Chapter Nineteen – Secret Power
"We need to call an ambulance," Danny said, sniffling and wiping his tears away in vain as they rushed to where Ryder lay, sprawled on top of a pile of bricks, all the life knocked out of him. "We need to call the emergency--"
A gasp coming from Ryder halted his words mid-sentence. Danny climbed onto the pile, using both his hands and feet, his heart in his throat. "Ryder, can you hear me?" he shouted.
The dark eyes he had come to adore opened slowly and stared straight ahead, without showing any sign that they could truly see him.
"You're not dead," Danny mumbled, blinking hard. It had to be bad. Ryder had to have broken bones, internal bleeding, a concussion, who knew how many things? "We're calling an ambulance. And the police. Who did this to you? Was it Theodore? He won't get away with this. I promise you, Ryder, he won't--"
Ryder caught Danny's hand and pulled it close to his heart. "Don't call anyone," he whispered.
He was dying. Danny couldn't stop himself from crying now. "They will help you," he said, leaning over Ryder, making sure not to lean against him. "The doctors here are great, they will put you back together, you'll see."
Ryder squeezed his hand. "No, I don't need them. I only need you." His eyes fluttered shut, sending Danny into a panic again.
"Guys, what are you doing? Are you calling--"
He looked over his shoulder, but Vince and Jack were nowhere in sight. His hair stood on end. They had been there, moments ago. Danny looked up at the towering building. He thought he could hear steps thumping against the concrete floor, but wasn't that only his imagination?
Ryder gasped again.
"I'm calling the ambulance now," Danny said with determination, searching desperately for his phone.
"No," Ryder pleaded again. "Take me to your home. It's the only place where I want to be."
"I can't let you die!" Danny shouted. "And how can I even move you? You must be--"
His words died on his lips, as Ryder pushed himself up into a sitting position. He brushed one hand over his face and then looked at Danny.
"Are you--" Danny looked up again. "You fell from--"
"Help me down from here," Ryder asked gently.
"But you're hurt. You're not supposed to be moved. I've seen enough medical dramas to know that," Danny exclaimed.
"Just lend me your shoulder," Ryder said.
Danny cursed. Against his better judgement, he was allowing Ryder to act upon his pride. Could it be that, where Ryder came from, real men weren't allowed to feel pain or something just as stupid?
He helped Ryder down, as instructed. How was it possible for someone to be able to walk after falling from who knew how many floors up?
"If you call the ambulance, they will never let me go," Ryder whispered.
"Why?"
"Because they won't understand, just like you don't understand right now, how I survived the fall."
Danny had no idea what to say. And where were Jack and Vince?
"Oh, no, they went after Theodore," he whispered.
Ryder was on his feet now. He no longer leaned against Danny; he was standing on his own. "They shouldn't have," he said in a somber voice. "I have to go after them."
"In your condition?! No, it's enough that you somehow convinced me not to call an ambulance, but--" Danny expressed his frustration.
"He got away," Jack's voice drew his attention. "That asshole got away!"
Danny looked at Ryder. Then he looked at Jack who was breathing hard after climbing up those stairs and coming back down again. Vince was right behind him, but not as winded.
"How could you guys leave, when Ryder needs help?" It wasn't like him to yell at anyone, let alone people he considered friends, but now, whatever was happening was messing with his head big time. "And we should call the police on Theodore Pembroke. How can he think he can get away with murder?"
"We can't do that," Jack said, scratching his head. "Ryder, are you okay, man?" And then, after Ryder confirmed it with a nod, he added, "I thought so."
Danny felt his jaw dropping. He let his eyes move from Ryder to Jack, back again, and then to Vince.
Who looked like the proverbial fox who had gotten the chicken straight out of the coop. "What the actual hell is going on here? What are you guys hiding?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Jack said promptly.
Danny pushed his fingers through his hair, turned around, stared at the three guys again, and decided it was all real even if none of it made a lick of sense. "Try me," he said aggressively.
