But with the feel of Ryder deep within her and the sated state of her body and emotions at that point, she didn’t seem to care.
She would take Ryder Brentwood however she could. Because there wasn’t another option. Only pain and yearning. Until they broke. Again.
Chapter Eleven
Ryder stared at the man who had caused so much pain, so much fear, and resisted the urge to kill him where he stood. Slowly. Or perhaps not too slowly, as Ryder would rather be back at his den with the woman who made his heart stop—even if he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do with her.
Luis, the Coven leader, a water witch with no qualms about killing, and the father of Leah, sat before him in his ornate, wooden, long-backed chair that looked more like a throne than an assembly chair. His peers surrounded him; the same witches who’d run toward the back exit when the first bomb blew. Only a few of those who remained had come to Ryder’s side during the blast. Those would be the witches the wolves would negotiate with and work with to help their people in the future.
The Alphas had agreed, and now Finn and Ryder would do what must be done to take the next step. Their worlds were burning, literally. According to their contacts in Washington, the government would be revealing their plan and laws soon. Once that happened, the current standstill would end, and they’d have to face whatever came. Ryder wasn’t looking forward to that in the least. But that hadn’t happened yet, and first, he needed to get a few things straight.
The witches in front of him were one of those pieces.
Leah stood by Ryder’s side, healed and angry. Or maybe he was the one who was angry. Leah looked more…resigned about the fact that her father had tried to kill her. As if that had been the inevitable conclusion to the relationship that had never been. He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders and bring her close, but he wasn’t sure she would accept it.
Something had changed between them, and he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. But this wasn’t the time to worry about what his wolf ached for or how the woman beside him made him feel. He had to take care of the problem at hand, then he could worry about himself.
That was how he’d functioned in the past, and that was how he would have to now—even if it hurt like hell.
“You’ve summoned us here for a reason, wolf,” Luis snapped. “Get on with it. We don’t have all day to deal with your people. We have a war of our own to deal with.”
Ryder tilted his head and studied the man in front of him. Sweat slicked the witch’s forehead and his hands were clenched in front of him. Luis knew something was up and was damn worried about it.
Good.
“We’re here to deal with that war, or have you forgotten?” Ryder asked calmly. Leah put her hand on his back, settling the wolf beneath his skin that wasn’t so calm. “We’re also here so you can see that our people, all our people, are alive after the attack.”
Luis raised his chin. “And?”
“Why did you do it?” Ryder asked, his voice low. “Why did you sacrifice your daughter and risk the lives of your people to help the humans who want us all dead? It doesn’t help anything except to perpetuate the violence.”
Gasps sounded in the room, but Luis merely narrowed his eyes. “You dare accuse me of this? What proof do you have?”
Finn growled beside Ryder and pressed a button on his phone. The voice of the human who had called out Luis’s name at the camp sounded as he told of his plans and the connection to Luis. They hadn’t recorded it when they’d been preparing to fight but had gotten his confession again before the cops came. At least, Finn had, once he’d made it to the camp. Ryder had only been thinking about Leah—something that was dangerous. But with the mating urge riding him hard, he couldn’t function like he needed to.
“Lies!” Luis screamed and stood. “You want the witches dead, that is why you come in here with your false accusations. Get out of here before I show you what kind of witch I am. What power I wield.”
“Oh, I think we already know what kind of witch you are,” Leah said smoothly. “You’re the kind of witch who cheats on his wife and lies to the woman who fathered twins for you. You’re the kind of witch who spends years, years, hunting them down and trying to snuff out their lives so the world doesn’t look down on you. You’re the kind of witch who makes contact with organizations who not only hate the paranormal but want to use them for their means so you can kill two witches who truly mean nothing to you. You’re the kind of witch who, after having one twin killed, will find every way possible to have your daughter’s life ended. Even start a war with the wolves in order to get it done. You’re no true witch. You’re a traitor in every way possible.”
Ryder wanted to throw his head back and howl at her words. She didn’t sound broken or defeated. She sounded strong. She sounded wolf.
Leah raised her chin, her hands at her sides. “You killed Roland. I know you had something to do with my mother’s death. And now you’ve risked the lives of your people, the lives of the wolves who wanted to help the witches in the Unveiling. All so you can end my life.”
“You heard the evidence,” a female witch told Luis. “We all heard it. I don’t know about every word this young woman is saying, but I know the way you work, Luis. Why would you do this? Why would you cooperate with the enemy?”
Luis stood tall, his eyes dark, spittle forming at the corner of his mouth as he shouted. “This piece of trash shouldn’t be here. She has no right to be in our proceedings. I did what I had to in order to protect our line, our people.”
Ryder’s claws slid from his fingertips, his body shaking with rage. “You almost killed my Pack. That makes you an enemy of the Talons.”
“And the Redwoods,” Finn added.
“You’re nothing. Just a bunch of ill-bred dogs. You’re the reason we’re forced to come out of hiding to begin with.” Luis opened his arms and pushed them forward. Magic shot toward them, a wall of water that didn’t seem to touch the witches came out of nowhere.
