Alecia tried each day to forget Ryder, and sometimes it almost worked, sometimes it was useless to try to forget him. She thought of him every single minute of the day on those days.
She thought of him whenever she saw a basketball, whenever anyone mentioned the word werewolf or Alpha, she thought of him when she heard anything that had to do with the president, or when Richard's name was mentioned. She thought of him each night before she fell asleep and every morning when she woke, and eact time she thought of him, she felt her heart break afresh into a thousand million pieces
A new worry had begun to nag at her mind, her body was changing in several ways she could not understand. Her breasts got slightly bigger and felt more tender, and she had been unable to keep in her breakfast lately. She refused to think of the possibility of pregnancy, she couldn't be pregnant!
Her parents did not yet know that she had bee
Ryder pulled up to the beach house raised in the air by concrete blocks. The light blue building almost blended into the clear sky line. The beach looked dead compared to the beaches of New York with its long boardwalks and various attractions. The only person on the street was an old man walking a black Lab. He parked under the house, stepped out of the car and took a long whiff of the salty air. At this moment he could go for some salt water taffy. Maybe Alecia and he could find some later. But he needed to win her back first.Two days ago he had gotten out of rehab, and after he’d let his father get a good look at him, he slipped away, flying straight to Raleigh. The Alpha protector's cold eyes and the snarl of his lips as he elaborated on why Ryder looked like a washed-up street urchin were still burned in his mind. And he had laughed at how Alecia had just tossed him to the side. But how could he keep her, if he couldn’t make her believe in the truth he wante
The secretary said hello to Ryder as he swept past her and made his way to his father’s office, but he just ignored her. He should have at least asked if his father was occupied, but if he lingered he probably wouldn’t go through with this. Let George Hendrix see that his son was scared of no one. He had proven her worth. She had not said one word about Sheila and he had showed that he could control her. All he had to do was play humble and she bent. His shoulders slumped and he stopped, hanging his head. He hadn’t done that. He had formed a lie in his head about working overtime in Moscow, but once he saw her light blue eyes full of compassion, the story just spilt out. How he wanted her to shower him with love and nurture. And she had.Ryder gripped the doorknob of his father’s office, feeling the sweat on his palm. Who was he kidding? The man would have him thrown out of his office and worse. A heat spread through him. He couldn’
Alecia looked up from her laptop when Ryder opened the door. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was nine. Another late night and stressful one according to his furrowed brows. What did he do all day? Whenever she asked he would change the subject or say he didn’t want to talk about it. It probably wasn’t much. He had told her that usually lawyers spent their first year being overpaid paralegals. She closed her laptop. She would finish the short story tomorrow.He didn’t go to the kitchen to grab the dinner she had prepared, but just sat down next to her on the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Every part of him looked tense.“Tough day?”He didn’t answer, but opened his eyes and looked out into the distance. She needed to distract him. He wouldn’t be interested in her little love story but maybe school. “I got the schedule I wanted.”“Anything interesting?”“Yeah, I&r
The next day Alecia changed her classes. She took two more literature, and three writing classes, hoping to find some inspiration to write while Ryder was busy with his job, but there was no inspiration. After she finished her school work, she would sit at her desk and stare at the laptop trying to find a story, but every story she could think of seemed silly and inadequate; especially when she’d look at her bookcase full of books, telling stories of characters who overcame great hardships. So she started writing his biography. If he really was going to be a senator someday, then she would need to chronicle her life with him. She wrote about the moment she first met him, how scared she was, especially when he insisted on walking her home. She wrote of their courtship, the first kiss that made her forget all and the day it snowed. She added commentary of what she thought of him at each moment and how he made her feel so special; she wrote about the look in her father’s eyes a
Taylor opened the door as Ryder brushed past her into the apartment. “Is anyone here?” he asked. “No.” Taylor crossed her arms over her chest. Ryder took off his coat and laid it on the top of the couch. Why was he here? A deep line creased between his brows - tension radiated from him.He walked up to her and took her hand, giving her that charming seductive smile she had seen him use on many girls. That smile never worked on her. “Hey, Taylor,” he said.“What are you doing here?”Ryder placed his hands on her hips. “Let’s be like old times.”Taylor raised her eyebrows. “Already forgotten your wedding vows?”He chuckled and kissed her neck, making her feel over-powered. She laughed as something in her churned. Something was different – not right about him. “I’m not going to be your whore. Why don’t you go back to your Luna?” He raised his head. He smirked at her, and glared deep into her eyes. Taylor turned her gaze to the side. That look. He