Even Ryder looked guiltily at him. His face was drawn, and he looked bad, but he was standing. It was a miracle and, apparently, everyone knew how it was possible, save for him. "Are you guys kidding me? Why are you all silent? Vince, I've known you since kindergarten, say something that sounds logical right now."
"This guy's a wolfshifter, and this guy's a clairvoyant," Vince said promptly, while pointing first at Ryder, then at Jack.
Danny let out a small laugh of disbelief. "A wolfshifter? What, like someone who's a wolf and a human at the same time? And is clairvoyant a glorified name for a crystal ball… hustler?"
"Hustler? Actually, I sort of like it," Jack replied. "I have never been called that."
"I'm sorry," Danny said quickly, "I didn't mean to offend you. And aren't you an eco-warrior? You are telling me the craziest things, and if I didn't see Ryder fall like a rag doll from the sky, I'd call you all out for trying to put one over on me. This isn't a prank, is it?"
Vince sighed. "No, it's not. And I know it sounds weird as hell, but it's the truth. I didn't believe it, either, but Jack convinced me."
"Eventually," Jack said with exasperation.
"You did, though," Vince said in a placating manner. "Danny, how else could you explain that Ryder can still walk? He fell from the top floor. Anyone else would be dead, or severely injured."
Danny shook his head. These guys were making fun of him, somehow. "No," he said with conviction. "He's most likely bleeding internally, and if we don't take him to the hospital because we have suddenly decided to believe in fairytales, he's going to die, and it's going to be on us. On all of us! How can you even stand yourselves? I can't stand myself!"
"Danny," Ryder called softly. His voice was persuasion incarnate. "Please, don't worry about me. And you're right. I am mortally wounded, but not in a way that your medicine can help me."
"Where are you wounded?" Danny asked. He was only mumbling at this point, since his mind and eyes couldn't agree on what was real and what wasn't. Unless he was caught in a terrible nightmare, he had no idea what all this could mean. Ryder… a what? A wolfshifter? He had to be high. Or possibly Vince and Jack and even Ryder were all high. But no, how could he explain seeing Ryder dropping out of the sky, something that would've kill any normal human being? He wasn't high. He never got high. He barely drank alcohol even once in a while.
Ryder removed his jacket and peeled off his t-shirt, wincing when he pulled the ripped piece of fabric over his head. Danny took a step back, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the wound stretching over Ryder's shoulder. Fang marks were torn deep into his flesh, and the entire area where Ryder could only have been bitten by a wild animal was dark red.
"What attacked you?" he whispered.
"That fucker Pembroke," Vince grunted.
Jack seemed to be in an accord over that statement with Danny's bestie. "That guy's not a wolf. He's a fucking poisonous snake."
"A snake?!" Danny shouted. He slapped both his cheeks hard. "This can't be true. I'm hallucinating. I was most likely in an accident, and now I'm having the weirdest dreams ever."
Vince took him by the shoulder and shook him gently. "No, you're not, Danny." He looked at him with eyes full of compassion.
Danny stared at his friend; someone he had known his entire life. Someone who was now telling him the craziest things. "How long have you known about Ryder and Jack?" He couldn't bring himself to admit that what they were telling him was the truth but, to keep his sanity, he needed a timeline, something that might begin to make sense.
"I pressed Jack for the truth. I thought he was pulling my leg. But then, well, I happened to have the weirdest dreams and I began to believe."
"Dreams," Danny mumbled. His eyes moved to Ryder's wound. He had to be in a lot of pain. "I still think we should call an ambulance. Guys, I'm not talking to you if we don't do it. I'm sure they have anti-venom at the hospital or whatever is needed to stop the poison from spreading."
Vince squeezed his shoulder. "That's a wolf bite, Danny. Pembroke is like Ryder."
Danny pursed his lips. He blinked away a couple of fresh tears.
Jack surprised him by coming near and taking his hand. "The future is not set in stone," he whispered gently. "The cards sometimes change."
