Oh Hell No

Chapter 21

A/N: In case this confuses anyone, this chapter takes place at basically the same time as the last one, but it centers around Ryder and the "attack" he and a bunch of warriors went to deal with.

"Okay, can you make sure Jamie gets back? She'll probably want to pick up her clothes, but they're right next to the house so it shouldn't be a problem. Also, this goes without saying, but if you look when she's changing you're dead."

Realistically, Ryder knew that Chris wouldn't dare look at his future luna while she was undressed, but he felt better after saying it. He couldn't help but get protective, he'd be leaving her alone in the packhouse with a bunch of people she's never met. Danielle might protect her, but he didn't like that alternative much better. It was still preferable to letting a rogue hurt her, he supposed.

Normally, he'd have no problem allowing women to fight, but with Jamie it was different. She's his mate, and he couldn't put her in danger. Later on, when they've marked each other and gotten over the possessive rush that lasts a week or so after meeting, he could be convinced to let her in on problems like this. For now though, it just seemed like a stupid decision to him.

Chelsie filled him in via the mind-link, telling him that they formed a defensive line, but hadn't yet approached the sight of the attack. They first wanted to figure out which patrol had been attacked, because then they might have a better guess as to how many wolves at the minimum had struck. Also, Mason wanted to first send out a warning to the other patrols and divy up some pack members to go with them in case there were more attacks.

In wolf form, the run there barely took three minutes. If the rest of the encounter moved this fast then he could get back in time to keep Danielle and Sadie from showing Jamie the entire scrapbook of his life. His grandmother had begun the tradition of making one of every person in her family, including his mom, him, and Sadie so far. Heck, if Jamie had been from their pack she would start one for her too. Actually, she still might, if she can get enough material to do it, but the baby pictures are her favorite and it's unlikely that Jamie would have any of those.

As one would expect of an alpha, Mason was barking orders at everyone when Ryder got there. Attacks were rare, and it wasn't common for rogues to get their hands on scent blockers, so his caution was warranted, "David, you're with me. Chelsie, take Stephen and Gene to scout out the rogues. I want to know how many there are, and what they want," The three wolves break off, and Mason takes notice of the new addition, "Ryder I want you with me up front."

'Uh, guys?' They all pause temporarily as Chelsie's voice invades their minds. It was an open mind-link, meaning that anyone in the pack could hear it, 'We either horribly overreacted, or we've got a big problem.'

Mason and David share a confused glance, 'What do you mean by that?' The alpha asks.

'Well, there's only one guy here,' She tells them telepathically. Ryder didn't know that it was possible to sigh through the mind-link, but she proved him wrong, 'And he's making a run for it.'

'Stephen and Gene, I want you two to go after him. Chelsie, go ahead and get back here,' Mason told them.

He probably said more but Ryder blocked him out, knowing that he wouldn't be going over anything too important. Hearing who was put on body duty was never fun, so he didn't bother listening to it anymore, wanting to instead get away from the faint smell of death, as if it was somehow contagious. Even though he knew it wasn't, he still didn't want to be around the smell for any longer. Jamie's opinion of him had quite the impact on his actions lately, and her knowing that he's been around dead people and jumping to conclusions sounded horrible. For all he knew she could think of rogues as her people, and he didn't want her to assume that he killed some of her maybe, sort of, but not really, people.

"I'm going to head back to the pack house," Mason nodded in acknowledgment, silently giving him permission as he turns his attention to the approaching blonde wolf. Seeing that, he didn't hesitate to leave, wanting nothing more than to get back to his mate.

A couple other pack members joined him, probably wanting to check in on their own families or mates. Some split off, presumably to find an outfit before shifting back, but since he wore shift-friendly clothes, Ryder got to avoid straying from his course. Despite the "attack" being far from threatening, he had the strange feeling that something was wrong, and suspected that it wouldn't dissipate until he saw Jamie.

He made his way inside, spotting a rather large Uno tournament in progress. As entertaining as it would be to watch, given how many of the participants have anger issues, but that wasn't his priority. He stopped by the kitchen to make sure she and Danielle weren't bonding there again, snatching a cookie and moving on once he confirmed they weren't. Normally her scent stuck out to him, but amidst all the others it was much more muddled. He did catch it faintly though, and followed the addicting smell of cinnamon up the stairs. It was the clearest in his room, because she had probably spent more time in here than anywhere else to change.

Problem is, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Jamie?" He called, checking the closet and unlocked bathroom in case she was there. She obviously wasn't in either, he would have sensed her. His reasoning skills were already leaving though, so he was convinced that it'd be a good idea to check, "Jamie?!"

Ryder abandoned the search of his room, moving on to Sadie's. She wasn't there. He checked his parents room and found them making out. Definitely not there. He tried his dad's office. Big nope. He practically ran down to the basement, maybe the distance and nearby wolves obscured her smell? No one down there had seen her all day. Too many didn't even recognize her name, making him want to tear their throats out for not knowing the name of their future luna, which was ridiculous.

Before he could start shouting at them, he paused, remembering who had last seen her. The person that should know where she is, for the sake of his own life. Oh goddess, that boy was so dead if he didn't have a proper answer for Ryder. 

A/N: Anyone scared for Chris, or do you think he's technically to blame?