Chapter 40


    Chapter 40


    Ryker stood there immobile for a full beat before he pulled whoever it was into a hug. Ryker was tall so


    I couldn’t make out the person’s features but from my vantage point, it was a girl. She looked to be


    younger than me but other than that, I couldn’t make out any features. I tried to mp down on my


    jealousy because I knew Ryker wouldn’t jut hug a random


    woman.


    He pulled back from the embrace and ced a kiss on her forehead and I have to admit that watching


    that hurt, that was supposed to be our thing. I tried to calm down the irrational part of my brain that was


    telling me to pull Ryker to my side and far away from whoever the girl was.


    I’m never this possessive or jealous. Why am I acting this way now?


    As if they remembered I was in the room, Ryker took a step back and allowed the girl walk in. I was


    finally able to take in her features properly. She had silky ck hair that stopped just below her pits and


    it was tied


    into a messy ponytail. Her eyes were a very beautiful shade of blue. and they carried with them worlds


    of innocence. She was smaller than me and looked a few years younger and she was wearing an outfit


    very simr to what I normally wear for training.


    up


    “Hi, you must be Cami,” I expected her to stick out her hand for me to shake but instead she pulled


    me into a hug, “I have heard so much about you.”


    I was so confused and shocked by her warmness but before I could even reciprocate the hug, she had


    pulled back. She was smiling from ear to ear and staring at me as if we had known each other for a


    long time. I shed a panicked look in Ryker’s direction and I saw him desperately trying to hide his


    smile.


    He walked over to me until he was standing flush by my side, “Cami, this is my little sister Riley.”


    “I am not little,” she said immediately with an eye roll, “I’m old enough to travel by myself.”


    “You’re fifteen,” he deadpanned, “And you travel with guards so that makes you little.”


    She scoffed and grabbed onto my hand then pulled me to her side, “Boys are so annoying, aren’t


    they?”


    I opened my mouth but closed it instantly because I wasn’t sure how to


    speak. I have never had the pleasure of experiencing a sibling rtionship up close and personal but


    judging by the emotions rolling off them, this was perfectly normal and they aren’t at all angry with each


    other. I decided it was best to stay uninvolved and I shrugged in response. Riley looked around the


    room and her eyes fell on the books that Ryker had set on the table earlier. She moved over to it with a


    small scoff as she ran her fingers over the pages.


    “I remember when I was made to read these as part of my training,” she said thest word in a very


    mocking tone, “It was quite literally the worst time of my life. What are you doing with it?”


    “I’m supposed to read them.” I offered up and her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.


    “You’re joking,” she nced at me then back at the books, “No way, I will not let you go through the


    same torture I did. Most of it is repetitive nonsense. Come with me, I will tell you everything you need to


    know.” “You’ve barely been here for ten minutes and you’re already trying to steal my mate,” Ryker


    drawled from where he was leaning against the desk, “Couldn’t you have waited for at least a day.”


    Riley stuck out her tongue at him and Ryker just rolled his eyes in response. He seemed to know he


    wasn’t winning this battle because he sighed, pulled me to him and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He


    didn’t let go of me immediately and I looked up at him.


    “Be safe,” he whispered into my ears before he finally let me go.


    I was flushed pink from head to toe when I saw Riley wiggling her brows at me. She grabbed my arm


    and pulled me out of the door before I could even respond to Ryker. Before the door shut behind us, I


    saw him shaking his head to himself.


    with


    Riley might be small but she has the energy of a little kid on a permanent sugar high. She spoke


    animatedly about everything she felt was necessary to know about her and spoke about how happy


    she was that she was going to be able to attend our mating ceremony. I tried to keep up her but


    honestly I’m not sure if that is even possible at all. She led me into the pack house kitchen and chatted


    up the omegas there for a full five minutes and by the time we left, we had a te of sandwiches and


    some fruit juice to go with. I was amazed at her people skills and couldn’t help but think about how she


    would have been a great Luna had she been born first.


