Chapter 14
I ignore the fact that I have Max's blood on my hands, but that doesn't stop the blood from pumping in my ears and the feeling of adrenaline running through my entire body.
With Ryder nowhere in sight in the living area or the kitchen, I take the stairs and cross the right side of the room.
One of the previous doors that was closed is now empty which makes me turn to the other door that is closed shut. This gut feeling inside of me suggests that Ryder's in there - I stand corrected when I open the door to see that he's not alone. There's no jealousy or anger when I notice Ryder's body and a pair of legs wrapped around his waist, I feel only pity.
It's hard to see who the girl is, but there is no denying who might be kissing Ryder right now.
“You know, I genuinely feel sorry for you.”
Both heads swing towards the doorway, Ryder looks like he's seen a ghost while Silver looks like she wants to kill me for interrupting them.
“I thought you left.” Ryder gets up from the bed.
They may not have been sleeping together, but seeing them kissing each other, bothers me somehow, but I still can't stand to look at either of them.
“Oh no please, don't stop on my account seeing as you both don't give a shit that someone nearly died tonight.”
Silver laughs. “He deserved it. He accused Ryder, Bane and Kellan for something that they didn't do and came here unannounced. I mean seriously, he had it coming”
“Silver get out.”
Silver stops laughing instantly. “What?”
“Get the hell out!” Ryder yells, causing a shiver to run down my back.
Silver scurries to pick up her shoes off the floor and runs out of the room.
“Shut the door.” Ryder commands as he lounges on his black leather couch.
“No, I'm good here.”
I can sense that he's growing impatient with me but after tonight, he's changed to being a completely different person to whom I thought he was before, “Shut the damn door and sit down, Alice.”
“Don't tell me what to do! What you did tonight was brutal and horrific! Why would you do something like that!? Do you realize that Max could've died or do you not care at all? He's not an Alpha like you, so stop whatever grudge you have against him and let it go!”
Ryder doesn't say anything for a few minutes then shakes his head. “There's something wrong with him Alice and you refuse to see past the nice act he's putting on.”
“What? Max has been nothing but kind to me.” Ryder looks at me with a nasty scowl on his face.
“Explain the injuries then. Tell me that you're not curious about how he didn't have a scratch on him tonight.” “You mean before you decided to beat him up again.”
“I didn't beat him up the first time, but I wish I did because I'm telling you right now, he's a lying shit who's messing with the wrong people.”
I'm still curious about Max's injuries but I won't admit that to Ryder - I still haven't come up with an explanation on how it could've been possible, and so I refuse to give him the satisfaction of agreeing.
“Max's mother's a nurse, she probably...”
“Don't tell me you actually believe that!?” He interrupts me. “Why are you refusing to see what's actually in front of you!?”
“And what exactly is that?”
He shoves himself off the couch and storms towards me where I stand in the doorway. 'I don't know yet but I will! Give me a few days and I'll soon find out.”
“Sounds to me like you really want something to be wrong with him.”
Ryder leans down closer to me. “I do because I want him to stay as far away from you as possible.”
I shove his chest but I always seem to forget that his body is as hard as steel. “How can you say that!? You have no right to speak to me like that after what I saw you doing.”
He waves me off. “Silver's meaningless, and I have needs just like any other wolf does. Besides, it's not like I need to give you an explanation on who I'm being intimate with.”
“There'd be too many to count if I did ask you anyway.” I taunt.
It's silent for a few seconds then I take a deep breath. “I don't care that you've slept with Silver in the past because that's between you and her. I don't know why I came up here, but I know for one thing that I didn't like what I saw out there. For a second, I thought for sure Max was dead. Now there's something bigger going on in this town, and you're taking it out on some guy that has no idea about it. This shit with Max ends right now because when the next month is here we're gonna have another dead body. That's what we should be focusing on.”
My heart is beating by the time I finish talking, but I also feel relieved that I spoke freely about how I felt. I can't believe that a part of me feared about speaking my mind to someone like Ryder, but somehow I feel like I'm getting through to him slowly.
“I'm not promising anything Alice because if he gets in my way one more time, I'll do more than just throw in a couple of punches. He's up to something, and I'm gonna find out what it is. You need to open your eyes and see what kind of person he actually is before it's too late.”
It's my turn to shake my head. “You're wrong about him, but you're not gonna change the way you feel about him so it looks like I'm done here.”
I turn to walk away but stop when I hear my name coming from Ryder.
“What?”
“For once Alice, please listen to me on this.”
I don't answer him. Instead I walk down the stairs, ignore the people still dancing and evacuate the house. I pass the empty campfire and carry on walking into the woods and end up at the clearing. I spot Max's black Range Rover straight away and see Kellan pacing in front of the bright headlights.
A couple of steps towards the Range Rover, Kellan stops pacing and rushes towards me.
“How's he doing?”
All Kellan does is run his hand through his hair. “He's in a really bad way and he's losing a lot of blood. If we don't treat him soon it's gonna get worse.”
“I'll take him to my house, it's much closer than the hospital. My mom won't be there and I'll use her spare medical kit.”
I make my way towards the driver's side to see Max lying in the backseat with his head resting on Sam's lap.
As soon as I reach for the handle it's pulled back by Kellan's hand. 'I'll drive.”
“You've had a few drinks.”
“I have but now I'm sober. The alcohol wears off much quicker when you're a wolf.”
Well, that sucks.
The journey in the car was somewhat peaceful - no one spoke the whole time and in a way the silence was comfortable. I think all of us felt that silence was what we needed in that moment and as we arrived, the house cast in complete blackness was a welcoming feeling that I've longed for all day.
