CHAPTER NINETEEN
RYKER
I sat in my office surrounded by the solitude of my work. The weight of responsibilities bore down on me but I found solace in the quiet of my own thoughts.
My focus was momentarily shattered by the soft knock on my door. I lifted my head when my beta, Miles, entered the room with a cautious step, his face etched with a hint of excitement.
“You seem so excited,” I said, “It's not payday yet.”
He chuckled. “Alpha I hope I'm not interrupting, but your sister Selina is here,” He announced, his tone lighter than usual.
My brow arched in surprise. “Selina? She didn't mention coming sooner in her letters. Well it's about time she graced us with her presence,” I teased with a chuckle. “Let her in.”
“Yes Alpha.”
As my Beta turned to retrieve Selina, I leaned back in the chair, a rare smile tugging at the corners of my lips. I had missed my sister's infectious energy and free spirit, qualities I lacked as a leader of Red moon.
The door swung open and there stood Selina, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Brother!” she exclaimed, rushing forward and throwing her arms around me before I could protest.
She knew I wasn't a hugger.
“Selina! Look at you, just as wild as ever,” I laughed.
“You know me too well,” She replied and pulled back, “And still someone hasn't learned to return hugs.”
“My bad,” I said but still didn't return her hug. “It's good to have you back. You've changed a lot.”
“I probably added a little too much weight and got prettier,” She said and gave me a playful poke in the chest. “You've been hiding away in this office too long. How are you?”
Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door and a maid entered the room with a tray of drinks. She almost squealed with excitement when she saw Selina and my sister who was the snuggly bear hugged her. How she managed to go easily with people was something I could never comprehend.
She had this energy and positivity whenever she was around. As we settled in, sipping our beverages, we began to catch up with our lives and of course, the state of the pack. She had been gone for over a year so there was a lot she had missed out on.
I shared the latest news and developments within the pack, my voice steady and measured. She inquired about my personal life but I ensured to keep it at bay and stick to the matters of the pack.
“And you, how's life been for you my explorer?”
“Perfect. I could stay in white moon for the rest of my life but Chloe just had to remind me I had a family waiting for me and Miles could almost die from blue balls.”
“You know the last part is an information I didn't need to know,” I said with a chuckle. “And who is Chloe?”
“My friend, the Alpha’s mate of White Moon.”
Oh the insolent Zane Colton and his rude woman.
“You deserve credits for everything but choosing friends,” I muttered.
“Stopppppp,” Selina said and rolled her eyes at me.
We burst out laughing and then fell into a brief silence.
“You know, you haven't mentioned a Luna yet,” Selina said, a teasing glint in her eye. “Do you intend on growing old without one? Maybe the moon goddess forgot to pair you up!”
I shrugged, a soft smile playing on my lips. “I'm fine on my own, Selina. There's no rush.”
“Are you gay? I mean you've never been with a woman. You could come out to me. You know I won't snitch. Tell me if you like men.”
I almost choked on my laughter. “What the fuck? Why would that even be an option?”
She sighed, though her playful demeanor remained. “Oh brother, you really should find someone. You can't spend your life alone, even if you think you're invincible.”
I chuckled, not wanting to reveal Roxanne to anyone yet. Not even my beta. Until she found her wolf.
That's if she ever did…
“I'll keep your advice in mind, sister. But for now, the pack is my priority,” I said.
Selina smiled, “What's an Alpha without a Luna? It's as much of a priority as the pack. If you have one, then the workload wouldn't be too much for you.”
I nodded, “I'm not dead from it yet, neither am I complaining. So yes I'll stick with me for a while.”
“If you don't find a mate, I might just have to pair you up with someone, myself.”
***
For days I kept my distance as I tried to regain control over my emotions. But regardless of how hard I tried, my mind always circled back to Roxanne, to the memory of her touch and to the defiance in her eyes that had both enraged and intrigued me.
Whenever she crossed my mind, I fought. I couldn't be found thinking about her or probably it was my wolf just doing its thing. The more I had tried to forget her or get rid of her, the harder it got.
It seemed as though she was paid to frustrate me. If I hadn't taken her from white moon myself, I would have thought she was sent to my pack by someone else.
Unable to sleep that night, I found myself making my way to the dungeon, drawn to her cell without consciously deciding to go there. I walked down the dim passageway that led there.
The air grew colder as I descended the stone steps, the familiar sounds of the underground echoing around me. When I got to the gate, the stench of rotten bodies hit my senses.
I watched her from the shadows as she rested on the cold and hard floor. Her face softened in her sleep and her hair tumbled around her peacefully. There was a vulnerability about her that I couldn't ignore and I found myself wanting to protect her, even from myself.
But could I actually protect her? Everyday she gave me a reason to be more careful, which was annoying.
My fury began to wane as I stared at her and the unsettling mix of emotions that followed left me perplexed. I had never been so affected by someone before.
I felt a mixture of emotions— conflict, disappointment and a deep sense of betrayal.
She was more than this, I knew. Although she came off as weak, she had managed to pull down three guards with her small frame. She kept surprising me. The weight of her crimes against the pack hung heavily on my shoulders.
Though she pretended not to know how she did it. She was a perfect Luna. I had mistaken her for weak but the few times we encountered she gave off a different vibe.
As I stood there, I realized that my feelings had shifted from pure animosity to something more complex. The thought baffled me and I couldn't deny the undeniable pull I felt towards her. I wanted to keep her safe, to possess her completely but I couldn't force the mate bond.
It was one sided.
As I lingered near her cell, my beta approached, his expression somber. “Alpha,” He said quietly.
“Why did you follow me?” I inquired, anger rising in my voice as I had wanted to be alone.
He sighed, “I'm sorry Alpha but someone has to be around you to keep you safe.”
“You think she can hurt me?”
He laughed nervously, “I don't know. She's quite a man.”
He didn't lie though.
Miles watched me intently. Besides being my Beta, he was my sister's mate and he was a humble man too.
“What do you intend to do with her?” He asked.
I turned to him, my gaze firm and steady. “Justice must be served,” I replied, my voice laced with determination.
He nodded as if understanding the situation. “You will proceed with a trial then.”
“Yes, there will be a trial. The pack deserves to know the truth and see that justice is done,” I confirmed, my mind made up.
“Don't you think you're being too hard on her, Alpha?” He asked.
I shrugged, “Hard you say? I've been everything but hard. You know better, beta. If I was being hard she would have been dead.”
“Then please have the corpses of the guards taken out of her cell,” He pleaded.
I scoffed.
“She knows how to kill Beta. She needs to learn how to stay tamed. The more gruesome and unbearable it gets, the more she wouldn't try killing.”
“You think you can put her under control?”
His question bothered me because I had thought about it myself. Could I really tame Roxanne?
“She may be a handful but I'm quite sure it's not as tough as it looks. I still wonder how she killed them though. She looks…”
“Harmless,” He completed and I nodded.
“Or could it be the segregation that's getting to her?”
I shook my head. “Segregation has nothing to do with this. Killing might just be something that she's always had in her. Who wakes up and decides to kill?”
“But she has always had her reasons. It's always the guards against her.”
She stirred in her sleep and I stepped back into the shadows, not wanting to disturb her. She was still so mysterious. I knew nothing about her and she wasn't willing to tell me anything about herself.
“Beta Miles, I need you to look into Roxanne for me. There must be something we have to know.”