Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Alecia lay on her bed and reread the novel Ryder had bought for her. She smiled, feeling a warmness spread through her. As she remembered the day he had bought it for her. She loved him with a fierceness that hurt. It had been three days since she had last seen him and every part of her longed to be wrapped in his arms. How could love take complete control over someone?

He had kept his word and called every night, and they would talk for hours, losing themselves in each other’s voices, planning their lives together. She set the book down and picked up another book she was reading. The vibrations of her phone interrupted her. She picked up her phone and answered. She smiled closing her eyes, waiting for his smooth voice to soothe her. “Hey.”

“Hey, pretty thing,” Ryder said in an almost quiet voice.

“Ryder?” She sat up, and brushed a tendril of hair from her face away.

“Yeah.”

She put the book down. “Are you okay?”

“I’m just tired.”

She nodded. His voice almost slurred with the low pitch he spoke in like he dragged his words across a rugged surface. “Well, we don’t have to talk long tonight.”

“No, I really want to hear your voice. What were you doing?”

“I was reading.”

“Will you read to me?”

She looked down at the title of her book, 'Always and forever.' Ryder had never liked romance books, but then now didn't seem like the best time to read horror.

She opened it and began to read, focusing more on when the girl professed her love.''

Alecia was sure that Ryder was smiling when he spoke next, but his voice still sounded strained. ''Why do I have the feeling you're making that up princess?"

She giggled. "Well just because I and the girl here are both madly in love doesn't mean I am making this story up."

Normally, he would have continued the light banter, but he just asked her to continue reading. Alecia swallowed. Something was definitely wrong.

She continued reafimg the book, until the only thing she heard was his steady breathing.

“Ryder,” she whispered.

Only his breath answered.

He must be asleep, but it was not a peaceful sleep. “Goodnight, my love.” She hung up the phone.

She placed the phone down and continued reading to herself in silence, the shrill of the phone broke the silence. She bent her head to the side and reached for her phone. “Hey, Ryder.”

“Why did you stop reading?”

“You fell asleep.”

“Ally, I find your voice very calming right now, so keep reading, please.”

“Okay, my love.”

She read to him, and in about five minutes, he fell back to sleep. Alecia continued reading for another hour, until his breath became smooth. She blew him a kiss and hung up the phone. Maybe he would find the rest he needed.

* * * *

Something was wrong with Ryder. But what? He called constantly like he’d promised, but sometimes he acted normal, telling her about what he was learning, but then sometimes he was tired. Overwhelmed. He would make snarky comments if she asked something he figured she ought to know – or was angry with her if she didn’t respond exactly how he wanted her to. Alecia lay down on the couch and looked at the black phone resting on the chipped coffee table.

Trina had left earlier with Kyle for the council's youth group meeting, but she had stayed behind since Ryder always called around seven. She needed to be here for him in case he needed her.

clock again. It was 7:00pm and he had not called. Maybe he was resting. He needed to rest.

Her father came into the room – his brows knit. “Hasn’t called yet?”

“No.”

“Well relax Sweetheart. Something might have come up.”

“Hmm.”

Mr. Bell chuckled and left the room. Alecia snatched her phone from the table and pressed the button for Ryder's number.

His voicemail picked up, so she left a message. Something must have come up. Ryder was like the moon. He always showed up when he was supposed to.

She waited all night, but he never called. When she went to bed that night, she put the phone on her nightstand. The next morning, she sprang out of bed, and grabbed her phone to check the messages, but there wasn’t one. He hadn’t called. Tears filled her eyes. Why hadn’t he called? She needed him to. It was her only way to get through the separation. She wiped away the tear that had slipped down her cheek.

She waited all day, but never heard a word. It took intense begging on Trina's part to get her out the door and to the movies. Alecia kept her phone on vibrate, trying hard to focus on the screen. Kyle sat next to her, but she scooted as close to Trina as she could. That boy had no right sitting next to her, when the man she wanted was nowhere around. She ground her teeth together. She wanted to cover her ears and block out the sound of him, slurping his soda from his straw.