“You girls go inside and I'll bring him in.”
I place my hand reassuringly on his shoulder. “Kellan, you don't need to do this. You've done enough.”
“I might not like the guy, but he didn't deserve this.”
I rush into the house, turn on all the lights and look around for a place where Max can lie down.
Sam soon follows after with a distant look on her face. “Sam? You okay?”
She says nothing for a while then wipes her eyes, “This wasn't how the night should've ended.”
I grab the medical kit from under the sink and place it on the dining table. “You know, it's not your fault.”
“What's not my fault?” Sam crosses her arms over her chest.
“The situation with Bane. He's like that with everyone, and he won't change.”
She looks at me in disdain. “This isn't just about Bane. This is about how our friend almost got killed by a shapeshifter tonight, and to make things worse he doesn't even know that! Why are we associating ourselves with people like Ryder!? Before you got bitten, they didn't even know that we existed, and now they can't seem to stop following us. I'm going to be honest with you and say that I hate the fact that we now know about Mr. Daniels, and with what's going on in this town because I'm scared about what could be out there, whether it be something of the supernatural or not. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder in fear that something is coming after me.”
“Sam..”
Before I can respond to her, Kellan chooses that moment to bring in a bloodied Max into the house. I immediately guide him towards the dining table where he gently lays Max down on the table. I quickly wash my hands to avoid catching any kind of infection from the wounds Ryder inflicted on Max and rush back to the table.
“Do you need my help?” Kellan asks me just as I gently put pressure on the wounds with a sterile clean cloth to stop the bleeding.
“Thanks but I'm sure I can do it by myself being a nurse's daughter and all.”
I rush to one of the overhead cupboards and grab a bowl to fill up with water.
“If you need anything, just call me alright?”
Kellan disappears into the living room followed by a silent Sam.
I take the bowl to the table where Max silently lies and use the clear water to rinse the wounds on his face. Having no idea if open wounds are on his body, I take a pair of scissors from the medical kit and cut up the middle of his shirt. I close my eyes hoping that his body has been left unscathed, but when I open them, tears start to fall when I notice the purple bruises on both sides of his ribs.
With my fingers, I gently examine him to find out if there's any broken ribs, but sigh in relief when I don't feel anything out of place. I draw my attention back to his badly injured face and apply some antibiotic cream to help keep the cuts moist and to help the body's natural healing process. Through it all, Max doesn't flinch or show any kind of discomfort as I treat him.
I take out one of the chairs and sit next to him when suddenly he starts to stir. He looks around in confusion but soon relaxes when he sees me sitting next to him.
He sits up so effortlessly and hangs his legs over the table when he overcomes with dizziness, I rush to him quickly and hold his shoulders to help keep him from falling forwards. “You should be lying down.”
Max only chuckles. “Alice, I'm fine, honestly.”
“No, you shouldn't do this to yourself. Your body needs to rest.”
Max pulls my hands off his shoulders and cradles them in his palms. “I've done enough resting for tonight.”
“You didn't see what I saw back at the party. Nothing will make me forget what I saw.”
He strokes his thumb gently along my fingertips. “I'm sorry you had to see me in that state. Again.”
“That's the second time I've seen you covered in bruises and cuts, and I still don't know the reason behind it. You shouldn't mess with someone like Ryder, because he'll win every time.”
Max doesn't say anything.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you.”
“No, I like the fact that you care about me. It's nice to know that somebody does at least.”
As a way of an apology I lean forward, clutch him tightly to my chest in a friendly embrace, but as I pull back, his face is inches away from mine. I stay rooted to the spot not knowing what to do, and before I have the chance to process what's happening, Max's lips meet mine.
I jerk my head back quickly and move to put some distance between us.
Max closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.”
“No it's fine. You don't need to apologise.”
Max avoids eye contact, looks down at the floor to realize that his shirt is torn.
“I had to cut your shirt to see if you had anything underneath that needed some treatment.”
“Thanks.”
He climbs off the table and stands with his hands in his pockets. “I should be going. It shouldn't have been your responsibility to look after me so I really appreciate it. So, thanks.”
I shrug. “It's no big deal. Yu're my friend and friends help each other.”
We stand in the kitchen in awkward silence, when I hear footsteps coming closer to where I'm standing. Kellan enters the kitchen, and leans against the door nodding in greeting at me and Max.
“Right, I think that's my cue to leave.” Max makes his way to the front door when I remember that I'm still wearing his leather jacket.
“Max, wait your jacket.”
The door closes and I'm left standing alone in the entryway.
“So, he kissed you huh?” Kellan says from behind me.
“You heard that?” I turn to Kellan with a look of fascination on my face.
Kellan scoffs. “I heard everything. It's hard to shut everything out when you have heightened senses. As a wolf, you should be able to experience it for yourself.” “I'm actually starting to think that I'm not a wolf.”
He frowns. “Why do you say that?”
“I don't feel any different at all. It's like the change never happened and I'm back to my normal self. Tonight I tried finding Sam by hearing her or finding her scent, but nothing.”
Kellan thinks for a moment. “That's not abnormal. For some wolves it takes time for them to learn and get used to their new abilities. Maybe that's why you're going through this. Trust me, it's nothing to worry about, but it's not something I can teach you.”
“Then who can teach me?”
“To be able to learn your new abilities, you're gonna have to go to someone with a lot of experience, and obviously that someone can only be an Alpha. So, Ryder's gonna have to teach you himself.”
Great...