Ryker Dare
“How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?” I let out a loud grunt as I punched the punching bag with violent swings.
Just let her have her space, for now. Axel sounded pretty damn calm given that we were just told to leave our mate alone.
“You know what alphas get after they find their mate, especially when she’s going to go into heat any day now?” I sent a roundhouse kick right into the bag, the chains groaning from the pressure. “And let’s not even start about your possessive ass. Goddess only knows how long you’ll last before marking her.”
All right. This situation is a bit direr than I had hoped.
I let out a scoff. “This situation is a mess.” With one final kick, the heavy sand-filled bag broke from the chain and slammed against the concrete wall twenty feet away. I panted as I stood in the middle of the room, glaring at the floor.
It would be easier to just find her and mark her, Axel said with a huff.
I let out a harsh laugh. “See. Right there. That’s the kind of idiotic thoughts that will get us in trouble.”
Maybe she’s mad that we’re still a virgin.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily the case,” I said dryly. I walked over to the bench pushed up against the wall, sitting down roughly. Sighing, I placed my elbows on my knees, leaning forward and entangling my hands in my hair. I was silent as I recalled the look in her unseeing eyes. At that moment, it was as if she was truly blind.
“She flinched away from me as if I was going to hurt her,” I murmured, recalling the way her body recoiled from my touch.
Something bad has happened to our beautiful mate. It’s only a matter of time before she tells us.
“Unless you go all crazy and demand answers from her.”
Axel made an annoyed snort.
I’m not the only one who would rather go and strip our mate bare and mark her.
I sat up and thwacked my head against the wall gently. “No, I guess not,” I muttered. I left Kei in her room alone for the rest of the day, sleeping in another room located on the side of the house. It was pure torture, knowing that I left Kei by herself, but I was trying my hardest to follow her wishes. I sat in silence for a long time, not caring about anything at that moment. However, the peaceful moment was broken by the door slamming open.
“Alpha.”
I frowned before standing up. “Clark, what’s wrong?”
His face was grave, and I felt unease stir in my stomach.
“Alpha, three bodies were found just on the edge of the border.”
I didn’t waste any time after that. I grabbed my t-shirt from the bench, slipped it on, and followed Clark.
“Rogues were reported being seen twenty minutes earlier at the same location. It became even more suspicious as they simply ran when they were spotted.”
“Where are the bodies now?”
We walked at a brisk pace through the halls, passing the door that was my mate’s room. Some part of me, about ninety percent, wanted to stop and demand she tell me. However, the last ten percent was my hard-ass restraint that took all of my willpower. I deserved a damn applause.
“Alpha Hale had them brought into the infirmary to be examined,” Clark reported.
I nodded, and we began our way towards the destination. We had finally stopped in front of an open doorway, the room inside a blinding white with beds lining the wall adjacent to the door. Alpha Hale along with two other men stood before three beds occupied with the lifeless bodies. As I let my presence be known, the men stiffened and turned. They bowed their heads, other than Alpha Hale who inclined his head in respect.
“What seemed to be the cause of death?” I questioned, taking long strides to examine them.
“Tortured with Black Roza.” His tone was grim, and I stiffened slightly. The Black Roza, the name originating from Russian which literally just meant rose, was not an easy flower to get. The Black Roza was mainly found in the middle of the equator where most of the tropical forests were. It was first discovered by a Russian traveler, who happened to be a werewolf, and noticed its dangerous qualities and decided to use it for his own desires. Let’s just say his own discovery was his own destruction.
I stopped beside one of the beds and examined the corpse. It was quite a gruesome sight as the deceased man’s skin was clawed and torn as if he had gone through a paper shredder. Around all of the cuts that were all over his body, the skin was black as if he was burned. A sign that Black Roza was used. And the smell—the air had the strong, disgusting scent of burnt, decayed flesh.
I glanced over at the other two bodies, all male, to see them in the exact same condition. “Do you know their identities?” I turned to look at Hale.
He shook his head and looked at the bodies with a hard look. “Their bodies are too mangled up to tell, but we can only assume they are from here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are there men missing from here?”
His lips were pressed into a thin line, and he nodded.
“How many?”
“Ten.”
I gritted my teeth, anger flashing in my eyes. “And you didn’t tell me this in the very beginning because…” I trailed off, trying hard to rein my annoyance.
He looked at me before settling his gaze on the bodies. “We didn’t know they were missing until just last night.”
I shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Well, ain’t it a fun tea party we got going on in here?”
All the men in the room spun to see who had spoken, but I stayed still. The voice caused me to freeze.
“No need to look all surprised. Don’t I usually turn up when crap is going down?”
“Kei, go back,” Hale said in a clipped tone.
I wanted to turn and rip his head off for it. Kei just tsk-ed, and I heard her quiet footsteps enter the room.
