You’ll pay for that, useless pup.
His uncle shouted in his ear, and his wolf growled. Ryder ignored it; instead, coming to Leah’s side. The witches in front of him were either down for the count or fighting their final battles of the day. Smoke wafted in the room, and puddles of water dotted the floor and mixed with earth to make mud that spoke of magic and death.
“You can stop, baby,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around Leah’s waist. “You saved us.”
Leah let her hands fall, and the wall of water slid to the ground, leaving waves until it finally settled into a pool. Finn came to Leah’s other side and the rest of the wolves guarded their backs.
“I…what happened?” she asked, a frown on her face.
Ryder let out a breath. He knew she wasn’t talking about the magic that occurred, but rather what had happened to him. He really wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, but he knew he’d run out of time.
“Let’s go home first,” he said softly.
“You’ll have to explain it to all of us at some point,” Finn challenged.
Ryder let out a small growl but didn’t counter. “Let’s get home.” He turned toward the mayhem in front of them. “When you get your act together and find yourselves ready to discuss the future, contact us.”
The female witch that had condemned Luis earlier—the pregnant one who had tried to help during the attack—nodded. “We have a few things to clean up.” She gestured toward Luis’s and Dayrnda’s prone bodies on the floor. “Thank you for understanding.”
He squeezed Leah to his side. Her father had died, not by Ryder’s hand, but by his command. She might not know it yet, but he would have to tell her soon. He’d have to tell all of them soon. Secrets only led to pain and death. He’d known that as a child, and yet hadn’t told them of his gift until he’d almost lost Leah.
Now he’d have to face the consequences.
As well as the woman he knew he’d have to leave for good. Because his so-called gift had just killed her father and hurt Ryder in the process. There was no way he could allow Leah to be hurt from it…even if walking away killed him every moment in the process.
****
Leah stood by the partially frozen lake and breathed out, the air so cold she could see her breath. Her body ached from the use of her magic, and her heart ached from the lack of use when it came to feeling.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
Maybe she used her heart too much.
Her father was dead. As was the woman he’d married. She officially had no blood relations left in the world. She was alone, far more alone than she’d thought she was when Roland had died.
Yet it wasn’t because the man who had hated her more than he’d loved his Coven was dead. It was because the man she loved, the man the goddess had blessed her with held back. He not only held back his emotions, his feelings for her, but he also held back his secrets.
She had a feeling that the reason he held back, the reason he refused to mate with her, had to do with whatever the hell had happened in that Coven meeting. Ryder had done something. He’d been in pain, she’d seen the agony on his face, and yet he wouldn’t tell her why.
Luis and Darynda were dead, but she didn’t know how it had happened. The witches thought one of them had done it, a stray spark of fire or water or earth. But it hadn’t been, the wolves knew that.
Ryder had done something to end the lives of those who had not only threatened and hurt her but had endangered the entire Pack.
He would have to come clean soon, she knew, but he hadn’t done so yet. It had only been a few hours since the incident, but he’d remained quiet about it.
And she hated it. She was so…angry. She deserved far better than a man who hid himself from her, especially if it hurt them both. She held fault, as well. She’d stayed away to keep him safe, and yet he’d almost been hurt anyway. The man who had tried to kill her for so many years was gone, as was that particular threat to Ryder’s life.
She’d fought to keep alive for so long, and now she would fight for something more.
For Ryder.
But first, he’d have to tell her his secrets. Because it hurt that he didn’t trust her enough to reveal them.
She was on Pack land, a stranger who had brought trouble to their door. Yet they hadn’t pushed her away. Neither had Ryder for that matter, though he’d still kept his distance. Maybe one day Gideon would bring her into the Pack as a member, even if she weren’t mated to Ryder. Could she do that? Could she be part of a Pack where she would be forced to see the one man she loved every day and not be able to mate with him? They may have told each other they would try to be with one another without the bond, but as time moved on, she wasn’t sure she could do that.
She was better than that. Worth more than that.
And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it?