Chapter 314: _Always Come For Me
Odessa’s POV
*****
The first thing that I felt when I woke up was a warm sensation around the index finger of my left hand.
My mother’s protection ring.
It wasn’t just warm but it felt like it was reaching into my soul. And I could’ve sworn I heard a voice whispering my name at the corner of my ears.
I grunted, stirring on the soft surface I lay on, the scent of a simple room air freshener and a cologne hitting me. A palm was resting on my temple, brushing my hair.
Strong. Rough. But... Oddly calming.
I fluttered my eyes open weakly, scanning my gaze around... Until I spotted HIM.
The owner of the palm on my head.
Not Kaelos and definitely not someone I would want to touch me with a ten-foot pole.
Ryker.
"You!" I hissed, quickly raising my right hand and swatting the bastard’s palm away.
He was sitting calmly beside me, making me realise that I was on top of a bed. How the fuck did I get on top of a bed?
My breathing hitched as I glared at him, shifting away and sitting up. But when I tried adjusting my sitting position more, a sharp pain stung my stomach, making me whimper.
I clutched my stomach, lowering my head while Ryker sighed.
"Well, hello to you too." He slowly rose from the bed, clasping his hands in front of himself.
His short black hair was perfectly styled as usual, his deep silver eyes glinting with an unreadable light.
A small smirk curled up the corner of his lips as he pointed casually at me. "You were passed out for a little over an hour. After... You know."
I followed the direction of his finger and saw it pointing at my neck. That’s when I felt the cold metal wrapped around it—a silver necklace.
The same one that had zapped the consciousness out of me when I tried using my wolf abilities to attack Ryker.
"Get this trinket off of me." I sneered, wrapping my hands around the necklace and trying to pull it off.
But when I did, it seemed to wrap even tighter around me, causing me to gasp. Things didn’t end there as a searing heat spread over it, forcing me to withdraw my hands.
"You never give up. Do you?" Ryker asked with a deep snigger, causing me to raise my head slowly.
My gaze trailed from his perfectly polished black suit to his smug smirk and the jagged slash mark across his right eye.
His silver eyes eerily reminded me of Kaelos.
"Ironically..." He continued casually as I took in the room around us. "That’s one of the things I like about you."
The walls of the room were stone and painted white. There was nothing else in it apart from the bed I was sitting on and the white light bulb at the centre of the ceiling.
The window on the other side of the room was glass without any curtains or blinds. The blood moon’s red light still shone through it, bathing that part of the room in red.
"Your body is still fighting against the remnants of the wolfbane used to poison you." Ryker suddenly revealed casually, his voice reverberating through the chilly room. "But you’re strong. A true hybrid. It wouldn’t be much of a problem."
Gods... That tears it!
"You didn’t answer my question before I passed out." I scooted to the edge of the bed, placing my feet on the cold marble floor. "What do you want from me? If you can’t absorb my powers for yourself then what?"
He stared at me silently, his gaze as unreadable as always.
My jaw tightened, my gaze scanning the room for an exit strategy.
’Oh, so NOW you wanna leave?’ Sirena’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind, causing my eyes to widen.
My wolf...
’Sirena.’ A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. ’You have no idea how good it is to communicate with a familiar voice.’
’Well, maybe if you stop fainting, we could communicate more.’ She said with her usual sass and I could almost imagine her rolling her eyes. ’So, while you were knocked out, I had a view of what was happening around you.’
My eyes lit up as she continued, the conversation happening within milliseconds.
’He and Regina, his artificial hybrid minion, transported you through a portal out of his throne room and then to this room.’ she revealed with a pensive tone. ’I’m just not sure if it’s within the same palace, lair or wherever the fuck he stays.’
Crap... That was barely any help.
I drew in a deep breath before focusing my eyes on Ryker.
"You still don’t want to talk?" I questioned him with a snigger. "Then at least, get the fuck out of here. Leave me alone."
Silence.
My chest heaved heavily as I glared at him, watching as he seemingly merged with the shadows in the room. He stood in this eerie, cold silence that made me question if perhaps he wanted to sacrifice me.
At this rate, that didn’t seem out of the realm of possible things this lunatic could do.
Eventually, Ryker’s lips curved in a slow, knowing smile, finally responding.
"See... that’s the problem, Odessa." He took a step toward me, hands still clasped behind his back. "I don’t want to leave you alone. In fact..." his gaze swept over me like a predator evaluating prey "... I want you right where I can see you."
I squared my shoulders, ignoring the ache in my stomach. "Why? So you can gloat? So you can chain me up and pretend you’ve won?"
His silver eyes locked onto mine, unreadable yet charged.
"No," he said simply. "Because when I dethrone Kaelos... I want you beside me. As my Luna Queen."
A cold shiver ran down my spine when I heard those words. I almost couldn’t believe it.
The audacity nearly made me laugh but instead, my blood boiled as I spat. "You’ve lost your damn mind."
And to my annoyance, his smirk deepened.
"Have I? You and I both know what you are, Odessa. You’re not just a witch. You’re not just a wolf. You are powerful. Raw, unfiltered, the kind that kings dream of possessing." He took another step closer, the air between us tightening. "Kaelos keeps you on a leash. I would set you free."
I rose fully from the bed despite the burn in my muscles, glaring at him like I could set him on fire with my eyes alone. Which I could if it weren’t for the damn necklace around my neck.
"I will never help you take Kaelos’ throne. And if you think for one second I would stand beside you while you hurt him..." my voice cracked with venom "... then you’re dumber than you look."
For the first time, his smirk faded slightly. His jaw tightened. "You’re loyal to a fault."
"I’m loyal to my mate," I shot back. "And that’s something you’ll never understand."
He leaned in just enough for me to catch the subtle scent of his cologne... like spice and smoke. Dangerous and seductive in the way venom gleams before it kills.
"I understand loyalty," he murmured. "I just know how easily it can break when faced with the truth."
"I’ve seen the truth," I said, my voice steady. "And it’s you who’s afraid of it. Afraid that no matter what you do, I’ll never choose you."
For a long moment, we just stared at each other, the tension thick enough to choke on. Then...
BOOM.
The walls trembled, dust drifting from the ceiling. My head whipped toward the door as the sharp scent of ozone and smoke filled the air.
Ryker’s expression darkened instantly.
Another crash echoed, closer this time, followed by the pounding of feet in the hallway. The door burst open, and two of Ryker’s men stormed in, both armed, both visibly shaken.
"My lord," one of them said urgently. "We’re under attack. The perimeter’s already breached."
Regina appeared behind them, sleek as a shadow, her crimson lips curling in a vicious grin. "Wolves," she said simply, her gaze cutting briefly to me. "And not just any pack mutts. HE’S here.".
My heart stuttered. I didn’t need to ask who she meant because I knew.
Kaelos.
Ryker’s eyes flicked back to me, something sharper than amusement glinting in them now.
"Well," he murmured, almost to himself, "it seems your king has come to collect his queen."
A thousand things rushed through me at once—relief, fear, adrenaline so sharp it made my hands tremble. Damon, Kaelos’ wolf, power was close. I could feel it like a storm breaking just beyond the horizon.
I straightened, ignoring the weight in my throat. "Told you," I said, my voice low but fierce. "He’ll always come for me."
Ryker’s smirk returned, but it was harder this time, edged with something like frustration. "Then let’s see if he can make it through me."