her if he needed it, but after seeing him take a few steps, she realized that he actually did not. Instead of bringing it up, Ruby rushed up the stairs with Ryker in tow. When they reached the top and got out the door, Ruby jumped over a surprising amount of unconscious bodies on the floor until she made it to the door. She did not hear Ryker’s footsteps behind her, and she halted to a stop. As her eyes landed on Ryker and his confused face, she had to stifle a laugh.

“How the hell did you do all of this? Half of the pack is on the floor!” he bellowed.

“Shhh! You could bring them back. Keep going!”

“Bring them back?! What the hell does that mean?”

“Ryker! No time, and stop screaming! Let’s go!” Ruby called out to him as she went out the door.

“Then you are explaining yourself on the way back!” he argued just above a whisper as he ran out the door behind her.

Deacon was in his wolf form, whose name Ruby finally knew was Dominik; not Fluffy. His long hair blew in the wind as Ruby and Ryker ran past him, and he brought up the rear of the team as they fled the West Coast pack house. Ruby focused on getting into the forest where she had more people from the town waiting in case anyone woke up from their slumber and came after them. The whole plan went off without a hitch, but she had reinforcements just in case. As they crossed the threshold of the tree line, Ruby breathed a little easier as five wolves joined them as they continued to the barrier.

Ryker, however, could not wait any longer for his question to be answered. “Start talking.”

Ruby slowed down a little to a jog, and she mindlinked the wolves to create a perimeter until they reached their destination and were safe. The wolves yipped and did as they were told. Ryker looked around, and his eyes widened a little as he watched the wolves go into formation. Deacon ran to Ruby’s side and kept her pace. Then Ruby went into her explanation.

“Rozalind came by after I regained consciousness from that tranquilizer. She was furious that things were not going as planned and said something about the Fates getting pissed if it wasn’t corrected or something, so she healed me and left, but she did hint that I had to be the one to rescue you.”

“Uh… okay.”

They were about fifty yards from the entrance, and Ruby slowed down once again. She took a look around and noticed the wolves keeping the perimeter strong. They returned reports that they did not see anyone chasing after them, and things seemed to be safe. Ruby relaxed a little more and told them to start heading in one by one.

“Rozalind said she couldn’t get directly involved. It was against the rules or something like that. She just vanished, and I started making my plans to get you out. I had no idea if Tyson was going to keep you in the main pack house or the one that is a little closer to the forest. He thinks I don’t know about the other cells in the basements of certain houses in the pack. Not sure why since most of the wolves in that pack don’t know how to keep their mouths shut. Anyway, I took my best guess, and I’m glad I was right.”

Ryker nodded and rolled his eyes in agreement. Ruby thought he would say something else, but he remained silent.

“Deacon and Nick were trying to keep me from doing this, but then Rozalind just appeared and shut them up. It really was comical to see her appear, scare the shit out of them, and then yell at them that they had no choice. Their Alpha was in danger, and their She-Alpha was giving orders, at which point I started this plan. Rozalind wasn’t really supposed to help… but she decided that giving us a sleeping powder was not really interfering. She was giving us a tool, and it was our decision whether we used it or not. When she handed it over, she looked to the sky as if she were waiting for her bosses to strike her dead for ‘intervening’, but nothing happened.”

“So everyone was asleep? Not killed?” Ryker asked.

They walked through the barrier together. The feeling of the static moving across her skin was going to be something Ruby would get used to since it was such a weird feeling. Ruby found herself brushing off her skin as if it was dirt that she could just wipe away. Dominik shook his fur after they stepped through as if he did not like the feeling either.

“Mostly. There were a few people that smacked it out of our hands when we were about to blow it on them. So that turned into a fight. It brought a lot more people than what we were expecting, and I ended up using the whole bag. Pretty sure I was supposed to hand what I didn’t use back to Rozalind after this, but I got nothing.”

“And the extra wolves that I know aren’t the wolves that were tied to us before I left?”

