Selfish Love

Hold Up

All of us stare at Ryan. I wonder why he's mad. I thought that he had been mad when I first met him in class, but that was nothing compared to this.

"What are you doing to my mate?!" Ryan snarls and I jump at the ferocity in his voice.

I didn't know that Ryan had a mate. I guess that it's his girlfriend, but they never announced that they were mates.

I stare curiously at the king, judging his response.

"Son, how could you?" The king looks pained, and I'm honestly just the confused doofus on the floor.

"It was my wolf. Now, father let her go." The words themselves weren't that commanding, but Ryan's tone was like cold metal.

"You know I can't do that. She's the enemy, letting her go would be a sign of weakness and favoritism." I rack my brain for a second, and I come up blank. The only enemy that shifters have are nymphs, so do they have another nymph hostage?

But that wouldn't make sense. My head is still debating what they mean when Ryan let's out an inhuman roar.

He walks over to me and I flinch in fear. I expect him to hit me so I tense my muscles in preparation. Instead of a blow his fingers wrap around my chin softly as he lifts my head, making me meet his eyes.

"You're going to be okay." He whispers gently before letting me go.

Then cold Ryan is back as he glares around the room. My mind is still puzzled. Why was he so gentle? It dawned on me as I pieced together all the clues. But there's no way I'm his mate, is there? No way, Ryan hates me.

Yet if he hated you, he wouldn't be fighting for you, would he?

I know that the small voice in my head is probably right, but I can't admit to it. I don't want to. Royalty mating is for life, and I don't want to be chained down by my enemy.

Anyways, outside of my head Ryan shifts and I look closely. He's a wolf and I almost gasp at his beauty. His white and gray fur shine, but this isn't the time to gawk because Ryan is growling at his father.

I look at the man and I'm baffled when I see that he's actually smiling. What a psycho. Who smiles when their son is about to kill them?

All the guards immediately leave their positions to defend the king, so I shakily sit flat on my butt, criss cross apple sauce.

Ryan lunges and soon he's fighting, winning to be exact, and one by one he picks off the guards. The king's smile drops and even he begins to look afraid.

I grin, despite the gruesome scene. The king is finally afraid of something, or should I say someone, and ironically it's his son.

My grin drops as the last guard is dead. Ryan wouldn't kill his own father, would he? Especially not for me.

Ryan continues to prowl towards his father, teeth bared.

The king desperately shouts, "She can live son! The nymph can live!"

I close my eyes, petrified in place. I don't want to hear the sickening sound of Ryan sinking his canine teeth into his father. I wait, but the sound never comes. I squeeze my eyes shut even tighter until I hear a crunch.

Ryan whispers something to his father but I could only make out something along the lines of,

". . . change or else you will fall." I shudder as Ryan's footsteps draw near to me.

I hear his steps pause, then they walk past me and I'm surprised. Where is he going?

Ryan whispers to someone else, probably more threats when I realized that who he must be talking to is Gabe. I grit my teeth at the name. The fucking traitor took my life in his hands and threw it away as if it was nothing!

The footsteps come towards me again and I stay rigidly still. A hand is placed on my shoulder and someone's breath is on my ear.

"Mate, you can open your eyes." Ryan, presumably, said.

"I'd rather not see you naked." I squeak, earning a laugh.

"Well, I guess that it's good I'm not naked." I open my eyes and see that Ryan was in fact telling the truth.

Where he got the clothes is a mystery, but clothes are clothes. Wait, are the clothes what he had stuck up his ass?

I look into Ryan's eyes and see a playful glint in them that makes me want to pinch myself. Is this some kind of dream?

The playful glint is gone and replaced with a serious one as Ryan takes in my injuries.

"What were you doing with my brother?" Ryan asks quietly and I strain to hear.

"Why we're friends. Just as you and Iris are, dear brother." Another voice replies and at the same time an arm is on my shoulders.

The voice and arm belong to Gabe, but as much as I hate him his words stunned me into shock.

Iris is my constant bully. And she warned me to stay away from Ryan, so she'll be pissed and take it out on me along with her gang.

Ryan's eyes may read fury right now, but mine most definitely read fear.

All I've wanted in life is for high school to be over, but now it'll become even more of my own personal hell.