"He said that I wouldn't have to go back to you." I whisper burying my head into his chest holding me to him. "He said that if I was good, I could stay with him and I wouldn't have to go back to you." Ryder doesn't reply but I feel his body relax a little. His hand slides from my waist up over my back, where my heart is. "Ryder, she usually shows signs of calming down by now." Cyrus says from the door where he's stood with Theo. "You need to do it now, whether you want to or not." I feel the growl that Ryder replies with against my check and his breathe move from my temple to over the exposed left side of my neck, that's only visible from him playing with my hair. "Her breathing is getting worse. She won't live long if she doesn't calm down enough." Theo's voice is angry and loud. When Ryder's arms are wrapped around me like they are, everything means nothing in my mind even my breathing that is at the point of being unbearable. I can feel Ryder's hand still moving over my back as he argues back with my two guards. Their voices grow in level and further from English by the second. I'm fighting to get air into my lungs now, so much so that weird noises are escaping past my lips to do so. The room goes quiet when that happens and I feel Ryder press a kiss at the base of my throat, just above my collarbone. My shaking is growing worse and Ryder's arm wraps back around my waist while his other one that was running through my hair comes down to lock around the back of my neck. "Relax as much as you can Lottie." He whispers pressing another kiss to my neck. "I'm sorry baby. This is going to hurt." His canines sink into my skin the second he finishes speaking. The pain is horrible. Worse than what I've had before. When I scream, trying to pull back away from him, his grip tightens and he holds me in closer to him, his teeth sinking deeper into my skin. I feel something running through my veins at the contact he's giving me. It's not painful like the bite is but it's different. It's like a liquid heat coursing through my body, changing the way my body feels and the affect Ryder's touch has on me. When Ryder's lips pull back his tongue darts out to lick over the bite and the blood that I felt running down my throat slows. His lips press another kiss over the area and I sigh out in pleasure shifting against his lap. He's still holding me in close to him and finally I can feel my breathing even out and it takes less than a couple of seconds for it to return to normal. More than normal, I can feel it evening out enough that soon I'll fall back to sleep. Ryder moves his hand from the back of my neck. His fingers move to dance delicately down the side of my face. My eyes meet his for a second before they drop close. I realise know what was behind the pain he just caused. He continues to hold me securely in his arms even as he somehow manages to get up from the ground without jostling me too much. He's taking me back over to the bed and he's soft as he lowers me down onto the mattress. He pulls the sheets up to cover my now cold body and sits back down next to my hip. His hand comes up over my neck and his fingers move over the bite. I moan at the shocks it sends through me. "You lied." I whisper, not opening my eyes to see what his reaction is. "Lottie," he sighs, moving his hand away from me to quickly for me to grab. "You said you hadn't found your mate. But you did, you found me." When I open my eyes back up, I can see that he isn't even looking at me. "You have been through so much Lottie. You're more than my mate. I know that right now you can't handle what comes with it." His eyes come back to look at mine and I can see the water pooling in the corners. "Ryder?" I question taking his hand. "Lottie, please don't." he groans. "Sleep, I'll explain all this to you in the morning." "You'll stay with me." I beg more than ask. "Lottie," he shakes his head with a sigh. "Please." He shakes his head at me again but he slips his shirt of before he slides down into the bed next to me. I rest my head down against his bare chest when he moves in closer to me. One of my legs twists in between his as he rolls onto his side, holding me against his chest so much of my skin making contact with his. "You, beautiful, are going to be my undoing. I'll do anything to make sure you're happy and safe." He presses another kiss to my neck over his claim, and when he goes to do it again I twist my neck ignoring the pain I still feel from it to catch his lips. The feeling I get from it is so much more than what I felt this morning. He seems shocked by my sudden movement but he doesn't pull away from the kiss, he just slides his hand up over my hip. When he pulls back he looks down at me with the most joy I've ever seen in his eyes before. "Get some sleep baby. A lot is going to happen tomorrow." He says pressing a kiss to my fore head before he tucks it into my chest. "I think, I love you Ryder." I whisper taking in a breath of his scent and reviling in the warmth that he has. "I already do," he whispers back, "sleep, my love."