Page 20 of Cursed Magic

Ryker placed a finger under my chin, forcing our gazes to connect. He opened his mouth, and I tried to prepare myself for the agony sure to come.

CHAPTER EIGHT

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his finger still tilting my chin up. When he opened them again, the intensity in his gaze made my breath catch. The gold flecks in his eyes seemed to dance in the dim light of the hallway, drawing me in.

“The last thing I would ever want,” Ryker growled and winced, “is for you to leave.”

My heart skipped a beat, and that damn foolish hope bloomed in my chest despite my best efforts to squash it.

The other three guys began moving away, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Ryker’s.

His thumb caressed my jawline, making me tremble. “Every fiber of my being wants you to stay. To keep you close, to protect you, to…” He trailed off, swallowing hard before continuing. “But being here puts you in constant danger, and I’m willing to let you walk away because it might be the only thing that can save your life.”

My mind reeled as I tried to process his words. The sincerity in his voice and the vulnerability etchedacross his features were so unexpected that the ground shifted beneath my feet.

The hallway seemed to fade, leaving Ryker and me in our own little bubble. His hand dropped from my chin, but the phantom warmth of his touch lingered. I searched his face, looking for any sign of deception, but found the golden flecks in his eyes pulsing with what could only be described as raw honesty.

My heart raced, and an imprudent part of me wanted to lean into him, to let him chase away the trauma of the night. But another part—the part that still bore the scars of Reid’s rejection—screamed at me to run.

Running wasn’t an option. Briar wanted to stay, and Raven had made me realize that, even though I had good intentions, it wasn’t the right choice. Still, that didn’t mean I wanted to fall for another man. Even if my wolf and my body wanted to be around him.

I took a shaky breath, trying to center myself. The air crackled with unspoken emotions. Emotions I couldn’t address, or they would lead us into unknown territory and might ruin whatever Ryker and I had now.

Yet, Ryker’s scent enveloped me—pine, rain, and something uniquely him. My head spun and my wolf stirred restlessly.

“I…” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. “I appreciate your concern. But I’m not leaving. Not now, not when there’s still so much at stake.”

His eyes widened for a brief second before he schooled his expression into neutrality. “What do you mean? The whole time we were searching for Briar, you made it clear that you would be leaving to protect yourselves. That was the plan, and you need to go tonight.”

The urge to step toward him was so hard to fightthat I planted my feet on the hardwood floor. “I know what I said, but things have changed. We’re going to remain here and gather proof of who is behind all of this so we can end the slaughter of innocent supernaturals.”

Ryker’s jaw clenched, and the muscles in his neck tightened. “Trust me. I will handle this. If you go, I’ll even give you daily updates. You and your sister need to leave now. I need you to be safe so I can focus and not constantly worry about you.”

Butterflies took flight in my stomach, so to overcompensate, I gave my voice a hard edge. “You can’t even see the enemy. Ican. That gives us a small advantage, but only if I stay. If I leave, then Briar and I won’t be here to help protect our friends, and I refuse to be like our so-called allies after Reid rejected me.”

He clenched his hands. “Ember, you don’t seem to understand the danger you’d be putting yourself in. These enemies are unlike anything we’ve ever faced before. Look at what happened tonight. I don’t even understand how we got away.”

“I think Raven and the other vampire guards scared them off with the additional manpower.” My mind raced back to the chaotic escape. “The shadows were everywhere. We couldn’t even rely on our sense of smell to track them because, even when they were right on us, their scent was faint. They chased us when we tried getting to our vehicles.”

I closed my eyes as the vivid memories flooded back. The air had been thick with the acrid smell of fear and blood, punctuated by snarls and screams. Iridescent shadows had darted between the trees, their bodies not clearly detectable except for their head and when they stretched out their arms.

“But then there was this…shift. Like a ripple in the air. The shadows hesitated, some of them even recoiling. The strange feeling I had that night at the park when Simon got away returned, and they couldn’t reach me. There was…like…a barrier between us.”

Ryker scowled. “The witch who cloaks them must have alerted them that the vampires were there to stop them.”

I nodded, the pieces clicking into place. “That makes sense. It would explain the sudden retreat. But it also means they’re more organized than we thought. More dangerous.”

A chill raced down my spine as I considered the implications. These weren’t random attacks but rather a coordinated effort by a group with access to powerful magic. The realization made the night’s events even more terrifying.

“Exactly,” Ryker growled, his eyes flashing. “Which is why you need to leave.Now.” But even as he said it, I could see the conflict in his eyes.

My heart sputtered. I despised how much I loved seeing that he didn’t want me to go. No matter how hard I tried to pull back from him, my heart and wolf still urged me closer. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was my fated mate…but that was impossible. Reid was the one Fate had chosen for me. The twat.

His jaw clenched and unclenched and the muscles in his neck strained again as he fought some internal battle. Despite us not touching, the buzz that so often hummed between us faintly covered my body, drawing me to him despite my best efforts to resist.

When I hesitated to respond, he smirked as if he’d gotten through to me.

Nope. I refused to allow him to believe I’d submitted to his request. He wasn’tmyalpha. “I’ve already told you. I’m not leaving. Not now when there’s so much at stake.”

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