Chapter 9 - Elena
A torrential mix of relief, anguish, and disbelief roared within Elena as she trailed behind Ryder. The shock rendered her speechless and practically numb, leaving her feeling detached from reality. Her whole body shook, and her head swam with dizziness. Too many thoughts were spinning rapidly through her head to fully process what had happened, but she clung to the solid form before her like an anchor while images of the two shifters clashing violently flashed through her mind.
She had seen wolves fight before, but only for training purposes or the occasional brawl outside a bar. Never had she witnessed such a vicious display of aggression and brutality. It was startlingly clear that the dark-furred wolf had intended to kill Ryder and that he had wanted just as much to kill the intruder. Watching the handsome blond man now leading her down the street, who normally oozed charm and nonchalance, charge forth like an unstoppable tornado of fire and brute strength was as terrifying as it was mesmerizing. What scared her most was how helpless it had made her feel. One false move, and he might not have walked away from the fray. Or her, for that matter.
In her shock, she didn't protest or argue when he guided her into the black SUV parked around the corner. If the urgency with which he shoved her into the seat and locked the door behind her was any indication, he was as rattled as she was. His jaw was clenched tightly as he peeled out of the parking spot, sending the tires squealing and filling the air with the acrid smell of burnt rubber. They hurtled onto the busy street at an alarming speed, neither speaking a single word, and the car raced down the normally sleepy main street with a reckless disregard for pedestrians or other vehicles.
What in the world had just happened? The question echoed through her head over and over as she stared blankly ahead. The events of only a few minutes ago, when she had stormed out of Ryder's apartment in frustration and hurt, suddenly felt like they had occurred in a completely different lifetime. Everything that came after had been a blur of chaos and panic, punctuated by snarls and growls and the rusty screech of metal on pavement. Now, all was silent save for the hum of the engine and the blaring of horns from angry drivers around them as they weaved expertly in and out of lanes on the way to... Where, exactly?
Elena snapped back to attention, her eyes darting around the vehicle's cabin as she slowly came back to full awareness of her surroundings. Her brows furrowed quizzically as she observed the landscape flying by out the passenger window. She blinked several times as if that would help her grasp the impossibility before her and finally turned her bewildered gaze to the driver.
“What the hell is going on?” she exclaimed, her voice coming out a shrill half-shriek. “Who was that? How did you—why—what?”
Ryder's expression remained stoic, intently focused on the road ahead of them. They pulled onto the highway headed north and rocketed up the ramp at a frightening velocity. The car accelerated even faster, and he shifted seamlessly into the far left lane, weaving around the slower vehicles occupying that side of the road with ease. His hand gripped the steering wheel like a vice, knuckles white under the pressure. He was covered in bruises and minor abrasions, though most seemed to be healing already, and his clothes were torn and tattered, leaving most of his muscular torso on full display. He wore a determined grimace and gazed straight forward, giving absolutely no sign that he'd heard her speak at all.
“Ryder!” she demanded impatiently, glaring furiously at him. “Hello? The huge, crazy wolf trying to kill me? Explain?”
Her companion stiffened, nostrils flaring with a sharp breath as he took several beats before responding. “Shut up,” he commanded curtly. “I need to focus.”
For a fraction of a second, Elena's eyes widened incredulously. Did he just tell her to shut up? “Uh, no,” she spat back hotly, glaring at him. “You are not going to talk to me like that right now! And slow down. Are you insane? You're going to get us both killed!”
“Elena,” came his low, strained growl in response, “sit still and be quiet. I am not kidding. Now is not the time for this.”
This was a sharp departure from the laid-back, smug, cocky demeanor he usually displayed. Seeing this side of him was unsettling, to say the least, and only served to fuel her confusion and growing anxiety further. If even he was unnerved, then she had every reason to panic. Her heart thundered frantically, adrenaline pumping wildly through every inch of her body.
It wasn't fair of him to keep her in the dark. He couldn't expect her to blindly follow him wherever he led with zero explanation. Both he and Tolliver always did this. Treated her like a kid and refused to let her in on whatever big secrets the pack was hiding that made life so dangerous for them. She had been raised by shifters, but they didn't treat her like one of them. Not really. All her life, they had sheltered and protected her while also keeping her away from the action. Now, the action had come to her, and she refused to be ignored and told to sit quietly in the corner.
“Ryder,” she replied, matching his icy tone with one of her own, “you need to pull over, start talking, and explain to me what is going on. Now. I'm not going anywhere with you until—”
“What are you going to do, jump out of a moving car?” the shifter interrupted with a furious scowl. “This isn't a game. Do as you're told.”
“No!” Elena protested fiercely, stubborn pride fueling the determination flooding her limbs. “Where are we going? And why? Who was that guy who attacked me? Tell me!”
