36. Ryn
Chapter thirty-six
Ryn
Promises, promises, and all those lies- Ryn Raines
The date is going well. We don’t have the kind of chemistry that people speak about in movies or epic romances, but we’d get along okay, and we could live a quiet life. The alpha has red hair, a sunburn, and is the most self-deprecating alpha I’ve ever met.
He’s just nice. And he smiles so much.
I almost feel bad about being here.
“Do you enjoy living out here?”
I hesitate. “It is pretty.”
He looks around. “It's paradise. I could live here forever. But alas, it’s not on the cards.”
“And why not? I could see you sipping cocktails out of coconuts and dancing in front of bonfires.”
He bursts into a laugh that has me smiling back.
I could almost forget about Fate’s Choice.
Almost.
I glance around and think I spot Tyr, but, no, that’s just my imagination, wait. Oh, my god.
I shift in my chair, wondering what to do, but our eyes connecting seems to have given him some automatic approval to stand up and approach. I glare at him, willing him to turn and go away, but Tyr sets his jaw and approaches easily.
He doesn’t even stop, just pulls out a chair and sits down. At our table !
I’m so astounded I can’t even find anything to say. Why does he look so good with his tropical shirt hanging open and those white shorts?
No, don’t think about that.
“Hello,” my date says in confusion, looking between us.
“Hi, my name’s Tyr. This is my omega.”
Open the ground beneath my feet and swallow me whole, this asshole!
My date holds out his hand with a welcoming smile. “Hi, Tyr, I’m Eben.” He pauses and grins wider. “Any chance you’re Tyr Fate from Fate’s Choice?”
“I am,” Tyr says with a shit-eating grin that he directs at me.
I glower back.
“Man, this is awesome. My brother Shale loves your music. He’s the biggest fan. Oh, I am, too!”
Tyr, the asshole, leans in close. “That makes me so happy, Eben.”
Eben bursts into a merry laugh, and I can see it’s going to be impossible to be annoyed with him. I pick up my drink and sip it. Maybe if I get drunk enough.
“So, Eben, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, I came to see my brother. Shale lives out here, but on one of the bigger islands. He moved here a few years ago and said he found a reason to stay that he couldn’t leave. So every now and then, I fly out and go exploring.”
“And you guys met-”
“We’re on a date, Tyr, that you’re interrupting.”
Tyr sits back in his chair with an expression of shock as feigned as the plastic palms in the hotel lobby.
“I am so sorry,” he gushes. “I had no idea you were looking to expand our pack, love.”
I seethe, shifting on the seat, wishing for a lightning strike. “It was supposed to be a mass exodus!” I snap back.
Eben looks between us. “Is something going on? Because I didn’t know this was a date. I thought we were just friends. Sorry, but I’m not looking for a pack right now.”
I turn my stunned gaze on the alpha, who is now blushing a mortified red colour. This wasn’t a date?
I stand up abruptly, but Tyr grabs my wrist.
“Ryn.”
There’s so much unsaid in those words. I can hear all the things he wants to say. It’s okay, don’t be embarrassed, I want you, who cares about him, I can kill him for you, please let me hug you. I know it all, word for word, because I know him .
I’m never going to get away from them. I’m never going to be able to move on. The realisation hits hard, punching me in the gut. I stumble, but Tyr is up and catches me, pulling me to his chest and turning so I’m shielded from all the eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers. “You’re going to be okay, no matter what happens.”
For a long moment, I let myself stay in the safety, the comfort, the love of his arms, but then reality breaks through, and I push away from him.
It’s never going to be okay.
“Sorry, Eben, we have to go, but here’s my card,” I hear Tyr say behind me, but I’m already rushing through the restaurant.
I think I escape him, but he catches me at the cliffs. The waves below crashing into the rocks can’t detract from the beauty of the expanse of blue. It’s peaceful. It should be.
“Why are you following me?” I scream at him.
“I will always follow where you go, Auryn. How can I not?”
I let out a sob and turn away from him, frustrated and aching. “I don’t want to hear it. And I don’t want to hear anymore lies!”
“Ryn, they aren’t lies. I promise-”
“NO MORE PROMISES!” I howl. “NO more broken promises, no more poison lies, no more hoping for something that I can’t have. Just stop. Let’s just stop this now.”
