Isla
I spared a glance at Ryder.
He had not spoken since he had knocked on my door this morning and asked me if I was ready to leave.
It seemed like he had also gotten the same text message like I did.
Every time I spared a glance at him, his jaw was clenched and his grip on the steering wheel was almost punishing.
To say the air was charged with impending doom was an understatement.
Being in such a small space especially with the aura he was emitting was draining to my wolf hence why I was partly relieved when he rounded the final bend that led to the less populated eastern end of the town where the pack house was located.
I have heard the rumors about what happened when two dominant wolves were in the same space and although it was selfish, I was hoping that the first time I met my mum and her new boyfriend, I wouldn’t have to be faced with the possibility of a lurking fight between two alphas.
But it seems like we were bringing out the big guns right off the bat in our soon to be blended family situation.
When Ryder finally pulled up at the gate and cracked down the window to punch in the access code, I was an anxious mess.
As the gate slowly slid open, I spared a glance at him.
“What?” He growled.
“Nothing.” I said toying with the ends of my braids.
I’d made an effort with my hair today, braiding them in two pigtails and even accessorizing with a pink ribbon.
He left the car idling even after parking.
I turned to alight but he held my hand.
I turned.
He was in much worse shape than I was, pale as paper.
“Are you alright?”
He nodded then shook his head, almost immediately.
“I… told my dad that you were letting me stay at the townhouse so he knows we are living together.”
I nodded slowly, wondering why I needed to be privy to this piece of information.
Especially since I had not let him do anything.
“So, it wouldn’t be weird if you walk in smelling like me.” He spat out.
I frowned.
I never considered myself slow but for some reason I still couldn’t understand what he was trying to say, even as he slowly sat up, turning towards me.
“I’m asking for a damn hug, Isla,” he grumbled.
“If your offer from last night still stands, I might need one.”
Last night… My cheeks colored as I remember my failed attempt to try to seduce Ryder.
“Sure…” the words were barely out of my lips when Ryder leaned into me, one of his hands on my back while the other unbuckled my seatbelt and in seconds, he was pulling me out of my seat and making me straddle him, as he crushed me into his solid body.
I inhaled him in.
It was pine and fresh winter, crisp and cool.
If my proximity to Ryder calmed him, then he did the opposite.
It felt like a caffeine shot.
The heady surge of energy, the sound of my heart hiking up and then missing a beat.
When he moved, pressing his nose into the crook of my neck, my lips parted and my breath was now caught on my throat.
As I felt the prickle of his five-o’clock shadow, sharp and tingling on my bare skin, I realized that I’d been hugging people wrongly all my life.
His hand on my back that had drifted to my waist felt like a searing brand and the other which was now cradling my hair was a prickling heat that crept deeper and deeper until it spread through my limbs.
Then I was airborne again and back to my seat.
His eyes moved from mine then roved my face and dipped to my neck, his lips in a tight line.
He looked confused.
That makes two of us.
Ryder
“So what are you planning to study in college?” Isla’s mum, who had insisted I called her Fiona, asked me.
Before I could part my lips Isla was already coming to my aid, “He is still figuring things out,” she stated.
It was our deal, I’d talk as little as possible while she’d be the one to answer all and every question.
And it was going surprisingly well, my wolf was quiet even though the first thirty minutes of our family brunch had been Reid grilling Isla about how sure she was about sharing a house with me and if it was truly at her volition.
It was almost laughable.
What would he do, if she truly expressed how she felt about the arrangement?
Ask me to come home?
Just my mere proximity at this dinner table was making both of us sweat buckets.
But Isla had been nothing but perfect.
Her answers were beautiful, her laughter rang in the room even when Reid told one of his jokes with the punch line wrong.
Fiona was all smiles.
Remove me out of the equation and they were the perfect family.
I stabbed my steak a little too hard.
“You always wanted to study business management,” dad said, his eyes on me and soon every eye on the dining table was pinned to me.
“I think it’d suit you.”
I also think you should shut up if you want this brunch to be a success considering that I’d only need such a degree if you’re dead or so heavily incapacitated, I’d have to step in and manage your pack.
“I changed my mind,” I simply said and averting my gaze from his, shoveled more potatoes into my full plate.
The food was divine as usual.
Nan, our cook was always in top form but I was not hungry.
Isla’s mother was now whispering to her and even though the smile Isla flashed her mother didn’t reach her eyes, I was just glad that nobody was paying me any attention.
I pushed my chair backward and stood up.
The plan was to escape to my room and stay there till Isla was done eating so we could leave but the moment I slipped out of the dining room, heavier footsteps followed.
“If you’re here to warn me to keep my mouth shut about Isla’s dad, you can save it.” I simply said, aware it was Reid behind me.
“Regardless of how much you think I want to ruin your life, I’m not going to be the one having that conversation with her.”