Lyle’s scream was muffled in the water when her ankle got twisted with the fall and her left hand took the brunt. Did a bone snap on the inside? The mind numbing pain in her shoulder was too much to bear. She couldn’t make it to the surface because of the strong currents that carried her further down. Still with whatever energy that was left in her, she struggled to swim to the surface and when she came out, her chest bumped into a boulder whooshing the air out of her ribcage. Another heavy current of the stream came from her right and drifted her violently with it further down. She noticed a boulder ahead of her and thought that she would be able to hold it, but the water was so turbulent and the boulder so slippery that she couldn’t hold it. After what seemed like an eternity, badly bruised everywhere, she gave up.
The pain in her body was unbearable. Her shoulder must have fractu
Ryder was trying to put his thoughts together as to how the rock under her feet cracked to the extent that she slipped. She was at least a meter away from the slope on a fairly plain rocky surface. Once again he went under the water, swam with the flow of the torrential stream and looked around to see if she was stranded behind a rock or lying on the bed, but she was nowhere. When he reached the bough, he smelled her scent. And Ryder… he was relieved that she was alive. Her scent was strong on the bough that he followed. On the banks, he saw footmarks on the wet mud and noticed that tall grass and weeds were lying crushed under the weight of someone. Perhaps she crawled there and was too exhausted to move, but why were there so many footsteps and other scents? Suddenly his gaze went to the blood drops over where she must have lied. His heart plummeted. Was she in danger?
At first Lyle jerked her head towards him with wide eyes. She found him still focusing on the road in front of him. He had squeezed her hand and was holding it as if he would never leave it. Her breathing became ragged when despite those bruises on his face, she found him irresistible. The volume of his golden hair on the top of his head was falling over his forehead. She had this sudden urge to tousle them. No one should have such beautiful hair. He said he loved her. “Don’t stare like that at me,” he said in a low, sexy voice. A while later he sucked in a sharp breath. Seeing that she hadn’t an answer, he continued, “Lyle I am not perfect. But the only thing I can say is that I will follow you into hell if that is what is going to keep you safe. I am going to protect you because I feel you are mine, but I also feel that you are my protector. I wasn’t tethered to life as much as I am tethered to it
42Nolan and Arya laughed so loudly at their answer that the mood in the atmosphere lifted immediately. However, Dominique stayed quiet and rolled his eyes.Arya drove the jeep with utmost care over the rutted road. Since she knew the shortcut to her pack’s territory from there, which was safe from attacks, she took the route. The journey that they would have covered in a day’s time got reduced greatly and they reached the Black Crest pack in four hours straight.As soon as Arya parked the jeep, her clan people surrounded her. The look on their faces was that of joy. Children, women and men started helping her and her friends with eagerness. Arya’s house was more like a lodge that was constructed of brick, with exposed wooden rafters. There were white tiles on the arched roof. The house was bea
Lyle froze at her words, but masked her expressions. She looked at her plate where she dug her fork into meat pie. Dominique was sitting next to Lyle and he heard what Arya said. He sliced a piece of roasted chicken on his plate with a knife and picked it up with his fork to eat. As he chewed it, he said, “This is so delicious, Arya!”“Well, you really have to say that to our cook. She is a gem!” Arya replied, savoring cheese and garlic toast.When Ryder came, he saw that Dominique was sitting on her left. She was on the extreme corner of the table right next to the head chair on which Arya was sitting. Arya’s beta, Conrad, was on the other side. He was in a deep conversation with Nolan. He expressed his displeasure with a low growl, and asked Arya’s beta to sit somewhere else. Conrad looked at him with a frown an
44Lyle’s eyes became soft with tears. A smile tugged up her lips that lit up her face behind the tears that were rolling out. How could she express her gratitude to a woman who had been so helpful to her at all times? There was warmth in her heart and she felt as if all her bodily tension had released. “How can I repay your kindness and support, Arya?” she said. She felt so connected with Arya at the basic level that she felt overwhelmed. “And even if it’s a long shot that my parents belonged to this pack… I would love to take it.” All of a sudden she felt excited. What if her parents were from the Black Crest pack?Arya got up from her place. Rounding the table in front of her, she walked to Lyle and stood in front of her. She took her hands in hers and said, “Welcome to the Black Crest pack, Lyle.”
Lyle went back to the crown of his penis and then wrapped her cherry lips around it, wantonly. His legs quaked and his neck muscles corded. His shaft swelled in her mouth when she groaned around it. He pushed his hips inside her wanting her to take more. Every time his cock touched the back of her throat, he bit back curses. She licked and flicked and sucked him until he came inside her with a brutal roar. Ryder’s chest was heaving so fast that he thought he couldn’t last this lifetime if he didn’t get inside her. He withdrew from her mouth and then wiped her face. He found his wolf trying to take over, to mate her. But how was this possible when he hadn’t even scented her as his mate. Gods, he wanted her. He would die if he didn’t get in her. It was difficult for him to control his wolf. His fangs had lengthened and his claws increased. His voice altered when he said, “I want to— want to get
Ryder was aghast. “Left? What do you mean?” he asked the servant with a hard expression on his face. On the inside his stomach had plummeted to his feet.The servant cringed and seemed to shrink in his place. He gulped. “Beta Conrad has taken her to our pack house where he would introduce her to others,” he replied.Visibly relieved, Ryder said, “Where is it located?”The servants gave directions and he strode to the pack house. Internally, he was still thinking about the message she had written. It took him some time to remove it from the surface of the mirror. Why would she say that her name was Lyle? And why would she mention Elara? Suddenly, it struck him and he stopped with a jerk. Did he call her Elara yesterday night? But when? He had lost the count he was
She looked at him for a fleeting second. The next moment there was a draft of air, strands of hair moved on her face and Jeremy was down with Ryder straddling him. He punched Jeremy on the face. Jeremy had to use his magic to throw the alpha some ten feet away, but Ryder charged at him again with an enraged roar.What Lyle saw next were two hunks fighting and punching in a hand-to-hand combat. It took five men including Conrad to separate them. And when they were separated, they both had bruises on their faces. Ryder’s forehead was bleeding and he spat blood but Jeremy’s left eye had swollen and there was a cut next to his lips.When their gazes met, she saw his anger and frustration.“You just can’t come here and disrupt the training, Ryder!” Conrad said in a stern vo