Ruby smiled triumphantly at Ryker’s observation. “I put out an announcement just before I left that we were going to bring you back. Every male here stepped in and pledged their alliance to me. I went through the pack bonds and felt out the top five of them. Deacon’s power outmatched everyone, by the way, so I named him Beta. I told them the plan, and they were willing to make sure we got in and out safely.”

Dominik yipped and wagged his tail. Tasha stepped out of Howlers with a smile on her face. Dominik yipped again and trotted over to her. In a flash, Deacon’s bare ass was facing them, and he hugged his mate. Tasha handed him a pair of shorts and then walked toward their apartment. Deacon chased after her, picked her up, put her onto his shoulder as gingerly as he could to not harm the baby, and then ran off to their place. Tasha laughed through the entire process, and it brought a smile to Ruby’s face.

I love how happy they are.

Ryker grabbed her hand, spun her, and pulled her into his embrace. Ruby buried her head into his chest as he squeezed his arms around her. She did the same, and she felt Ryker’s exhale from his chest.

“You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met. I don’t know how I got so lucky that you are mine.” Ryker kissed her forehead when he was finished. “I don’t even know how you got all of these rogues to pledge to you. None of them were looking for a pack, yet you came into our lives, turned it upside down, and brought us all together.”

Ruby looked up at her mate and shook her head. “No, Ryker. You did that. You provided them with a home that they wouldn’t have had if you didn’t bring this place together. You created this pack by simply being yourself. You were the one that poured the money you made back into this town. You provided them a sanctuary with the barrier and made them safe. When they heard you were taken, everyone was asking if we were going to figure out a way to bring you home. While I was still unconscious, they were bugging Deacon and Nick. When I stepped out of the building, they were all here, waiting for news about you. That’s when I told them the plan…and that’s when the pack formed. Because of you.”

Ryker’s eyes glistened as the words registered. People were coming out of their homes and realizing he was back. They cheered and called out that they were happy that he was home. The rest of the townspeople who did not pledge their alliance before were now rushing toward Ruby and Ryker, kneeling on the ground, and pledging. The Wolf’s Den Pack went from twelve people to over one hundred in a matter of seconds. Ryker stood there in amazement as each person pledged and told him that Ryker and Ruby were the Alphas they always needed. By the time everyone came and left, Ruby could feel through the mate bond that Ryker was overwhelmed with happiness…and content with being an Alpha again.

“You are not the Big Bad Wolf, Ryker. Not in the way that you think you are. Rainer is savage at times, but only when people he cares about are in danger. Which also means you, by the way, if you haven’t noticed.”

Ryker hugged her again, burying his face in the crook of her neck. When he breathed in her scent, she realized she was surrounded by his amber and berry aroma.

“I love you,” Ryker announced in a whisper.

At first, Ruby thought that he did not want anyone to hear him say it. Then it hit her that he only wanted her to hear it for the first time since they were still just inside the barrier. Ruby smiled, put her hands on his chest slightly to push him out of their embrace, and looked into his eyes.

“I love you, too. There is no one else that I would risk my life by running into the strongest pack of a sanction to save.”

“Are you going to throw that into my face for the rest of our lives?”

“Yep, and we live for centuries, so buckle up, Alpha!”

At the sound of her nickname for him, Ryker lit up the same way he always did. The sexy smile he now saved just for her played at his lips and rumbling emitted from his chest. He grabbed her fast and dragged him to her. The moment that their lips met, an eruption of fire and tingles spread through her body like wildfire. She could feel her body move forward so she could be touching him in every way possible as her arms went around his shoulders, and her fingers combed into his hair. Ruby could get lost in the kiss easily, until her hand barely traced down his neck to his shoulder. Ryker groaned painfully, and she jumped backward.

“I knew your ass wasn’t fully healed! Now it’s your turn to explain! How is it you have bruises all over you, but you were able to just run out of there?”

Ryker sighed and took a look around. “How about we get into our apartment, and I will tell you?”

