Chapter Two #3
Arslan rose, snatching away all the comfort Ryland had found sitting at his feet without even the slightest warning. He stepped past Ryland without a word and stood proud and tall in the centre of the room. Not sure what else to do, Ryland remained kneeling on the floor by the base of the sofa.
Doctorates, money, the rest of the world—as Ryland stared up at the professor, it all felt so irrelevant.
Suddenly, there were only two important things in the world—working out how to tell Arslan that he’d been wrong believe that Ryland wouldn’t agree to screw in exchange for cash, and finding a way to convince Arslan to forgive him for it.
Those two things were it. Nothing else mattered.
Inch by inch, Ryland dragged his gaze up the professor’s body. Arslan’s eyes flickered from one lion to the next. He seemed to wait for each lion to lower his gaze in response, before he moved on to the next shifter. When he looked towards Ryland, he followed their lead and lowered his eyes, too.
“Stand up, Ryland.”
He quickly stumbled to his feet, and, all at once, he wasn’t a naked man sitting in a room full of likewise naked men.
He wasn’t just another student who didn’t step out of line when Professor Arslan glared at him.
He was back to being the human who’d agreed to be thrown to the lions in exchange for money.
He was back to being someone who Arslan didn’t know had been paid to be there.
Ryland doubted his knees would hold him when he finally pulled himself up to his full height. By some miracle, they did.
“Come here.”
Ryland took a step forward.
*
Arslan stared down at Ryland for several long seconds.
His new pet. That’s how he’d been thinking of Ryland since he’d arrived at the den that night.
Well, consciously, at least. Unconsciously, perhaps, he had always known that Ryland was going to be more to him than that, right from the first moment he’d seen him sneak into a seat at the back of a lecture hall.
Ryland’s nerves had obviously come back full force now, and Arslan wasn’t entirely surprised.
Being called up to stand in front of the pride could make anyone wary.
And, even if Ryland did have very fine instincts for a human, it wouldn’t be fair to him to forget that this was his first time among lions.
As Arslan watched, Ryland swallowed rapidly, fighting to keep control of his emotions.
If he’d caught Blaine’s words, that couldn’t have helped him realise he was safe with his new master.
It couldn’t have helped him believe that being taken under a lion’s protection was anything more than an insult either.
Reaching out, Arslan stroked a fingertip along Ryland’s jaw, encouraging him to lift his gaze so their eyes could meet.
A noise floated across from Blaine and Luther’s part of the sofa as one of the two idiots fidgeted, but Ryland’s gaze didn’t falter. Whatever interest he’d displayed in the brats during the meal appeared to have drained away now that he had something more important to focus upon.
Arslan nodded his approval. He was tempted to believe Ryland already had the sense to recognise the other lions’ nonsense for what it was. Even so, he wasn’t willing to let even the slightest doubt about his intentions towards Ryland linger in anyone’s minds.
He’d been extremely patient while Ryland sat quietly in the back of his lecture hall, but the idea that they could go back to that now was laughable.
“Focus now, pet, this is important.” He took great care to keep the words tender and between them, in spite of the other lions listening in.
Ryland nodded.
“You will answer every question I ask you, completely and honestly.”
Ryland’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he made another attempt to swallow down his nerves. He nodded again. “Yes, sir.”
He wasn’t sure what any of this meant, Arslan could see it in his eyes. The answer was little more than a leap of faith in his direction. If it proved anything at all, it was merely that Ryland trusted him enough to believe he wouldn’t ask him an unfair question.
Arslan nodded his approval, content to let the details wait for a more private moment, when he could explain the pride and Ryland’s rightful place in it to him properly, without any interruptions from the others. For now, a public answer given to a simple offer was all that was actually required.
He settled his hand on Ryland’s shoulder, something to steady them both, and he began. “If you come to us willingly and of your own free will, with no thought for your own gain, and only wishing to add to the pride, then you are welcome.”
The words slipped off his tongue as if they had been practiced for hours.
They were familiar, in that he had known the form the questions should take for as long as he could remember.
