Chapter 62

"Can we turn on some music?"

"You're supposed to be focusing," Jo said, cutting in before Ryker could snap at Blake. They had only been on the road for fifteen minutes, but she could tell Ryker's patience for Blake was all used up. Honestly, it was probably nearly nonexistent to begin with, so maybe they should all just be glad that they needed Blake alive and intact or she doubted the goofy irreverent werewolf would still be sitting there with all his teeth. Ryker did have a mean right hook, after all.

Blake grinned at her through the mirror. "I can multitask." He reached up and grabbed the edge of her seat, presumably to lean forward and turn on the radio.

Ryker's hand slammed into Blake's wrist, jostling her chair before he yanked Blake's hand away.

"Ow, ow, OW! What?!"

A low growl rolled out of Ryker. Jo shot him a concerned look, her eyebrows knitting together. "Ryker..."

"Sit. Back." Ryker glared forward, not bothering to focus on Blake. "Stop talking and focus."

"It's too quiet," Blake said, rubbing his hand. "I think you broke my fingers."

"Stop exaggerating."

"Still hurts," Blake complained, flopping back into the seat, "Want me to tell Duncan you're beating up on me while I'm at it?"

Ryker snarled, quick and frightening, but Jo reached out and put a hand on his arm. "Boys. Chill out. Ryker, if you could just drive, that'd be great." She turned slightly in her seat so she could pin Blake with a frown. "And you, stop antagonizing him."

"Hey, he's the one that crushed my fingers."

"You put them on my seat, and you knew better," Jo said. Honestly, sometimes these guys acted years younger than they actually were. "Can you please try to get in touch with Duncan before some kind of werewolf war..."

Blake snorted, but Ryker remained stone-faced, which told her how serious he considered this situation. Apparently Blake didn't realize how tense things were between their two packs, which made her wonder about him being Duncan's Beta. There were some odd dynamics in that pack.

"What's with Jake, anyway? Jo asked, mainly hoping to distract Blake before he provoked Ryker into killing him, but also because she was truly curious. She'd never had a pleasant interaction with the guy.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, giving her a cautious look.

"Well, why wouldn't he have delivered our message to Duncan? Does he hate our pack or something?"

Blake visibly tense. "It was Jake you guys sent the message through?" At Jo's nod, Blake cursed, his language surprisingly colorful, then sighed. "Eli didn't mention that part."

Jo caught Ryker eyeing their passenger in the rearview mirror, this time with a little less anger in his expression. Probably something to do with the fact that Blake finally seemed to be believing the gravity of the situation.

"So..."

Blake looked out the window, frowning. "Jake's dad was the Beta for Ryker's dad, back in the day. So first, he hates my guts for benign Beta and would probably have danced on my grave if you guys had buried me alive." He gave a weak chuckle at that.

"He also wouldn't mind if Duncan got taken out, I'm guessing?" Ryker asked. He had mentioned that Duncan seemed to be struggling with his pack dynamics ever since he inherited his Alpha position.

"Probably not," Blake said, leaning back, arms crossed. "With no one else closely related to the Alpha bloodline alive right now, taking over the pack would probably come down to a contest between me and Jake."

"And my pack is stuck in the middle of your power struggle," Ryker grumbled. "Wonderful."

"Hey!" Blake said, suddenly sitting up. 'Stop!"

Ryker slammed on the brakes, his arm thrown out in front of Jo to stop her from hurling forward. "What?" he demanded, the growl returning to his voice as he leaned forward, eyes glowing and alert. It was obvious his wolf was coming closer and closer to the edge with everything going on.

"I can sense them," Blake explained, gesturing toward the woods, already unbuckling his seatbelt. "Duncan's not with the group I can sense, but the pack is definitely heading this way."

"Where the hell is Duncan then?" Ryker snapped, throwing open his car door. "Why wouldn't he be with them?"

