Ristan snorted from the doorway, and asked the Shifter where he now stood on the porch, a safe distance from the wards. “Explain how you ended up in the pound, Fido.”
“I was caught by humans after a bad run of luck. Ended up with a few others that were trapped as well.”
“Caught by humans?” Ryder asked, turning beside me until his hand touched my leg from his close proximity. I shivered with the knowledge of how good they felt inside my dreams, which caused him to look over at me with a knowing smile on his lips. I frowned and took a step further away from him.
“Yeah,” my dog said, running human hands through his hair. “They injected me and a few others with something that killed most of us. The others had a really bad reaction to it. I eventually shifted to get out of the cuffs and, I was so sick, I couldn’t shift back afterwards.”
Ristan and Ryder both looked at each other, and I had the distinct feeling I was missing something. “How many humans did you see?” Ristan asked after a brief second had passed.
“A couple, they wore masks though. They called us castes, and, well, you know we don't consider each other castes, they kept saying we were test subjects.”
“Oh my God! You watched me change!” I blurted out accusingly.
He blushed and scratched his head with a guilty smile on his lips. “Sorry about that, but not sorry for what I saw.” He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled boyishly.
Ryder growled low in his chest. “Take him home, Ristan. Eliran will need to look him over to be sure he is fine.”
I watched the others sift out, which left me standing alone with Ryder, who I'd just accused of being the Horde King. He turned and smiled as if he could read my thoughts. “You're not the first to think it, Syn,” he said taking a step towards me.
“What are you?” I asked, taking a step back and winced when I felt my back go flush against the wall that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“You really want the answer?” he asked, moving closer until he placed hands on either side of my head. “You couldn’t handle it, and you're not ready to know. When you are, you won't need to ask me because it will be too late for you.”
“Too late for me?” I asked before licking my dry lips.
His eyes lowered to my mouth with liquid heat burning inside of them. “I want to fuck you, right here, right now, Syn.” Wow, nothing like Ryder whiplash when he wanted to change topics.
I swallowed, and closed my eyes against the lust I’d seen in his. “Ryder…” his mouth crushed against mine and heat flooded my entire body, saturating my core. My hands came up to rest against his cotton shirt, planning to push him away, in a moment, right after I took what I needed…Who was I kidding?
He made that deep rattling sound in his chest again as he growled deeply against my mouth. His hands slid down to rest against my waist as he lifted me up against his body. He was hard and ready. I moaned against him, but managed to pull away from his addictive kiss. “I still have a day, Ryder,” I reminded him in a whispered tone, trying to catch my breath.
“Scared, Syn?” he whispered back as his eyes changed from gold to burnt amber. He was hungry, and it was making me wet with need.
“To be with you? Yes.” I admitted it, which only made him smile. “You scare the shit out of me, is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Because I make you want things, that you think you shouldn’t,” he replied.
I glared, hating that he could read me so easily and effortlessly, as if I were transparent to him. I shook my head, reminding myself that he'd hurt Adrian. “Would it matter, Ryder? You don’t want to love me, you want to own me, and I don’t want that for myself. You don't actually care how I feel, and that doesn’t work for me. I'll show up tomorrow, but only because I don’t have a choice.”
“You think that boy could bring you through the Transition, Syn? It would take him and about ten others to get you through it alive. That's how many we line up for the females when they go through Transition. And you're right. I like to own pretty things. I own you, and you like me inside of you. Or did I miss something?”
“Go to hell, Ryder! I don't want to Transition at all! What if it changes who I am? What if makes me evil, like the Fae who killed my parents? Or worse, what if I change into some grotesque monster?”
He smiled gently, and moved closer. “It won't change how you feel, or who you are. You could never be grotesque, either. Vanity isn't something you give a fuck about, so don’t start now. You're worried you will have to admit that being Fae doesn’t make you evil and that you will have to fuck in order to feed. There are other ways to feed, not through Transition, but after. You can lie to yourself all you want, but don’t expect me to buy the bullshit you keep feeding yourself.”