“Now, now. You should know that I never listen. Besides”—her tone became more serious—“I can help you.”
I finally opened my eyes and dropped my hand, turning to stare at her. She looked as if what had happened yesterday never occurred. Her eyes were their usual bright shade, melting into green and red. Her hair sleek in a high ponytail, and she dressed in her normal black skinny jeans and tank top.
“I don’t see how,” Hale argued.
She smiled and shook her head. “Ah, my young grasshopper. There’s still a lot about me that you don’t know.”
No kidding, I thought to myself almost bitterly. She didn’t acknowledge my presence at all as she walked in and stood on the other side of the bed, her eyes downcast and a stoic expression on her face.
“What are you going to do?” My voice came out low, making her finally lift her head.
“I’m going to need an article of clothing from each missing person.” She reached out and brushed her hand against the ruined flesh. Her brows were creased in a deep frown, and a look of sorrow and pain filled her features before it was gone.
Hale had that distant look in his eyes before they cleared. “You’ll have them in the next ten minutes.”
She nodded absentmindedly before pulling up a chair and sitting down beside the bed. I gave them all a look, and they seemed to get the message. “We’re going to go meet up with the families and tell them what’s going on. Alpha Dare, tell me if you discover something.”
I nodded, and the three men bowed their heads and left, leaving the two of us alone. I stared at her, while she kept her eyes downcast.
“So what? Are you just going to ignore me?” I tried to keep my voice level, but a hint of anger could still be heard. Her shoulders visibly tensed under my gaze, and she looked up.
“Would you be mad if I said yes?” She smiled slightly, and I felt my earlier anger wane.
“Depends if you tell me why you are.” I strode over and stood beside her, clenching my hands as to not reach out.
“I want to.”
I felt myself become hopeful.
“But I can’t, not now.”
And that bubble of hope popped right into my face. The two of us were quiet for what seemed like forever but was only a minute while I looked at her, and she kept her eyes towards her limp hands on her lap.
“Fine, I’ll let you have your space. But—” I leaned down, placing one arm on the back of the chair and one in the bed and leaned close, my breath disturbing a stray hair against her cheek “—when the time comes to take you as mine, I won’t be holding back.” I kissed her cheek tenderly before pulling away.
“You sly king,” she muttered, but I noticed her cheeks blush red.
“Think of it as my punishment for you.”
She looked up at me with an adorable pout, her bottom lip slightly pushed out.
Those cursed lips look so good. Axel groaned.
I laughed quietly before finding a chair and pulling it up beside her. I sat down and stretched my long legs out.
“What’s so funny?” Kei questioned.
I glanced over at her. “Axel is an untamable beast of sexual needs,” I told her.
She stared at me before going into fits of laughter. I smiled slightly at the clear sound, still amazed that this creature was my mate. I was frozen as she looked at me with a dazzling smile, her eyes an ethereal red.
“He seems like an interesting character,” she teased.
I rolled my eyes.
“He’s the biggest knife in my side.”
“He is your other half, so it’s only natural,” I growled at her half-heartedly.
She simply grinned, and we lapsed into comfortable silence. I stiffened as I felt a presence behind us. I immediately stood to face the person but had to hide my surprise as a young woman stood in the doorway with a hesitant look in her eye, a black bag in her clenched hands.
“Alpha Dare.” She bowed her head.
“What do you want?” I felt a sharp jab in my side and noticed Kei give me a menacing glare. The woman looked at us with a nervous look.
“What this big sack of meat meant was…is there anything you need?”
The woman coughed and looked at Kei with wide eyes.
“I, um, well, I came here with the clothes you requested.”
Kei smiled before walking towards her. “Thank you. It’ll really help,” Kei admitted.
The woman smiled and handed Kei the bag. “Your welcome.” She faltered. “May I ask you a favor?”
Kei cocked her head to the side but nodded.
The woman breathed in deeply as if mentally preparing herself. “Is it all right if I stay?”
“No, I don’t have a problem. Do you have someone you’re looking for?”
The woman fidgeted with her hands. “Yes. My brother.” Her voice became quiet.
Kei, instead, didn’t say a word but nodded. She turned, and her eyes had a faraway look in them. Without a word, I moved out of the way as she walked past me.
I watched silently as she set the bag down beside the bed, unzipping it and pulling out a handful of men’s clothes. She held a dark green shirt in her hands, her eyes slowly closing.
I noticed but didn’t look at her as the woman walked up beside me.
“Alpha, if I may ask, do you know what she’s doing?” she asked timidly, and I glanced down at her. She was a small woman, reminding me of a glass china doll with her small figure and her light brown hair. Her hazel eyes were wide and doe-like as she stared at Kei.
I turned back to face the scene before me. “I don’t know,” I finally replied.
She didn’t say anything, and together, we watched Kei unravel the mystery.