Ryder stopped them by grunting in pain. He gripped his shoulder, while sweating profusely. He truly needed help.
Danny was about to ignore whatever craziness the others were spewing and reach for his phone, but his eyes grew wide and his blood rushed to his feet; his phone dropped from his hand. On another pile of construction materials, at a fair distance from them, a giant white wolf was standing, its muzzle held low, twisted in a snarl.
"W-wolf," he mumbled, gesturing at the creature. Were wolves supposed to be that big? There was no way that was possible.
Vince turned abruptly and put his hand in his pocket. "Did you tell me this thing can kill a wolfshifter, according to your crystal ball?" he asked Jack while lifting the boomerang-like weapon above his head.
The white wolf was on the move. Danny couldn't help staring at it. There was a giant wild animal there, and it was coming for them.
"Vince, any moment now," Jack warned in a squeaky voice while hiding behind Danny's best friend.
"I need to make sure I don't miss," Vince said through clenched teeth.
Still clutching at his shoulder, Ryder moved in front of them. "It is me he wants. I'll keep him occupied, so run now."
"Stop with the bullshit, man, and get out of the way," Vince warned. "Danny, move Ryder. He's trying to die a hero, and this isn't that kind of movie."
Danny grabbed Ryder's hand. "Ryder," he whispered, "please, listen to me." His voice was gentle, even if it was trembling. "We must get away from here."
To his surprise, Ryder turned toward him; his eyes were burning, the color of liquid gold, and Danny started. He remembered seeing those eyes before. Could it be that they were all telling the truth?
"Take this, motherfucker," Vince grunted as soon Ryder got out of the way.
Danny followed the trajectory of the weapon as it flew through the air. It sliced through it like a blade, although it was made of wood.
Vince's aim was true. The boomerang hit the white wolf right in the head, making him wobble and fall.
"Okay, let's go," Vince ordered. "Everyone, to my car, now!"
"Do you think it killed him?" Danny asked in disbelief. The beast looked too tough and big to be brought down by just one hit.
"Do you want to go check?" Vince asked impatiently. "Let's go, now."
Danny looked back even as he helped Ryder walk. The white wolf lay on one side, unmoving. Vince must have succeeded.
***
Ryder concentrated on Danny's soothing voice as the car moved through the maze of streets in the city of glass and stone. He had failed in his quest to convince Theodore to mate with him; he no longer knew what his purpose in life was, and he could only hope that his pack would forgive him. Theodore Pembroke was a wolf, but he was pure evil, a beast without a pack that believed in nothing. Jack's cards said they weren't meant for each other.
But Danny couldn't be his destiny, either. Although now, as close to the end as he was, he could live with the thought. He wanted Danny close to him more than anyone else now that Theodore's poison was coursing through his veins like a curse.
"We are all going to your house," Vince informed Danny. "Jack will lay out his cards again, see if anything has changed."
"Cards?" Danny asked in a weak voice. He was holding Ryder's head in his lap, caressing his hair.
This human had no idea how much of Ryder's pain he took away with only a touch. After being bitten by Theodore, he had expected to perish within the hour, but he didn't feel any worse than before. In Danny's arms, he felt better. Or maybe it was only an illusion, but one that showed forgiveness for his wretched heart. The guilt he felt for his failure stayed inside him; he was destined to perish away from his pack, but he would not be alone.
"I actually got myself a crystal ball, too. Well, Vince bought it for me," Jack explained.
"Oh. And how does it work?" Danny asked. "Just any crystal ball will do?"
"It doesn't even have to be crystal," Jack said. "It's the wielder that matters."
Ryder felt his eyes closing. There was truth in the city clairvoyant's words. As Danny continued to caress him, he felt it in his blood and in his bones. Theodore had suggested that Cassandra was behind his pack's demise; but Jack was a good clairvoyant. Could it be that he would see a different future for Ryder's pack, not only doom?
