Chapter 35 35. Daredevil
Tabitha’s POV
We take turns sketching across the stone wall, passing the marker back and forth. We layer over each other’s drawings like we’re trying to outdo the last. Reed snickers while drawing an alien with three eyes and a meteor shaped like a dick. And then, there’s also something he claims is a “space wolf,” which I honestly think is quite cute. It’s the only decent thing he drew. We keep laughing until my stomach hurts and I’m wiping tears from my eyes. I lean over the narrow window to catch my breath.
Reed stands beside me, quiet for a moment but there’s that boyish grin on his lips. We gaze at the forest below that stretches out in every direction, dark beneath the low roll of clouds.
Reed stands beside me, quiet for a moment, but there’s that boyish grin tugging at his mouth. We both gaze out at the forest below that stretches far and dark beneath the heavy clouds.
“I used to come here a lot,” he says, resting his forearms on the window’s ledge. “I’d smoke, drink, and try to forget my last name.”
“Did it work?” I glance at him.
He snorts. “Not really. The Aldair name sticks like a rash. It gets suffocating sometimes. The house. The name. All of it. There are nights I come up here just to breathe.”
I stay quiet for a moment. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. The wind moves through the tower opening, brushing past us like it’s listening too.
“I get that. The estate feels... big. But never empty. Like even when no one’s talking, you can still hear them,” I admit, because it’s true. Sure, the mansion is ten times bigger than our small apartment back in the mainland, but it also comes with a lot of baggage. Like living in the same roof with the Alpha of the Crystal Ridge pack, and having to abide by his rules and of his pack.
I have to present myself in such a way that the pack will deem acceptable. If that’s how I feel as someone who just joined the family, then I can’t imagine how Reed and his brothers feel as people who were born into it—as sons who have to live their whole lives fitting into the perfect mold that Alpha Emery expected from them.
It’s funny how I’m starting to sympathize with them now.
Reed lets out a long breath, then straightens up. “At least up here I can draw dicks on my dad’s old war base.”
The laugh comes out of me before I can stop it. “But… won’t he get mad if he finds out?” I ask.
“He probably already knows. His men are constantly changing the locks to this tower anyway. But he knows he can’t actually stop me from coming up here.” He shifts his weight onto his elbows as he leans over the stone bannister, peering out at the treetops below, voice edged with dry amusement. “Honestly, he should be glad I’m wasting my time in this ancient fossil of a tower instead of loitering in active training zones. I’m doing him a favor.”
“Oh—speaking of favors, you owe me one!” I turn to him and nudge his shoulder. “I won the race earlier, remember? Now, pay up.”
He mock-groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Fine. What do you want?”
“I want to ride your bike.” I wiggle my brow and grin.
“Are you serious?” His brows knit in surprise, like he doesn’t expect this is what I’m going to ask of him.
“Yes!”
He lets out a short breath, half a scoff. “You don’t even know how to ride.”
“Then teach me,” I insist, undeterred.
Reed looks away for a moment, staring out past the treetops. “You’re not going to drop it, are you?”
I smirk before racing down the spiral staircase. “There’s only one way to find out.”
The night air bites at my skin as we step out of the tower. Reed swings a leg over the bike and starts it. The engine purrs low, then growls as he revs it once, jerking his chin for me to get on.
We ride past the old pier and head further down the hidden trail until we reach the coastal highway. This is where I realize that we’re practically at the edge of the island. The road clings to the mountainside with one side pressed against steep cliffs and the other completely exposed to the vast open sea. There are no streetlights here, just white reflective posts and a crumbling guardrail that looks too flimsy to stop anything going fast. The ocean stretches endlessly to the left while the road winds ahead in long, twisting curves that seem to melt into the horizon.
This place is the perfect spot to practice my not-so-polished driving skills.
The road narrows as Reed slows the bike and pulls over to a stretch where nothing interrupts the view but the endless black ocean. The highway is empty, and the only sound is the engine ticking in the cool night air. He cuts the throttle, shifts his weight, and looks over his shoulder.
