Page 19 of Cursed Magic

I bristled, anger flaring in my chest. The accusation in his voice stung even though it wasn’t directed at me. How dare he talk about me as if I wasn’t standing right here? As if my choices and actions didn’t matter? If he wanted to act like I wasn’t part of the equation, I would force him to reconsider.

His nostrils flared. “You listened to her? She’s not your fucking alpha—and you left her behind, injured like this?”

“Hey!” I snapped and stepped forward despite the protest of my aching muscles. “I’m right here. Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room. If you’ve got a beef with anyone, it should beme. “

The corners of his lips tipped upward before the skinaround his eyes tightened. “Did you just saybeef? How old are you? Eighty?”

“What?” A salty taste filled my mouth. “Are you really insulting me right now?”

“Oh, if I wanted to insult you, I would’ve chosen something a lot worse than that.” He grimaced. “I should have known you’d do something reckless like this. It’s a pattern with you, isn’t it? Always putting yourself in danger, always trying to be the hero.”

His words stung, but I refused to back down. I lifted my chin, meeting his fierce gaze head-on. “I wasn’t being ahero. I did what I had to do to protect everyone. You were unconscious and bleeding out. Gage was struggling to stand on all four legs. Briar needed to get to safety. And Kendric and Xander had to work together to carry you. Also, I was the only one who could see the attackers. What else was I supposed to do?”

He lifted his right hand to his mouth and bit his finger before pointing at me. “You are supposed to stay with the group, to let us protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection, and we never agreed to you all protecting me. You only promised to help me find Briar, remember?”

Instead of answering my question, he bared his teeth at the others. “Why the hell did you listen to her?” he growled, the tone low and dangerous. “She’s not your alpha. I am.”

The hallway seemed to shrink as Ryker’s anger filled the space.

Kendric stepped forward, his broad shoulders tense. “Ryker, you were unconscious and bleeding out. We had no better option. Ember’s plan was the only way to ensure everyone’s survival. If we’d stayed, we would have been more vulnerable.”

Xander lifted both hands placatingly. “You have to understand. We were surrounded, outnumbered. Ember’s quick thinking saved us all.”

Groaning, Gage closed his eyes and shook his head just as Ryker’s almost exploded.

“Enough!” he roared. His face had flushed an angry red, the veins in his neck standing out prominently. His nostrils flared as he took sharp, ragged breaths. “You all were outnumbered? And youlefther? What the fuck is wrong with you three?”

My jaw dropped, and my blood heated. “Are you seriously blaming them for following my orders?Imade the call, not them. They wanted to stay and fight, but I knew it was hopeless. I ordered them to leave so that at least most of us would survive.”

Ryker’s mouth twisted, and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits. His entire face contorted with visible rage, and I took an instinctive step back.

“And that makes it okay? You were willing to sacrifice yourself? To throw your life away?” he spat.

“I wasn’t ‘throwing my life away,’” I snapped, my voice rising. “I was trying to save everyone else’s. Including yours, you ungrateful ass!”

“Ungrateful? Me?” Ryker pointed at himself. “I took a knife for your sister because she’s important to you. How the hell amIungrateful?”

My heart clenched. He was right. He’d risked his life protecting my sister.

But then his hypocrisy dawned on me, reigniting my anger. “That’s exactly my point.” I placed my hands on my hips, ignoring the way my muscles screeched in protest. “How is what I did any different? I stayed behind so the three injured people and the two carrying youcould get back safely. I made the same choice you did—to protect the lives of others at the risk of my own.”

He shook his head vehemently, his dark hair falling across his forehead. He winced again, his hand instinctively going to his injured side. “That may be, but it doesn’t change the fact that what you did was reckless and foolish.”

“Then I guess we’re both idiots.” I wasn’t going to let him get away with the double standard.

“No, we’re not. You’re leaving, and I’m going to stay and get proof of what the Blackwoods did to our families and take them down.” The iridescent sheen glistened over his eyes for a few seconds, hiding his irises, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared. “Your life means more to me than mine.”

“See, you’re desperate for me to leave. Why act like you care when you don’t?” I hated how my heart panged so badly it felt like it could implode.

Ryker’s body went rigid. The fierce anger that had contorted his features moments ago melted away, replaced by an intensity that made my breath catch.

“Do you really want to know why?” he rasped.

The sudden shift in his demeanor caught me off guard. I swallowed, my heart pounding against my ribs. Part of me wanted to say no, to run away from whatever revelation was coming. But a larger part of me needed to know. I needed to hear him say he hated me.

“Yes,” I whispered, the word barely audible even to my own ears.

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