***
When he woke, he was in Danny's apartment, lying on his bed. Ryder rolled to one side and breathed in relief when he saw that Danny was still there, by his side.
"How are you feeling? Those two bozos convinced me not to call an ambulance or even a doctor. Jack thinks that you might—that you might be okay," Danny stammered.
Ryder placed his arm across Danny's lap. He wanted to feel him close. His shoulder pulsed where Theodore had sunk his fangs into it. Theodore was dead, killed by the alpha destroyer that Vince had managed to wield. But, after all, that human at the scent store had also been able to use it when he hit Ryder with it. Vince, being stronger, had been more successful.
He wrapped himself around Danny. The more time he spent close to Danny, the better he felt. He could even tell that some of his strength was returning.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Danny asked gently. His fingers hovered over Ryder's shoulder.
"Not so much when I'm with you."
Danny let out a short, sad laugh. "This isn't the time to play the seducer. Although I do feel flattered. I still don't believe you're some kind of wolf. And that giant white wolf--"
"That was Theodore," Ryder said.
Danny remained silent for a while. "Can you turn into a wolf, too?"
"Not anymore. He took that away from me when he cursed me with his mark."
"It looks bad," Danny murmured. "Jack and Vince warned me not to try anything. They even wanted to go as far as to take my phone away from me. All the while, they kept telling me that Jack's cards are changing with every hour that goes by and you… and you don't die."
"You don't believe that I'm a wolf." Ryder wasn't trying to accuse Danny, only to establish the truth.
"Would you believe such a thing if you were in my place?"
"I suppose not. Humans shouldn't know about us. Although it seems like there are others who know."
"Like the people at the scent store, where you got hurt." Danny caressed Ryder's temple, his touch like balm on his skin. "There's barely a scar left."
"Your touch healed me," Ryder said.
"Your charm is through the roof, isn't it? Jack even warned me against giving you painkillers. I suspect him of being a sadist."
"Where is Jack?" Ryder tried to move a bit, but Danny's apartment looked deserted, except for the two of them.
"They went to find that employee at the scent store. Vince cracked his knuckles, which means that he intends to do his best impersonation of a gangster."
It made sense. That weapon had to have come from somewhere, and ending up in the hands of a mere human couldn't be a coincidence. It had completed its dark purpose, putting Theodore down. Ryder thought he would always feel for other wolves, but he couldn't bring himself to feel the same about Theodore. His bloodline had died with him, yet still Ryder didn't find it in his heart to feel pity. His pack was doomed, as well.
"How are Jack's cards changing?" Ryder asked, enjoying the warmth of Danny's lap.
"He's saying the craziest things. He says I'm your fated mate, which I'd love to be true, but I'm not in the business of indulging hopeless fantasies."
"I'd love that to be true, too," Ryder admitted, as he looked up at Danny.
Danny blushed. "Just for the sake of all this nonsense which I can't believe I'm actually starting to believe, what do fated mates do?"
"They bond. They mark each other."
"Through biting?"
Ryder nodded slowly.
Danny sighed. "If you weren't in such a state, and I wasn't worrying about you, I'd tell you to bite me, you know, just to check."
Ryder felt a jolt in his chest. He licked his lips and felt his fangs growing. But Theodore had taken his wolf away from him, he was sure.
"I'll turn on the TV, to see if the manhunt for catching you is still on. We have to continue to be careful."
Ryder could tell his teeth were back to normal. He must have experienced an illusion, like a phantom pain.
"Let's see," Danny said, manipulating the TV remote. "You can continue to rest, I'll keep the volume down."
Ryder liked the idea of sleeping more in Danny's lap.
"What the hell?" Danny exclaimed. Despite his promise, he turned up the volume. "Is he--"
The anchorwoman was animatedly talking to them through the screen. "—admitted into the hospital with extensive wounds that are considered life-threatening--"
Ryder clenched his teeth. "He's still alive."
TBC