Come What May

Ryder shook his head and came towards me. oh, so he saw all that happened here. I was still shaken up though. I couldn’t get Xavier’s face out of my mind. His eyes wide in horror, pain etched to his face. Even though Xavier is a wild man but I never wished such a cruel death to him.

Whoever killed him shows no mercy and I’m being blamed for it. Stella really thinks that I can kill someone?

“Are you alright Berry?” Ryder asked as soon as he was by my side. I nodded at him but when he saw my neck, he panicked. How bad is it? Well, it does hurt a lot but it can’t be that bad right?

“It’s bleeding, come with me.” he dragged me away with him. I wanted to see what is happening with Stella.

He didn’t take me away from the scene, he just made me sit on the staircase and went somewhere, I think to search for a first aid kit. I couldn’t sit like this here. I got up and went towards my mate and Stella.

Now, she was lying on the floor and my mate was just standing in front of her.

“I am your King and it will be in your best interest to never forget that.” He stated. Stella nodded at him and muttered a ‘yes Alpha’ at him before running out of the castle.

He turned towards me and looked at me with a pointed stare. Why is he angry with me?

“Who told you to come out of the room?” he snapped at me. He spoke to me with such anger that I jumped instantly. I didn’t answer him. I simply kept my head down.

“ANSWER ME!” he yelled at me making me yelp out in surprise. I was so scared that I decided to run away and hide in his room. He is very scary.

I ran towards the stairs when a loud growl resonated in the castle. I stilled immediately. That’s it, I’m going to die tonight.

In a flash, he was behind me and he whipped me around to face him. He held my shoulders firmly and lent forward so that his lips were almost touching my ear.

“Don’t ever, and I mean ever, run away from me.” he whispered. My heart beat was through the roof. Oh God!

’Why?” my words, barely audible.

“Because..” then his lips touched my ear completely and he muttered his next words.

“My beast would love to give you a chase, and when he catches you..” he pulled away from me. I looked up at him, he was already looking down at me with a strange emotion in his eyes. His beautiful blues were a shade of midnight blue now. He then turned away and left without completing his sentence.

But deep down, I know what he meant.

I was pacing in my mate’s room furiously while Ryder was enjoying a bowl of grapes. So many thoughts were running on my mind. Who killed Xavier? Why am I being blamed for it? What did my mate say to Stella that had her running out like crazy? How to face my family? What are those creatures? How to stop them?

“Come, sit over here Berry.” Ryder patted at his side on the bed. I went to his side and plopped down on the bed wordlessly.

“How are you holding up?” he asked me, obviously referring to my parents’ death and this Xavier situation.

“So much has happened today Ryder, I don’t know what to do.” My lips quivered as I said this. He gave me a very soft look. That’s when I couldn’t keep it inside any longer, I broke down in front of him. Sob after sob left my lips and he encircled his arms around me to comfort me.

“I- I feel so alone Ryder. It’s.. it’s just been few days since I came here and everything is going downhill. My mate- my mate doesn’t want me, I was about to be raped, I lost my parents, I’m being blamed for a death, I can’t take this, I- I just can’t” I ranted while he just swayed me from side to side.

“Don’t say that you are alone Berry. I’m here with you. My sister is not alone. I know it’s hard for you, you just lost your parents and you need time to mourn for them, I’m sorry I cannot bring them back but we will avenge their death, I promise you.” I closed my eyes trying to tune out every bad thing that happened to me when Ryder stopped swaying us.

I opened my eyes abruptly to look why he stopped. I looked up at Ryder and saw him looking towards the door, I turned my head and saw my feral looking mate standing at the door with a stoic expression. Ryder slowly withdrew his hands from around me and stood up from the bed.

“You’re here.” Ryder mumbled out, addressing my mate. He turned to glance at me and then without any word left the room.

Don’t leave me all alone with my mate!

My mate stared at me wordlessly. I fidgeted on the bed and then decided to stand up.

“Umm, I’ll just.. I’ll just go to my room now.” I mumbled out and moved forward to leave. The sooner I leave this room the better. I’m scared of my angry mate.

“Going after Ryder?” my mate asked in an accusatory tone when I reached his side. I stopped instantly and looked at him confused.

“What? What do you mean?” I asked, confused by his words.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately, what is it all about huh? Just because I don’t pay attention to you, you go after my best friend?”

The words that left his lips were like a spear, piercing my heart. How can he even think like that?

“Do you think that low of me?” I asked, I was shaking, not with fear but with the anger. He has no right to accuse me of something like this. how much more disgusting things can he say?

“I’m just stating the truth.” He shrugged. I felt smoke coming out of my ears. I didn’t even realize when my hand connected with his face, hitting him square in the face.

