Alpha Ryker's Little Witch

Tamara's POV:

"It's been three days, Jayson. Two whole extremely long nights of abandonment." I blinked away tears of fury and frustration.

"Tamara, don't you think you're being a bit dramatic? I mean, aren't you coming from his office right now?"

"Don't you dare insinuate that I am having a petty fit, Jayson." I pointed at him with my left index finger in a huff. "He hasn't said a word to me for three days now. I-I can't pretend it doesn't tear me apart anymore." Guilt had been a part of me since he dragged Theo to the dungeons for torture.

"I will tell you this as my friend and not as my Luna." He walked closer to me, his voice taking a clear, earnest tone.

"You picked holes in his strength as the Alpha. As if that wasn't enough, you disparaged his ability as your mate to keep you safe." His words provided the last hit that finally broke my illusions. The false belief that I had been holding onto about all of this being Ryker's fault dissipated.

"I see the pain in your eyes, Tamara. You want to blame him for this conflict between you two, but deep down, you know it is all your doing. You are the one person who is supposed to believe in him no matter what, but you did the exact opposite." My eyes lids blinked every second to get rid of the tears.

"Find him, talk to him, do your part as his mate. Or else you will have a declared death sentence to anyone who crosses his path, even in the slightest wrong way." With that, he squeezed my shoulder, then left me standing in the middle of our living room.

My wolf remained silent, agreeing with Jayson and also mad at me for keeping her away from her mate. I felt sorry for Theo and the torment he had gone through for the last 3 days. Ryker hadn't stepped foot in our house, and he had blocked me out of his mind. He must have been taking all his dissatisfaction out on the poor man.

I picked my trench coat from the couch and draped it on my shoulders. Walking with determination to make things right, I closed the front door behind me. All the while, I wiped my eyes of any evidence of my previous sobbing. I ignored Mateo as he followed me to Ryker's office. Ryker made sure that his lead enforcer stayed close by.

Walking through the pack grounds exchanging greetings with the werewolves helped my heart calm a bit. Some nervousness had begun brewing coupled with doubt. I mean, what if Ryker refused to forgive me? What would I do then? "If I may, Luna." Mateo cleared his throat, waiting patiently for my approval to continue speaking. With a single nod, the over 6-foot-tall man opened his mouth. "Everyone can sense a rift between you two, and I heard what Jayson told you. The Alpha will forgive you, that is for sure."

"You don't get it, Mateo. What I said to him is unforgivable."

My wolf scoffed with an "I told you so."

"He mind-links me every now and then to ask how you are doing. I am not a liar, so I tell him everything, including your cries at night. He knows you are on the way to his office and he just ordered every damn warrior out of the place. Now that to me sounds like someone who is ready to talk to you in private."

No words were said after that during the remaining walk. I hoped for my sanity and everyone's sake that he would forgive me. As we entered the office building, I couldn't help but feel like I was wasting my time. The door opened before I even raised my hand to knock. The alpha male stood tall, leaning on the door frame insouciantly.

Even with the proximity, his guard on our bond remained raised up. I couldn't get to his thoughts. I didn't have any idea what kind of emotions he was harboring at that moment. All in all, after that talk with Jayson, I knew I had to try and apologize. "Ryker, you haven't slept in our bed with me for two nights." He sat behind his table, perusing a file as if I wasn't talking.

The blatant brush-off brought forth an indescribable ache in my heart. I was tempted to just walk out and try and survive without the bond, but I knew I could no longer do it.

"That day when you said I was with our child." His eyes snapped up briefly to look at me in nothing but contempt. "My brain was thrown in a state of trepidation. I could only picture my unborn child getting cut out of my womb by Addanc." "Why exactly are you here, Tamara, again?" Indifferent, his tone was similar to his calm exterior. He wasn't affected at all. In fact, he might have enjoyed the privacy that came with him locking me out of his thoughts.

"I came to apologize to you, Ryker. I just can't spend another night alone without you. I need to feel this bond that holds us together. I am not complete without us sharing our emotions. The sleepless nights, the constant worry about your safety when I can't reach out to you. Please, Ryker, forgive me." His eyes remained fixed on the file. I wasn't even sure he was listening to me.

"What I said back then, I-I am so ashamed of myself. I was supposed to believe in you, but in a state of panic, I belittled you. Please take me back, Ryker, I am begging you." The first tear broke free, flowing slowly down my left cheek. "I don't know about you, but what you said about me being weak was absolutely correct. This bond made me weak and soft, but not anymore. Mates make us frail, but I have changed that. Without our feelings and thoughts entwined, I will carry out my duties as the Alpha without no silly disturbances whatsoever." Not even once did he look at me as he drove one spear after another into my heart.

