Apologies

ADARA

“What a complete jerk!” I yelled to the emptiness of my bedroom. I paced in an attempt to calm my anger.

After a while, I threw myself on the bed and thought about Ryder and how he had lashed out at me for no reason.

~What is his problem?~ my wolf muttered.

“I have no idea,” I whispered, rolling onto my side and closing my eyes.

A few minutes later they snapped open when I heard a tap on my door. I walked to the door and my smile disappeared when I saw Ryder standing before me.

I slammed the door and walked back to my bed.

I heard the door open and turned around to see Ryder poke his head through. “Adara . . .”

“Go away, Ryder. I have no desire to talk to you. Besides, I might go tell my dad anything you say, so you’d better leave now,” I snapped.

He gave me a tight smile. “I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you did,” I huffed. “Go away.”

“I just wanted to apologize. I lashed out at you unfairly. I’m sorry,” he said softly.

~Forgive him!!! He wants us~—~I can tell!!!~ my wolf howled in my head.

I shook her out of my thoughts. “You don’t get to be a jerk and then come back with your tail between your legs and expect me to forgive you.”

Ryder shrugged. “Then let’s just agree to not talk about certain things. My past is a touchy subject.”

I squinted my eyes at him. “So I have to just walk on eggshells, hoping I don’t bring up something to upset you?”

He let out a huff. “No, I just—”

“Get out, Ryder. I don’t have the patience to deal with moody Alphas today.”

He gawked at me and my little slip. I looked at him with a roll of the eyes. “Nobody is here Ryder, and I told you I would keep your secret.

“But seriously, I already have two overbearing, grumpy Alphas in my life. I don’t need another. So come find me when you decide to stop being such a tool.”

I walked into the bathroom and closed the door, hoping he would get the hint and leave. I sat in there for a while, letting my anger settle before emerging.

I could still smell him and thought it was crazy how strong a mate’s scent could be. I walked through the room and just about jumped out of my skin when I heard him speak.

“You don’t just get to walk away when you feel like ending a conversation.”

I swung around to see Ryder sitting in the chair by the window.

“We weren’t having a conversation, we were having a fight. I’m done talking about this, Ryder. Take a hint.”

I walked toward the bedroom door and inhaled sharply when his hand pushed against it, closing the door.

“Adara, I’m sorry I snapped and I’m sorry I can’t give you more. I need you to understand this.”

I turned to him and glared angrily at him. It was hard to keep my composure. He was standing too close, his hand still pressed against the door.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. I’ve lived alone for ten years. I’m going to need some room to adjust,” he said calmly, looking deep into my eyes.

I took a deep breath. “Fine.”

“Also, I might be in a bit of trouble,” he said, removing his hand from the door and rubbing the back of his neck.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at him sideways.

“Well, I might have beaten up a few warriors today,” he replied guiltily.

“What do you mean ‘beat up’?” I snapped.

“Well, we had just fought and I was angry. Austin, Johnny, and a few other guys goaded me into sparring with them on the training field.”

I chuckled. “Probably hoping to rough you up a bit.”

He smiled, his dimple pressing into his cheek. “Oh, that’s exactly what they were wanting.”

My eyes widened as I realized what he was saying. “Wait . . . did you shift?! Because they—”

He shook his head. “No. Austin and one of the other warriors did, but I took them down easily.”

I looked at him, trying to hide the fact I was impressed. My eyes wandered across his body as I finally noticed just how muscular and built he was. I met his eyes again to find him smirking.

“Careful, Adara. I can smell you,” he said, his voice growing husky.

I stepped back. “I . . . We should head down for dinner.”

He shrugged. “Okay. Just know we’ll be getting a few angry looks.”

We walked downstairs, and sure enough, Austin and Johnny were sitting in the dining hall, dark glares on their faces.

“So, I heard you kicked some serious butt at the training field today,” my mom said with a smirk, clearly enjoying my father and brother’s discomfort.

Ryder shrugged. “I trained a lot. It took up the time.”

“So, J, how did you manage to live for so long by yourself? And without being found?” my mom asked curiously.

“I kept to myself, didn’t go far from the cabin, and made sure to never cross your borders,” he said, shrugging.

“And his name is Ryder, Mom. You don’t have to keep calling him J,” I added.

“Ryder?” she replied, her eyes going distant as her mind wandered, focusing in on the past.