Banished

ADARA

“Hey, Dad. We were just going to go on a run to his old pack territory. He wanted to show me around,” I replied with a smile.

Ryder stood tall, not willing to submit to his power to my father. My dad stared him down. “And you were planning on just going with him?”

I rolled my eyes. “Dad, he’s my mate. He’s not going to hurt me, right, Ryder?”

“Never,” he replied, still standing tall.

My father walked up to him. “You seem to think that because you’re my daughter’s mate, I am willing to overlook the fact you’re an Alpha. You have no rights here, boy.”

Ryder scowled. “Alpha Mason, I have no intention of making any trouble for your pack.”

My father scoffed. “And yet you continuously cause trouble.” He turned to me. “Adara, go inside.”

I looked at my father in shock. “Now wait a minute . . . ”

Ryder took my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Alpha Mason, I respect your position as Alpha, but my mate and I are going for a run. Good day.” He walked down the steps, pulling me toward the forest.

Suddenly I heard a growl and a tearing sound. I turned around to see my father as his large, black wolf charging toward us. Ryder turned around and shifted, unwilling to submit.

I stepped between them, not really thinking about the consequences of standing between two angry wolves.

~“Adara—move!”~ my father yelled over the mind link.

“No!” I yelled. “You two stop it!!”

My father growled before launching himself forward at Ryder. The two wolves sprinted toward each other, throwing me off to the side in their blind rage.

I hit the ground with a small yelp, making both of their ears perk up. They both stopped and my father shifted back with a smirk.

“Ryder James, you have shown aggression toward one of our pack members and an unwillingness to submit to the Alpha of White Moon.

“I hereby banish you from our lands. You are no longer welcome here as our guest.”

My father took my arm, pulling me to him. “Let’s go, Adara.”

I yanked my arm out of his grasp and stood in front of Ryder, who had shifted back. “You can’t do this, Dad. What the hell has gotten into you?! That was all your fault!”

“Ryder, you have an hour to get yourself out of our borders. Leave,” he said, looking past me.

“Dad!” I yelled.

I watched as Ryder turned and walked away into the forest. “Ryder, wait!” Tears burned in my eyes as I struggled to know what to do. I was being pulled in two separate directions.

“Dad, he’s my mate! What are you doing?!” I asked, grabbing his shirt.

“I did what’s best for this pack and what’s best for you. He can’t offer you any sort of life. What were you going to do? Go live by yourself in a run-down mansion, unprotected and alone?”

“You should have rejected him. A lone Alpha is always trouble,” he replied. “Go to the house.”

“No,” I growled.

He looked at me with a mixture of shock and anger. “What did you say?!”

“I said NO! If he is banished, then so am I,” I yelled, before turning away and sprinting in the direction Ryder had gone.

I ran through the woods, tears staining my face. After what seemed like forever, I stumbled upon a small wood cabin.

“Ryder?” I called out.

The door swung open and Ryder stepped out of the small house. “Adara?” he said in surprise.

He looked at me, disheveled and puffy from running and crying. He walked toward me and wrapped his arms around me. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find you,” I whispered into his chest.

“But your father . . . ”

“He doesn’t care. I told him if you are banished, then so am I,” I replied softly. Hearing his heartbeat in his chest was calming and I felt myself feeling better as the minutes passed.

Ryder pulled away and looked down at me, sadness in his eyes. “You need to go home.”

I stepped back, shocked at what I had just heard. “I don’t understand . . . ”

“You can’t live here, Adara. I can’t give you the life you want, or the life you deserve. I have to find a way to rebuild my pack,” he said softly.

I shook my head. “And I can’t help with that? Isn’t that what mates are for? To help each other?”

He lowered his eyes. “It will be years of hard work and essentially living like rogues. Not the comfortable life you are used to.”

I huffed. “I’m not as frail as you think I am.”

Ryder smiled. “Oh, I know. I think I have a permanent bump on my head as proof.”

I stepped closer to him and placed my hands on his chest. “So are you going to show me our lands or what? I thought we were going on a run today.”

Ryder smirked. “Yes, Luna,” he whispered.

It sent shivers down my spine and I took a deep breath before stepping back and shifting, my auburn wolf ready to spend some time with her mate.

We walked up to him, nudging his hand with our nose. He petted our head softly.

“Hey, beautiful.”

We yipped playfully, waiting for him to shift. We watched as he shifted into his massive grey wolf. The wolves sniffed each other for a few moments before sprinting off into the woods.

We ran for miles until Ryder came to a halt. He walked slowly through the treeline and I looked up in awe at the massive pack house, now taken over by nature.

There were vines and rot covering the house, and I could see where siding and roof shingles had fallen off.

“Well . . .” he said, shifting back to his human form. “Welcome to Black Trail.”

I shifted back and we walked around the outside of the house. It was beautiful, even in ruin.

“Your pack must have been strong,” I said as I looked around.

“They were. The only way they were defeated so easily was because they were outnumbered and hit with a surprise attack,” he replied, taking my hand and leading me inside.

We walked silently through the house, looking at the common areas. Ryder let out a sigh.

“I want to fix this, to turn this back into a home. I know it will be a lot of work, but . . .”

I smiled up at him. “I want to help, Ryder.”

He looked at me curiously. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Everyone deserves a home. Besides, I’m pretty sure it will get really crowded in that cabin when we inevitably clash heads over something. You’re too hotheaded.”

I gave him a teasing look and he nudged my arm with a smile.

“Well, we can start planning tomorrow. Let’s head back. I’ll make you some dinner.” He smiled, leading me back to the treeline.