Chapter Twelve – What If You Like It Complicated?
"Now, the way I see it," Danny started strong to hide what he felt inside, especially when Ryder was looking at him with his deep, intense eyes, "we need to arrange a meeting between you and Theodore Pembroke but in such a way that he cannot call in the troops."
For the sake of establishing a plan for Ryder to meet his fated mate – Danny was pretty sure he'd have a hard time adjusting himself to that sort of language – Vince and Jack had come over, and currently, the place seemed dwarfed and cramped with the two big guys inside. Jack was like a squirrel, perched on one of the sofa's arms, bouncing up and down and stealing looks at everyone in turn, opening his mouth to speak, and then deciding against it.
"That's not an easy thing to achieve," Vince commented. "We need to lure the guy away from his security. I'm pretty sure an important person like him never goes anywhere without packing some heat."
"Heat?" Ryder asked.
"Vince is talking about armed bodyguards," Danny hurried to explain the local lingo to his guest from the country. "Your future husband runs an enterprise that's worth millions. It goes with the territory that he needs protection all the time."
"I know!" Jack exclaimed. "We need to kidnap Theodore Pembroke!"
Vince grabbed the squirrel by the back of his hood and shook him. It was easy for him to do that even while he was sitting on the sofa and Jack had both feet on the ground. The difference in size between them was laughable and Danny wondered briefly if he wasn't supposed to remind Vince about his own strength.
Jack, however, proved to be a redoubtable opponent, because he struggled against the hold while throwing murderous looks and words at his tormentor. Vince was smiling, holding the rabid critter at arm's length, and Danny couldn't help thinking that those two liked each other, despite the open conflict happening before everyone's eyes.
"How are we supposed to kidnap someone who lives in a fortress and is protected twenty-four-seven the way this guy is?" Vince asked the obvious. "We need to be smart about it. We need to make him think that it would be in his best interest to meet us. I see I need to be the voice of reason and remind everyone that even doing that won't help us much. I don't know the fellow at all, but he strikes me as someone who thinks he can do no wrong."
To calm Jack down, Vince was now holding him under his arm, putting some of his weight on him until the other felt forced to acknowledge that there was no use in protesting and trying to break free. By the way Jack's cute face was pinched in the middle, Danny knew that the squirrel wasn't happy at all with the arrangement, but he seemed willing to reluctantly endure it.
"He will come if he knows he has a chance to confront me," Ryder intervened in the conversation.
"Because he's just dying to marry you?" Vince quirked an eyebrow and gave Danny a look loaded with meaning.
"No," Ryder replied without showing any sign that he caught the sarcasm in Vince's words. "Because he wants to confront me. He managed to wound me before, so he will want to deliver another blow--"
"He wounded you?" Danny exclaimed. He remembered those bandages and the fading traces of a wound on Ryder's chest, and if it had been Theodore Pembroke who gave the giant that, they couldn't overlook it. Picturing how that must have come to pass left him with the chilling realization that Ryder's so-called fated mate had to be a dangerous man. What respectable person did such a thing? Sure, it had seemed to be nothing but a superficial wound, but Danny couldn't get it out of his head that Ryder would have been in real danger if Theodore Pembroke had had a gun.
"That was some serious shit," Jack said, sweeping the air with one arm. He looked more comfortable now pressed against Vince's side, and it appeared that he had a lot more courage in him. "I mean, I had to wrap Ryder in so much gauze that he almost looked like a mummy."
Jack definitely liked to speak in grandiose terms and exaggerate everything because that superficial wound had looked like nothing more than some scratches. Danny frowned as some details started coming back to him. They did look like fading scratches. Which only prompted him to ponder over what had caused them. Theodore Pembroke looked like someone who had an impeccable manicure that most likely cost an average monthly salary in Glasstone, so he couldn't have attacked Ryder with his bare hands. Had he used a weapon, and if so, what kind?
"I told you I didn't need that much care, but you insisted," Ryder reminded his partner in crime.
Danny couldn't help feeling a small, unpleasant jolt. It took him a moment to realize that it had to be jealousy. Since he didn't have enough relationships under his belt to recognize the feeling immediately, it shocked him all the more.
Theodore Pembroke had hurt Ryder by scratching his chest. His manly hairy chest. Danny had to wipe his mouth quickly. What was wrong with him? They were having a war council because the situation was bad, and he was instantly drooling by just having a random thought about Ryder's naked chest.
In a way, his feelings were justified. First, Theodore Pembroke had somehow gotten Ryder naked and attacked him. Second, Jack, who wasn't a friend and Ryder didn't want to disclose what the young man was to him, had taken care of Ryder's wound. Therefore, both people in question had seen Ryder naked, or at least shirtless.
Danny groaned and closed his eyes for a second. Yes, the attraction between them was something else, but that didn't mean he could allow his imagination to run away with him.