Ryder’s eyes narrowed. A deep sigh, laden with exasperation and irritation, escaped his parted lips, and he scowled into the rearview mirror at her. There was no response to her demands beyond his continuing to speed recklessly along the highway, taking turns with a rapid deceleration followed by a hard push off the clutch that sent the wheels screeching and made her stomach lurch with anxiety. Ahead, the forest loomed, thickets of trees reaching out to consume the road and anything traveling upon it.
“Where the hell are we going?” she demanded again, practically shouting over the roar of the engine as she stared at him accusingly. “You can't just throw me into your car and not answer my questions! What is this caveman bullshit?”
Again, he ignored her completely, though the tightness with which he gripped the steering wheel increased noticeably. They took a sharp left turn into the woods, which caused Elena to lose her balance and fall sideways across the leather upholstery. She let out an irritated huff as she pulled herself back upright and shot her driver a murderous look.
There was little time to dwell on her indignation, though, because a moment later, the whole car shook and rattled as they veered off the road and into the forest, tearing through bushes and vegetation as they went. Overhead, leaves brushed against the roof, causing a terrible scraping and scratching, and loud snaps came from above as branches struck against the side panels. She clutched nervously at the sides of her seat as the car rattled against gravel, rocks, and vegetation underfoot. All she could do was latch on tightly with both hands as they flew headlong through the thick forest.
“Have you lost your mind?” she screamed at him, pressing herself back into her seat and clutching the overhead handle for dear life. “This whole car is going to fall apart! Slow down!”
Her pleas were cut short by another jarring crash against the uneven earth beneath them. In her peripheral vision, the forest flashed by rapidly. A rush of green and brown filled her field of view as they flew blindly through the trees, twisting and turning through the wilderness at top speed. Her body lifted slightly from her seat several times as they crested hills and then slammed back down again. The engine roared even louder than before, straining against the rough terrain.
“The car was built to handle worse than this,” he responded through gritted teeth. “Trust me. We're going somewhere safe. Now shut. Up.”
As they sped recklessly along the wooded path, his eyes remained fixed dead ahead. Something wild burned in his hazel eyes, something urgent and dangerous that worried Elena greatly. Whatever the situation was, it had him panicked and out of his element, and that frightened her more than anything else. If Ryder Pierce, one of the bravest and strongest wolf shifters in Bellefleur, was afraid, something was deeply wrong.
That realization made her breath catch in her throat. From deep within her, her terror intertwined with that ancient, volatile power she had always struggled to control. Her eyes widened as she recognized the surge of energy beginning to rise within her.
“Ryder, seriously, I'm freaking out,” she said through trembling lips. “We need to stop. I need a second to calm down before something—”
Ryder glanced over at her, finally reacting to her plea. His eyes widened momentarily as he looked over at her as if he understood instinctively what she meant. He slammed on the brakes abruptly, causing the SUV to jerk to a screeching halt that sent them flying forward in their seats. The seatbelt snapped tightly against Elena's chest, holding her in place with painful force and momentarily knocking the wind out of her lungs.
She doubled over, gasping for air. When she opened her eyes a second later, she watched in horror as only a few feet ahead of them, the wind kicked up into a blinding whirlwind of dust and debris, swirling violently and throwing heavy branches, stones, and fallen tree trunks in all directions. The noise of the storm grew deafeningly loud in moments, engulfing the clearing around them and drowning out all other sounds. Trees creaked and bent dangerously, bowing before its presence, a mighty oak toppling against the onslaught of raw elemental magic. It hit the ground directly ahead with a sickening crunch of splintering timber, sending a small shockwave reverberating through the earth.
They sat there in the eye of the storm, untouched and shielded from the tempest around them. Ryder's eyes widened and darted back and forth, transfixed by the swirling mass of chaos raging wildly only inches from them. He slowly turned to her with an expression of pure astonishment etched onto his features, and his mouth dropped open soundlessly. Desperately, Elena tried to steady her breathing and contain the pulsing power seeping from her skin.
“Elena, you're all right,” she heard Ryder say, his voice practically drowned out by the roaring maelstrom around them. His hand grabbed onto hers firmly and squeezed. In return, she held onto it desperately, the solid weight grounding her in the present. “Slow down. Breathe. Copy me.”
He demonstrated a steady, paced inhale and exhale pattern, and she struggled to match it. He held onto her tightly, drawing soothing circles on the back of her palm with his thumb. The physical connection calmed her racing thoughts and gave her something to focus on besides her building terror. Together, they stayed like that, their eyes locked intently. Slowly, the howling winds began to slowly quiet down, dropping rocks, branches, and leaves harmlessly down around them with thuds and rustles. The trees around them straightened back into their places, and the clouds of dirt and mud settled down against the ground.
