60
Max's POV...
With every breath and minutes I spent with Liv, anger flushed through me. I had to leave her all alone before I did the unthinkable and ended up regretting my actions.
I was already in regrets as guilt filled me. I had said a lot of hurtful things to Liv but did she ever think about my feelings?
Whatever she did without having a second thought proved that she never cared or thought about me, not even for once and thinking about it really pissed me off.
Liv had unknowingly showed me where I stood in her life and she wasn't aware of it. I strolled along the woods and I saw someone backed against me. Instantly I knew who it was as I strode towards him and placed my hand on his shoulder.
He knew who I was just from my scent and footsteps so they wasn't any need to turn around. I stepped beside him, staring into the trees.
"I need to speak to you about something important Ryder, I need your help to accomplish a task at hand" I said and Ryder turned to look at me.
"If this has to do with Liv then I'm not sorry to say but I'm not ready to have thay conversation with you" Ryder stated and I twisted my lips into a wry smile.
"I'm aware you're still upset about what happened in the dinning hall but you can't blame me, knowing fully well it's not my fault" I declared.
"Really Max? you're unbelievable. When did you turn out to be a person that makes a mistake but refuses to accept that fact" Ryder lashed out at me.
"What you're saying doesn't make any sense. I told you who is responsible for everything and I'm not at fault" I repeated my words, gazing hard into Ryder's eyes.
"Your body belongs only to you and there is a way you can control your wolf if you choose to but it's futile talking to you because whatever you're doing is intentional, you're really a black sheep" Ryder retorted as my eyes burned dangerously at him.
The thought of what had suddenly come over Ryder filled my head. As far as I had known he wasn't the type to be harsh with words when it came to me but today he didn't hold back, he looked into my eyes and said all those hurtful words.
"You're really naive and you've always been naive" I muttered.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm impressed you're interested in knowing what I meant so now I'll take you down memory lane. Can you recall when Callum took the girl you loved from you and how bad you felt about it? that's how I feel about Liv".
"We weren't fully grown at that time and you can never trust high school romance. I got to understand it was just infatuation and not love, we all just had that deep desire to enjoy our selves to the fullest" Ryder replied.
"What you're thinking isn't true at all. Callum made you believe that because he has always been a manipulator"
"Max that's where you need to draw the line because no slander against Callum would be tolerated by me. You really don't want to see to what extent I can go" Ryder warned as rage surged through me.
"I can see what you're doing. All of a sudden, Callum has become your pal. What ever has happened is worse for me because this time around it involves my mate and not a random girl" I pronounced and from the tone of my voice it would dawn on anyone I was slightly pissed.
"What exactly do you want my help in?" Ryder queried and I cleared my throat.
"There is going to be a council meeting and I need you to be on my side in forming an alliance with the dark sky pack".
"Are you out of your mind Max? I thought we all spoke about this in the meeting hall and we came to a conclusion that we won't be joing alliances with dark sky pack so why the heck are you bent on going back to that topic?" Ryder said.
"That decision wasn't made by everyone but by Callum and what he decides won't stand. You're my only hope at this moment and I want you to stand by me"
"Save that bullshit for someone who would be easily swayed by it. I'm quite aware I'm not your only hope, I can read through you Max and I know you and mum have suddenly become a team" Ryder blurted out.
"Whatever you're thinking doesn't matter because it isn't true".
"A liar never accepts he's a liar. I knew something was up when I saw you and her on the dinning together. You've always avoided the dinning because of mum so why the change of heart all of a sudden? and I did notice the quick glances between both of you"
"Ryder please trust me" I groaned in frustration
"I can never trust you Max. Trusting you would be like deceiving myself over and over again, I really don't want that for myself"
"Can you at least let me speak?" I asked as silence erred between us. "I don't have any business with mum not in the past and neither in the future" I lied.
"I don't believe you because you give me reasons not to so let's not dig into that matter before your wolf unleashes on me" Ryder mocked but I decided not to react to his words.
He was clearly trying to get me pissed off but at that moment I needed him to help me fulfill my mission and I wasn't going to let my anger overwhelm me.
"You and Callum have deprived me of my mate so the least you can do for me is to help me out and that way you would be able to repent for your mistake" I uttered.
"I haven't made any mistake and no one has deprived you of anything. The truth is you can't just get it all alone but you can't accept that harsh fact" Ryder said.
"That's not what I'm talking about. I want to know your final answer, will you help me in this or not?" I inquired, ignoring Ryder because he was clearly just talking too much.
"If you want my help you'll be humble to ask for it rather than threatening me"
I let out a loud sigh in frustration and carded my fingers through my hair. Ryder knew how to get to my nerves and I was slowly losing it but I needed to act smart and keep everything under control.
If this opportunity slips out of my hand, I might never be able to get it back and it was crucial that I remained calm.
"You got it all wrong Ryder. I'm not threatening you so you shouldn't take my words to heart. The offer I'm giving to you will make our pack stronger and we need to make Callum understand that fact" I explianed, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Ryder nodded his head as he gazed hard at me without blinking for some seconds. He looked down at my hand on his shoulder and removed it, dropping my hands to my sides.
"I'm offering to help you for the benefit of our packhouse but if I ever get to find out that this is only a part of your stupid game between you and mum then I promise, you'll see the side of me you've never set your eyes on. I mean every word Max so you had better let my words sink deep into your ears" Ryder warned.
Relief surged through me and I was happy I got what I wanted. Not really what I wanted but what my mum assigned me to do.
Now I had achieved the goal of convincing Ryder to stand by me and mum would take over from there.
She would also help me in looking for ways to make Liv belong to only me and no one else.
Ryder had just proven he was truly a puppet. I didn't have to say too much and he was already by my side.
I was ready to strike in such a way and no one would never understand how I took Liv away from them right under their noses.