“Your turn,” he says.
My turn.
I hesitate for a moment. Suddenly, his enormous bike looks more intimidating now that we’re in the open. All the courage I have felt earlier is slowly dissipating out of me.
But Reed patiently waits, already swinging a leg over to stand beside the bike. I take a deep breath and pat myself.
You ask for this. Is what I told myself.
We trade places, and I settle into the seat while Reed moves in behind me. His arms rest loosely around my waist while his knees brackets mine. I grip the handles and focus on the unfamiliar weight of the machine beneath me. This bike is so huge, my feet are barely reaching the pedals for dear life.
“Throttle here. Clutch on the left. Balance with your legs. Lean with the bike,” he instructs, his breath brushing my ear.
I nod. Let’s go.
I start slow, keeping the wheels steady on the dark ribbon of road. My hands are tense, and my shoulders ache from the effort of not oversteering. Reed stays close and his grip adjusts just enough to guide me through the first few turns.
The air sharpens as the bike picks up speed. My nerves shift into something else entirely when the wind pushes against my helmet and rushes past my body. I hear myself laugh, short at first, then freer.
“Holy shit…” my voice comes in short gasps as I drive us faster and faster.
Speeding up in an empty and seemingly endless road feels thrilling. There is nothing to stop us, no rules to follow. I can pick up whatever speed I want and no one is here to bat an eye. I’ve never felt this free in my life.
“Look at that… Aren’t you a fast learner, princess.” Reed sounds amused as he leans in closer, his voice barely audible over the roar of the wind and engine.
“I know right,” I shoot back, grinning under my helmet.
The road blurs beneath us, nothing but a streak of dark asphalt stretching through the quiet countryside. Trees rush past on either side, their silhouettes flickering like ghosts beneath the moonlight. Every bump in the road jolts a new wave of laughter from my chest. Reed shifts slightly behind me, probably grinning just as wide, but I don’t look back. I’m too caught in the rush of the moment—of doing something that feels entirely mine. And strangely, Reed still fits perfectly in it.
The sky above is ink-dark, the path ahead barely visible, but somehow, I’m not scared. I lean into the curves without thinking, trusting the instinct I didn’t know I had, chasing the flicker of something wild and electric that’s taken hold of me.
A few more bends, and I’m tempted to keep going forever but then Reed taps twice against my hip.
“Alright, ease down a bit,” he says, his voice low behind me. “Pull over by that turnout.”
I slow us to a crawl and steer off the road, following his cue. We roll into a narrow patch just off the shoulder, half-covered by trees, the road behind us fading into quiet. The engine softens into a purr before I kill it completely.
Before I can ask why he made me park here, Reed swings one leg off and reaches into his jacket. He pulls out a folded strip of cloth and holds it up, letting it dangle from two fingers.
“Time to level up, princess.” A slow grin tugs at his mouth.
“What’s that?” My brow furrows.
“A blindfold,” he answers almost proudly.
“Why the hell do you have a blindfold in your jacket?”
“Because I thought it’d be fun to try something a little crazy and see if you’d go along with it.”
“I’m not sure I like where this is going…”
“Oh, you will.” Reed lets out a laugh, and nothing about it sounds safe. I just know he’s already scheming something reckless. Reed shifts behind me, and I can feel the grin in his voice before he even speaks. “I want you to wear the blindfold while we ride. You keep your hand steady on the throttle, and I’ll do all the steering.”
“Are you nuts?” I jerk my head toward him, nearly knocking into his helmet.
This is not just reckless, this is dangerous! And he sounds perfectly excited about it.
“What? It’s the dead of the night. The streets are empty. This is the perfect opportunity to do something insane.”
“Yeah, if it doesn’t end with my body flying into a ditch and you explaining that to my mom.” I shiver at the thought.
Reed barks out a laugh. “Relax. That won’t happen. I could drive this thing with my eyes closed.”
“Wonderful. That makes one of us,” I mutter.
“This isn’t even the first time I’ve done this.”