38. Ryn
Chapter thirty-eight
Ryn
The sharks circle, and the net tightens- Ryn Raines
They changed tactics. They are no longer hunting me down everywhere I go. In fact, I haven’t seen them in two weeks. But every morning, a different breakfast is delivered to my room.
Flowers appear every afternoon.
Music that I love plays on the hotel sound system.
I stalk past the hotel reception where, every morning, Sonya, the woman who works the early shift, hands me a handwritten note that I fold up, put in my pocket, and refuse to read.
If I walk on the beach, someone comes up to me, paid to follow me, holding an umbrella or a drink. Snacks are delivered and dropped off with shocking frequency.
All my favourite foods. My favourite drinks.
If they were trying to prove they knew me well, then they’ve succeeded, but I don’t feel any urge to forgive them.
Why won’t they go away?
I decide to go the opposite way this morning, which is a complete break from my normal habits.
I spot a bunch of kids yelling and running around, but then I spot why. Mako and Digs have a ball and are kicking it around. About five kids chase them, laughing and shouting .
I stand behind a tree, watching, unwilling to get closer. I don’t know if I want kids, but seeing them with them is doing all sorts of unpleasant things to me. Where are Envy and Tony?
I miss them.
I miss their families.
I miss the crew.
All those hours of making songs, of laughing while we create something amazing. I miss the excitement of watching them get ready to go on stage, the electricity in the air.
I just miss them.
It takes everything in me to turn away from them, to force myself to walk one foot in front of the other. I go back to the hotel, feeling woozy, but stop when I see Tyr arguing with the chef.
I almost intercede until the chef puts a hand on Tyr’s back and starts to laugh. Seeing him like this is something I haven’t seen before. He looks happy and less stressed.
Is this the life they could live away from the prying eyes of the world? Calm and happy, making friends and playing.
I sit in the outdoor area and let my mind drift.
“Fish?”
I wince and open my eyes, only to find Mako crouched in front of me. His brows are creased, and he reaches out, and I just know if he touches me, I will lose it.
So I do the only thing I can think of doing, I run. I bolt out of the hotel and turn, walking backwards, checking to see if he’s following me.
It’s not until I slam into a hard back that I just know instantly I’ve fucked up. My panic grows because the scent of almonds is so distinctive that I don’t even need my sight to know who I’m pressed up against.
It took every ounce of willpower I had to try to get over them. I cried every night. I still cry. The betrayal has turned cold, and now all that’s left is the lingering pain of their absence.
Yet, here he is.
Larger than life.
He whips around, and before I can do anything other than sway, his hand closes over my wrist.
“Omega,” Digs breathes. “Are you real or is this just another dream? It’s been a nightmare without you.”
Cameras flash all around us. I try to tug my wrist free, but he just holds me tighter, his fingers like a shackle, his eyes roaming over my face, drinking me in. I’ve never felt more seen or more naked .
“Digs, please,” I clear my throat. “Let me go, right now, Alpha Fate.”
My words break the trance, and I’m pulled into his arms. I shiver as I clutch at his shirt, trying to push some distance between us. The ever-present tears threaten to return, and I breathe in his scent, drowning in him. My resistance crumbles, and I cling to him.
“Aura.”
He suddenly stiffens and snarls at the growing crowd. I’m lifted up and carried deeper into the hotel. In the lift, I attempt to struggle free, my cheeks burning from the humiliation of that spectacle. This will be everywhere. Every tabloid, every newspaper, every damn report. My father will know my location in minutes.
“Auryn Raines, I could spank you,” Digs grumbles and drags me to a hotel room that opens when he swipes a card. “We’ve been searching for you everywhere. Cities, islands, villages, ships. Under rocks and up in trees. Day and night. Looking every single day for you. You hid in the entire world, and then you found a way to turn this island into a place where I can’t even see you. It’s not fair.”
He finally lets me go, and I whirl away from him, trying to get some space to think. Digs is here with me, and he’s mad. I stare at him. He looks the same, but angrier.
The wound of their betrayal rips open again.
“I have to go,” I say coldly.
He growls, sharp and violent, and stalks me. He cups my cheeks and kisses me so deeply and so thoroughly that I can’t even remember my own name.
I cling to him as my mind reels. Everything screams that this is right. Except the pain, it rips me clean out of the lust haze. I bite his bottom lip so hard I draw blood. Rage fuels me. I claw at his shoulders, trying to make him hurt like he hurt me! I tear my mouth away from his and shove at him.
“Let go of me!” I shout.
“No!”
“Let me go now!”
“Never,” Digs snarls back. “There is no going. No more running. No more hiding.”
I whimper, and he cups my ass and drags me up against his body. I react instantly, my hand cracking across his face.
“I’m not stupid. You have an omega, and you betrayed me. When I needed you most, you betrayed me!” Those ridiculous tears fall, blurring my vision. I hate them!
“I’m done with being apart from you. I’ve known since we met that you were supposed to be with us. We did what we needed to in order to keep you safe!”
