Chapter Sixty-Four

Saffron paced the length of Ryder’s living room, anxiously waiting for his return, her mind racing a mile a minute, as she came up with different reasons why he hasn’t returned yet.

It has been hours since they had heard the warning bell ring through out the island, and all she could do right now was imagine what sort of trouble he had met, when he had shifted and ran towards the border.

Now, she wished that she had gone with him, because being there beats this anxiousness that waiting for him has wrought upon her.

She paused, and flexed her finger muscles to clear away the pins and needles she was feeling there, before she resumed her pacing, her wolf just as restless as she was.

This was the first time she was feeling her wolf, but due to the anxiety, she couldn’t even muster the enthusiasm she was supposed to be feeling, at the feel of the steady thrum of connection between the two of them.

Another thing that made her restless was Myra. Whether her eyes were closed or opened, she could still see her broken body lying on the forest floor, as she bled all over it, while her body tried and failed to heal her.

If she focused enough, she could still hear Myra’s ragged breathing, and her pleas for mercy; pleas Saffron had chosen to ignore, in her quest for vengeance.

While she had broken down, and told Ryder everything, right from her capture on the night she had seen him getting a blowjob from her Myra, the torture she had endured at the hands of his father, and Alaric Vaughn, her encounter with Alex Vaughn, her near-death experience at the cliff where Ivan had followed her and fallen to his death, down to all of her encounters with Myra, before the one today, she hadn’t told him about Myra’s last moments, when she had pleaded with Saffron to let her go.

The fact that she had let Myra’s pleas fall on deaf ears made her feel like a monster, a monster that was her own creation, even though Ryder had blamed it on the circumstances that had brought her to the island; circumstances by the name of his father, and the torture he had subjected her to.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that it would at least help keep her calm, until her mate returned.

It didn’t.

It did the opposite actually.

She gripped the edges of the love seat, the tips of her fingers digging into its lush fabric, and creating tiny holes in it.

Her claws extended, ripping through the fabric, causing her to groan in irritation, as she yanked her hands out.

She was still trying to get control of her shifting, but with all the things going on, it seemed to be the least of her problem.

It was like everything was happening backwards when it came to her.

Her wolf had been dormant for as long as she had been alive, only coming out to help her when she was in grievous danger, giving her supernatural strength and healing abilities.

But now that she finally knew that she was a werewolf, her wolf was being stubborn. It was like there was still a disconnect between the two of them, and Saffron hated it.

She wanted to feel whole, wanted to experience that feeling of completion and unity that Ryder told her about, when a wolf shifter shifted into their wolf form for the first time.

A loud rustling at the front door brought her back to the here and now, making her head snap towards it in attention, her body tensing up in alertness, before she caught a whiff of Ryder’s scent.

Her body sagged in relief, before she trudged towards the door, opening it and falling into his body, a loud sigh escaping her lips.

She knew that she had been worried about him, but it was only when she had seen him now, that she realized just how worried she had been.

She knew that he was a fierce wolf shifter, but she also knew that even the most fiercest warriors could be felled, as was evidenced by how easily she had taken down both Alaric Vaughn and Ivan Smith, without even trying hard. Perhaps, luck had been on her side then, but it was true all the same.

“What happened?” she asked, when she pulled back to assess him for any injury.

“We were attacked by silver moon wolves,” Ryder replied, stepping into his cabin, and pulling her inside with him.

“But why would they attack you now?” she queried, her brows furrowing in confusion. “I thought you said they have been keeping to themselves. What changed?”

“Maybe they found about you,” he posed the sentence as a question, as he contemplated what she had said.

“If…” she swallowed thickly, her eyes conveying the fear she felt, which she couldn’t voice out.

“You have nothing to worry out, Saffron. You are my mate, and your safety is my number one priority. You never have to worry about your safety, for as long as I am alive.”

Saffron nodded, not contradicting his statement, but also knowing that he wouldn’t always be around to save her.

One thing she knew for sure was that they were stronger together than apart. And as long as they were together, nothing and no one was going to harm her, or him.

She encircled her arms around his torso, and rested her head upon his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart, a calming sensation overwhelming her, making her release another sigh.

Come what may, they would face it together.

And may the moons have mercy upon their enemies, because they wouldn’t.