"I don't know," Blake said. He hesitated before getting out of the car, one hand on the door handle. "Um, are you going to bite my head off if I get out now?"

Ryker glanced at Jo, who raised her eyebrows. She knew that look. He definitely wanted to say yes, even if he didn't mean it, which he might in this instance.

"Just talk to your pack, would you?" Jo said. "Ryker's not going to hurt you."

"Again," Blake added with a bit of his former cheerfulness. "Ryker's not going to hurt me again."

"You're making that really hard right now." Ryker got out of the car, and Jo followed his lead before he could tell her to stay put, just in case that was on the agenda. She walked around the car and stood beside him, right at his elbow, while Blake got out as well.

"Can they not hear you through the car?" Jo asked, crossing her arms over her chest, somewhat curious but mostly restless.

"I'm not the best at telepathy," Blake said with a chagrined expression. "I'm like...you know when someone puts the cell on speaker and then puts it on the table and walks all the way across the room? That's what I sound like."

"Why are you the Beta again?" Ryker asked darkly.

"I'm really good with people," Blake said, giving Jo a double thumbs up. She would've laughed if she didn't think Ryker would slug Blake.

Besides, Betas were human too. She knew this wasn't the time to remind him that his own Beta had recently made a grave mistake–something she knew Charlie would also beat himself up about too–but it happened. People were people. Or werewolf-people, she supposed.

"Okay, well, let's get closer to them," she said, getting about two steps toward the woods before Ryker was hauling her right back against his chest.

"If you're about to tell me I can't go with you two, then you have another thing coming," Jo said, glaring up at her sometimes overly protective man. She loved him a lot, but every now and then, there were a few werewolf tendencies of his that could use some tempering...

His hazel eyes were a dark stormy color as he met her gaze steadily, lips quirking slightly. "Trust me, I've learned by now not to tell you to do anything." His hand stroked her waist lightly, whether to calm her down or reassure himself, she wasn't sure. "But I was going to suggest you ride on my back after I shift. We'll get there quicker that way."

"Oh. Yeah. That works."

"Or, y'know, you can always ride me," Blake said, obviously still holding a giant death wish.

"Like hell!" A growl tore from Ryker as he lost control and lunged at Blake; it was all Jo could do to hold him back, using her full body weight to press against his chest and restrain him.

"Ryker!" She grunted, elbowing him hard as his chest continued to rumble underneath her hands, "We need him alive right now, enough!" She twisted slightly to frown at Blake. "And I know you know better. This is not the time for jokes!"

Blake had the grace to at least look a little sheepish. "Sorry man," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a hard habit to break."

"I suggest you find a way to break it right this instant," Ryker said, his voice much deeper than Jo had ever heard it. Still tense, he at least stopped pushing against Jo's hold. His arm curled around her instead, pulling her tight against him. "She might not bear my mark yet, but she's mine." Jo poked him roughly in the chest, resulting in a hurried addition. "And I'm hers."

Better.

Ho was going to have to talk to him about the whole marking thing again–soon. She knew he was worried about hurting her, but she also didn't like how on edge it made him, always feeling like he had to announce who she was to him. But that was for another time, after this was all over.

"Got it, got it," Blake said, holding up his hands as he eyed her speculatively. Yeah, if Ryker hadn't wanted Duncan's pack to know who she was to him, he'd pretty much announced it to Blake just now.

"Let's get going," Ryker said roughly, pulling Jo to the back of the SUV before rapidly shifting–this time, he didn't bother removing his clothes first, letting them tear as the shift took hold. Everything happened so fast her mind couldn't exactly process what it saw. At first things were slightly changing, and then all the sudden they were in place–in wolf form. She could hear similar tearing sounds from near the front of the SUV, so she supposed Blake was doing the same thing.

At the patient look Ryker gave her, slightly lowering his haunches, Jo realized this was her cue to get on his back. A pang of self-consciousness stole through her at the thought he might find her heavy, but she knew she didn't have time to dwell on her insecurities. At least as a wolf he was quite...substantial.

