Chapter 18
Over the next few days, Ryker and I developed some sort of cordial arrangement between us. My fear of him wouldn’t disappear in a day, that much was obvious but now I had less reason to fear him after seeing how he treated he omegas in his pack. I also didn’t actively try to avoid his presence anymore and I took that as a huge win.
On a lighter note, my leg was almost perfectly healed and now it didn’t hurt at all as I made my way around the house.
I was sitting at the dining table waiting for Eve to serve breakfast when I realized I hadn’t seen Ryker all day which was a surprise. He usually joined me during breakfast before disappearing for work.
“Where is Ryker?” I asked Eve and she looked as shocked by my question as I was shocked that I even asked it in the first place.
“He should be outside training.”
A part of me knew that Ryker trained. He had to be doing some sort of training to be able to obtain the kind of b*dy he had. He hadn’t said anything about my training and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be allowed to train again after what happened.
I left my untouched breakfast and made my way around the house until I heard the sound of flesh hitting something and sharp grunts. I followed the sound a little further into the woods around the house and saw Ryker.
He was shirtless and his entire upper b*dy was gleaming with sweat. His shorts hung low on his hips and his hands were wrapped in a bandage as he delivered swift punches to the trunk of a tree. I couldn’t help but wince at how painful that would be but Ryker wasn’t bothered. He kept hitting the trunk as if he was punching a feather- with no care in the world.
I accidentally stepped on a twig and his movements ceased. He turned around and when he saw it was me, I saw the tension. in his shoulders deflate.
“I didn’t mean to bother you.” I said softly, “I should be going-.”
“It is fine,” he assured me. When I didn’t move, he gestured for me to come closer, “I lost track of time. I should have been back by now.”
I obliged and moved closer to him and I tried my best to keep my attention on his face and not his perfectly defined and chiseled chest. If he told me he was carved from stone I would have believed because no one should ever look this good.
I flushed pink at the thought and chided myself. I shouldn’t be having those kind of thoughts about him especially not when he is right next to me.
“Can you help me?” I didn’t realize he was talking to me until he called my name, “Camilla, can you help me unwrap my
hands.”
I flushed pink again at being caught but I nodded and slowly made my way over to him. This was the first time I was consciously being close to him and his scent hit me full force for quite possibly the first time.
He smelled manly, musky, like the woods and himself. There was something about his natural scent that led me to take a discreet sniff. He looked up at me and I wondered if he knew what I had done but if he did, he didn’t show it. He just held up his hands and I slowly unwrapped the bandage.
“Will I ever train again?” I decided to break the tension with a question.
“Do you want to train again?” I wasn’t expecting for him to ask my opinion on the matter. Every time I think I know what Ryker is going to do, he ends up surprising me.
I stayed silent as I worked through the bandage on his other hand. When I was done, I tried to pull back but he grasped my hand softly but firmly in his and kept me in place.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he reminded me.
“I would like to,” I admitted, “But maybe not as rigorously as before. I know it makes me sound lazy but I would very much like to start at the beginning.”
I tried to gauge his reaction as I spoke but he kept his features carefully blank, “Would you like me to train you?”
“You,” I spluttered. “But, you’re the Alpha; you’re extremely busy.”
“Let me worry about how busy I am. I asked if you wanted me to train you.”
“I would like that.” I admitted.
He let go of my arm and took a step back. “You might have to change your outfit.”
“Did you mean now?”
“There’s no time like the present.”
I blinked once- twice- three times before I turned on my heels and made my way back up
the stairs. Eve looked at me with confusion but I couldn’t even articulate what had just happened so I made my way silently into the room.
I dressed in the outfit I would usually use to train with Lauren- leggings and the skin tight top. I made my way down the stairs and out the back door to where Ryker was waiting.
When he saw me, he did a double take and I saw him swallow deeply before clearing his throat and leading me back into through the woods and into the clearing. The place was very much the same except for two bottles of water that he placed on the ground next to the tree he had been assaulting before.