Alecia lay in bed, staring at the wall opposite of her. Ryder had left hours ago for work, after using her that morning. No, loving her. It was love like he did many mornings. She closed her eyes and images of last night filled her mind like they did every time she tried to rest. He seemed so different. Not the Ryder she knew. She wiped a tear from her eye. Perhaps she had been wrong. She shouldn’t have angered him, but used her love to soothe him into her wish. Her phone rang, but the need to answer it didn’t register until she realized it might be Ryder.She rolled over and answered. “Hey,” she said, not even looking at who it was.“How are you, Ally?” Alecia sat up and placed a hand on her forehead. It was Taylor. What did she want? “I’m fine.”“Well, can you let me in? I know you’re home.”“Oh, did you knock? I didn’t hear you.” Alecia got out of be
Ryder leaned over her, kissing her, with his hands immersed into her hair. She wished he would just finish up, but he took his time caressing the curve of her neck with his lips over and over again. For the last couple weeks she had been walking around on her tiptoes, trying not to set off the anger she had seen him display. Their conversations were forced and every part of her cringed when he held out his arms for her, despite how good they felt. She would go to him, trying to soothe him, gently loving him; hoping her love would reach him. At night, she would read him chapters from her romance novels, showing how couples could work through problems, and she mentioned a marriage conflict seminar she saw an advertisement for in the newspaper. He had not shown interest in either. Was any of it working? He stopped kissing her. Must be time for her shirt to come off. She raised her arms in the air, to make it easier for him. When she didn’t feel him touch her, she put do
The next morning, Chloe showed up at their apartment with her dark tresses pulled back into a tight pony tail, which contrasted with the form-fitting blue jeans and light pink cashmere sweater she wore. Alecia showed her to the kitchen, where she gathered the plates filled with the remnants of the pancakes she had made earlier. Trina sat at the table, fumbling with a napkin, her blue eyes wavering, probably remembering last night. The breakfast had been strained with Ryder not saying a word, but chewing his food slowly and scrolling through the news on his iPad while she and her sister chit-chatted about random topics, which at the moment she couldn’t recall. After he left for work, Alecia reached for a cup, thinking to pour Chloe some of the hazelnut brew in the coffeepot. Chloe laid a hand on her arm. “Ally, how are you?” Alecia stilled and turned to look at her sister-in-law, noticing the lightness in her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said.
There is no more innocence in her eyes. Ryder ran a finger down Alecia's pale cheek, feeling dampness- evidence of her tears. His hand trailed to the bandages over her wrist, covering the ten stitches it took to close up the wound. A deep sob formed in his throat before a few tears slipped out. He pushed a fist into his eye, trying to push the pain away, but it only grew. What had he done? He had destroyed her.He turned from where she lay on the bed, covered in his black silk sheets, and walked into the hallway as a voice as soft as the wind beckoned to him. Leave, it called. Whenever he stopped to listen to it, it vanished like a ghost exposed to light. He walked outside of his Manhattan penthouse to the balcony, and placed his hands on the rail of the deck - the cool dry air floated around him - feeling like an omen. From this view he could gaze at the tall skyscrapers that pierced into the night sky, as if trying to prove their dominance. Car lights shined lik
Alecia woke up from sleep, somehow, all the memories came rushing back. It was never a dream. Their had really been a man who grabbed her, and Ryder had injected something into her -- something that had made her lose the baby. The tears that filled her eyes now we're tears of hopelessness. She would never be happy again, never be free. Never be the girl she used to be. She remembered all that had happened in the few days after Ryder kidnapped her from her family. They had wanted her to testify in court that Ryder hadn't had someone killed, someone she knew he had killed. To prepare her, or maybe to frighten her into telling the lies they wanted her to tell, they had slit the throat of a man before her very eyes. After that, she was nothing, felt nothing but sadness and utter hopelessness. She got up and walked to the bathroomAlecia stared at the mirror in the bathroom, into her lifeless blue eyes. She had be
Alecia laid her head on Ryder's bare chest and caressed the soft skin of his rippling abs. They had just made love, a new promise, a new life together and perhaps a new life would form in her womb. She scratched her face as something tickled her. Ryder's lips ran along her neck, sending tingles through her. Every part of her filled with the intense pleasure only he could produce in her. Something pressed against her skin, making her eyes pop opened.She quickly sat up. At her side sat Ryder with her father’s shotgun on his lap. His face void of all emotion except for the darkness in his eyes.“Daddy,” she screamed out.“Don’t wake him.”She looked at her sister who hadn’t even moved. She turned back to him. “What have you done?”“They’re just sleeping.”“You drugged them.” Ryder smirked.A rattling feeling spread through her as he stood and place
Ryder held the pen over the document. She was not in her hometown, but her parents were, so where could she be? It had been two weeks and his men hadn’t been able to find one clue of the girl. He shook his head and turned to the document in front of him. He needed to keep reading this briefing report, making sure every detail aligned with their case. He should go to her hometown and force the details from her parents, but his father said to wait until they knew where she was. Wait and catch her off guard. Ryde looked up when his phone beeped. He pressed the intercom button.“Yes, Jacky.”“There is a Mr. Sose here to see you.”“Send him in,” Ryder said. He looked up as the door opened, and Jacky showed Sose in. Sullivan glared at her until she quickly slipped behind the door and shut it. He really could scare people with just a glance. Sose walked over to the desk, and dropped a brown envelope onto it. Ryder picked it up.
