Chapter 8
I avoided Ryker for the rest of the week. Well, I avoided him as much as I could, considering the fact that I was living in his house and passed him on ever corridor. He also made sure to sit with me whenever I had to eat and to keep a close eye on me because he didn’t trust that I wouldn’t hurt myself.
I have been here for a week now and I don’t know if I’m more or less terrified than I was when I arrived. He hasn’t said anything about us being mates and 1 am scared to bring it up. I don’t know what exactly his plans are for me and I am terrified to find out. His silence could be a good or a bad thing but I don’t know him well enough to come up with an answer.
A part of me wishes I stayed with Tyson because at least I knew him and I could predict his moods and responses. With Ryker: I’m in uncharted territory.
When he arrived with my breakfast, I was contemplating whether or not to talk to him about it and it must have been obvious on my face because all of a sudden, he sent the maid out of the room.
As soon as she left he turned to me, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t understand,” I was wrecked with confusion, “What do you mean?”
“You have been biting at your fingernails and picking at your food for the past ten minutes. It is either something is wrong or you aren’t happy with the meal.”
“Nothing is wrong with the meal.”
“So something is wrong with you,” I stayed silent, “I’m listening.”
“Why am I here?” the words flew from my mouth before I could stop them, “You’ve kept me indoors and I understand why; I just don’t understand why you won’t just reject me. I wouldn’t be hurt by it, I swear.”
“I’m not rejecting you Camilla,” his voice was curt but somehow warm at the same time, “And I have not kept you indoors. because I am hiding you; I have kept you indoors because I wanted to give you time to heal and get used to the environment before you had to start meeting people.”
“My feet are healed now,” my voice was a whisper as I pulled up my feet to show him.
There were still little scratches there but the major bruising was gone and I could stand and move around it for a while without feeling pain and without it bleeding. That didn’t mean I stopped using the fluffy sl*ppers though. Quite the contrary actually; they were very comfortable and they looked really good..
“If you’re ready; we could go out today.”
I was taken aback by his kindness and the soft manner in which he spoke to me. In all my life, no one has ever spoken to me that way: like I was worthy of their words, like I was their equal and it warmed something in me but at the same time put me on edge because I didn’t know how to react to it.
I didn’t know if he was doing it because he truly believed me worthy or because he simply wanted something from me. Whichever it was; I wasn’t ready for it. So instead of using my words, I just nodded.
He understood what I was trying to convey because he gave me a curt nod and walked out of the room. Shortly after, the maid returned to get me ready.
When the maid was done dressing me, she led me downstairs to where Ryker was waiting in the living room. He led me outside to where the carriage was waiting and he opened the door for me to get in.
I had forgotten what it felt like to be confined in such a small space with him. Our knees knocked against each other with each bump of the carriage. I could feel his domineering presence as it filled up the entire space. It was overwhelming and exhilarating at the same time.
Throughout the ride, I could feel the weight of his stares on me but I kept my eyes trained on the outside window and wied
taken up every ounce and inch of my attention and I hated it.
The carriage moved slowly until we arrived at a huge building. If I were to assume, I would say it was the pack house judging by the sheer number of people who were walking in and out of the building.
A man opened the carriage door and Ryker helped me out. As my feet hit the floor, all eyes were on us. I tried my best to focus on the building and not on the people.
It was a four floor building with stone walls that were painted a mute cream color. All the windows were made of tinted glass. so I couldn’t see inside but I could bet my soul that they could see me.
Ryker gestured for me to walk with him and I made sure to follow a few feet behind him. He noticed what I was doing because he slowed his steps and came to stand right next to me. I was confused and unsure by his actions and tried to fall back but he quickly anchored his hand at my lower back.
The movements made my spine straighten and my breath hitched in my throat. I saw an unfamiliar expression cross his face but before I could decipher it, he had schooled his expression back to cold and unfeeling.
People stared as we walked and the moment we moved past them, whispers followed. It reminded me of being back at the Two Moons pack and I was grateful for Ryker’s hand that kept me from running out of the pack house and never looking
back.
When we approached the staircase I thought we were going upstairs but instead he led me down. By the time we reached the bottom, my mouth fell open. It was some sort of lounge for the guards.
Most of them were still in their uniforms but a few had changed into casual clothes. As soon as they sighted us, they stood to their feet and there was a chorus of Alpha’ I knew most of them were unsure of how to address me because they all stared at me with curious expressions.
“Where is Lauren?” Ryker asked.
“She went to take a shower; she should be out in a few minutes Alpha.” One of the guards replied, never taking his eyes off
“Tell her to meet me in my office.” He didn’t wait for a response from any of them; he led me back up the stairs. As soon as we left, I heard the whispers start.
If Ryker was bothered by it; he didn’t let it show. Instead, he kept a blank expression on his face and led me up the stairs to the fourth floor. There was one door at the far end of the corridor and that was where he led me too.
He took out a key from his pocket and opened it and my eyes widened as I took in the large room.
I have never seen a room this big in my life. There were two large bookshelves that lined the wall behind the huge wooden table and leather chair. A couch sat just to the right of the door we came in through and further to the right was a large balcony that overlooked the entire pack house. To the left was a huge filing cabinet and a door that I can’t help but wonder what exactly it leads to.
He shut the door behind us and let go of my b*dy. Somehow I felt both relieved and disappointed and I hated myself for the latter feeling because the last thing I should be doing is getting attached to someone like Ryker Caine. He might just be as worse if not worse than Tyson.
“This is where I am most of the time,” he began, “I’ve been working from home for the past few days but from tomorrow I will be doing most of my work here.”
“Okay,” I didn’t know how to respond so I settled for a simple response.
“Before Lauren comes; there’s something you should know.” He cleared his throat before continuing, “Please sit.”
I settled for the couch but when I looked up. I hated the way he towered over me. It made me feel helpless and powerless and I felt like he had the upper hand. I felt like at any moment, he could hurt me and it made my heart race.
I took a deep breath before I spoke, “Can you please sit down?”
I waited for him to lash out or hit me for speaking out of turn but instead he gave me a curious expression and took the chair on the opposite end of his table but turned it to face me.
“Can I ask why you did not want me to stand?” he asked after sitting.
I wanted to stay quiet but I realized that he deserved some sort of explanation after doing what I asked without any
hesitations.
“I don’t like it when people tower over me,” my voice was barely over a whisper, “I don’t know why or how to explain it but 1
don’t like it.”
“It won’t happen again.” From the fierceness and ferocity of his voice; I knew it was a promise and somehow I knew he would do everything possible to make sure he kept that promise.
“Thank you.”
He gave me a small nod, “As I was saying earlier; I need to tell you something before Lauren arrives.”
I braced myself to hear whatever he was about to say but just as he opened his mouth to speak; there was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal a beautiful blond haired girl.
She walked in with an air of confidence, “I heard you sent for me Ry-,” she trailed off when she saw me and her smile fell. “Well this is a surprise; hi, I’m Lauren.”