    We settled in themon space of the pack house and she ced the te of sandwiches in between


    us then crossed her legs over the couch and turned so she was facing me.


    “How are you liking life here so far?” she asked, “Ryker doesn’t know how to tell a story to say his life.


    All he says about you is that you’re good and you’re pretty, which he was right about.”


    I flushed pink, “Thank you, so are you. And I don’t know what you want me to say. Life is good I guess.”


    “Have you met Lauren?” she dropped her voice to a whisper and I nodded, “She’s a real righteous b


    itch.” My eyes widened at her choice of words, “Don’t tell Ryker I said that. He hates it when I swear.”


    “Why don’t you like her?” I asked and she shrugged and stuffed a sandwich in her mouth, “I won’t tell, I


    promise.”


    “She had Ryker so hung up on the idea of a kid. He never wanted one, especially not after what our


    father did. He thinks he won’t be a good dad and no matter how much I tell him otherwise, he refuses


    to believe it. He was more of a dad to me than my own but he has somehow convinced. himself that he


    isn’t worth it.”


    “When she told him she was having that baby, I had never seen Ryker so happy and terrified at the


    same time. He wanted that kid more than anything and then one day she says she got rid of it.”


    “You’re mad that she got rid of the kid,” I repeated to be sure but she shook her head.


    “I’m mad that she got my brother’s hopes up only to smash it down. again.” She answered simply, “I


    know it might be impractical to be upset with her for that but he’s my brother and I will always have his


    back over everyone and everything even her; even you.”


    It shouldn’t have felt as scary as it did considering the fact that it wasing from a fifteen year old but


    I knew she was serious. Riley would defend her brother anyway she needed and would always take his


    side. I found that admirable to be honest and I found myself gathering a newfound respect for her.


    “Understandable,” I said after a beat of silence, “Now, tell me about the mating ceremony.”


    She immediately leaped in by telling me how it was set. Apparently, it always happens in the evening


    so that the mating part can take ce when the moon is at its peak. It is also always set on the night of


    a full


    moon and both mates shift together and lead the pack in a run. It isn’t anything extravagant, but the


    main issue is the decorations.


    It is an outdoor ceremony and the Luna has to find a way to decorate it. There aren’t any major rules


    about it but it has to reflect her own. individual tastes and desires. The only rule is that she has to


    incorporate something from the past mating ceremony into her own.


    Riley told me that from what she heard about her mother’s ceremony, she had incorporated the same


    flowers that the past Luna had used. It didn’t seem like so much responsibility only that the entire pack


    would be there and would be silently judging whatever I choose to do.


    “You’ll be fine,” Riley assured me, “I’m here to help with whatever you need.”


    I smiled softly and squeezed her hand, “Thank you, I’ll hold you to that.” She kind of mellowed down


    with her hyper nature and we spent the next few minutes just talking about our lives growing up. I


    figured she would rte to how I grew up since she had an abusive father. I kept it PG because I didn’t


    exactly want to scar her.


    While we were talking I heard footsteps, we paused to see who would arrive and I was shocked to see


    Lauren. She was wearing a faded shirt with leggings and was carrying a bucket with a mop in one hand


    and some dirty dishes in the other. She didn’t see us immediately but I saw Riley’s eyes widen.


    Riley let out an involuntary gasp and that was when Lauren finally noticed us. She stared at us with a


    nk expression but her eyes turned to mine and they held barely contained venom, almost as if she


    med me for her predicament. She walked over to us and picked up the empty te between us. I


    half expected her to tip the muddy water over me but she didn’t do that, she just turned around and


    walked away.


    “I thought she was general,” Riley said as soon as she left.


    “I knew Ryker fired her but I didn’t know she was working here now.” Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    “I thought you said nothing much happened,” she leaned back into the couch, “You have to tell me


    everything.”