My vision became blurry, a wave of nausea hitting me. My legs suddenly became weak, making me reflexively hold onto the office desk for support. I was suddenly feeling lightheaded, but I wasn't going to give up easily. This was my mate. A bond between a witch and a werewolf, let alone an alpha was unheard of, so there wasn't backing out now. For my sake, I hoped he wasn't planning on rejecting me. "Ryker, please, I want to make it up to you. You..."

"I just made my point clear, Tamara. I do not fancy this bond anymore. Now leave me to carry out my duties." Another wave of nausea hit, pulling me down to the floor at a speed even I couldn't reflexively stop. I readied myself for a fall, but all I heard was a chair scraping on the tiled floor before my mate's arms held me.

As soon as he had steadied me, he retracted his arms and got out of the office. I wiped my angry tears aggressively before marching out into the next room where Mrs. Kagwe remained locked up. Every damn warrior had been previously ordered out of the building, including the one guard that guarded the room.

The door wasn't locked, and so with ease, I opened it. The woman sat there staring at space and humming a soft tune. She didn't even flinch or stop humming when I entered. "Luna," she scoffed.

"I want to make a deal with you." I didn't care anymore about what Ryker would do. He had chosen to push me away. In return, I would make sure I kept everyone in this pack safe. That meant catching Monica first. She and I had a long chat awaiting.

"I will let you out of here now." That made her turn to look at me in pure shock.

"What? You, the Luna, you would let me out when the Alpha ordered me to stay locked up? I am awaiting sentencing, so why this now?"

"Leave that to me. But first, when you get out of here, you will lure your friend to your house. Only when she is locked up again, will I be able to guarantee your total freedom. Now, Mrs. Kagwe, do we have a deal?" She shook her head in disbelief, looking warily at my extended hand in between the silver bars.

"And If I don't?"

"I know Monica has been sneaking in and out of your house. The problem is, I have no idea when. With her clothes having been found there, I will present the matter before the pack members during your sentencing. Now you will not only be charged with attempted murder, but you will also face charges of harboring a criminal awaiting death by hanging. Do you know what that means, darling?" She nodded, swallowing saliva in a loud gulp.

"Good. Now, we don't want you to die by the rope too, do we?" She shook her head, mouth sealed and eyes wide, full of fear. With that, I burned the padlock locking up her cell door. I enjoyed as the blue flames snapped the lock open. "Now, you will use the backdoor. Make sure you slip out undetected. As we speak, there aren't any guards out there except for Mateo, and I am sure he is at the front door. As hidden as you can, take the longer path to your place around the woods. When Monica makes an appearance, I want you to directly mind-link the Alpha, and I will have all the charges against you dropped. Now go."

I knew she would do a good job of staying out of sight. After all, she had been craving freedom. She couldn't escape without her son, and that was already taken care of. I had cast a boundary spell on Steel the moment I discovered that Monica had been sneaking in. The spell would prevent him from going outside the pack. I didn't know it would come in handy now, but fortunately it did. Mrs. Kagwe wouldn't dare escape without her son. That was for sure. The way I saw it, she had no choice other than following my instructions. I was back at the office, patiently waiting for the Alpha. Oh, how I couldn't wait to break the news of her escape to him.

"So, you think breaking out that woman is going to cause a reaction from me?" He stood at the door, shaking his head. How the hell had he known what I had just done? I mean, our bond was literally at a standstill. "How did you know?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? First you insult me, and when I refuse to forgive you, you result in going against my orders and end up breaking out a criminal to catch another criminal?" He let out a sarcastic laugh, then closed the door. As he made slow steps toward me on the couch, my heart began to race in realization of what I had done.

"I have blocked you out, Tamara, but you haven't. I can still hear every single thought in your mind. I can feel every single emotion through the bond. Now I will let you follow your stupid plan just to prove to you how silly it is. Then when all is said and done, you will realize what a fool you are going behind your mate's back." He leaned down so that his mouth was almost touching my left ear.

"I might be weak, but you, Tamara, you are a stupid witch believing in a stupid prophecy." His words awoke something powerful inside of me that couldn't be suppressed.

Like molten lava, my blood boiled and my mouth was forced open. A voice I didn't recognize made way past my lips.

"I could kill you now for calling my blood stupid." My arms stretched unwillingly, and I could only watch as Ryker clutched his throat in pain.

"But since your death will trigger her own, I will spare you."