The Syndicate’s Bride

20

Vanessa

A what?

I stared at Owen blankly, waiting for him to wave off what he said as a joke, but his dead serious expression told me it was anything but.

“A werewolf” I said dryly, “like the one in the movies we watched growing up.”

“Exactly like that.”

I blinked at him. “Did you drink before coming here because I know you told me you quit day drinking a while bac–”

“I’m serious. This isn’t a joke Princess,” he said seriously. “I saw it with my eyes.’

He then proceeded to tell me about his encounter with a pack of wolves in the woods and my confusion slowly melted into shock.

Up until this moment, I never once believed that such a thing existed in real life. In fact, a bit of disbelief at his words nagged my mind but I could tell the experience he shared was true.

I mean, I knew Ryan wasn’t human, that was for sure, but I had always thought he was a super human, a bionic super human and he hadn’t denied it when I had confronted him about it. So was Ryan just f*****g with me that day?

My cheek heated at the thought and I groaned internally. That meant I had done nothing but embarrass myself the night of the confrontation after the accident.

I groaned again. How the hell was I going to face him after that?

“Also,” Owen said, “There’s something I have to tell you about the race.”

I sighed. To be honest, I didn’t think I was ready to talk about the race just yet but I nodded at Owen to continue anyway.

“That mysterious bet was a ploy created by Mr. Logan.”

Father? Why would he be interested in Ryan’s games?

“What?”

“That bet wasn’t about winning or losing the cash price, it was about you and the Logan group you stand for.”

I blinked at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means you were the goal all along, an exploitation tactics from your father. If Ryan had won, your father’s goal would have succeeded and only God knows what would have happened to you. Ryan knew that and lost to protect you.”

My heart went heavy with guilt. “You mean Ryan protected me this whole time?”

He nodded and I gasped, blinking rapidly to control the sting behind my eyes. I had been so mean to him, calling him names and insulting him to his face, even going as far as calling him a pawn of his father, something I knew he struggled with as a child. Something I knew better than to use against him because I also had the same struggle.

I messed up big time.

“Not just during the race,” Owen added, “ he also protected you from the assassination attempt.”

I frowned. I didn’t remember seeing Ryan in the hallway where the two suspicious looking men rounded me. But what Owen had said about Ryan being a werewolf flashed in my mind, and then it clicked.

“He was the wolf,” I said, softly. Even after everything I had done, even after everything I had said to him in the heat of my anger, he still came to my rescue when I was in danger. God, how could I face him after misunderstanding him so much?

“He was,” Owen confirmed.

“Oh God, Owen,” I croaked out, “I messed up so bad.”

He looked at me softly, taking my hands and rubbing them to comfort me. “You didn’t know.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t have to know, I just had to do better.” I peered round, looking for my phone. “I need to make it right.”

Knowing what I was searching for, he handed me the device from the drawer, and I immediately dialled his number.

After a few rings, the call ended with a click. I groaned in frustration. Scrolling through my contacts, I hoped to find his assistant’s number, but till the very end of the list, Kyle’s name never appeared.

My worry began to grow. I knew father well enough to know he wasn’t going to let Ryan go unscathed after driving a wedge into his plans. I needed to find him before he did.

“Do you know where Ryan is?” I asked Owen.

He shrugged. “He was at the underground racetrack when I last saw him.”

I removed the white blanket from my body and stood from the bed.

“Can you take me there?”

Some minutes later, after the doctors final scan, Owen and I arrived at the racetrack. I jumped down from the car and ran into the building, not bothering to see if Owen followed behind or not.

I headed straight for the garage, hoping to find him where I last left him but, unsurprisingly, the garage was empty.

I quickly walked ahead, dipping my head into rooms and corners, hoping to catch a glimpse of his large frame but I didn’t.

Defeated, I ended up walking to the back of the arena, a place that was usually secluded bare, closed off from everyone except certain staff and workers.

That was when I ran into Ryan and about a dozen gun men. He sat in the middle of them, bleeding profusely from his arm and stomach, yet, in the face of death, he refused to back down.

He finally noticed me and his eyes widened in shock and slight panic. With a subtle tilt of his head, he gestured for me to run, his eyes widening in warning, you’re not supposed to be here.

Ignoring him, I counted the number of my father’s men still standing and those Ryan had already killed. About forty bodies laid dead on the ground, while twelve stood proud, their backs facing mine.

I knew exactly what to do.

I walked to them, the men still oblivious, and getting close enough, I removed the gun from one of the guard’s sheath and aimed for his leg. Before he could turn around to confront me, I pulled the trigger.

The other guards got into their positions as the one I shot dropped to his knees, screaming in agony. I looked around them, making eye contact with each of them and smiled when their anger melted into confusion.