Ryder turned to protect Leah, but should have known better. She slid her arms up, a wall of water of her own forming from the glasses of water on the tables and the small pool on the other side of the open door. He hadn’t noticed it before, but his Leah had.
Leah’s magic pulsated as she clenched her jaw. Luis’s water slammed into Leah’s before spreading out as if it were a wave smashing into the rocks. The water drenched the witches nearest to the wolves, forcing screams from them.
“Stop what you’re doing, Luis!” One of the witches called out. “You’re through. You risked all of us for your own vendetta.”
Luis held one hand out toward that witch and sent a spiral of water over the man’s body. The other man screamed, trying to use his own magic, but Luis was too strong.
However, he wasn’t as strong as Leah.
Every single witch began to use their magic, throwing fire, earth, water, and gusts of wind toward each other. Their own civil war erupting in front of them.
Ryder turned toward the spirits in the room, his body stiff from holding back. He wanted to shred Luis’s face but refrained because it was not his duty. Leah needed to fight, needed to stand up and be the warrior she was. It didn’t help his wolf, though. The spirits floated right below the celling, pain and rage evident on their faces.
Leah was the only witch protecting the wolves, as the other witches were too worried about themselves and their own battles. While the wolves would be able to care for themselves, he knew something else had to happen in order for them to truly win.
“Help,” he whispered toward the spirits closest to them. The spirits looked sharply at him, surprise showing on their features.
He’d only asked for help once from them and that was for Leah. Now he did it again for her and would keep doing so. He lied to himself daily when he said it would be easy to walk away from her. He lied to himself when he’d said he didn’t want her as a mate. He loved her, damn it. Loved the way she fought for herself, love
d the way she tried to hold herself back because he was the fucking idiot hurting them both.
And yet, he knew he’d have to keep doing it.
Because of things like this.
The spirits came toward him, slashing at his skin, pulling energy from his wolf in a way he hadn’t thought possible. He went to his knees, his body shaking.
The others around him came to his side, Finn at his back as he tried to fight off what he couldn’t see.
Only Ryder could see them.
Only Ryder could hear them.
Only Ryder could feel them.
Only Ryder…
He didn’t know what was going on. He’d never used the sprits like this, had never had them use him. Each spirit touched him and then went back to where Luis stood, forming a circle around him.
Ryder took a deep breath and looked toward Leah. She had her arms up, protecting the Pack, but her eyes were wide. She kept her attention split between him and what was in front of her, and he knew she’d get hurt if she kept doing it.
“I’m fine!” he called out over the rush of screams and magic. “Keep up the wall.”
She didn’t look like she believed him, but turned away, her attention fully on her magic once again.
Ryder stood on shaking legs, refusing to look weak. The wolves around him were on edge, wanting to fight an enemy they couldn’t see. The witches were focused on hurting one another, a war amongst themselves brewing.
The spirits that had taken some of his energy continued to swirl around Luis and his wife Darynda before finally attacking. The couple screamed as they fell to their knees, the unseen enemy doing their jobs. He wasn’t sure why the spirits were doing this, why they were helping, but they were.
He hadn’t known he could ask for help like this, and he knew damn well the cost had been his energy. He hoped nothing more. He wasn’t the one controlling them, and he knew only a spirit witch had the ability to even try that. But he had asked, and they had helped.
You’ll pay for that, useless pup.
His uncle shouted in his ear, and his wolf growled. Ryder ignored it; instead, coming to Leah’s side. The witches in front of him were either down for the count or fighting their final battles of the day. Smoke wafted in the room, and puddles of water dotted the floor and mixed with earth to make mud that spoke of magic and death.
“You can stop, baby,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around Leah’s waist. “You saved us.”
Leah let her hands fall, and the wall of water slid to the ground, leaving waves until it finally settled into a pool. Finn came to Leah’s other side and the rest of the wolves guarded their backs.
“I…what happened?” she asked, a frown on her face.
Ryder let out a breath. He knew she wasn’t talking about the magic that occurred, but rather what had happened to him. He really wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, but he knew he’d run out of time.
“Let’s go home first,” he said softly.
“You’ll have to explain it to all of us at some point,” Finn challenged.
Ryder let out a small growl but didn’t counter. “Let’s get home.” He turned toward the mayhem in front of them. “When you get your act together and find yourselves ready to discuss the future, contact us.”
The female witch that had condemned Luis earlier—the pregnant one who had tried to help during the attack—nodded. “We have a few things to clean up.” She gestured toward Luis’s and Dayrnda’s prone bodies on the floor. “Thank you for understanding.”
He squeezed Leah to his side. Her father had died, not by Ryder’s hand, but by his command. She might not know it yet, but he would have to tell her soon. He’d have to tell all of them soon. Secrets only led to pain and death. He’d known that as a child, and yet hadn’t told them of his gift until he’d almost lost Leah.
Now he’d have to face the consequences.