"Do you really believe that he will meet you without his bodyguards?" Vince asked, directing his question at Ryder, who was the only one who had met Theodore Pembroke in person.
Ryder nodded, his lips set in a grim line. "He believes he can win against me, but he doesn't realize who he is going up against."
"That's a good attitude, but are you sure Mr. Rich Asshole is going to play fair?" Vince asked.
Again, Ryder nodded. "His pride is at stake. And after I defeat him, he will have no choice but to listen to me."
***
While he appreciated all the help Danny and his friend Vince were giving him, Ryder wanted to get a few moments alone with Jack. The clairvoyant was bound to have seen things since they had first talked, things that would help Ryder in his quest. While Cassandra always hid her knowledge under a veil of madness, Jack didn't appear to have been affected by the same affliction that seemed to make those who could read the future lose their minds.
He took advantage of Vince asking Danny for a word in private to get close to the city clairvoyant. Whatever Jack knew, he had to share with the one who needed to complete the quest.
"Did you consult your cards about the future while you were at Vince's house?" he asked directly. If anything had changed in the course of destiny because Theodore now wanted him in chains, Jack had to have seen it in the way the future lay before him in the arrangement of those brightly colored pieces of cardboard. How such things could be mystical and speak of the future was beyond Ryder, and he didn't dare to start thinking about what they could have to say.
"You won't like what they showed me," Jack whispered at him, while stealing nervous glances at Vince. It looked like the clairvoyant was wary of the man sheltering him, although the nature of that wariness was complex. Ryder could sense that Jack enjoyed being dominated by the big human male more than he wanted to admit. On the surface, they appeared to be at odds, but the city clairvoyant appeared to be enjoying the game.
He had to focus on the important things happening with his quest, not wonder what could bring together Danny's protector and the rabbit-like creature that was the clairvoyant called Jack.
"What did they show you? Spit it out," he ordered. He didn't want to keep anything hidden from his host and his friend because they were such amazing humans, offering their help without asking for anything in return. At the same time, he couldn't help reminding himself of the impossible attraction he felt toward Danny, which could very well be a trick of fate thrown in his way to lure him away from the true path.
"It looks to me like you can't marry Theodore Pembroke," Jack shot quickly. "Arranged marriage or not."
"That was only a lie I had to tell Danny," Ryder said. "They are mere humans, do you understand? They cannot know the truth, or else they might end up in danger."
"Too late. Do you have any idea how that ogre tortured me?" Jack gestured in Vince's direction with his chin. "He grilled me like he works for the secret service or something."
Ryder threw an ambiguous look at Danny's friend. There wasn't anything in the man's features or overall appearance to remind him of the creature Jack had mentioned. And they were extinct anyway. Jack seemed to use insults generously, which made them appear benign in nature.
"What did you tell him?" Ryder asked curtly.
"What do you think? I told him everything. Well, minus the part that you're a wolf, and that your fated mate is also a wolf. He knew I was still keeping something from him, but luckily for me, he was pressed for time since he had work to do. Also, don't get so mad. He didn't believe an iota of what I told him." Now it looked like Jack was the one who could hold a grudge.
"That is for the best," Ryder said. "If Theodore learns that they are helping us, he might try to hurt them."
"You know, your fated mate sounds like a damn asshole," Jack pointed out. "Why couldn't you be destined for someone with better manners?"
Danny had great manners. He knew how to keep his house clean, and he cooked excellent food. He was always mindful of other people and what they wanted, and he was considerate to the point of selflessness. After all, despite how attracted he and Ryder were to each other, he was willing to look beyond all of that only to help someone he had barely met, a stranger, get together with another man.
"Hey, Ryder," Jack hissed, "are you listening to me? Wait, why are you staring at Danny like that? Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit."
Ryder pursed his lips. "You could use a little bit of self-censorship. Your mouth is loose."
"Oh, well, I was born like this," Jack retorted, completely unfazed. "There's nothing I can do about it."
Ryder needed to stop having dreams about Danny with his eyes wide open. Some things were unattainable, and that included his happiness. As an alpha, his sole responsibility was toward his pack. His personal future meant nothing without the pack. "What were you saying? Why shouldn't I be with my fated mate?" His tone was aggressive, but not for the reasons apparent at first glance.
"Because that means certain death," Jack replied. "I have no idea what you're doing in your spare time, but the cards keep changing. Which is weird. Isn't your mate supposed to be your fate? It looks nothing like that is supposed to happen when I lay out the cards."
"Maybe you still have a lot to learn about becoming a proper clairvoyant," Ryder snapped.
"Hey, hey, hey," Jack somehow managed to repeat the same word but on a different tone each time, "I'm not the one who came up with this crazy idea that I'm some bigshot fortuneteller."
"Clairvoyant," Ryder corrected him.
