“Like what?” I asked, already knowing the answer by the look on his face.
“Putting them down. There are times when the wolves ask their pack to kill them. Those are always the hardest. I hope I never have to go through that again.”
“Who was he?”
A sad smile splayed across his lips. “Odolf. He was a good man too.”
“I’m sorry. I know that couldn’t have been easy. To be one of the strongest wolves in my pack, I don’t know shit about them. If my parents had their way, I’d still be in Canada with Kade, plotting every single way I could kill him. I need to know why my parents kept me in the dark. There’s something I’m missing.”
Ryker held me tighter and lifted one of my legs so he could drape it over his. “If my parents were still alive, I bet they would know. My banishment has to be a part of it somehow. Kade was allowed to stay behind and I never understood why. It can’t be a coincidence. I never spoke to him after we left, not even after all of these years. For all I know, he thought I was dead.”
Visions of Kade swam through my mind. “Promise me you’re nothing like him.”
Tilting my chin up with his finger, he kissed the tip of my nose. “That I can promise. But if you don’t believe me, take my blood. You’ll feel everything I do, and our minds will be connected.” He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. “The full moon isn’t until another three weeks. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”
Ryker slid his fingers along my neck, on down to my collarbone, making me tighten in all the right places. He tensed, growling low in his chest, sensing my excitement. It probably didn’t help that my heart pounded out of control.
“My wolf is ready for it all, but I’ll need answers before I can take that final step. The thought of biting you though . . .” I sniffed his neck and bit my lip, “excites me.”
What I was about to do was going to either be the best or stupidest thing I’d ever done. Taking Ryker’s blood felt right, just like the moon in the night sky. My wolf knew what it wanted, what it needed . . . and I was going to take it.
Opening my lips, I took a deep breath and lowered them to his, grasping his face with my hands. His arms snaked around my waist and pulled me firmly into his body. Growling low, he twisted so that he covered me, burying me into the warm grass and mud—where our body heat had melted all of the snow.
“Let me taste you,” I murmured.
Spreading my legs with his knee, he rubbed my clit with the tip of his cock. “Then do it, angel.”
I allowed my fangs to lengthen and found his lips again, but he forced his tongue inside, slicing it across my teeth. Warm blood flowed down my throat. Almost immediately, everything changed. I could see things, feel things that weren’t coming from my own body. The link was open.
“Can you feel me inside of you?” he asked silently.
“Yes.”
“What do you want to see?”
“Everything.”
Opening his mind, he let me see the past, the time when he found me alone in the woods. It was so long ago, I barely recognized myself. I was dressed in a little pink sundress, my blonde hair in pigtails, and I was so dirty it looked as if I’d been in the woods for days. Closing my eyes, I tried to think back to that time, but there was only a black hole from that age and younger. It was almost as if it was erased from my memory somehow.
“Why don’t I remember you? I should be able to remember that time in my life.”
He furrowed his brows. “I don’t know. When I introduce you to the pack, I’ll get Seraphina to work her magic on you. She’ll be able to figure out something.”
“Who’s Seraphina?”
“She’s one of the pack elders and very wise. I was hoping she’d help me find out why my family was banished, but she couldn’t. Hopefully, she’ll have more luck with you.”
My skin tingled where his hands caressed me, and I didn’t even want to stop him when he cupped my breasts. His fingers traced over my nipples and my whole body throbbed in anticipation. “You know this is dangerous. If you keep letting me touch you, I won’t be able to control myself.”
“Then why do you keep touching me?”
His eyes changed to that of his wolf. “I can’t help it.”
Lowering his lips to my breasts, he sucked on my nipple and bit down, drawing blood. I gasped and arched my back as he licked the blood away. Then, I was sucked into a vision.
“Angel, where are you?” Ryker calls.
I hide behind a tree, snickering, with a snowball in my hands. He steadily approaches, and I peek around the trunk. He hasn’t found me yet, but he has a sly grin on his face as if he thinks he’s going to fool me. Before he could attack, I attack first, throwing the snowball right at his head. He falls to the ground, laughing.
“You’re gonna regret that.”
I stood there, smirking, with my hands on my hips. “Don’t think so. I’m not afraid of the big, bad wolf.”
“We’ll see about that.” He jumps to his feet and chases after me, and all I could do was laugh. It slowed me down, but I wanted to get caught. We’re running through the trees out in the middle of nowhere, with only our footprints in the snow. It’s not long before Ryker lunges and we go tumbling down to the ground. Chuckling, he pins me down.
“I let you catch me,” I say to him.
He smirks. “You would’ve tired out eventually. We both know I’m stronger.”
“Want to put that to the test? I’ll fight you, right here and now.”
Brushing his thumb across my lips, he leans closer, smiling. “So stubborn. You said the same thing to me when we were kids. I wish you could remember. We used to play out by the lake and ice skate. Every time you would fall, I’d laugh. It used to piss you off.”
“Please tell me I kicked your ass after that.” I don’t remember those times, but I long to get those memories back. One way or another, it’s going to happen.
He shakes his head, smile growing wider. “Nope, but you did break the ice and I fell through.”
“Serves you right.”
“You weren’t saying that when I never resurfaced.”
My smile disappears. “What happened?”
“Nothing bad, just playing a little joke on you. I heard you screaming my name and then watched you jump in the water to save me. You were so young and small, there was no way you could’ve gotten me out of the water. It was then when I knew something had changed. I had the overwhelming sense to protect you. When you couldn’t find me in the water, you panicked. I ended up rescuing you and getting you out. I felt horrible for playing the joke on you.”
“You knew I was your mate back then?”
“I’m not really sure what I knew, but I knew you were special. Mine to protect.”
“And what do you know now?” I ask.
Cupping my cheek, he leans down and kisses me, long and deep. He pulls back and gazes down at me. “I know that whatever happens, I’ll protect you no matter the cost, mated or not. I love you.”
I look up at him and smile. “I love you too.”
“Bailey!” Gasping, I woke up from the vision with Ryker staring straight down at me, his gaze concerned. “Did you have a vision?”