Huntress

Chapter 25

For how prepared Noah was to take me on, he was not prepared for Ryder. He came at him like lightning striking. Ryder grabbed Noah just under the ribs and threw him down to the musty floor of the shed with a fleshy thump, making Keiko shriek and jump out of the way. The two of them were brawling while I was sinking to the floor ever so gently, my head pounding and my body aching.

It was hard to process what I was seeing. My eyes were blurry. My brain was murky. Someone threw a punch. Someone else blocked. Ryder was on top for a couple seconds. Then Noah wrestled him to the ground. There was shouting coming from both Keiko and Noah, but it was Ryder that was silent, teeth gritted and hands clenched into fists. His entire focus was Noah, even when King Ajax burst into the small shed, taking the last of the space as he entered.

"What the hell is going on?" the king snapped.

Neither of the two seemed to even notice he had entered, but Keiko just sighed.

"I don't know what it is with your species but there is always a need for fighting. I figured the two of them would get whatever it is out of their system. Ryder just snapped when Noah admitted to pulling her fingernails out. Which is stupid. If he's going to be mad at anyone for that, it should be me. I was the one who ordered it."

Ryder's head snapped up at this. The brief pause gave Noah a chance to land a solid punch just along Ryder's jaw, sending him sprawling. Noah took the second to dart out of reach. But Ryder now only had eyes for the queen. "You ordered it?" he demanded, blood gleaming on his teeth.

"Of course, I did, who else would have?" Keiko barked. "Now, if you two are done, we can carry on?"

But Ryder wasn't done. At the confession, he staggered to his feet, the blow to his head obviously disorienting him. It wasn't enough though. It was slower and more sluggish than I anticipated, but he was going for the queen next. I knew the real Ryder wouldn't put his hands on her, but I was terrified of what this Ryder might do.

An arm was extended out, connecting with Ryder's collarbone and jerking him backwards before he could get within reach of the queen. And the looming presence that was Ajax was now between him and Keiko. Taller than Ryder by at least two inches and more muscular, the king leaned over him, keeping a hand on his shoulder and gripping hard as he steered Ryder away from his mate. "What the fuck are you thinking?"

"She ripped out her fucking nails and tied her up like some kind of animal," Ryder snarled, craning to get around Ajax.

The king held firm. "What does it matter? That girl shot at me, could have killed my daughter, and has probably slaughtered dozens of us. At this point, I feel like we've treated her too kindly. I understand that this might not be your style, but the hunters have gone too far. What are a few fingernails after everything they've done to us?"

"It's just fucking barbaric," Ryder muttered, scraping a hand through his hair. Was he shaking or was it just my mind? A better question: was any of this real at all?

"If you have an issue with it, you can take it up with me," Ajax stated, releasing Ryder and folding his thick arms over his chest. "If you think for a second, I'm going to let you put a hand on my wife, your queen, you're out of your mind."

Ryder let out a hissing breath, turning away from the trio as Noah collected himself, brushing dust off his shirt and pants. I watched the whole interaction from the floor, feeling like I might vomit or pass out or scream at any given moment. I tried my best to think of my parents then, to think of my real life. If this was wolf drain, maybe I could pull myself back into the present by focusing on it. maybe I could escape this nightmare if I was just able to identify it for what it was. I jammed my eyes shut for extra measure. But when I opened them again, I was still in that god forsaken shed with all four of them.

"I'm sorry that I took things into my own hands," Keiko said, bringing my focus back to her. Even surrounded by all these hulking men that had just been fighting, she was not overshadowed. "I understand that this might not be the way that you do things and because of my impulsive choices, I might have damaged our chances with this one." She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. She must have seen a fragile creature, teetering on the edge, because she quickly glanced away. "I also know that this is personal for you, so do what you have to do."

"Are you sure that she was the one?" Ryder pressed. "You are absolutely certain?"

"She was the only one in the woods, Ryder. And she was running with silver in her hand and has pretty much confessed to it. I don't know what other proof you need," Keiko explained.

"What is going on with you?" Ajax demanded. "I've never seen you like this. You attack Noah and now this? You are not the same man that dealt with all those other hunters."

Ryder said nothing and the mask that was unlike his normal self, fell back on. Not a glimmer of emotion.

Ajax took the silence as all the answer he needed. When he turned to face me, I was sitting right where they had left me, barely even able to engage my core enough to stay seated. "Fuck it. let's just get rid of her and be grateful that nothing really came out of it. We'll raise security and the next time one comes onto our land; we'll wait for you."

Then Ajax drew a knife. And stepped towards me.

"No! Ajax, I swear to God, I will kill you!" Ryder blurted.

The king froze. I stared at the shining blade of the knife. It was small, but it didn't have to be particularly long to kill me. just a few inches really. Anything that could reach that tender heart of mine.

"Don't tell me you've turned into a sympathizer. Then I'll have to kill you and her."

"Ajax," Ryder repeated. "She's my mate. If you lay a hand on her, you're going to have to kill me too, because I won't be able to control myself."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

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