When they arrived home, She ran to her room, locked herself in and called Ryder, but again all she got was the voicemail. She’d just leave him a message. She took a deep breath and let it out in a smooth stream. “Ryder, I love you. Please call me.”

Days passed and Alecia couldn’t stop crying and constantly checking the phone. She

wouldn’t talk to anyone, and spent her time in her room staring at the ceiling, crying. She rolled over and buried her face into her pillow. A thought that wouldn’t leave her echoed through her mind. Ryder didn’t want to be with her anymore, and he didn’t want to actually have to break up with her. It made sense. That was why he was short, that was why he hardly wanted to talk, and that was why he hadn’t returned her phone calls. Had he met someone new in Moscow? But he had pleaded with her to remember his love for her before she left Connecticut, like he knew something was going to happen that would make her question his commitment to her. The Moscow story must be a lie – a cover-up for what he was actually doing, but what could that be?

Alecia picked up the phone. She couldn’t stand it anymore, just staring at the phone waiting for the littlest bit of vibration. She needed answers. Chloe would know and she’d better tell her.

* * * *

Ryder looked dead. The color had left his face, leaving just a pale yellow tinge. The handsome cheeks had shrunken, allowing his bones to poke through. Training could have been far easier for him, it had been far easier for Lucas, but the quarter master who was in charge of the training said his instincts were working against him instead of for him, and that was because he had held unto a stupid love for humans

The training in its self was gruesome, but Ryder had had to face several punishments when he disobeyed that now, the whipping, the several days he had gone without food, standing outside under the moon and getting turtured by the council had finally gotten to him, his body was broken.

Chloe trailed a hand through his hair and touched his cheeks as a year slipped from her eyes. He didn't even respond

Would he respond if Alecia was here? Chloe tears built in her eyes. At least he couldn’t see her cry. She looked at the picture on the ceiling with he and Alecia kissing. Every now and then he would briefly open his eyes and focus on the image of his love.

Try as she might, Chloe could not bring herself to hate Alecia for being the reason her brother was not responding well to his training. If she was being sincere, Ryder had always loved humans and hated his father's plans for them, and she was sure it was Alecia's love for her brother that still kept the Alpha going.

Chloe's phone vibrated. She picked it up. It was Alecia. “Hey, Allu.” Her voice sounded too strained. She needed to figure out how to control her emotions.

“Where is he?”

“He’s in Moscow.”

“No, he’s not. Why hasn’t he called me in a week?”

Chloe looked at Ryder, letting one tear fall. He almost disappeared under the massive black comforters.

“Chloe,” Katie said.

“I don’t know. I just know he’s fine. He’s going to be just fine.”

“Chloe, if Ryder wants to end things, he just needs to tell me or someone does.”

Chloe lowered the phone and let a couple tears fall before she held up the phone again.

Her voice cracked. “Just hold on, Ally, everything’s going to be fine.”

“Something’s wrong with him?”

“He loves you very much. I’ve got to go now.” Chloe hung up the phone, and turned to Ryder. She kissed his head. “She sends her love.”

Alecia curled up on her bed, burying her face into the pillow and let out long deep sobs, releasing the emotions she’d been holding all week. The pain was so overwhelming, encompassing every inch of her. Her bedroom door opened, followed by the light steps of her sister. She sat on the bed, and caressed the curls that lay on her back.

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

She rolled over and faced the wall. She hated her family. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? She wrapped her arms around her body, the body she had let Ryder love for so many nights and she stiffled a sob as sorrow threatened to overwhelm her

“Ally.”

“Leave me.”

The bed shifted and the sound of feet retreating down the hallway filled the silence. Alecia squeezed her tear-soaked pillow. Was this the earth punishing her for daring to love a werewolf? What a cruel way? To take away what she loved most in this world.

Later that day, Alecia curled up on the couch. Trina had rented a movie and had insisted that she watch it with her instead of hiding in her room. Her phone sat on the coffee table, but it was turned off. No one was going to call, so why bother? Four weeks and not one call. Twenty-minutes into the movie, her father walked into the den, and he held out his phone for her. She looked at him. He had a half smile on his face, but his brows were bent down.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Ryder.”