But, at the same time, he couldn’t help but be intensely aware that this was both the first and the last time he would ever say them—the first and last time he’d ever need to say them.
“If you wish to belong to the pride, to take your rightful place in the pride, you are welcome.”
Ryland stared up at him with far too many emotions swirling in his eyes for Arslan to have any idea what he was actually thinking.
“If you come to us without lies or secrets, you are welcome.”
Arslan could feel the gaze of the other lions intensify against his skin as they finally seemed to realise that he really was inviting Ryland to join the pride, not just as a temporary pet, but permanently, as Arslan’s mate.
Taking a deep breath, Arslan pushed forward through the last part of the offering. “If you are who we believe you to be, say that you wish to take your rightful place in the pride, and you will be welcomed.”
Ryland’s lips moved. They began to form a yes. Arslan had no doubt about that. Then, he stopped short. His lips closed. His gaze lost both its focus and its certainty. He looked down.
Silence.
“Ryland?” Arslan prompted.
Ryland’s rib cage rose and fell as he took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. He closed his eyes. A movement at Ryland’s side drew Arslan’s attention, and he watched Ryland’s hands form into tight fists.
Any indication that Ryland was more capable of trusting his instincts than all the other humans Arslan had ever known was long gone—if it had even existed to begin with.
Arslan held his breath, but no words came. The only answer he received was a rapid little shake of the head.
“Ryland?”
Very slowly, Ryland finally managed to look up and met his gaze. Pain filled his deep blue eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.”
It took the hearing of a lion to make out the words.
Arslan stared down at him, desperately trying to work out what had gone wrong.
No one could have accepted the touch of a lion more easily or more naturally.
No human could have shown better instincts or such a strong desire to follow them.
No man had ever felt so right against his skin.
Ryland was his mate, Arslan knew it all the way down to his bones.
A frown gathered on his brow as he realised that really was all Ryland intended to say on the matter. He dropped his hand away from Ryland’s shoulder and took a step back from him. His head swirled with just as much confusion as he saw in Ryland’s eyes.
If he hadn’t been right about anything else that night, Arslan knew he had been right when he’d said Ryland was different to all the other humans who’d been thrown to them over the years. No other human could have ever inspired him to make such an impossibly rash offer.
Anger at his own stupidity flared inside Arslan. Damn it, he was more than old enough to know that there was no such thing as a human who was that good at following his instincts. Forgetting that when he was with the only human who would ever actually matter to him—it was inexcusable.
“Sir, I—”
No. A moment’s foolishness didn’t mean he needed the details of his error explained to him as if he was a cub who didn’t know better. “No explanation is necessary,” Arslan cut in.
The other lions were still watching them. Even if he’d just made a spectacular fool of himself, Arslan was still the leader of the pride. He was still responsible for what happened to any human who was thrown to them. The most important thing, the only thing now, was to get Ryland out of there.
“The car will be waiting for you outside.” His voice came out perfectly calm and level, as if the world hadn’t suddenly fallen down around him.
Ryland stayed exactly where he was.
It didn’t seem like refusal to obey as much as a temporary inability to do anything it all. Seeing no other option, Arslan led the way, walking out of the room ahead of him.
It worked. Ryland snapped back into reality and followed him into the hallway.
Then, he promptly stopped in the middle of that room.
Arslan paused by the front door and turned back to him.
Ryland made no attempt to catch up. He wrapped his arms around his torso in some effort to keep himself warm in the cooler space and stayed exactly where he was.
“Sir, if I could just—”
Arslan silenced him with a shake of his head.
Ryland finally took a step forward—towards the door, towards him, Arslan wasn’t sure which.
“I believe the humans have some arrangement where they return you to wherever you left your clothes.” Arslan had never really thought too much about it before, not in all the years he’d run a pride.
That was between the humans. His responsibility for the men who came to them ended as soon they were returned to the vehicle.
And, tonight, he had no choice but to pretend the same standard applied to Ryland.
Ryland looked past Arslan. The car had returned to collect Ryland, but he really didn’t look enthusiastic about leaving the house with whoever was driving it.