Ryker pulled up at the bridge crossing between the two territories and got out of the car.
“Stay here. And keep your mouth shut!” Ryker snarled at me when I took my seatbelt off. I folded my arms across my chest, glaring out the windshield as Ryker approached the boundary line. Alpha Jamie, the smug bastard, was leaning against the bridge’s barricade, like he had no care in the world.
He smiled brightly as Ryker approached and bowed his head slightly to Ryker, but in no way was he about to bow down to the Alpha King. Alpha Jamie had called in reinforcements to witness this showdown, and I knew as soon as we pulled up, and I spotted two of the Alphas from rival packs standing on Jamie’s side that they were here to see if Ryker would force entry onto Jamie’s territory.
“Fuck this,” I muttered to myself, tossing the door open. Ryker looked over his shoulder at me, his lips pulling back over his teeth and his canines slipping out before his voice boomed through the mindlink.
“Get back in the fucking car, Ace!” His command rolled over me, and I faltered but grit my teeth through it. Alpha Jamie’s taunting, knowing smile irritated me as I fought the urge to turn around and get back in the car.
“Run along, boy. Let us adults handle this,” Jamie taunted, setting my blood on fire.
“Step over this side and say it. See how cocky you are then,” I spat at him, forcing Ryker’s command off and taking a step forward. Pain radiated and coiled around my muscles, but just them witnessing me fighting off his aura was enough to make Jamie stammer. Ryker might be King, but we had the same blood running through our veins.
“Ace, get in the car. I will handle this,” Ryker told me.
“Exactly what will you be handling? The answer is no. And if you step on my territory, I have witnesses, Ryker. You’re a smart man. Would it be worth angering the packs if you storm into my territory?”
“You are harboring rogues that committed treason against the Alpha King’s family!” Ryker bellowed, and Jamie shuddered as his aura rushed at him, forcing him to his knees as he bared his neck. The two other Alphas glanced nervously at each other.
“She isn’t blood, therefore not treason. Just normal schoolyard bullying, and unless you have proof of them being on my territory, you have no right to ask for entry. Especially for a mutated freak,” Jamie grit out through clenched teeth. Ryker stepped toward him, a growl escaping him, and Jamie laughed sadistically while the two Alpha looked on the verge of wetting themselves.
“Go on, my King. Step over the border, but make sure you smile for the camera,” Jamie said, and Ryker froze, looking toward the parked car and blocking the bridge. I could see the blinking red light and knew they were recording this, and no doubt would be live streaming it to the surrounding packs. Yet Alpha Jamie wasn’t someone to mess with lightly. His drug connections not only had humans on his side but also other supernaturals that were part of his organization. Ryker had been trying to get him shut down for years, but somehow, he managed to get himself out of trouble every time with the help of the supernatural society pulling strings for him and the human government.
Pack wars were one thing, but a flat-out war with other supernaturals was another thing entirely. I knew if it came down to it, Avalon City’s occupants would come running if their High Priestess Avery stepped forward and declared war. Which I had no doubt she would if our family was threatened but war was something we tried to avoid. The casualties among the humans and our own kind would be damaging, and the humans would cause a headache with their armies, which outnumbered the supernaturals ten to one. No one wanted to go to war; it was not worth the risk of causing World War III.
“When I get proof Jamie, you better run for the fucking hills for getting in my way,” Ryker warned him.
“Well, until then, Alpha King, get the fuck off my territory,” Jamie grit out. Sweat was now rolling down his face and neck, drenching his shirt as he tried his best not to cry out. I knew he had to be in agony. If Ryker really wanted to put on a display, I knew he would be screaming and begging Ryker to let the command go, but with witnesses and laws sanctioning all supernaturals now, it wasn’t worth the headache it was causing him.
Ryker started walking back to me and dropped his command over Jamie. I could tell he wanted to rip him apart, but the laws had his hands tied.
“Get in the car. You just had to get out?” Ryker growled at me. I wanted to argue with him, but the look he gave me had me shutting my mouth and obeying.
I got in the car before hearing the mindlink open up to all five of our family packs, which were all interlinked.
“Alpha Jamie crosses into any territory, I order you to kill on site. Do not grant him entry or try and talk to him,” Ryker snarled through the bond. His aura was so violent and potent in the car, I was trying to stop my hands from trembling as I fought against him.
A chorus of “Yes Alpha” and everyone asking what was going on slipped through the link, but Ryker was much too angry to explain as I heard my sisters, aunty, and brothers-in-law’s voices slip into the mindlink. My mother frantically tried to get an answer, but Ryker cut the link shutting them out.
“I will explain later,” he told me, and I nodded as Ryker started the car.
“He will slip up. Those girls won’t be able to resist hiding for long, and when they come out, I will show them what nightmares are made of,” Ryker growled.
“So, what now? I just go home and tell Lucy she has to deal with it until we find them?” I asked him, annoyed that we couldn’t just finish this shit once and for all.
“Yes, That’s exactly what you will do. Keep her safe and at home until then.” I growled, annoyed at his words, but I also knew there was nothing else we could do for now.
“If she still wants me,” I muttered to myself.
“Well, you should have thought about that before you stuck your dick in someone that wasn’t your mate,” Ryker told me.
“You think I don’t wish I could take that back?” I snapped at him, sick of everyone throwing it in my face.
“You knew she was your mate and still did it.” Ryker said simply.
“You know the bond is gone, right?” I told him, and he nodded.
“Tyson told me. She will come around. She knows you are her mate. Why didn’t you just mark her again? She would have forgiven you?”