As well as the woman he knew he’d have to leave for good. Because his so-called gift had just killed her father and hurt Ryder in the process. There was no way he could allow Leah to be hurt from it…even if walking away killed him every moment in the process.
****
Leah stood by the partially frozen lake and breathed out, the air so cold she could see her breath. Her body ached from the use of her magic, and her heart ached from the lack of use when it came to feeling.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
Maybe she used her heart too much.
Her father was dead. As was the woman he’d married. She officially had no blood relations left in the world. She was alone, far more alone than she’d thought she was when Roland had died.
Yet it wasn’t because the man who had hated her more than he’d loved his Coven was dead. It was because the man she loved, the man the goddess had blessed her with held back. He not only held back his emotions, his feelings for her, but he also held back his secrets.
She had a feeling that the reason he held back, the reason he refused to mate with her, had to do with whatever the hell had happened in that Coven meeting. Ryder had done something. He’d been in pain, she’d seen the agony on his face, and yet he wouldn’t tell her why.
Luis and Darynda were dead, but she didn’t know how it had happened. The witches thought one of them had done it, a stray spark of fire or water or earth. But it hadn’t been, the wolves knew that.
Ryder had done something to end the lives of those who had not only threatened and hurt her but had endangered the entire Pack.
He would have to come clean soon, she knew, but he hadn’t done so yet. It had only been a few hours since the incident, but he’d remained quiet about it.
And she hated it. She was so…angry. She deserved far better than a man who hid himself from her, especially if it hurt them both. She held fault, as well. She’d stayed away to keep him safe, and yet he’d almost been hurt anyway. The man who had tried to kill her for so many years was gone, as was that particular threat to Ryder’s life.
She’d fought to keep alive for so long, and now she would fight for something more.
For Ryder.
But first, he’d have to tell her his secrets. Because it hurt that he didn’t trust her enough to reveal them.
She was on Pack land, a stranger who had brought trouble to their door. Yet they hadn’t pushed her away. Neither had Ryder for that matter, though he’d still kept his distance. Maybe one day Gideon would bring her into the Pack as a member, even if she weren’t mated to Ryder. Could she do that? Could she be part of a Pack where she would be forced to see the one man she loved every day and not be able to mate with him? They may have told each other they would try to be with one another without the bond, but as time moved on, she wasn’t sure she could do that.
She was better than that. Worth more than that.
And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it?
She’d finally found her worth. She’d protected the Pack and saved them all. And now she had to save herself.
A cold wind slid over her skin and she shivered. She’d come to the lake because her body needed the water, even if it were frozen over in most places. With just her touch, she could melt the ice and have herself a nice warm bath.
Determined to wash away some of the day, she stripped to her skin and sent out a pulse of magic. The edge of the lake closest to her began to melt, the crack of ice loud in the silence, echoing off the large trees. The Talon land would make any witch proud. Easy access to earth and water with an immense history of caring for the territory and land. While many of the forests around the country had been pilfered, the goddess had aided the wolves with their dens, and within those dens, the land reflected its true nature and connection to the earth and to the moon goddess.
The Talon land called to her, much like Ryder did.
She only hoped that both wouldn’t scar her for life.
The man would push her away while the land might reject her. Everything else had in the past, and she wouldn’t put it past the moon goddess to reject her c
laim, or rather, her need, of the Talon land.
Leah dipped one foot into the lake and sighed. While the rest of the lake either had ice over it or had a slushy look to it, her magic had created an almost hot spring where it had pulsed. She moaned deeply as she submerged herself into the water up to her neck. The lake called to her magic and she let it soak into her skin. Normally, she wouldn’t waste her magic on making her own hot tub within a natural lake, but the water would replenish her quickly. And frankly, she needed time to think. Time to heal.
Her magic tingled along her skin, the water soothing her soul yet not her anger.
When she sensed rather than saw Ryder approach, she kept her eyes closed and her back to him. The sound of clothes rustling reached her ears and she dunked her head under the water, needing the moment to clear her thoughts.
As she stood, breathing in fresh air and sliding her hands through her hair, Ryder’s arms went around her waist. She didn’t stiffen, but neither did she lean into his hold like she wanted to.
The anger beneath the surface didn’t burst through, but it was there. Waiting.
“You look beautiful in the moonlight,” Ryder said softly, his breath warm on her neck. “That sounds like a line. I’m sorry. What I mean is, you look like a goddess in your own right. Add the magic you used to create your own winter oasis…you stun me. You are so powerful, Leah. Brilliance beneath a soft surface. I…you take my breath away.”
She pressed her lips together then turned in his arms. When she opened her eyes, she let out a breath. He stared down at her, his eyes intense. It wasn’t his wolf there with her, but the man. The man wanted her, and the man had said the words that, at any other moment, would make her fall for him once more.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him, wanted to ask him if he was okay from the attack before. She had so much she wanted to tell him, but instead of any of that, she let the anger come through…the anger and the hurt.
Mated in Mist Page 14
