Was he going to confront me? Would he drag me into one of the many empty rooms and demand I acknowledge him? Or would he not say a word and just kiss me while tearing off my clothes?
The third option was what I was secretly hoping for. Was it responsible? No. Did I care? Also no.
But Ryker didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he crashed to a halt and stared at me, his silver hair tumbling around his face. Pain shot through my chest when I met his eyes. In the time I’d known Ryker, he’d looked at me with rage, frustration, desire, and something I wasn’t willing to put a name to yet.
At this moment, it was none of those things. Only pain.
“Ryker.” His name was a broken word on my lips.
I stepped forward. He stepped back.
My chest ruptured like someone had shoved a sword through it.
Without a word, Ryker spun and raced down the hall towards the stairs. Cade and Bastian stalked out of the room and called after him.
“What happened?” I asked numbly before latching onto Bastian. “What did you do?”
Cade could be a frustrating asshole, but Bastian was the one more likely to cause the pain I’d seen in Ryker’s expression. Panic gripped me. I’d spent the night in Bastian’s room. Nothing had happened, but still. Had he told Ryker? Knowing Bastian, he would have phrased it in a way to make it seem more important than it had been. I mean, it wasn’t like we’d fucked or anything.
It would have been less complicated if you had, an unhelpful thought echoed through my mind.
I needed Samara. I needed Cali. My two best friends could have helped me figure this out. Because how was it that I hadn’t so much as kissed Bastian but he occupied so many of my thoughts? And why did my heart feel like it was breaking at the way Ryker had looked at me?
How had I let things get so messy? I was smarter than this, damn it.
This wasn’t my fault. Or at least not entirely.
Before I knew what I was doing, I’d closed the distance between me and Bastian. My hands slapped his chest as I shoved him against the wall. “What did you do?” I asked again, this time with a growl underlying my words.
“Don’t go soft on me now, Princess,” he said coldly. “You are not his nor is he yours. I was merely reminding him of that. You should be thanking me.”
My knee slammed into his groin.
“Thanks, asshole.” I whipped around and started after Ryker.
Cade’s hand caught my forearm. I glared down at it, and he released me immediately, holding up his hands to show he wasn’t a threat. “You can’t go after him, Rynn. Night is falling. It’s too dangerous. If Ryker doesn’t want to be found, you’ll never find him. He’s been on his own after dark before. He’ll be fine.”
“What if he runs into one of the new monsters?” I argued. “With how close we are to the mountains, you know that’s a possibility.”
I saw the war raging in Cade’s eyes. He might’ve been putting up a calm front, but I knew he was worried about Ryker. Cade had a protective streak a mile wide for the few people he gave a shit about.
“I’ll find him,” Bastian rasped.
“You will do nothing!” I turned around, my fist already flying, only to be caught by Bastian.
“I’ll give you one hit,” he grunted, dropping my hand. “But not two. Go sit down while I drag the pup back.”
Well, someone had a death wish.
I didn’t entirely mean to summon them, but when I raised my hand to point at him, an axe was already in it. Bastian went still as he took in the weapon, and I felt Cade do the same where he stood behind me.
“What have I told you about giving me orders?” The promise of violence coated my words. “I can find him faster than either of you.”
For a fraction of a second, Bastian’s gaze flicked to my chest, as if he could see the thread that bound my soul to Ryker’s. He knew, I realized. Was that what the fight had been about? I shook my head slightly and backed up at an angle so I could see both him and Cade.
“Don’t do this,” Cade said calmly. “Ryker can survive out there. You can’t. Stay here and we’ll go look for him.”
“Maybe you should stop underestimating what I’m capable of.” Every muscle in my body tensed, waiting. Cade was a strong fighter, better than me, but he was too slow to catch up with Ryker. Bastian could do it, but given how pissed off Ryker was at him, I didn’t see that going well.