Alecia sprang off the couch and grabbed the phone. She ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut and locking it. “What is going on?”

“I’ve been busy,” a quiet voice said.

She pushed her hair out of her face. “You liar.”

“Alecia, I’m sorry.”

She sat on her bed and wiped some tears away. “Relationships are built on trust. What’s going on? You sound so sick.”

“I.” He paused. “I can’t tell you.”

She jumped to her feet, shaking her head. Did he think he could just call her when he wanted, expecting her to swallow everything he told her, just because she had let some things go in the past when his baby blues made her forget reason? No. She couldn’t take this. She just couldn’t. “Listen to me. I don’t want to hear from you then.”

“I need your support.” His voice broke. Was he crying? Ryder never cried, but remained a strong tower, she couldn’t penetrate.

“I need you to trust me.”

“I….”

“Ryder, consider us over. I’ll send the ring to your sister.”

“Don’t, don’t do this!”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. So stay with me.”

“Bye, Ryder.” She hung up the phone, and fell back on the bed, covering her face with her pillow, as the tears gushed from her eyes. Had she really just ended it? The words had just come out, but now there was no going back. She wouldn’t get on her knees begging for him. How could he treat her as if she didn’t matter? Calling her when he wanted. Not telling her what was going on. A pain seared through her chest. She grabbed the fabric of her shirt over her heart and clenched it. The pain was horrible, more horrible than when her grandmother had died. What was she going to do? Just let herself whittle away?

* * * *

Her father’s phone kept ringing, but she wouldn’t pick up. He pushed the button for the number again, but the voice mail picked up. He cursed his father. This was his fault. Alecia would have understood. He had so much power over her. But now she had slipped from his fingers. He called her phone but again the voice mail picked up. She wasn’t going to answer and he knew no one else to call.

He threw the phone against the wall. It broke into many pieces. Chloe sprang to her feet, wrapping her arms around him. “Ryder, it’s okay. You’ll get her back.”

He pushed from her and pummeled the nightstand. The lamp and cup of water clattered to the floor. He spun around and screamed a curse, pressing down on his head.

The door flew open as two males rushed to him.

Chloe jumped in front of him, her eyes wide. “He doesn’t need anything,” she pleaded.

“His girlfriend broke up with him.”

He did need something. The one thing that always made him calm down, but she was nowhere around. Heat streamed through him, filling every inch of his body. Ryder picked up a chair and threw it at the wall. But the heat didn’t release, only grew stronger. The two men rushed to him and threw him down on the bed. Ryder punched back. One’s head flew back. The bigger male pulled out his claws, rubbed some drug on it, then sank it into Ryder's flesh. Ryder tried to focus, but he felt his strength slipping away. A picture of Alecia's face radiating all her beauty and Innocence filled his mind

“This would be so much more easier for you if you trusted us,” one of the trainers said.

How could this man hurt him more than what his father had done? One-by-one, the muscles in his body relaxed as a stillness spread through him. Soon his eyes grew heavy but he wouldn’t close them. Instead he locked onto the picture of them kissing.

* * * *

Alecia rolled over and pulled the sheets down from her face. Her eyes stung. There must not be any more tears. The thought brought fresh tears to her eyes. Why couldn’t she just stop thinking of him? She closed her eyes and felt him all throughout her. If she could only see his face or smell his cologne.

She picked up her cellphone. What? She flipped through the caller ID and noticed that there were 40 missed calls. Ryder had called every 15 minutes for quite a few hours. “My goodness.”

Her finger dangled over the button with a green phone on it. It would be so easy to dial the number and tell him she was sorry. But she couldn’t. Then he might always treat her badly. The phone shook in her hand. The phone number was unfamiliar. She shut her phone off. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t talk to him. If she did, she’d fold in an instant.

She didn’t sleep that night. When her tears subsided a little, she thought more of Ryder, of all the good times they had spent together, she thought of how much she loved him. When it began to grow light out, she picked up her father’s phone and blocked Ryder's number from it. She rolled over on her side, and saw the poala bear sitting on her chair. The tears rose up in her again and poured down her face as her whole body ached. What was she going to do?