Ruby knew what that meant. Ryker was severely injured, and he could not show that kind of weakness in front of his pack. No Alpha could, even if he had his full trust in the wolves within it. Anyone at any given moment could choose that they want to be Alpha instead and take advantage of the current Alpha being weak. Ruby nodded, and they made their way into their home.

“Start talking,” Ruby demanded in the same manner he used with her earlier.

“Okay, I will. Can I soak in the tub while I do, though?”

“Why is that even a question? Of course.”

Ruby walked into the bathroom and started the water. She waited for it to come to a good temperature and then pushed down onto the clog for it to begin filling. Ryker pulled off his clothes, and Ruby was able to see the full extent of the damage. Not much of his body was not covered in purple and blue. Ruby growled at the sight of it all, and Ryker smirked at her.

“Protective of me, Red?”

“No one harms what is mine.”

Ruby noticed his cock twitch, and she shook her head. “No. Get into the bath, and start healing. Pull from the bonds if you must. And start talking!” She snapped at him as she pulled out a small vial, uncorked it, and poured the contents into the water.

“What is that?”

“Rozalind mentioned you may need this. It is something to help you heal.”

“I am mostly healed.”

“The bruises tell a different story, Ry.”

He growled with irritation. “I guess I better start talking then.”

Ryker lowered himself into the tub, and Ruby noticed he winced in pain. She tapped her foot on the tile to emphasize her impatience. Ryker chuckled a little, and Ruby growled again.

“Easy, Red. I’m talking. I’m just sore and wanted to get settled in the tub first. We both know trying to move at all when you’re sore means having to focus to make yourself do it,” Ryker reasoned.

“You’re right about that, and I understand, but you’re settled now, so…” Ruby waved her hand through the air, gesturing at Ryker’s body as she raised her eyebrows with clear impatience, waiting for him to explain the sight before her.

“Tyson decided that I needed to be weakened before he challenged me in front of the pack tomorrow. So while I was tied up, he and two other wolves did their worst to me. After they left, Rainer did this wolf healing process I’ve never heard of. Even though we weren’t connected to the pack or you at all, he was able to use his energy to pull from the small pack I’d created before I was taken to heal me on the inside. He did it so if they came back, I would still be able to defend myself a little, or if they left me alone for the challenge, I would have strength to fight. The only problem was, he went to sleep after that. I can still feel him there, but I can’t shift into him for a few more hours. Maybe not even until tomorrow.”

Ruby paced as Ryker told his story. Scarlett growled on her behalf on and off throughout the explanation, and it seemed to bring a smile to Ryker’s face. She let out a sigh when his story was over.

“What’s the plan, Ryker? Tyson will never stop until he kills you. He thinks you are a threat to him.”

“I am a threat. I will always be a threat. That pack has become ruthless killers because of him. They were going to come in here and kill everyone because I was here!”

“Exactly my point. I’ll ask again. What is the plan?”

“The only thing we can do is go back. We will have to bring reinforcements since we know that Tyson will attack others and use other wolves to fight because he knows he can’t win on his own. I need to challenge him and kill him. This needs to end now.”

“Okay. Then tomorrow we go, you challenge him, and we end this. We can bring whoever wishes to stand beside us and end this once and for all.”

Ruby noticed that the contents of the vial were working. As Ryker spoke, the bruises on his skin were changing from purple and blue to yellow and green, and then they disappeared entirely.

“Ruby-”

“Don’t you even think about it, Ryker. I am going. I need to see this asshole die. After what he did to me, to you, and to this town…I need to see this end.”

Ryker opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked away from her for a moment, took a deep breath, and then looked at her again.

“Okay. As long as you promise you will not do anything rash or without thinking it through. Promise?”

“Why the hell am I promising something like that?!”

The expression on Ryker’s face was literally “are you serious?”

Ruby scrunched her face in disagreement, growled, and then nodded. “Fine, I promise.”

I promise that I will think things through at least…