9. Oria

9

ORIA

I t wasn't easy to leave the town. We were in a quiet alley waiting for some guy to pass before we ran across to another alley. It seemed Jordan was hellbent on getting to me or he knew something about Ryder and me. Did mother know who I was with? Had she spoken to Taylin?

"This is ridiculous," I muttered, pulling out my necklace.

I grabbed two stones, grabbing Ryder's hand activating one and then the other.

"I forgot your necklace is full of tricks," Ryder said, amused.

"I was hoping to save these, but we need to leave, now," I said, as he pulled me through the streets quicker.

The silencing and invisibility charm were my most used charms and I hated to use them now, knowing that our fight was probably only beginning. I didn't know if I would get a chance to make more stuff or how much it would cost to get these made.

"Shit," I said, seeing a poster up with my picture on it.

"Fuck, it seems like Laima is getting desperate." Ryder studied the picture.

The reward said a million dollars needed for questioning and I couldn't fathom mother having that much money, but I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Now I know Jordan wants you for that bounty," he growled. "We need to get the hell out of here and get you out of populated areas."

He pulled my hand, guiding me through the streets, careful not to hit anyone and bring attention to us. We passed another poster and Max was there in his human form and his cat form, saying he was a shifter and very dangerous.

"Fuck," Ryder clipped, walking faster as I had to jog to keep up with him. "I need you to deactivate the charm on me and you will get into the truck on my side."

"Ok," I said, getting the charms ready to disarm them on Ryder.

"Now," he said, letting go of my hand as I said the words twice.

Once to disarm it and once to activate it on me. I hoped the transition was seamless, getting into the truck while Ryder looked around. He started the truck and we left, thankfully without any problem.

The ride back to Soren and Max was filled with silence that gave me too much time to think about that kiss that Ryder had given me. I could still feel his lips on mine, igniting a need in me that was hard to ignore. Why had he kissed me?

On the car ride to the town, I felt his guilt, his disappointment in himself, and I hated it so much. It made me feel like our bond was nothing to him, that I was just another woman who wouldn't come close to being as precious to him as she was. Jealousy had infiltrated my thoughts and then shame. I was jealous of a dead woman that I didn't think he would ever get over. Our bond was likely to never be completed.

My mood plummeted again as the sadness ate away at me. I would survive his rejection, I couldn't let it break me. The goddess gave me two amazing mates and I needed to focus on them. A part of me wondered if Max was my mate. Would he reject me too?

Dammit, why was everything so hard?

I clenched my jaw to keep the tears at bay. No one needed to know about the tornado of emotions I had within me. I just needed Soren and Gray, then I would figure out everything else.

"I think we are being followed," Ryder said, breaking my train of thought.

"Jordan?" Fear made my voice high-pitched.

"I don't know, I can't see and don't turn around," he said, looking at the mirror at the top of the window. "You need to use your charm or lay down so they don't see you in the car."

I didn't want to waste another charm, so I slid down on the seat until I laid down with my head close to Ryder's thigh. Dammit, maybe I should have just used it and saved me from smelling Ryder's amazing scent that drove me mad. It made me want to straddle his thighs and sink down on his cock that I had gotten a glimpse of while he showered.

"Stop," Ryder whined. "We don't need to be in this truck while you're aroused, Oria."

"I can't help it," I whined back.

I knew it was a terrible moment to be aroused, but my goddess, being this close to him was driving me mad. Our bond was practically willing these thoughts so I would touch him, so we could finally mate. All it would take is for me to straddle his lap and then?—

"Stop it, please," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm not strong enough."

The anguish in his voice was enough to get me out of my fog of lust. Damn him and damn this bond. Addie was wrong, he would not give in, and he would leave us in this limbo of uncertainty until one of us went crazy with it. And it wouldn't be me.

The car jerked, waking me up. I looked up to see Ryder looking around and the sky was darkening. I groaned about to sit up, when Ryder laid a hand on me. He was scared, immediately making me worried.

"We have to ditch the truck and get to the hotel by foot. I'll shift and then you can ride on my back," he said, unbuttoning his shirt as my mouth dried. "We need to use another charm."

I nodded dumbly. Don't go there, I scolded myself. Think of something else. Think of Laima or Tay or the gross men that came with him that made my stomach churn.

"Come on, Heaven, we have to get going, I can hear them nearby," he said, getting out to strip and I prayed my face didn't get red.

Once he shifted, I scooted out of the car, grabbing our bags and stuffing his clothes in them. Ryder was an enormous wolf, but I didn't know how this was going to work. I felt too big to get on his back.

I took out my last silencing charm and my second to last invisible charm. We needed to find someplace where I could make more; these had been way more useful than I had imagined. Ryder nudged me to get on, but I hesitated before he pushed me again and I climbed on, not so gracefully, then said my incantation.

He started to trot, getting me used to hanging on, making me almost regret that I brought these damn bags. I shifted my weight, holding on a little tighter when he took off.

Hold on mate, we will keep you safe.