“It is important to always stay hydrated while training,” he explained when he saw my gaze, “You’re healing from an injury and you have never trained before so we will start with the easy things; stamina, core work and basic stretches.”
I hung on to every word he said and tried my best to imitate him as he led us through a series of stretches. Training with him was a lot different than training with Lauren. He was patient and never pushed me past my limits. He also explained everything in detail so I was never confused.
We were doing basic form work for throwing a punch when I saw the corner of his l*ps quirk up.
“Your form is bad,” he moved until he was behind me and gestured to my waist, “May I?”
I was shocked and grateful that he had asked for permission. He waited until I clearly nodded before placing his hand on either side of my waist and turning my hips so they were facing forward. I wobbled a little at the feel of his hands on my bare skin but he gripped me tightly keeping me steady.
“Camilla,” he breathed and goose bumps rose on my skin as his hot breath fanned my ear, “You are-,”
He stopped mid statement and I felt him go rigid against my back. I opened my mouth to speak but he clasped a hand over my l*ps keeping me quiet. That was when I heard what he heard- footsteps and shuffling. A horrid burnt smell infiltrated my nostrils and I immediately knew that we were in danger.
“How fast can you run?” he asked and I shrugged,
“I’m pretty decent.”
“Good, I need you to run back to the house and tell the guards that there are rogues.”
“But-,”
“Now!”
The urgency in his voice stopped every argument I had in me and I took off in the opposite direction. I heard the ripping of clothes and a loud growl but I didn’t turn back to inspect, I didn’t stop until I got to the front of the house.
The guards were confused and shocked to see me and honestly, I didn’t blame them. I was in sweaty training clothes and I just came in looking like I had run a marathon.
“There are rogues,” I said, “In the forest; Ryker is there and he asked me to get you.” They shared a look and one of them gently grabbed onto my upper arm, “What’s going on?”
“I have to get you to safety Luna.”
“What are you talking about? He needs you more.”
“The Alpha gave clear orders that should there ever be a threat then you should be taken to safety.”
I tried to argue but he firmly guided me into the house. Eve saw me and the guard relayed the situation to her and she took off without another word. I was guided up to my room and that was when the guard finally stopped pulling me around like a rag doll.
“I will keep watch out here,” he said, “Rogue attacks can take a while so I suggest you get changed or something. Eve will be up as soon as she is done rounding up the other omegas.”
I wanted to complain or fight or do something but I knew that I would be more of a hindrance downstairs so I forced my feet to carry me into the room. I locked the door behind me and did as the guard asked. I took a bath and I changed into a comfortable pair of leggings and a shirt then I started to worry.
I paced back and forth to calm my nerves. Eve came in to check on me but I barely even glanced at her as she placed my breakfast tray by my bed. She left when she realized I wasn’t going to start eating anytime soon.
I don’t know how long I stood pacing but the door to my room opened and Ryker came through. He had a few splatters of blood on his skin but he looked otherwise fine. I couldn’t help myself when I threw my arms around his neck.
I realized what I had done and tried to pull back but he wrapped his arms around my lower back and held me tight against his b*dy. He nuzzled his nose into my hair and I felt him take a long inhale.
“Are you hurt?” I asked as he finally let me pull back and he shook his head, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help; if I knew how to train then maybe.”
“Maybe nothing,” he cut me off, “You could be the best warrior in the entire fucking world and I would still ask you to be sent to safety.”
“What?”
“You are my mate and my responsibility Camilla. There is no way in hell I was going to let you stay out there while rogues were attacking.”
“But-,”
“I don’t want to argue about this. I haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?” I shook my head, “Why don’t I get cleaned up and we can eat. Does that sound nice?”
“Yes.”
He smiled at my answer and left me standing there in the room. I just stood there staring at the door he had gone through and thinking about how nice it felt to have someone worry about your safety over theirs.