At last, the final gust faded away with a soft sigh, leaving silence in its wake. Elena slumped limply backward against the headrest. Ryder kept his grasp on her hand, and she clutched it as if it were a lifeline, exhausted and overwhelmed. She closed her eyes, sucking in air hungrily as fatigue washed over her and her energy reserves dropped to depleted levels. Never in her life had she conjured anything half as potent. Not even close. Every muscle in her body protested the exertion of power with a throbbing ache, leaving her physically spent and emotionally numb.
“Holy shit,” Ryder muttered in disbelief, still gripping her fingers as he looked around in shock. All around them, the landscape was in disarray, with chunks of broken tree limbs littering the forest floor, the foliage scattered and trampled by the fury of her spell. “Uh. Are you... okay?”
She nodded faintly, too drained to even form proper words. He frowned doubtfully but shrugged it off as he released her hand and reached over to unlatch her seat belt, removing it gently before pulling her into a one-armed hug against his side. Instinctively, she curled into his embrace, relishing his strong arms holding her safely. All the fight had left her, and now, all she craved was comfort and closeness. Despite everything, Ryder was all she had to rely on right now.
“Didn't know you could do that,” he commented, sounding every bit as shell-shocked as he looked. “That was intense.”
“Me neither,” she managed to whisper through parched lips, burying her face into his shirt to block out the view of destruction surrounding them. Every bone in her body ached. It felt as if her eyelids had weights attached to them, threatening to tug them shut.
“Well. I don't think we can drive the rest of the way there.” It was an analytical, detached statement made as he opened the car door beside him to survey their environment. The car itself hadn't been damaged, but all around them, trunks and stones blocked any hope of passage by vehicle. There was a hint of amusement in his tone as though some distant part of his psyche was impressed by what had happened. “Can you walk?” he asked, a trace of worry now creeping in.
Elena tried to lift her arm to open her own door, but it flopped helplessly to the side. It took far too much effort to reach for the handle, and when she did, her fingers trembled and slipped on the cold metal, refusing to respond properly to the commands she issued from her brain. Weakly, she shook her head at him and slumped back against the backrest in defeat. The most she could manage at this point was a pathetic groan to express her frustration.
Through bleary eyes, she watched Ryder exit the car and walk around to her door. His expression was inscrutable, a mask of stone hiding whatever emotions he felt beneath, as he carefully reached in and lifted her from her seat like she was weightless.
“All right, princess,” he teased as he cradled her in his arms, stepping back and slamming the door behind him with his shoulder. “I've got you. You're going to have to trust me on this.”
She offered a faint nod, unable to summon any sort of witty retort or protest, and allowed her body to relax in his hold. With no real choice left, she resigned herself to being carried like a helpless infant through the woods to wherever it was he was taking her. The warmth of his body enveloped her, letting her head nestle comfortably in the crook of his shoulder. At the same time, he navigated the now-treacherous terrain, skillfully carrying her in his grip.
She should have found this humiliating, really. She ought to have objected, thrown a tantrum, pushed him away, or done just about anything to resist his barbaric tactics. Yet, a profound lethargy set deep within her bones, and in that weariness, all she could think was how lovely it felt to be this close to him.
Her mind slipped in and out of consciousness for what felt like days, although it was likely no more than half an hour or so. They passed through a vast expanse of endless trees and undulating hills, barely making a sound save for the padding of Ryder's feet on the moss-covered earth below. At times, her eyes opened, giving her a panoramic view of the breathtaking natural splendors of the landscape unfolding around them. This part of the woods was unfamiliar to her. For all her wanderings over the years, the forest was vast, and the deeper parts remained largely unexplored.
Eventually, Ryder lowered her carefully onto cool, flat concrete, propping her back against what felt like a wooden wall covered with ivy. She tried to weakly push herself onto her elbows and watched him rifle through a pocket hidden within the folds of his trousers, fishing out a ring with one dangling brass key. The soft clicking sound of a lock turning echoed around her as he swung open a large wooden door. Dust swirled up in the stale air as he forced it open, revealing a dim, damp interior that smelled musty. Once again, his arms scooped underneath her frame, and he hoisted her inside.
With a gentleness that surprised her, he brought her over to a small room that housed only a twin-sized bed covered by a plain grey comforter, and he tucked her underneath the worn coverlet. It was dusty and stale, and the fabric was scratchy against her skin, but the mattress was soft. Comfortable. She allowed her eyelids to droop shut, vaguely registering the sound of water trickling, footsteps on tile, and the soft brush of his fingertips against her hair. Finally, she slipped into a deep, dreamless slumber.