The Wallflower Mate

32

Ryker blinked a few times. The room was spinning. An uncomfortable knot formed in his stomach and the urge to hurl crawled up his throat.

"Ryker?" Mary asked next to him. He felt her fingers on his arm.

He blinked and tried to look at her. She handed him an uncapped bottle of water. He brought it to his lips and took large gulps of it. He probably downed eight to nine water bottles already. The nurse had already removed the needle.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"He'll need to rest a bit to recover. The nausea should go away soon." The nurse cleaned up, throwing away the needles safely, and tossing away any extra bandages and packages.

Opening his eyes was not helping him. So, he closed his eyes again and rest his head against the back of the chair. Abraham slept quietly next to him. He could feel Mary kneeling down next to him. All this time and she didn't leave his side for a second.

"You're perfect," he mumbled.

A second later, Ryker felt Mary smooth back his hair. Sweat beaded his forehead. His body was fighting what he was feeling. He wanted to be awake, but it was exhausting.

Ryker felt at ease. The doctor said that Ryker's blood would help quicken Abraham's healing process. A sigh passed through his lips.

When he heard the nurse leave, he spoke up again. Remembering a memory of when Abraham and him were juveniles.

"One night, Abraham and I were living in an abandoned home. We both went out to look for jobs, desperate for some food to fill out stomach. We were gone all day. Abraham went looking for a job—did his best. Never gave up. While I ended up in a bar. I saw this human woman. I could smell her arousal from all the way across the room. She knew I wasn't old enough to drink legally, but she still came over to talk to me. She ordered me food and drinks. I ate my fill." Ryker's voice was hoarse as he remembered that night. Shame crawled all over him. "I even saved some for Abraham. When I got back to the abandoned home, Abraham was there. He was so hungry. He devoured the food I brought home. Abraham had found a job that day. I had totally forgotten about it. I just wanted to have fun with no responsibility."

Ryker's eyes flew open again. He turned his head to look at Mary. She was listening intently.

"I'm not a good person. I'm selfish. I hurt the only person who was there for me. That day, I felt exactly how I feel today. Disgust. I'm not worthy, Mary."

"We all made mistakes, Ryker, but what matters if we learn from them. You've done that, Ryker. If that wasn't true, you wouldn't be who you are today. Plus, Abraham loves you either way. He's loyal to you. He's your brother. Forgiving you would be the easiest thing in the world."

Ryker nodded. "I'm lucky to have you by my side, Mary. I'm glad you kissed me that night."

Mary laughed softly before leaning forward to brush her lips over his lips.

A knock sounded at the door. When it opened, Ethan looked at them with a nervousness that made Ryker's wolf raise his hackles. Something was wrong.

"There is a large gathering at the packhouse," Ethan reported.

Ryker frowned. Why would his pack members be at the packhouse? It was no longer standing because of the fire.

"You should go there," Ethan said with a sense of seriousness that had Ryker's vision slowly clearing up.

He was still feeling light-headed and dizzy, but adrenaline was pumping through his veins, erasing any signs of discomfort.

Ryker stood up, but his legs shook a little. A wave of exhaustion washed over him and it forced him to close his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took deep breaths.