“Baby, please. I love you.”
I freeze.
“Since the moment we met, you have been the part that has been missing from my life. I’m not walking away from you, and I’m not going to leave. I’m going to stay here and convince you to forgive me if it takes me a hundred years.”
I stare at him. He really means it.
“When you’re ready, we have all the answers that you’re not ready to hear. I can explain about why we didn’t tell you everything. I can tell you our big secret. Ryn, it’s not what you think. If you just listen, you will understand.”
“I just need to be alone.”
He opens his mouth, hesitates, and then, to my surprise, he turns and walks back down the track.
He left. He listened. What did he mean it’s not what I think?
I stand there for a few hours pondering life and everything, but it’s not until someone clears their throat that I jerk out of my head.
Eben shuffles his feet and spreads his hands. For a moment, he’s speechless .
“I am so sorry. I didn’t want to embarrass you or anything, but I just wanted you to know it’s not my intention, and the way that went down, oh, man, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
I smile tightly. “It’s okay, Eben, it was my mistake.”
“I just, I’ve seen what packs can do to a person. My brother has met his omega, but she wants no part of him, and I’m trying to avoid that for as long as possible.”
I study him.
“Why?”
“He loves her. She loves him, but she was burned in the past and now can’t bring herself to trust.”
I return my gaze to the ocean. I can’t trust. That could be me.
“What?” my voice breaks, and I clear my throat and start again. “What if she’s right not to trust?”
“No, see, Shale is one of a kind. He’s devoted to her. And trust is earned. He has earned it a thousand times over. I don’t know what her deal is, but she keeps him on a string.”
“What if they broke her trust?”
“Then don’t they get a chance to fix it?” Eben asks. “You either cut them loose or listen.”
“But I did cut them off!”
Eben comes to stand beside me. “Can I give you some advice?”
I shrug. “Sure.”
“You don’t look at them like you’re done with them.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he goes on.
“He looks at you like you are everything that makes his world special. And I find it hard to imagine what he lives with. He is Tyr Fate. He must have seen everything, but it’s you that makes him light up.”
I chew my bottom lip.
“I’m just saying, maybe you aren’t ready to walk away. Maybe there is still something holding you to them, and if you’re fighting it, is your reason a good one? Because it doesn’t look like you're just hurting them, it looks like you're hurting yourself.”
“Have you practiced that?”
“A few times. You got the modified version. Wasn’t meant to be delivered to you, though, I was hoping to get through to Shale’s omega. But my brother caught me. Bastard knocked out a tooth when I tried to speak to her. He’s got a mean left hook.”
“I’m not sure I can forgive them for what they did.”
“Okay, but how long are you going to keep running? Why not just hear them out? Then you can say firmly one way or the other if it’s over. ”
I turn to him and smile. It’s a tired smile, but it’s there. He gives me that same infectious grin he was wearing when I met him.
“So, forgive me?”
I snort a laugh. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
“It was really interesting to meet you. I do have to get going. Tyr is going to introduce me to the guys.”
I blink at him. “You are friends with them now?”
“Well, yeah, they are Fate’s Choice. That song, ‘So Long’, is on my playlist for life!”
I snort a laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, it's just…I wrote the lyrics to that song.”
His eyes go wide. “No way!”
“I’ve never said that out loud before. But that’s how I know them. I help them write their songs.”
Eben holds out a pen and a journal.
I stare at it in confusion. “What’s this?”
“I want your signature. When it comes out that you wrote that music, I want to say I have your first ever signature.”
“Oh, but I-”
“Please?”
I reluctantly take the pen and book and squiggle a short note and autograph it.
“Are you sure you aren’t ready to face them? I’d love a picture of the five of you.”
I shake my head. I can’t stay angry with this guy. There is something so infectious about him.
“You are the most interesting stranger I’ve ever shared a meal with. I wish you luck, and I hope your brother finds his happy place.”
Eben sweeps me into a hug before I can protest, squeezing me before he lets me go and steps back, waving enthusiastically. Before I can so much as get out a goodbye, he’s gone.
And I’m left with a whole lot of questions.