My body tingled with awareness that this wasn't Ryder who spoke to me. Ryder growled as he picked up the pace, leaning down to keep me from falling off. The grip I had on him was tight, but it must not have bothered him as he kept running fast. It was dark when we finally made it to the hotel. He shifted, instructing me to keep the charm on until we reached the room. He grabbed my hand, even though it looked awkward. I was hoping no one would notice. As soon as I stepped into the building, I felt him.

Gray had found us, tears gathered in my eyes, ready to push Ryder out of the way so I could run to him. The moment he opened the door, I ran in, forgetting that I had the charm, and threw myself onto Gray who was on the bed. He grunted and snarled.

"It's your mate, calm down," Ryder said, as I powered off the charm.

"Gray," I cried out, throwing my arms around him.

"Oh, Sunshine," he sighed, wrapping his arms around me.

All my worries and anxieties went away when I settled into his embrace, crying from relief.

"Where the hell were you? What took you so long?" I tried to control my crying, not sure if he knew what I was saying.

"I'm sorry. I saw Laima before I left and I knew I had to see what she was doing," he said, and I stilled hearing my mother's name.

I knew she was looking for me, but actually hearing about what she was doing was freaking me out. Gray started to explain what he heard and that he paid a visit to Joseph.

"A fucking god war?" Ryder growled, getting up.

Maxton and Soren exchanged a look.

"What does that mean?" I knew I needed to hear the answer, but dread filled my abdomen like lead.

"It means, people like us could be wiped off the face of the earth," Gray said, holding me tighter. "The last god war was because there was a power imbalance between the gods, and we were used as pawns to fight for them."

"There was destruction everywhere. It was surprising that anyone survived. The text we used to have at home described it as a cleansing. Very few paranormals survived and from what I read, the gods fought down here, wreaking havoc on this world," Soren said, coming closer to us.

"They said if another one were to occur, no one would survive it," Max said, as he paced the room. "This is why the Fae hid and we only went out if we had to."

"You think that would have saved you?" Ryder asked.

"I don't know, but after the god war, the most powerful Fae created a kingdom in a hidden land that only had a few entry points and when they couldn't decide on how to rule the Fae they tore into two factions. The Seelie and the Unseelie," Maxton said, looking like he was lost in a memory. "The light and the dark."

A man and woman popped into my head. The man was blond while the woman had light brown hair. The man had gorgeous blue eyes and the woman had hazel eyes like my own.

I looked up to see Maxton studying me, my lip quivered desperately wanting to remember him. He gave me a sad smile before looking away. The tension in the room was too much.

"I still can't believe Maxton is Loki," Gray said, as I felt his chuckle.

"It was definitely weird seeing him shift into a cheetah and then a man," Soren chuckled with his twin.

"I'm sad I missed it," Gray said, holding me a little tighter.

"As much as I would love to just shoot the shit, I think we need to leave tonight or early tomorrow," Ryder said shifting in his seat. "We saw Jordan and there are posters of Maxton and Oria with a large bounty on them."

"What?" Soren growled. "You're just telling us this?"

"We were also followed," I said, feeling Gray tense.

"By Jordan?" Soren snarled.

"I don't know, but someone was on our tail until I shifted and ran us through the forest," Ryder said, looking exhausted. "I'm pretty sure we weren't followed, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"We can't leave now, the place is too crowded, someone might spot us," Gray said, rubbing my arms.

"I'll check the perimeter, to see if I see anything suspicious," Max said, taking off his shirt and slipping his pants down.

I blushed, pushing my face into Gray's chest.

"What am I looking for?"

"Jordan is about my height, dark hair with blue eyes," Soren said. "He usually dresses in slacks and button up shirts, looks like he comes from money."

"What are slacks?" Max asked, making me feel better because I didn't know what slacks were either.

"Dress pants, they will be black, and he will have black shoes with a black belt on," Ryder said. "If there are any men with him, they will be similarly dressed."

"Like this," Soren said, as I peeked from Gray's chest to see Soren showing Max something on the rectangular device.

"Ok, I'll be back," he said, transforming into an unfamiliar cat.

"Make sure you don't shift into your other cat form, they had posters of your face and your grumpy cat face," Ryder said, before Max jumped out the window.

I instinctively lunged for him.

"He's fine, Sunshine," Gray said, pulling me back to him. "Thank god he shifted because goddess, he made me feel inadequate. That man is stacked like a bodybuilder without the side effects of steroids."

Soren laughed as Ryder shook his head while I had no idea what they were talking about.

"While we wait for him, food, Oria?" Ryder glanced at me, and I immediately missed him calling me Heaven.

I shook my head, my nerves were shot.

"Bring her something small," Gray said. "We need to keep your strength up. Just in case, and who knows when your next meal will be if we have to leave soon."

I nodded as Ryder left.

"Now we just wait?" I looked up at Gray and then Soren.

"All we can do is wait." Soren leaned over to kiss my forehead.

I hated waiting. I spent my whole life waiting and I was just about done with being constantly on the run.