RYDER'S POV
I didn't like that Ashley was afraid of me. I knew I had made wrong mistakes in the past, but wouldn't she give me the chance to redeem myself?
How could she refer to me as her ex-mate? Well... Taking deep breaths, I'll try again.
"Okay fine, Ashley, you can call me whatever you want, but please can we talk?"
"I don't have anything to say to you, Ryder." She stared straight into my eyes, which made me realize how much I had missed looking into those grey eyes of hers.
"I want you back. There's no need to beat around the bush, please."
"You sent the threatening message to me, right?" Ashley asked.
I wasn't expecting that question.
"I just want you back, Ashley. If you come back, I'll never lay my hands on you or do anything harsh to you. I'll treat you as a queen, a queen that you are."
"I don't need to be treated as a queen; I'm already your Luna."
"I-uh—"
"You don't send a threatening note to someone you wish to get back. Come to think of it, are you working with Emma?"
"Enough! Ashley." How did she get so confident?
The Ashley I knew would never raise her voice at me. She would fall at the slightest chance for me to pet her, but whoever stood in front of me didn't care about my looks.
"You don't get to talk to me like that." Ashley didn't blink.
"Listen to me, Ashley." I held her hands and immediately, I felt her hands on my face, a punch, and I tasted blood.
"Don't you dare touch me again." She snapped.
"You just made me angry, Ashley." I growled and quickly grabbed her and pinned her to the ground.
I was about to dig my claws into her skin when I felt a hard blow that threw me to the other side of the room, my body stumbling on the floor.
I quickly stood, and standing in front of me was the Almighty Lycan King, Lord Dante.
"What are you doing close to my wife?" His voice roared, his eyes narrowed, and his fur had started sprouting.
"This is not your business, Lord Dante." Adrenaline surged through my veins.
"I'm sorry," Lord Dante took a few strides toward me, as I could feel the anger steaming off him. I didn't care; all I wanted was for Ashley to come back home to me.
"You are on my grounds, threatening my Luna, and you said it's none of my business. Come to think of this, how did you get past my security?" The dark-haired man's eyes darkened, and I was afraid, but I couldn't show it.
"You took my mate away from me and manipulated her into accepting you. Who does that, Lord Dante?" I snapped.
"Excuse me? Do you know where I found her? On the—"
"She was trying to shift; she wasn't planning on—"
"Don't you dare speak for me, Ryder." Ashley approached us. "I wanted to end it all. You fucking rejected me because you weren't ready to settle, because you weren't ready to stop meeting the ladies you liked meeting."
"You know that's not true, Ashley. I was dru—"
"And you won't get drunk another day and hit me." Ashley blurted.
"I'm trying to save you here from this narcissist. You think you're better off with him? He's going to get rid of you in a heartbeat." I gritted through clenched teeth.
"You're an asshole, Ryder." Ashley spat at me, and that struck a nerve. The next minute, I could feel my claws grow and my fangs lengthen.
"Come here!" I wanted nothing more than to unleash my fury upon her, but I was stopped by Lord Dante, who threw me down with a punch.
But I wasn't ready to give up, so I quickly shifted to a wolf and pounced on Lord Dante. I almost had his throat cut off, but he shifted into the biggest wolf I had ever seen.
And knocked me down. When I tried to hit him, he dug his claw into my neck and tossed me like a stick far from where he stood.
I knew this wasn't how I would win Ashley. I may end up making her hate me more. I could have let Emma handle the entire situation.
Getting up with the last strength I could muster, I fled as I noticed that Lord Dante had summoned his guards to chase after me, and then I had to follow the same underground tunnel I came in with to exit.
At that moment, I didn't care that I was giving up our secret entrance; I only cared about being free.
I had heard stories of what Lord Dante had done to people who defied his orders. I didn't want to experience it.
Shifting back to my human form, I could barely walk. Every inch of my body hurt so bad, especially my neck where he dug his claw in. I was grateful he didn't bite me.
"Emma! Emma! Emmeline?" I cried out, my voice cracking with pain as I staggered into my apartment, scattering everything my hand could hold as I tried to stand firm.
But slowly, I began to give in as my eyes began to close, my legs became numb, and the next minute my body fell with a thud.
________________
"Oh, you're finally awake." I could hear Emma's voice as I kept blinking until I was able to see and feel my environment.
"What happened?" I mumbled.
"I think I should be asking you that question." Emma sat beside me.
"Ahhh." I flinched as I tried to sit up before Emma helped me sit. "I went to meet Ashley..."
"Fuck you, Ryder. Why would you do that?" She stood to her feet. "And let me guess, the Lycan king dealt with you."
"I thought I could stand a chance." I confessed.
"Stand a chance? With the Lycan king? You should be smarter than—wait a minute, don't tell me they know our secret entrance."
"Actually—"
"Damn you, Ryder!"
"Have we lost everything?"
"No, we still have a larger card to play. You can call it an element of surprise." A little smile played at the corners of my sister's lips.
"Can you give me a hint or something?"
"Well," Emma stood up like she was about to reveal a movie in the theatre, "I like to call it Project Celine."