Chapter 59 Pack Bonds
Ryder POV
I watch Jolie eat the stew Doc made, her hands shaking so badly she can barely hold the spoon. She's trying to hide it, but I see everything when it comes to her.
"Stop staring." She doesn't look up from her bowl. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine." I sit down beside her on the log. "You look like you went ten rounds with Knox."
"Feels like it too." She manages a weak smile. "Elena doesn't believe in taking it easy."
Knox appears from the darkness beyond the firelight, materializing like a ghost. "Perimeter's secure. No signs of trouble yet."
"Yet." Doc stirs the pot of stew. "That's the word that keeps me up at night."
"Elena said a week." Jolie sets down her half-finished bowl. "That's enough time to prepare, right?"
"Depends on what we're preparing for." Knox drops down across from us. "She say anything else about this vision?"
"Just that hunters are coming." I put my arm around Jolie and feel her lean into me gratefully. "Doesn't take a genius to guess it's her old pack."
"Or the Council." Doc ladles more stew into his bowl. "Word about a moonfire wolf has probably spread by now. They'll want to control her or kill her."
"Over my dead body," I growl.
"That might be the plan." Knox pulls out his knife and starts sharpening it again. The rhythmic scrape of stone on steel fills the quiet. "We're three wolves against whoever's coming. Not great odds."
"Four wolves." Jolie straightens. "I can fight now. Elena's teaching me."
"You can barely stay awake," I point out gently.
"Today was rough." She meets my eyes with stubborn determination. "Tomorrow will be better. And the day after that, better still. By the time they get here, I'll be ready."
I want to believe her. But I also saw her stumble back into camp looking half-dead, and the thought of her in actual combat makes my wolf snarl with protective fury.
"We need a plan." Doc sets aside his bowl. "Elena's wards will slow them down, but they won't stop a determined attack. We need defensive positions, escape routes, contingencies."
"Agreed." Knox points his knife at the trees. "This clearing is too open. We need fallback positions in the forest where numbers won't matter as much."
As they talk strategy, I feel Jolie's weight growing heavier against my side. Her eyes drift closed, and within minutes, she's asleep sitting up.
"She's out." I shift carefully to support her better. "Long day."
"She's strong." Doc watches her with something like fatherly pride. "Most wolves would have cracked under this pressure."
"She's been cracking her whole life." I brush her hair away from her face. "She just kept putting herself back together."
Knox sheathes his knife. "You really think she can learn enough in a week?"
"She has to." The alternative is unthinkable. "What choice do we have?"
"We could run." Doc says it quietly. "Take her deeper into the mountains, keep moving until whoever's hunting her gives up."
"They won't give up." I look down at Jolie's sleeping face. "And running means never stopping, never having a home. She deserves better than that."
"Then we stand and fight." Knox's expression hardens. "We've faced worse odds before."
"Have we?" I meet his gaze. "We're talking about potentially facing Council wolves. Elite fighters with silver weapons and no mercy."
"Then we make them regret coming after us." Knox leans forward. "Look, we all know how this probably ends. But at least we go down fighting for something that matters."
"Nobody's going down." I say it with more confidence than I feel. "We hold them off long enough for Jolie to finish her training, then we disappear before reinforcements arrive."
Doc nods slowly. "It could work. If everything goes perfectly."
"When does anything go perfectly?" Knox snorts. "But yeah, it's better than nothing."
We fall silent, and the only sounds are the fire crackling and the wind in the trees. Jolie shifts against me, making a small noise in her sleep.
"She talks about you sometimes." Doc breaks the quiet. "When you're not around. Says you saved her life."
"She saved her own life by running." I stroke her hair absently. "I just gave her somewhere to run to."
"That's more than most would have done." He stands and stretches. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we start building defenses. If hunters are coming, we'll give them hell when they arrive."
Knox rises too. "I'll take first watch. Doc, you take second. Ryder, you get some sleep with your mate. You'll need your strength."
"Thanks." I carefully gather Jolie in my arms and stand. She doesn't wake, just curls against my chest.
The cabin Elena gave us is small but comfortable. I lay Jolie on the bed and pull a blanket over her, then sit in the chair nearby, too restless to sleep.
Through the window, I can see the mountains rising in the distance, dark shapes against darker sky. Somewhere out there, enemies are coming. People who want to hurt the woman I love, who want to take her away or worse.
My wolf snarls inside me, pacing and furious. Let them come. We'll tear them apart.
But the human part of me knows it's not that simple. Knows that violence might not be enough this time. Knows that losing Jolie would destroy me in ways no physical wound ever could.
"Ryder?" Her voice is soft but sleepy. "Come to bed."
I look over and see her watching me with half-open eyes.
"Thought you were asleep."
"I was." She pats the space beside her. "But the bed's cold without you."
I can't resist that. I strip down to my boxers and climb in beside her, and she immediately curls into my side with a contented sigh.
"What were you thinking about?" she asks.
"How to keep you safe." I run my hand down her back. "How to make sure nobody ever hurts you again."
"You can't protect me from everything." Her fingers trace patterns on my chest. "But you can be here with me while I learn to protect myself."
"Is that enough?" The question comes out more vulnerable than I intended.
"It's everything." She tilts her head to look at me. "I don't need you to fight my battles, Ryder. I just need you to believe I can fight them."
Her words echo what Elena said earlier. Stop being her protector. Start being her partner.
"I do believe in you." I cup her face. "You're the strongest person I know."
"Then trust me." She kisses me softly. "Trust that I can do this. That we can do this together."
The kiss starts gentle, her lips brushing mine , but there's a spark there, a heat that's been building between us since the moment she leaned into me by the fire.
My wolf stirs, hungry for more, and I deepen it, my tongue slipping past her lips to taste her—sweet and wild, like the forest after rain. She moans softly into my mouth, her body pressing closer, and suddenly her hands are everywhere, tugging at the waistband of my boxers with insistent fingers.
"Jolie," I murmured against her lips. "You need rest."
"I need you," she whispers back, her voice husky with want. She shifts, straddling my hips in one fluid motion, her thighs clamping around me like a vice. The thin fabric of her shirt does nothing to hide the heat radiating from her core, and I groan as she grinds down, feeling her wetness soak through my boxers.
I grip her hips, guiding her movements, but she takes control, her hands splaying across my chest as she rocks against me. "Let me," she says, eyes gleaming in the moonlight filtering through the window. She peels off her shirt, revealing her full breasts, nipples already hard and begging for attention. My mouth waters at the sight, and I sit up just enough to capture one in my mouth, sucking hard, swirling my tongue around the peak.
She gasps, her fingers tangling in my hair, pulling me closer. "Yes, Ryder... like that." Her hips buck as I switch to the other breast, nipping gently with my teeth before soothing with my tongue. She's panting now, her body trembling not from exhaustion but from the building fire between us.
With a swift motion, she undoes my boxers, freeing my cock, hard and throbbing for her. She strokes me once, twice, her grip firm and teasing, before positioning herself above me.