Chapter Eleven – Beyond all Misunderstandings
Television was a good method to observe this cesspool of a city, Ryder pondered as he continued to watch the news. Of course, his interest was aimed at anything the reporters for the various news channels had to say about the incident at the Eclipse Aromatics. It amazed Ryder to realize how short a memory humans appeared to have. Although his breaking out of that store with the city clairvoyant Jack in tow had been dramatic and the attack on him with that forgotten weapon meant that there was evil at work – not only at that store, but in the city at large – yet the people on TV who had been talking about the incident as if it were the most important thing in their daily lives for the brief span of a second appeared to have forgotten all about it.
That seemed to be all it took for anything, no matter how important, to become the past. Life happened too fast here, and Ryder grew more and more disquieted by it. His mission should have been simple. He was supposed to meet Theodore, succumb to the mutual attraction they would experience and bring his mate with him to Pinemoor where, together through the power of their blood, they would save the pack and their lands.
But Theodore was under a powerful spell. The incense Ryder had found burning in his office had to be messing with his werewolf instincts. As he went over his interaction with his fated mate at the time, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by a blinding fury. Theodore had attacked him and, in the moment, Ryder had been mostly surprised. But that changed the more he thought about it.
It had to be the curse messing with his mind. Toward his mate, Ryder ought to have nothing but affection and desire. And yet what rooted inside his soul each time he thought of the Theodore Pembroke he had met had nothing in common with what he should be feeling.
As if he had the power to summon his mate on the large screen dominating Danny's otherwise humble abode just by thinking about him, a now familiar figure appeared. Theodore's icy eyes bore into whoever was looking at him from the other side. His lips were moving, and he was saying something. Ryder used the remote control to increase the sound volume, the same way he had noticed Danny doing. Aware of his lack of knowledge of the ways of the city humans, he had paid attention to his host while Danny explained various things to him. It touched his soul that this puny human didn't look down on him for being ignorant of such things.
"We cannot tolerate this wave of crime in our city. The recent incident at Eclipse Aromatics only underscores the fact that no one is safe. I will personally offer a substantial reward for anyone who has information on the whereabouts of the two criminals --"
Theodore must have recognized him from the footage of his flight from the store. Ryder looked at the handsome face taking up the entire screen while striving to detect the slightest smidgeon of desire in his heart. There was none. Theodore wasn't only an enemy personally, but now he intended to rouse the entire city against Ryder. The curse had to be blamed, but Ryder couldn't keep his nostrils from flaring as if he identified an enemy in the person facing him.
***
"I'm calling as per our arrangement," Danny said softly while stealing a glance at Ryder who was staring at the screen with a frown on his face. It looked like he was a bit obsessed with the news, not that Danny was too surprised. After all, Ryder was a runaway from the law, which meant that he needed to keep himself up to date on the evolution of his pursuit by the police.
"Good. How are things with you and the reprobate?"
"Complicated," Danny whispered, clutching the phone tightly and retreating even further into the corner of the room opposite Ryder.
"I can hear the TV. I suppose you can't tear the country boy away from it, right?" Vince joked. "I know, I know, I'm just trying to lighten the tone of the situation. Now tell me about your complicated circumstances."
"He likes me," Danny breathed out. "No, it's more than that. He says I'm irresistible."
"Hmm, so he's a bit of a player. Seeing how he's supposed to be marrying someone else," Vince commented.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Danny complained. "Also, I'm well aware, which is what makes it so complicated between us."
"My own little reprobate told me. Did yours tell you who his fated mate is? By the way, apparently that's a thing for people living in the woods these days. Or Jack is playing pranks on me, talking out of his ass, which appears to be a habit for him."
Danny stopped for a moment before answering. "He didn't tell me who he is. I didn't insist, since it seems to be a sensitive topic for him. But if you know already, and Jack knows, I see no reason why I should be left out. Who is it, Vince?"
"You won't believe it. It's absolutely crazy."
"Come on, tell me already," Danny demanded. He stole looks at Ryder from time to time. He didn't want to lock himself in the bathroom to talk to Vince since he also didn't want to seem like he was hiding something, but at the same time he did want to hide the fact that he was asking his best friend for advice. After all, it wasn't every day that a guy trapped in the impending doom of an arranged marriage liked Danny like no one else ever liked him in his life.
"Ready for it?" Vince continued to tease him.
"Just say it already," Danny hissed.
"It's Theodore Pembroke. You know, like in Pembroke Industries?"
Danny happened to catch a glimpse of the TV as he checked on Ryder again. The same name uttered by Vince only a moment ago was written in large letters on the screen.
"Theodore Pembroke – exclusive for Channel One – I will personally congratulate whoever brings this criminal to justice," he read, his voice soft and mumbling.
"What are you on about now?" Vince asked impatiently. "I'd say you have some incredible competition, Danny baby, but I'm rooting for you. After all, these two look like alpha males ready to go head-to-head with each other. It would never work between them."
