Page 29 of Renegade Queen

Chapter 13

Ryder

As the raspy voice washed over us, my grip on Alyssa tightened.

Watching her struggle to do the impossible and transport us to a different place was sobering. It all clicked into place, and for a moment, I was ashamed of us for making her do this. Not once had we asked what the cost would be to her. Not once did we even consider her needs. All we could concentrate on was Damon and the lengths we’d go to get him back.

And now, in the first few minutes since we’d arrived, it seemed like she’d nearly died, and an ominous voice in the shadows was threatening her.

She’d warned us that Nymeria was a dangerous place to go, and our naivety had basically laughed it off.

Alyssa’s hand slipped from my cheek to the back of my neck, and I felt a glimmer of satisfaction that didn’t entirely feel like my own. At first, I thought she was clinging to me, that she was seeking the safety of my arms, and fuck if that didn’t push aside the shame from moments before. When she met my eyes, I saw a flash of light sparkle across her gaze.

Something inside of me started trying to push to the surface. It raged and snarled, demanding Alyssa be protected at all costs. I wasn’t going to fight it. Why would I? It held the same fascination with her that I had long before that shifter had given me a hickey that would change my life forever. But I’d also seen the way the others looked at her, including Dean, surprisingly. And it gave me one of the best ideas I’d ever had. Now all I needed to do was ensure everyone else was on board.

“It’s okay; you don’t have to be scared,” she told me confidently before climbing to her feet. “Even after all these years, I wouldn’t forget your voice, Fizzle,” she spoke out into the trees.

A rustle of leaves in the canopy off to our left had the rest of us tensing for an attack. Dean looked seconds away from losing control; his breaths were coming in pants as his nostrils flared with each one. With his knees slightly bent and the death grip he had on his sword, I knew he was preparing to pounce on whatever was coming our way. I had no idea which version of him would be diving into the fight, though. Most would have been terrified about the thought of their friend turning into a snarling wolf. Yet, there was something oddly comforting about it.

Tank moved over to Alyssa, and I watched the relief take over his features as he wrapped an arm around her waist, bumping his forehead against hers.

I wanted that. I wanted the closeness between us where I wouldn’t even hesitate at whether she’d welcome my touch. Maybe thinking I had a chance was ridiculous. She already had him. Why would she welcome the rest of us into her life?

Yet I felt something with her, a spark, a pull, and I was almost certain she felt it too.

I’d never felt this vulnerability with a woman before. They always smiled at me like they’d already won, and I knew they were mine, even if just for one night. But Alyssa seemed to hold endless possibilities. And they amounted to more than any one night with a random woman could. They were the chance for happiness I’d never even contemplated looking for, and everything inside me screamed that it was for all of us, not just one. I had no idea where this certainty had come from. Still, something inside of me was terrified of what would happen if we drifted apart because I could already tell it would spell disaster, not just for us.

Utterly oblivious to the existential crisis blazing to life inside me, Alyssa calmly walked out of the protective circle we’d formed. Her hand drifted away from Tank and didn’t even move to the hilt of her sword. It should have convinced me that this situation wasn’t quite as dire as it seemed.

Maddox and Dean hadn’t seen what Tank and I had. They reached for her out of panic, intending to pull her back behind them.

I should have been watching Alyssa, ensuring she was as safe as she seemed to think. But I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Dean. I knew he had some kind of feelings for her. I’d seen the cracks in his usually grumpy exterior. Generally, he was pretty much an arsehole to everyone who wasn’t us, but for her? He’d dialled it down to slight annoyance, and that was as close to obsession as I’d ever seen in him. Not because he was following her everywhere, stalking her every move, but because he actually seemed to care what she thought about him.

And it was fascinating

And reaffirming for the plan I so wanted to put in place for all of us.

The leaves rustled again, and now I was reaching for the blade at my side as well. Slash and stab—it was that easy, right? Even pulling it from the guard had me rethinking my life choices. Why the hell had I never learned how to fight with a sword before?

“Come on, old friend. You can’t hide up there forever,” Alyssa almost cooed, confusing the hell out of the rest of us.

The frown on Dean’s face almost made me want to laugh. The dude was so serious all the time. Was it wrong to think that a life-threatening mission through a strange new world with a hot as fuck woman at our side would do him some good? This was just the sort of situation that we fuck-ups would relax over. After all, our entire life had been filled with trying to survive; it was kind of our comfort zone now.

I almost missed the small creature emerging from the treetops because I was watching the others so intently. This had always been my place in the group—quietly watching from the sidelines and then pulling them out of their own heads when they needed it.

The rustle of white feathers was confusing as the sleek wings opened up, revealing snow-white fur beneath. The creature glided down from the tree, circling our group. Then, with an almost flourish, it landed on Alyssa’s shoulder, wrapping a long white furry tail around her neck.

My eyes blinked as I tried to catalogue the thing before me. Alyssa had warned us that there were terrible creatures here, ones that would rather see us dead than turn and run in fear at the sight of us. But the thing in front of us?

It was just so fucking cute!

The white owl’s face cocked to the side as it stared back at me, seemingly examining me as I was it. It even had those cute little feather-like ears sticking out the top of its head. But apart from the white wings, that was where the similarities ended. Because under those wings was fluffy white fur, so white it almost seemed to shine in the light. Combine that with the four white fluffy legs and the tail wrapped around Alyssa’s neck, and I’d say this thing had the body of a house cat.

“Fizzle.” Alyssa bumped her head against the creatures on her shoulder. “It’s been a long time, old friend. Why are you still here?”

“The Court lies empty. The family is gone. There wasn’t much to go back to.”

It shrugged in a mannerism that was far too human to comprehend. The fact that this thing was talking was enough to make me wonder if Maddox had slipped those mushrooms into my drink like he did once when we were kids.