“Lies!” I hiss and break free of his hold.
“No! Scent matches!” Digs shoots back.
I’m stunned that he’s said it. That he knows what we are .
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I mutter and try to shove myself free.
My protests fall on deaf ears. Digs is determined, so I prepare to fight him. The hotel door rips open, and before I can think, Mako is here. His chest heaving, his dark eyes finding and locking on me.
I feel like I’ve been hit again. My whole body reacts to him. How much stronger are bonds if this is how I feel without them?
“Fish!”
I blink at him as he almost sobs my name. He pulls me into his arms and hugs me so tight my ribs ache. I try to push him off, but it’s like trying to hold back the tides.
“Why did you run?”
I’ve barely gotten my feet under me when Tyr grips my throat and tows me into him. Instinctively, I go still, my eyes wide, staring up at the alpha as he slowly looks me up and down before refocusing on my face.
“Try and run again,” Tyr growls. “Just try it.”
I shudder, staring up at him. I’ve never seen him so angry before. Well, I’m angry, too. I grab his wrist and try to drag it away from me, but I have no hope.
His eyes spit lightning, and he slowly closes the distance, his lips touching mine. Deceptively soft.
I whine.
Pathetically.
Desperate and scared. I don’t want to hurt anymore. I don’t want to be alone but better alone than hurt.
“No more running, Omega.”
My mind goes blank. He didn’t bark at me. There’s no command in his words, but the absolute demand doesn’t give me any room to evade his intentions.
“You found me here,” I whisper stupidly. “How?”
“I’d always find you. You can hide on a million islands, but a million isn’t enough. You run, we’ll chase you, until the end of time, Auryn. There is nowhere that you can go where we won’t find you.”
A single tear slips down my cheek. “What am I supposed to do, then? What if you hurt me?”
“What are you so afraid of?” Tyr whispers in desperation.
“What if,” I lick my lips and glance at the others. I look back up at him. “I don’t want to end up like my mum.”
Tyr flinches. His hand drops from my throat as if I’ve burned him. “You think we’d hit you? You think we’d really lay a hand on you? ”
“No!” I wail, “but it hurts. It hurts when you have an omega but tell me you love me. Tyr, it hurts when you make promises and break them. It hurts because I’ve given you everything, and what am I now without you? You lie, and you keep secrets.”
Tyr stares at me, his eyes scanning my face, his mouth parted. “We did do that,” he admits. “We did. You’re right.” Tyr walks to the coffee table and sits down, looking down at his hands between his knees. “We hurt you so much,” he murmurs.
Everything in me wants to go to him, but I hold my ground. “So, what am I supposed to do?” I ask again.
“We left Alpha Labels, Ryn,” Mako says, ignoring my hopeless question.
I glance at him, the magnitude of that statement crashing through me. “You left the label?” The sentence doesn’t make sense. Why would they leave the label?
“Yes.”
“But-” I look around at them. “So, what is this? Added torture? Did you think I’d just forgive you? That it would all be okay?” I snap and fold my arms over my chest, closing myself off and trying to find the reserves to fight them.
“We’re here to claim our omega,” Tyr says starkly and with total honesty.
Their omega. The one they have been hiding. I should have known. I never forget about the hidden mystery omega, but I don’t understand. Where is she? Why are they hiding her? Is she sick? Injured?
I lick my lips. “So she’s here?”
A throat clears, and I look past Tyr and find my cousin Kelly. Just behind him, staring with huge eyes, is Envy.
“We need to talk first,” Envy says. “Just you and me, no touching, no bribes or blackmail, nothing but a conversation we should have had four years ago. No alphas. Just you and me.”
I stare at him, drinking him in, he looks so different, and yet, still the same. Those green eyes are so much more beautiful than I remember. Missing him has been a wound I haven’t been able to heal from. I’ve seen all the others on and off for weeks, but Envy has been a ghost, and I’ve been too scared to ask. Where the alphas bring all this rage to the forefront, Envy just recalls the depths of my despair.
Envy holds out his hand. I don’t want to go with him, but I think the only option of escaping these alphas will be taking his hand.
“Go with him. We’ll be watching,” Tyr suggests flatly. “Envy won’t hurt you.”
The room is silent while I come to my decision. They aren’t giving me a choice. I need to get out of this room. I need to get away from them. My head is spinning and their scents are making my stomach clench .
I take the first unsure steps towards Envy and pause, glancing at Kelly. He shrugs, giving me that familiar lopsided smile.
“You don’t have to go, but I think, Ryn, that you should do this. Trust me, you want to hear this.”
I trust Kelly. I really do, so I reach out and slip my hand into Envy’s.
“There’s a beach about ten minutes’ drive from here that is always empty. Ryn knows the way,” Kelly says as he wanders deeper into the hotel room, picking up an apple, and then flopping on the couch and making himself at home.
I stare at Kelly, wondering at his transformation, but then Envy has my hand and tugs me gently from the hotel room.
And because it’s Envy, I follow him. But I’d follow him anywhere.
That’s why it hurts so much.