"I'll call you back," Danny said quickly and pocketed his phone.
The man on the screen looked like a wet dream. He was elegant, handsome, incredibly rich and successful, but all those things didn't matter. What was he talking about, this man who was supposed to be Ryder's 'fated mate'?
***
Ryder noticed Danny approaching and immediately aimed the remote at the screen to change the channel. He had gotten Danny into this mess too deeply already; in the off chance that he wasn't a part of the curse and the entangled weaving of fate, Danny would be nothing but an innocent bystander getting hurt.
"That was Theodore Pembroke," Danny said in a toneless voice. "What was he talking about?"
Ryder worked his jaw. He would be forced to lie, and he didn't like doing that. Danny took the decision out of his hands by taking the remote control away from him. Theodore's face filled the screen again, but only for a few moments as the broadcast was already moving on to something else.
"Was he talking about you?" Danny asked.
"Yes. It looks like Theodore Pembroke has a personal stake in that store," Ryder said, while looking anywhere but at Danny.
"Why didn't you tell me he's the one you're supposed to marry?"
Ryder looked at Danny, dumbfounded. "How do you know that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Are you a witch?"
"A witch? Hey, that's not very nice," Danny replied, looking bristly for all the wrong and right reasons combined. Ryder wanted to kiss him just then and there, ignoring his quest and Theodore Pembroke and every bad thing coming his pack's way. For that reason, he needed to avert his eyes again.
"How do you know that then?" he asked again.
Danny scoffed, showing his annoyance. "Vince told me. It looks like your friend Jack spilled the beans. And 'fated mate', really? I understand that your families must be living in the dark ages still, but you can't call someone that today without sounding like a… like a…" Danny appeared to have lost some of his righteous indignation and was running out of steam.
"Jack is not my friend," Ryder insisted on clearing up any accidental misunderstandings.
"Well, you're hitting stores with him. What is he to you?"
Telling Danny that Jack was a clairvoyant who saw an Average Joe in his cards as Ryder's true fate wasn't an option.
"I can't tell you," he said, pursing his lips.
Danny threw out his arms, in a gesture that seemed to embody an admission of defeat. "I see. I just want to know one thing, and one alone. When you told me earlier that I'm irresistible to you, did you lie to me?"
"No."
"You answered too quickly. I don't believe you." Danny crossed his arms, and Ryder gave him a look filled with longing. "Stop looking at me like that when you have someone like Theodore Pembroke waiting for you at home."
"He's not," Ryder replied. Although he couldn't tell Danny the whole truth, there were some things he needed to explain. "Earlier, on TV, he put a bounty on my head."
Danny gave him a startled look. "Excuse me, what?"
"Yes, you heard correctly. Because of the incident at the store, he got involved. Personally."
Danny blinked a few times, stared at Ryder, opened his mouth, closed it, and in the end, pursed his lips. "That's one strange thing to do on his part. Shouldn't he be on your side? What sort of arranged marriage do you have?"
"We are not mated yet," Ryder replied aggressively. Whenever Danny mentioned anything that reminded him that he was supposed to be fated for Theodore Pembroke, confusion mixed with anger overtook him.
"You mean married," Danny corrected him. "I understand that you're using the terms your people use, and I throw no shade, trust me, but I just want to know the truth. What's going on between you and Theodore Pembroke, Ryder? He's a very powerful man, and he just gave the greenlight for you to be hunted all through Glasstone."
"I understand that the situation is dangerous, and it is only now that you're beginning to understand its magnitude," Ryder said halfheartedly. He wouldn't be very surprised if Danny chose to throw him out.
"Let's not… let's just get back to what we were talking about," Danny babbled. "I'm asking you about the guy you're supposed to marry. Why is he after you? Oh, no," he exclaimed, "is it because you don't want to marry him? He wants to wrangle you back to the altar? But why wouldn't you want to marry him, Ryder? He's handsome, rich, he has everything!"
How could he explain everything that was bad and wrong in his heart? When he looked at Theodore, Ryder felt hatred rising, as if he was facing his mortal enemy. And when he looked at Danny, he softened inside until he wanted to lie at his Average Joe's feet and wait for a caress, no matter how long it took to come.
"Trust me, when I tell you that he doesn't want to marry me, he doesn't," he eventually got out.
"Then what does he want? Ah, I bet he's siding with the corpos who brought that dangerous item to that store. Is that it? Is he trying to silence you for his own cover-up? I'm not surprised," Danny said. "All these rich people are the same, right? Oh, no, now I'm making strange generalizations. And I don't even know how you really feel about Theodore Pembroke!"
"Don't ask me that," Ryder said through his clenched teeth.
"Why?"
"Because the answer is—it doesn't matter."
"It matters to me," Danny insisted.
"Why?"
"Why? Because I like you, and I don't want to see you trapped in a marriage with a guy who goes against everything you believe in."