“You’re not going to shoot your boss’ daughter now, are you?” I chirped playfully and aimed the gun at the next guard. “but guess what? She’s going to shoot you.”

I pulled the trigger on the next guard, shooting his arm and his leg, and he yelped in pain and dropped his gun to the floor.

Understanding the situation, the other guards began to retreat, helping the injured ones to their feet and disappearing from the scene.

Once I was sure they were out of sight, I stooped low to Ryan’s position, managed to hold him to his feet and took him to the garage.

Sitting him on a table I managed to not destroy, I quickly got the first aid box and laid it beside him.

“Which one hurts the most?” I asked impatiently. All I was seeing was blood and my worry was only growing, making me anxious.

“My stomach,” he groaned out.

I got a pair of scissors from the first aid kit and immediately tore through his race suit, peeling the cloth from his upper body, leaving him bare.

The wound looked even uglier in full view and the blood so much more. I went straight to work, cleaning around the injury until his skin was free of blood.

I paid attention to the wound, feeling around the area for anything suspicious when my hand pressed on something hard. I gasped.

“You need to take out the bullet, baby.”

I snapped my eyes to his, my heart beating at the sudden nickname, but he just nodded and stared at me with his usual passive expression. Too flushed to maintain eye contact, I looked away.

“I– I don’t think I know how to do that.”

“You have to use the little scissor and hold on to it before pulling it out,” he said softly. At my worried expression he added. “It won’t hurt me, I promise.”

I hesitated but eventually nodded. Maybe he has pain resistance from his werewolf ability, I thought, but what about risk of infection?

“You can get infected.”

“I’ll go to the hospital after this,” he assured me. “we just can’t leave the bullet in me. That’ll be more dangerous.”

Nodding in understanding, I picked the scissors and carefully brought it to the open injury, wincing as I slid it into the hole, waiting to feel the bullet.

Ryan was silent, only tensing up when the scissor finally held the bullet. Scared that I had done something wrong, I looked up at him in panic, but he shook his head and smiled a bit.

“You’re doing great.”

I relaxed a bit after that and continued to carefully bring out the bullet, sighing in relief when I finally succeeded.

The stitching procedure was easy after that, having perfected the skill over the years on myself and sometimes Owen. After the procedure, I neatly closed the injury with a bandage, sighing in content at my work.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, unable to hold on to my apology any more.

He frowned. “For what? I should be the one apologising. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

I shook my head. “No, Ryan. I’m sorry about the things I said after the race,” I looked away as his eyes softened. “I was just so angry. I thought you threw the match on purpose in an act of disrespect for the game and it hurt me so much because I trusted you and I thought you betrayed my trust. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said and I should have acted better and–”

“Vanessa,” he called, stopping me mid rant. “Look at me.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t. I was feeling too guilty and my eyes stung with unshed tears. If I did look at him, I might lose it.

Holding me by my waist, he pulled me closer to him, bringing his lips to my ear.

“it’s okay,” he whispered softly. He dipped his head low, stopping by my cheek and pressed a deep kiss on it. “Don’t beat yourself about it.”

That was enough to make the first tear drop from my eyes and Iknew I was done for after that. The tears just wouldn’t stop.

I pulled away slightly to finally look him in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I croaked out.

He held my face in his hands, wiping my tears away with his thumb as he replied. “I just wanted to keep you safe. It’s best if you don’t know certain things.”

I shook my head. “No, I can take it. I’m not as fragile as you think.”

He leaned into me, our lips hovering over each other’s as he smiled. “Oh, I know, but let me worry about certain things that could endanger you. I don’t want you to even think about them.”

He pressed him lips to mine after his sentence, kissing me deeply with a satisfied sigh. I reacted immediately, clasping my hand behind his neck and pushing him further into the kiss.

We pulled away after a few seconds and he went for my neck, a place I was beginning to think he had an obsession with, not that I was complaining, and playfully nipped the skin, leaving a trail of kisses in its wake.

I sighed at the contact, running my hand over his bare body, enjoying the feel of his rough skin on my palm, but in my enjoyment, I mistakenly brushed his injury and he tensed, making me pull away in a panic. But he held me back, taking my lips again and grabbing on to the other side of my waist to stop me from running.

“Are you okay?” I breathed out in between kisses. He pushed his tongue in my mouth in response, deepening the kiss as he licked my tongue, making me dizzy with need.

After a while, we finally pulled away, our breaths mingling as we panted and our foreheads met in a kiss.

“I know you saved me from the assassination.”

He was quiet for a few beat before responding. “You do?”

I hummed, pulling away to look him in the eye. “So you’re really a werewolf, huh?”

His eyes danced between mine, a million thoughts in them. “Does that bother you?’

“Does it bother you that I’m human?”

“No”

I smiled and pulled him back to me so that our foreheads met again. “Exactly.”