My eyes widened when I realized what I just did. I just slapped the Alpha king. He had the same expression on his face. His face didn’t even move an inch, like my slap had no impact on him. But I know that I slapped him with everything I have.

When he recovered from the shock his eyes blazed with fury, I struggled hard not to cower away from his gaze.

’What did you just do?” he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Nothing that you don’t deserve.” This time, I was not going to back down. I was angry too. How could he say something like that? Ryder is like my brother. How could he think such a disgusting thing?

His hands clenched into tight fists. He was holding himself back from attacking me. I showed him the ultimate disrespect. How his beast didn’t kill me already was unknown to me.

“How could you say that huh? Who do you think I am? Ryder is like my brother, he is your best friend. Don’t you have any faith in him? This is how disgusting you think I am?” I screamed. He was just standing in front of me, looking at me with a murderous expression.

“I’m not like you! Do you get that? I don’t go around sleeping with anyone, and you better understand that. If anyone is disgusting here, that’s you! You, you and only you. I know you’ve slept with countless women. Don’t you think that upsets me? I never asked any of this to happen to me. I saved myself for my mate, for you! And you? You sleep with any woman who comes to you. Even mated women!

You have no respect for the mate bond! No respect for me and no respect for your best friend! I have done nothing wrong! Nothing! But I still have to pay for the sins of your past! Your wrong doings! You know what? You don’t deserve to be loved by anyone, but I still love you and I hate myself for that!” I yelled. I took out all my pent-up anger. It was getting too much for me to take.

“If you have so much problem with me then leave!” he shouted. His voice resonated throughout the whole castle. I’m sure everybody already heard what was happening in the room.

“Yes, yes you’re right. I will leave. I will never come back to you, never! I’ll do whatever I want and sleep with whoever I want!” I yelled back at him, even though I didn’t mean a single word I said. But he didn’t know that. In a blink of a second, I was pinned to the bed and I felt his canines sink into my neck while a painful scream left my mouth.

Pain

Unimaginable pain

Pain was the only thing I could feel as I remain motionless under the large form of my mate. Tears flow silently down my cheeks as I felt him sink his canines deeper into my neck. Was he trying to kill me?

My head was spinning and my vision was blurred. He retracted his canines which had me hissing in pain and licked the area he marked with his tongue. After giving it a few licks, he looked at my tear stained face. I could hardly see anything but I did notice the golden eyes, the eyes of his beast and his mouth covered in blood, my blood.

I was struggling to keep my eyes open, my body was not able to fight the pain. He readjusted my position on the bed and covered me with the duvet which made me feel warm. I heard a whisper “Just close your eyes and sleep.” Before everything went black.

“How could you do this..”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“That’s your excuse?”

“I was angry……. Sleeping with other men…… marked her.”

“You don’t care….. selfish bastard…. Not my friend anymore….”

“My beast…. Irrational…. Didn’t mean it…. You’re my brother….”

“Get your shit together…. lose her forever….”

I could make out Ryder’s and my mate’s voice. I moved my head to the other side and groaned out in pain. The two men stopped talking instantly.

I felt the bed dip beside me and someone touched my cheek. The intensity of the sparks that ran through my body made me gasp and my eyes shot open. I closed them again. Too much light.

“Open your eyes slowly.” My mate said in a soft voice and caressed my cheek. I did what he said and met with the beautiful blues staring back at me. when he saw I’m awake he moved his head away and helped me to sit up on bed. I looked around the room but couldn’t find Ryder.

“He left.” My mate told me when he saw me looking for him. I looked towards him and my eyes widened when I remembered what happened before I fainted. I tried to move away from him but he didn’t let me. He picked me up and settled me on his lap. I tried to struggle but instantly regretted my action as a jolt of pain shot through my neck.

“Don’t move. The bite is still sore.” My mate said sternly while holding me in place. I didn’t dare look at his face, instead I chose to stare at my hands.

He marked me. I was marked out of anger, not love. I closed my eyes and tried to keep my tears in. I won’t cry anymore now.

He put my hair at the other side of my neck and inspected the mark. His mark. But he made sure not to touch it as it is a very sensitive spot. I was already trying not to moan because of the pleasant tingles that ran along my body. He didn’t say anything to me. No apology, nothing.

“For how much time I was out?” I decided to ask him.

“For a week.” He answered.

WHAT?

I tried to move away again but he kept me tight into his arms. He knew what I was thinking.

No, no, no! I missed their funeral. The realization was enough for me to release my tears. I couldn’t do anything else but sob.

I’m a terrible daughter.

I’m a terrible sister.

What will my brothers think?

I’m a failure. A massive failure.