"Whatever. You got me into this mess, and now I'm wanted by the police. What's worse, I'm starting to believe that I'm some bigshot fortuneteller. You're guilty of that, by the way."
"You just told me that a few moments ago."
"I thought you needed the reminder," Jack said promptly. "Ryder, if what you're telling me is true—wait, what are you telling me? Do you like Danny? You look at him like you like him."
"Yes, I like him," Ryder said through his teeth. Jack had a way of straying while having a conversation, and he needed to extract whatever truth the clairvoyant had to deliver. Could it all be because Jack was a city clairvoyant? The city's unnatural fog most likely clouded his judgment, too.
"Well, that's good. The way I see the cards falling, Danny is your destiny, not this Pembroke asshole."
Ryder gave Jack a shocked look. "That can't be true. Cassandra told me--"
"Who's Cassandra?" Jack narrowed his eyes.
"The clairvoyant who--"
"Aha, so I'm not the only clairvoyant you're seeing." Jack pouted. And then, he threw Ryder a look filled with suspicion. "Do you usually play the field, or does it only happen when you're dealing with clairvoyants? By the way, I thought I was the only one, and this hurts."
Ryder felt like he was getting a headache whenever he had a conversation with Jack. The little fellow had a way of making his head spin. "What is this nonsense about Danny being my destiny? That's impossible. He's human, I'm--"
"Yeah, yeah, let's not say it out loud, or they might overhear us," Jack said, pointing at Danny and Vince who were deep in their own congress on the other side of the room away from them. "And? Haven't you heard of interspecies couples?"
"No," Ryder shot back the correct answer.
"Well, me neither," Jack said, "but let's be open-minded here. If you want to avoid death," he said, gesturing with both hands to describe the way the cards aligned in front of him, "you need to steer clear of Theodore Pembroke. Seriously, Ryder, my man, that guy is waiting for you with a sickle in his hands. He is, basically, Death. Yes, with a capital D."
"Why would he be that?" Ryder asked, more and more annoyed by Jack's insistence. He did share that particular trait with Cassandra, if Ryder thought about it. Which meant that he had two clairvoyants, each saying a different thing, and that puzzled him. He understood that his actions could remove the danger placed in the path of Luna's Sentinels, but that required that he mate with Theodore before the next full moon.
"Because. I have no idea," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders to emphasize the point. "But he's a bad guy, and seriously, if you read what the independent media – as little of it as it exists in this city – has to say about him, you'll understand why. There's no dirty business happening in all of Glasstone without Pembroke Industries having their claws and fangs deep in it. That's the way the cookie crumbles."
Ryder had no idea what cookies had to do with Theodore, dirty businesses, and his fate, but he couldn't simply ignore Cassandra's warning only because Jack had conflicting ideas. After all, he used those gaudy cards to read the future, and he himself pretended to be incapable of reading the future.
Unless he might just be capable of it. After all, among the first things he had learned from Jack was how the clairvoyant often discovered unwanted consequences of people's actions in his cards. Right now, he was doing the exact same thing as those others had, ignoring Jack's words.
Ryder shook his head. He couldn't simply agree with Jack because he desperately wanted the clairvoyant's words to be true. Danny being his true destiny, wasn't that only a dream that couldn't ever come true? His eyes, filled with longing, moved in Danny's direction once more.
"I can't believe it," Jack whispered. "You really are into Danny! You look at him like you want to undress him with your eyes. By the way, that's a bit kinky, because I'm standing right here, and you know, I should be saying things to you like 'not in front of my salad and all that'."
Ryder saw no salad before Jack, so he had to chalk that up to the clairvoyant's strange way of talking. "Wolves and humans cannot be together," he said, to give himself courage to follow his destiny, no matter how cruel.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure," Ryder said, pulling his eyes away from Danny, because he needed to stop dreaming of impossible things.
"One hundred percent?"
Ryder growled low in his chest. "Why do you need so much convincing? I'm telling you the truth."
"Well, then here's your one million-dollar question," Jack said. "Where did you guys come from?"
"What do you mean?" Following Jack's convoluted mind was giving him a serious headache.
Jack moved his hands exaggeratedly. He held his palms facing upward, as if he was weighing two different things. "Wolves, humans, wolves, humans. Do you still not understand?"
Ryder shook his head. He really didn't.
Jack scoffed as if he couldn't believe Ryder was so dense. "To make you guys to be humans and wolves at the same time, at some time in the past, I don't know when – it had to be during mythological eras or something – wolves got together with humans and made baby wolfshifters. You don't need me to explain the birds and the bees, do you?"
Ryder shook his head again. "You have absolutely no clue about our ancient history."
"Oh, well, you can't blame me for that. It's not like we learned about it in school."
Was it possible? To love a human? To be allowed to?
"I'm not saying it's not complicated," Jack continued his rambling. "But, Ryder, my good man, just ask yourself this: what if you like it complicated?"
TBC