"And what do you know about that?" Ryder asked directly. He wasn't taunting Danny; he just wanted to know, because it seemed to him that, beyond all misunderstandings, Danny knew more about him than anyone else. Definitely more than Theodore Pembroke.
"You believe that we deserve clean air and water we can drink that doesn't come from a plastic bottle, and that we shouldn't poison the earth, and all that," Danny said quickly.
That was true, of course, Ryder thought. Danny lived in the city, but he appeared to have little appreciation for all the conveniences the place offered. So-called conveniences. Their water tasted bad, and the air smelled foul.
"You are correct."
Danny let out an exhalation. "I thought so," he said primly, as if he had expected Ryder to contradict him. "And Theodore Pembroke? I bet he would prefer to breathe in polluted air rather than to have an upstanding guy as his husband."
The incense in Theodore's office – how could Danny know about that? As much as his attraction toward this human only grew in intensity the more time he spent in his company, Ryder needed to pay heed to the curse as explained to him by Cassandra. If he didn't mate with Theodore before the next full moon, his pack would be lost. And he, himself, as well.
"I must make him see that what he thinks is wrong," he said. "He is bewitched."
Danny sighed and took a seat by Ryder's side. He took his hand and held it. It felt soothing and pleasant, and Ryder didn't want Danny to ever let it go.
"Bewitched by money and fame, more like," Danny said with a small snort. "Oh, gosh, that came out wrong. No wonder you called me a witch earlier. I can see what you are trying to do, Ryder. You hope to change him. Your future husband. I mean, I suppose that opposites attract, but you and he seem to be… well, really opposites. He's among those people polluting the air and water, while you want to save the planet."
"Just my pack," Ryder said softly, allowing his large hand to remain entrapped in Danny's smaller one.
"We all must fight for what we can. I understand that," Danny replied in kind, caressing Ryder's hand slowly. "But are you sure you can change him?"
Ryder set his jaw hard. "I must try. It is my duty to try."
Danny looked away for a moment. "You know what, Ryder? I'm going to help you."
"Help me?"
"I'll help you change Theodore Pembroke's views. If you are the person he must marry, it has to be for a reason. Your marrying him might lead to saving lots of lives. Who knows how many?"
Ryder nodded. Even if they seemed to speak different languages at times, they both understood the same thing. Ryder had to mate Theodore to save his pack. There was no other way, no matter what Jack's cards showed.
***
Danny locked himself in the bathroom this time. The hour hadn't passed, but he needed to talk to Vince about all the crazy things he had learned in the meantime.
"You're not going to cry now, are you?" Vince asked after Danny explained the situation to him.
"Why would I cry? This is my chance to do something good." Danny surreptitiously wiped his eyes.
"I call bullshit on that, but whatever," Vince replied. "So, let me get this straight. You and your silly good heart believe that Ryder should marry Theodore Asshole Pembroke so we can get some better air and water around here."
"Yes," Danny admitted, sniffling. "Ryder hit that store because they were selling something dangerous. I don't know if that something was radioactive or not, but you can't but admire someone who fights in spite of such impossible odds."
"I'm sure you're going way beyond admiration when you're thinking of your handsome guest," Vince joked. "That something wasn't radioactive. But my little scamp here tells me that it was bad enough to make him puke. He wheezed and choked himself for fun for two straight minutes only to explain to me what it was like."
"How did you manage to make Jack tell you so many things?"
Vince chuckled. "Well, he's easy to scare. I mean, he also sold me a boatload of bullshit, but I suppose some things must be true mixed in with what he told me. Like the fact that your Ryder is supposed to marry that Pembroke scumbag."
"What do you know about Theodore, Vince? It seems to me like you don't like him. Is it only for my sake? I appreciate it, but in this case we should all work toward doing the right thing. Ryder can change Theodore," Danny said with as much conviction as he could muster given the circumstances.
"Yeah, right. Famous last words – I can change him," Vince said, snorting for good measure. "What sort of crazy ideas are you getting in your handsome head?"
"You're complimenting me, which means that you're about to slap me with some common sense." Danny sighed from the depths of his soul. "I know I have no choice but to listen to it. Let's hear what you have to say."
"How about you save Ryder from that scumbag? For fuck's sake, who's stuck in that sort of arrangement in this day and age? Also, it's as clear as day Theodore hates Ryder's guts. Something tells me there's no lost love between them, otherwise Ryder wouldn't be telling you how irresistible you are."
"I appreciate the thought, Vince, I do," Danny said. "But I need to think about doing the right thing. That's all."
"And how are you going to do that? Do you think these two guys will meet and shake hands for the sake of the planet?"
"One can hope," Danny replied. "Well, I'll think of something. Also, if Theodore marries Ryder, he can protect him, you know? Since he has an army of lawyers and everything. He can keep Ryder out of jail."
It was Vince's right to sigh. "Okay, I support you. Although I like it better when fairytales go the other way. Especially when the prince is not all that he's cracked up to be."
"This is no fairytale, though," Danny insisted.
Even if he wished it were.
TBC