"Alrightly," Jo said grimly, swinging her leg over his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let's do this."

Ryker started out slowly, padding forward. He was probably afraid she was going to fall off. Jo squeezed his fur in her hands as she balanced, grateful that he was letting her figure this out but also knowing they had to hurry. The longer they waited, the more likely the party was going to be attacked. Though at this point, she would bet that the party was on the defensive.

"Look, you're going to have to run eventually."

Blake came around the front of the car, mouth open, an almost grin on his wolf snout. He was a lanky wolf and mostly tan and grey in color with a very bushy tail, which was now wagging. He cocked his head to the side and sat down, waiting, tail creating a small cloud of dust and spreading pine straw around.

Ryker glanced at him and while she knew they couldn't communicate, she would bet that Ryker was trying to tell him to start walking. Blake huffed and trotted off, heading into the forest.

"Sooo, are we going too, or...?" Jo tightened her grip. "I'm good to go, I promise."

Ryker shook his head, and she wished she could use telepathy like the rest of them. Why didn't fire powers come with that, too? He walked forward, slowly at first and then moving faster. Soon, most likely once he decided she wasn't going to roll off, he sped up, eventually settling into a steady run.

There was nothing to prepare her for riding a massive wolf. Jo bent low over Ryker's shoulders, face nearly pressed into his fur. Briefly she remembered an anime movie, a really pretty one, where a girl had ridden on the back of a giant wolf. She had made it look easy. Jo, on the other hand, felt wild and unsettled, but also exhilarated. She had gone horseback riding a couple times as a child on a friend's farm, but horses were one thing. The way Ryker moved and the way she had to hold on made her feel like she was about to go flying off at any time. Part of her wanted to yell with terror and joy, but she was worried Ryker would stop short and send her flying.

She noticed Blake standing on a mossy boulder, his nose lifted into the air, head cocked to one side again. Ryker slowed down as he approached the boulder and then snarled softly in Blake's direction.

Blake barked and then bounced once before jumping down from the boulder. He bounded around Ryker like a happy puppy and then took off again.

In the distance, a wolf howled, and from the way Ryker's hackles rose, Jo doubted it was one of the Monroe pack.

They sped up again for a few minutes, the wolves' strides eating ground now. Heck, Jo mused as she shifted slightly to try and counterbalance the way Ryker's stride was causing her to list to the side, she might want to consider investing in a helmet if werewolf rides became a regular thing. Then suddenly both Blake and Ryker started slowing again and Jo raised her face up slightly, looking around for signs of other werewolves.

Blake lifted his head, tail wagging again, while a steady rumble seemed to emanate from Ryker's chest.

"They close?" Jo asked, sitting up farther as Ryker swung his head left and right, probably sensing other wolves she couldn't see.

Ryker gave a brisk nod of his head in answer to her question. Just like in training, Jo pulled on the warmth inside her that had become easier to locate in the past few weeks, bringing it closer to the surface for quicker access. While they came with peaceful intent, if Duncan really wasn't with this group, they just might have to defend themselves.

And Jo was too much of a realist to just hope for the best. It never hurt to be prepared.

A louder growl came from Ryker, and now Jo's human eyes could see why. Appearing rapidly from the darkness and surrounding them in a circle were approximately eight wolves–a whole lot more than the three of them.

Hoping they were taking the time to listen to Blake before attacking, Jo also held up her hands in the universal signal of 'I mean no harm.' Couldn't hurt, seeing as Ryker couldn't communicate with them unless Duncan happened to be one of these wolves. "Um, we come in peace?" she offered.

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A/N: Thank you as always for the comments and votes! Appreciate y'all! Also, Willa and Jax's story, Race the Storm, is now up, and the next update for them will be Wednesday! https://www.wattpad.com/story/289718840-race-the-storm