Ryder walked into his father’s office, sat down in front of his desk and glared at him. He didn’t want this conversation, but best to get it over with. His father would help him get her back and then make her stay. He had done it once before with his mother. Now, Ryder understood the anger that had pushed his father to reclaim his wife. His mother should have stayed. All she had to do was listen. Just like Alecia should have.His father leaned back into his seat – his white dress shirt stretched with his movements. His eyes narrowed contrasting with the full smile. “So she left you. I told you to have the council keep an eye on her,” his father said. “But you wanted no one looking at your wife, but you.” His father’s lips curved in a smirk. He was mocking him.Ryder folded his hands in his lap. He wouldn’t respond to his mockery, letting him see how each word fueled the heat boiling in him.“Did she wip
The soft clanging of bells filled her ears, making her eyes pop open. Ryder reached over her and pressed it off - his skin sliding over her bare body. A yawn escaped from her lips. She had barely slept last night. She rolled over on her side and focused on the wall - with her eyes trailing the lavender border at the top. This would be her last morning here. Ryder breathed deeply as he struggled to wake himself up. Last night was another late one.He pushed himself up and rolled out of the bed. “I should be used to this,” he said.She smiled and brushed his bangs out of his face. Best to keep up appearances.Their eyes connected and Alecia's heart jumped. His eyes glittered in the early morning light, making him look like a youth. Like the boy she had fallen in love with. Would a part of her always love him? He kissed her head, sending the familiar tremors through her before leaving to wash up.She laid out his clothes, and made
Alecia listened to Ryder walk around the room as he got ready for work. She slipped further under the sheets, blackness filling her vision. When the alarm went off this morning she couldn’t bear the thought of getting up and putting on the pot of coffee. The face was still ingrained in her mind. The sheets were pulled down just below her eyes. Ryder leaned over her. He half-smiled and bent to give her a kiss. “My sister will be by later.” She nodded before he pulled the sheets back above her face, shielding her from the outside world. When she heard the bedroom door close, she rolled over and cried, letting the tears pour forth. She couldn’t get the face out of her mind no matter how much she tried. “I can’t live like this,” she whispered. “I want to die.” Sitting up from the bed, she let the sheets fall. The ache that spread through her was intense. She bit on the sheets as she rocked back in forth, but the pressure wouldn’t releas
Alecia eyes popped open. Her hands flew to her mouth. All she could see was the face, a strong face, which neither smiled nor grinned, but looked at her as if it was complacent. She removed her hands and bit down on the tips of her fingers. The man held her down as Ryder pierced her skin with something. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her irregular quick breaths, but her heart would not stop pounding the blood through her, making her gasp. It must have been a dream. Just a dream.She tried to roll over and look at her husband, but he was right behind her, his arms wrapped around her in a firm hold. He would never physically hurt her. Doubt crept through her. She reached for his hands and tried to lift his arms; however, they grasped her tightly, and would not budge. She looked at the wall. The face filled her mind. “Ryder, wake up.” Ryder sat up, and leaned over her face. “Are you okay?”“Let go of me.”
Ryder carried a half-dazed Alecia into the apartment with her family behind him. Taking her to their bedroom, he lay down next to her and caressed the hair out of her face. She still hadn’t said a word to him. Not one. He kissed her cheek and wrapped her into his arms. She rolled over and faced the wall. A deep ache grew in him. What had he done to her? Loosen up. That was what he needed to do. “Please roll back over,” he said as he placed a firm hand on her hip. She shook her head. “We’ll have more.” “Please leave me, I beg you." She whispered. “Do you want Trina?” “No one.” He kissed her cheek before he got up and left. He walked out the door and inched it closed. He could not look at her family, so he concentrated on the floor. “She wants to be alone.” No one responded so he locked himself in the guest room, burying his face into the pillow as he let his tears fall. All he wanted was Alecia back; to lov