Chapter 186
RYKER’S P.O.V
There are moments in your life when something happens and it feels like you have been changed forever. As I lay by the edge of the cliff watching my mate’s body fall to the bottom, I couldn’t help but realize that maybe this was one of those moments. I couldn’t hold her up, I watched her fall. The thoughts swirling in my head made me want to reach in and pull my own brain out of my head. It was too much.
I had to jump in after her. I rushed to my feet ready to go in when I felt a hard clamp on my wrist and I was tugged back from the edge. I fought against Juan’s hold but he was not willing to budge.
“Let go of me or I swear I will make you regret it,” I threatened but he didn’t release me one bit. “I have to find her. She is down there waiting for me.”
“Ryker, if you jump, you will die,” he warned but his words didn’t register in my head. The only thing I could think of was my mate pale and in pain as she fell. “Look, your daughter is right here waiting for you, you have to go to her.”
“I have to go to my mate.”
I fought against his hold but he wouldn’t let me go. I knew nothing save for incapacitation was going to make him release me. If I wanted that, I was going to play dirty but Juan looked like he was expecting everything. He was too level headed to let me do something as drastic as jumping off a cliff.
“What if it was Christine? Wouldn’t you go in after her?”
“I would go down like a normal person and search for her. I already mind linked the guards and they are looking for her as we speak. Your daughter is crying on the floor behind you, your other child is waiting in a cave with some other guards. You need to snap out of this and be their father.”
I stilled. He was speaking like Camilla was dead but she wasn’t. I could still feel our bond in my chest, it wasn’t gone- she wasn’t gone. “She is alive.”
“Ryker,” he began slowly but I shoved him off. “I am just trying to be realistic here. That fall could kill a person.”
“I know what I feel,” I pushed past him. He followed closely behind me as if worried that I was going to have a mental break. I walked over to Aurora who was squirming on the ground in tears. I slowly picked her up and she
1/4
Chapter 186
wrapped her arms tight around me. “Camilla is alive and it is only a matter of time. I need to get the girls home so that I can begin looking for my mate.”
He pursed his lips- a clear sign that he did not agree with me whatsoever but he knew better than to argue. He simply walked me over towards the cave where I had kept Audrey for safety. I couldn’t afford to go too far, Camilla needed our help. If I had only been faster, I could have taken both girls, I could have slit Reina’s throat when I had the chance. I wasn’t sure why I hesitated. I never hesitated, it was not in my nature.
“Daddy!” Audrey exclaimed when she saw me. She threw herself into me and I felt moisture gather behind my eyes. “Where is mummy? Is she coming?”
I swallowed deeply. “Your mum is a bit hurt but you don’t have to worry about it. I need you to go home with Juan so I can find your mother.”
“That isn’t happening and you know it,” Juan whispered. “I am not leaving you alone when you are clearly not in the right frame of mind. You wanted to jump off a cliff.”
“I am not jumping and right now, you are the only person I trust with my daughters. You can monitor me after but please take them home and leave them with Christine- only Christine. I’ll be back as soon as I find Camilla.”
He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest but nodded stiffly. I let out a sigh of relief and slowly handed Aurora over to him. My arm hurt from the burn and holding her up but I tried not to let it show. I couldn’t have them seeing just how bad things potentially were.
Once they were safely in his hold, I gave them a warm smile and pressed soft kisses to the tops of their heads. “I’ll be back soon, I promise you and I will be back with your mum.”
“Ryker,” Juan’s tone was disapproving. “What is-”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I cut him off with a warning growl. “Your business is with my children. Focus on it and don’t say another f**king word.”
Without another word, I turned on my heels and ran down the hill. I shifted despite the ache in my arms, ripping my clothes in the process. I healed faster in wolf form and my sense of smell was better. I was so concerned with the latter that I forgot to gauge how bad the wound would be in wolf form. I nearly stumbled over my own paws when the blinding pain hit me in wolf form. I let out a howl of pain and came to a rough stop at the base of the
woods.
I looked at my front left paw which had a horrible burn. It didn’t make any sense that it wasn’t healing. Even if it
..
was a recent wound, due to my Alpha genes, it should have started healing. It looked normal, if anything, it looked a little worse. I should have gone to check it but I didn’t, instead, I rose on all fours making sure to keep my weight off it and starting my search for Camilla.
I tried to ignore the fact that her scent wasn’t even in the air. She had fallen from the top of the cliff, her scent had disappeared the moment she hit the water. It was nearly impossible to search for someone that you couldn’t smell or reach out to. Her wall was firmly up and I knew it was because she was probably unconscious. If I was to find her, I had to do it on my own.
“Your majesty, your leg,” one of the guards began but I growled lowly. He swallowed deeply and took a step back. “Juan told us-”
I opened up a link between the two of us. “I didn’t realize that Juan was the king. Get the f**k out of my way before I make you.”
He was smart enough to not test me. He hurriedly stepped aside leaving me to search for my mate. Everyone stayed out of my way but I could feel their worried and pitiful glances in my direction. None of them believed she was alive, none of them believed she was going to be found and there was nothing I hated more than the negativity.
“Get the f**k out!” I saw each of them still the moment I spoke into their minds. “Drop whatever it is you are doing and walk away. I can do this on my own.” No one moved. “Did I f**king stutter? Get the hell out right now.”
They moved in synchrony. I waited until the last person moved before I let out a growl loud enough to make the ground shake. If I was going to find my mate, I didn’t need people who were negative around me. it was going to be much harder searching by myself especially when I had an injured leg but I could do it, I was damn certain that I would or I was going to die trying.
I searched in silence for what felt like hours, my leg kept getting worse but I ignored it. There was still no sign of Camilla but that didn’t mean I was going to give up. I could hear a waterfall in the distance and I headed towards it wondering if she had somehow drifted over that way. I was almost there when I heard a huff behind me. I turned to see a sandy brown wolf and I didn’t need any introductions to know it was Juan.
“You can search the other end of the river,” I said down the link but he didn’t move. “Don’t just stand in my way, Juan, do something.”
“Your hand is bleeding like a bitch,” he said simply and I looked down at my hand. I hadn’t realized just how bad the bleeding had gotten. The skin was open and oozing blood profusely.
“It doesn’t hurt, it will heal.”
“It doesn’t look like it is healing. If you keep going this way, you will infect it.”
“Do you need something, Juan or are you here to bother me? We have to find Camilla. The longer we stay here speaking, the more time we are going to waste here. She could be hurting somewhere.”
“Ryker,” his voice was slow and patronizing. I hated the tone because it bode badly for me. He took a slow step back and I saw the dagger, the same one that went into Reina. It was lying on the floor with a scrap of fabric that looked like it came from Camilla’s dress.
“That’s good, it means she is close by.”
“No, Ryker, I found it stuck in the branches by the edge of the waterfall. Even if she survived the fall, she can’t survive that.”
I scoffed. “I know what I feel. The mate bond is intact, she is alive. I don’t care if you believe me or not. You can go back if you think she is dead but I will not allow you make me fear the worst. You can get the f**k out of my way.”
I tried to take a step forward but my leg gave out and I fell. I let out a growl of frustration and attempted to stand but Juan was by my side in an instant and he growled. He never growled, he never raised his voice, he was never confrontational.
“Look, if you want to spend the rest of your life out here looking for her, that’s fine, I would do the same if it were Christine but your daughters are in that palace waiting for their father and you are going to die if you don’t get that treated. They cannot lose two parents in a day. If you won’t do it for you, do it for them.”
