The Heart of the Shadow

12. Be Careful

*There is a time skip from last chapter*
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Ryka's P.O.V
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Someone bounds up the stairs and barges into my room. They rip the covers off the bed and hit me with a pillow that was on the floor.

"Ryka, get up! We're going on a trip! You have 10 minutes!" Kaiden yells.

I jump out of the bed and tackle him to the floor. He groans as he crashes to the ground.

   "Why?"

   "Ryder wasn't here for your birthday last week, so we're doing something today."

   "Where are we going, idiot?" I ask.

   "The beach! So get ready! 8 minutes and counting!" He throws me off and runs out the door.

   "Really Kaiden are you serious?" I mutter to myself after he is gone.

   "I heard that! And yes I am serious! You've got 7 minutes! Better hurry!"

   "That boy I swear." I walk to my closet and throw on a black bikini with roses on it. I pull a tank top and jean shorts on over it. After my hair is in a messy bun and my teeth have been brushed, I walk downstairs and meet Kaiden in the kitchen.

   "Here, lets go. We are meeting The Crew there." He hands me a bag and my sandals. The bag has a couple towels, sunscreen, snacks, sunglasses, flip flops, and an extra change of clothes. The Crew, is a group of our close friends. It consists of Ryder, Kaleb, Roxy, Lauren, Jake, Jax, and Orion. Orion and Roxy are Warriors in our pack. Ryder, Kaleb, and Lauren are the Alpha, Beta, and Delta of the Sharp Claw Pack. Jake and Jax are Warriors of the Silver Rock Pack.

   "What about Harley?"

"He's learning about being a Luna with my mother. Cmon Ryka, we have to go!" Kaiden grabs my arm and drags me out to his truck. He gets in after throwing our stuff in the bed.

   "Everything ready?" Beta Dakota asks. He has to drive because Kaiden isn't old enough yet.

   "Yep all good. Let's go!" The car ride is full of Kaiden singing very loudly and off key. As soon as the car stops I jump out.

   "Slow down there tiger." Ryder calls at me.

   "Ryder!" I run and jump into his arms. He catches me and spins us around. As soon as he sets me down on the ground I throw my arms around his neck. His arms fall to my waist as he hugs me tight. We stand there and hug each other while the others talk. Ryder is my best friend, I am even closer to him than I am Kaiden. He slowly starts to pull away so I hug him tighter. He chuckles and brushes his knuckles across my cheek.

"I've missed you, Little One. That was the longest month of my life, I never want to do that again."

"Please tell me that you are done with all of the Alpha meetings?" I mumble into his chest.

"Yes, I'm done with all of the meetings. The largest amount of time I will be away now is two weeks." He pushes my shoulders back lightly and cups my cheek in his hand. He kisses my forehead and I begin to blush.

"We need to get back to the others." His arm wraps around my waist and he leads me to our group of friends.

   "If I didn't know any better, then I would be positive you two are mates." Lauren comments.

   "They could be, Ryka isn't 16 yet and Ryder hasn't found his mate. Neither mate knows until both are 16 anyway." Orion explains as he walks over to hug me. I hug Orion and hear Ryder growl lowly. His growl is almost silent, I'm positive no one else heard it. I lock eyes with Ryder and he opens his mind to me.

   "We will talk about that growl when we are alone." I link to him.

   "You heard that? How is that even possible? I barely heard it and it came from me." I cut the link and a slight pout forms on his face.

   "Girls! Let's go pick a spot on the beach!" Roxy yells. She grabs mine and Lauren's arms and drags us to the beach. I hear a faint piece of a conversation when the guys think I'm out of earshot.

   "You know she can kick your ass Ryder, be careful." Kaiden warns.

   Roxy finally finds a spot near some giant rocks. She starts to lay out her towel, Lauren and I soon follow suit.

   "Ryka! What does your bathing suit look like?" Roxy yells. I hear the guys coming so I'm a little hesitant.

   "Cmon girl, show us!" Lauren encourages.

   "Okay." I let out a breath and pull my top over my head. I unbutton my shorts and drop them into the sand.

   "Dang girl! I would kill for a body like that!" Roxy yells.

   "Ryder sure does like what he sees." Roxy winks at me and motions for me to turn around. I pivot on my heel and see the guys walking towards us. Ryder and I lock eyes and start walking towards each other. His hands grip my hips as he pulls me against him. I place one hand on his chest and the other on his cheek.

   "Don't do this to me. You look so good Ryka. Damn I pray that I'm your mate." He links to me.

"Cmon lovebirds, we have things to do." Kaiden seems very annoyed so I slowly pull away from Ryder.

"I vote we go get ice cream." Jake suggests.

"Cool, lets go." I hang back with the girls and the guys lead us to ice cream.

"You guys have to be mates. There is no way you aren't. Best friends don't have that type of chemistry. Only mates have that type of chemistry." Lauren reasons when the guys are out of earshot. I notice they are in their swimsuits and they have all pulled their shirts off. Ryder's back muscles flex with every step he takes. As if he knows I'm staring, he winks at me. I wink back at him and he chuckles.

"I agree. The way you guys look at each other is the exact same way Alpha and Luna do. Don't even try to say you don't like him. I know you do. You're checking him out right now!" Roxy practically yells at me.

"Okay so maybe I really hope he is my mate. Oh look we're at the ice cream shop!" I rush inside to get away from the conversation.

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Sorry I haven't been able to update in a long time. I've been very busy lately but I hope to continue Monday updates.

Night_Shadow
11/31/18
6/13/19