Chapter 32: Chapter Thirty-Two

If there was one thing that Ryder Oscura detested more than torturing his victims at the island’s dungeon, it was publicly addressing his fellow pack members along with the slaves at the main hall.

He had to address them according to the way Lorenzo Oscura, the Alpha Supreme, mandated.

Ryder could not address his people the way he wanted, even though he hated the way the humans—or slaves, as they were called—congregated at the back of the hall, their backs pressed against the walls, while the werewolves sat majestically on the benches, oozing superiority complex that had the humans cowering in their shoes.

He detested every single bit of this power play, but he had to play by the rules. Otherwise, the humans’ lives, along with his, would be forfeit.

The humans might detest him now, but it was better than the alternative— them loving him for being their savior while also risking their lives.

So, even though it physically pained him to turn a blind eye against the ridicule and often misguided brutality shown to the humans, he could not show his hand, or all his hard work would be for nothing.

Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm down, Ryder blocked out any reactions as he scanned the crowd, searching for the one who had yet to arrive.

A sharp jolt of awareness hit him square in the chest as he felt her presence swirling around him in a thick cloud of jasmine and honeysuckle.

Her essence grew sharper with each passing second as she drew towards him, towards the biggest shock of her life.

It wouldn’t be long now before she arrived and caught him in his lie.

While he had simply hid the fact that he was the Alpha’s son, he knew that lying by omission was still a lie.

The truth about his heritage—another thing that was keeping them wide apart.

Ryder could practically taste her in the stale air, feel her heat wrapping around his body like a protective shield against his enemies, and sense her unease like she was right next to him.

He wanted to run to her and bring an end to whatever was making her uneasy and make her feel better, but he couldn’t.

Not right now, at least.

It was alarming, the way he was now acutely aware of her as if she was a part of him that he hadn’t known had been missing.

It would be ridiculous to think of her as his mate

Because werewolves didn’t mate with humans.

Never have, and never will.

Yes, some wolves were involved in inter-species relationships, as was encouraged in other packs, but the relationships have never lasted, especially when it was with a human. And none of the relationships had resulted in a proper mating bond.

So, it was a long shot to think that she was his fated mate when she was a human, even if his wolf seemed to think otherwise.

Even when he suspected that she was something other, something not entirely human.

Ryder’s wolf senses zeroed in on her, as he blocked out every single sound around him, honing in on the sounds of her footsteps as she walked alongside someone with much heavier footsteps.

A male, by all indications.

Ryder’s nostrils flared, his jaw clenching and unclenching in anger, as he waited for her to appear before him, as well as whoever was in her company.

‘Mine!’ his wolf called out, threatening to initiate the shift and burst out of Ryder’s body, without his consent.

‘Heel!’ he snapped back, momentarily taking his attention off of Saffron to focus on his unruly wolf.

Ever since the night he had found her floating in the ocean with her throat crushed, he’d had a hard time controlling his wolf, which was a huge problem for him if he intended to become the next Alpha Supreme of the Blood Moon Pack.

He was already an Alpha by right, but it didn’t mean that the Alpha Supreme, or any of his pack members, would hesitate to put him down if he went rabid.

Just the thought of being put down was enough to have his wolf mellowing down a bit, even though it still raged inside him, giving him a splitting migraine he didn’t have time to deal with.

He knew what his wolf wanted, but Ryder wasn’t sure whether or not it was probable.

He didn’t even want to think about the impossibility of it.

Taking another deep breath, ignoring the looks Hael—the Alpha’s third in command and new Beta—threw his way, and turned around once again to face the crowd, stopping short when his gaze inexplicably found hers.

Even while wearing the mandated black dress that all the female slaves wore, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered. From her light brown eyes to her high cheekbones, down to her pert nose and full pink lips, she was everything he never thought he wanted in a female.

Her head full of silvery white hair should have been a turnoff for him, but instead, it was one of her unique features that drew him in.

He watched as her gaze slid from him to Hael before it returned to him, the realization of who he was hitting her squarely like a one-two punch to the face.

He saw the pain about his betrayal flick through her irises before she squared her shoulders and went to stand in line along with the rest of the humans.

The glimmer of pain in her eyes before she had looked away would forever haunt his dreams.

And it was that same look that had bolstered his courage and made him stand tall as he addressed them all, channeling his inner Alpha to command the room and bend their wills to his.

He told them about the imminent threats they were facing from the other mafia gangs—addressing them as gangs instead of packs because only a select few humans knew the truth about what they were—before he went on to tell them about the assassins that had been sent after him and how he had dealt with every single one of them while never taking his mind and, occasionally, his eyes off of her.

Hael cleared his throat from beside him, letting Ryder know that he had backtracked from his mission. And it was then that he realized that he had messed up because now his little mishap had caught the man’s attention and set Saffron on his path more than before.

‘Fuck!’ he thought, gritting his teeth inwardly before continuing with his speech.

When he was done and the crowd had begun to trickle out—werewolves first—Ryder let out a loud whistle as he pointed at Saffron with a stern expression.

“You there, slave girl!” he called out, using his best imitation of Ivan as he stared down at Saffron with a lascivious expression. “My cabin now!”

He turned and began to walk away, expecting her to follow, only stopping once until he heard her footsteps behind him before continuing on his way, ignoring the catcalls and whistles that followed them.

It was not unusual for the wolves to dally with the slaves on occasion, and Ryder was notorious for his carnal activities with the females on the island, even though most of the stories were not true.

Still, this plan of his would give Saffron a little cover if Hael thought that Ryder’s interest in her did not go beyond warming his bed.

Her fists attacking him, however, were not what he had imagined he would come in contact with once they had made it into the safety of his cabin.