Chapter 15
Xena’s POV
“No, I’m taking her to her brother. You go be with your friends.”
“What? You’re choosing her over me?” Helen stared at me with disgust, like I’d committed some unforgivable offense.
I felt irritation building in my chest, a nameless fire burning. Why did she have to make everything so complicated? I didn’t owe her anything.
“I’m not choosing anyone,” Ryder said firmly. “I’m just fulfilling a promise to her brother. This is why we could never work.”
I caught a flash of hurt in Helen’s eyes before she ran off crying. The emotional manipulation made me feel suffocated, and I sighed internally.
“Am I being too dramatic?” I half–joked, my voice tinged with bitterness. “You can go after her. I’m not your job.” I added more seriously.
Ryder suddenly grabbed my hand, pulling me into a meeting room near the bar. It was rarely used, the air heavy with the scent of dust. He pushed me against the wall, his body pressed against mine. I could feel his body heat through the thin fabric, my heart racing as my body instinctively tensed.
“Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me to stop,” Ryder said, one hand circling my neck, tugging at my hair to force me to look at him. His other hand gripped my chin, his thumb
gently prying my mouth open.
I instantly lost my ability to speak, desire completely taking over my senses. I saw his eyes turn black, his wolf nature beginning to surface. My tongue unconsciously licked his thumb, and that small action seemed to ignite the last thread of his rational thought.
With a low growl, his lips crashed down on mine. He held me tightly, kissing me so hard, so passionately, as if trying to melt me into his life. Only minutes later did he allow me to breathe again.
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” he backed away, guilt and regret crossing his face.
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The feeling of rejection washed over me like ice water, making my entire body go cold, my heart squeezed by an invisible hand. This feeling was worse than anger–a mixture of helplessness, shame, and self–doubt. Was I really that unworthy?
“Then forget it ever happened!” I shouted, the tremor in my voice betraying my hurt.
Before he could stop me, I rushed out and headed straight for the bathroom. I entered a stall and sat down to pee. I took a few minutes to collect myself, trying to steady my breathing and push away those hurtful thoughts.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps and the sound of the bathroom door being locked. My sixth sense went on high alert, a premonition of danger making the hair on my arms stand up.
“Logan, women’s bathroom. Help me,” I quickly said through our mind link as I felt my stall door being violently shaken.
“Hold on, sis,” Logan responded angrily.
“Come out, bitch,” It was Helen.
“You pathetic slut, I’ll teach you what happens when you steal someone else’s boyfriend,” another girl’s voice snarled, along with a third girl’s voice adding her agreement.
I stood up, flushed the toilet, and walked out. On the surface, I was calm, but inside I was already calculating the possibilities and strategies for the fight. Three against one wasn’t. good, but I’d been taught how to handle situations like this since childhood.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice unnaturally calm.
“I want you to stay away from Ryder. He’s mine!” Helen jabbed her finger into my chest, the possessiveness in her tone making me want to laugh.
“Either you step back, or I break your fingers,” I warned calmly, while mentally assessing the situation: three against one, I could at least get a solid hit on one person before the others joined in.
She stepped forward, closing the distance between us. That was the signal I’d been waiting for.
Fine, let’s do this. I quickly punched her in the teeth before the other two could grab me. I
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knew I’d broken at least one of her teeth, but the short–haired girl had already hit me in
the ribs. A sharp pain shot through me, but the adrenaline kicked in, making the pain fade quickly. I felt endless rage and strength surge through me as I threw an elbow strike, hitting her nose and breaking it. I took two more hits to the ribs from the long–haired girl and Helen, then grabbed what seemed to be the long–haired girl’s head and smashed it against the sink.
“You stupid bitch,” Helen roared, kicking me hard in the back. The impact sent me crashing into the wall, my entire body feeling like it was falling apart. I leaned against the wall as the three approached me slowly. The bathroom lights flickered ominously, and I didn’t know how long it would take Logan to arrive. A flicker of fear rose in my chest as I struggled to stand.
The door was kicked open violently, and Logan and Samuel burst in. Samuel quickly grabbed two of them by the neck, slamming them against the wall. Logan went straight for Helen, grabbing her throat without hesitation. I looked at them both, relief washing over me as I took a deep breath. The price of adrenaline was the multiplied pain that
followed.
“What the hell is happening here?” Samuel roared, looking terrifying. The girls trembled
in fear.
“You came to my club to mess with my sister?” Logan’s voice was dangerously calm as he
looked at Helen. Her neck seemed about to snap in his grip as she frantically tapped at
his arm.
“Samuel, go check on Xena,” he said calmly, eyes still on Helen.
Samuel gave each girl in his grasp a kidney shot, and they doubled over in pain, collapsing to the floor. He walked over and looked at me. I was still leaning against the wall, trying
to steady my breathing.
“Are you okay?” he turned my face toward him, his concerned gaze making my heart skip a beat. But immediately after, anger and wounded pride took over, I violently pulled my face from his hand, struggling to stand up.
I was fucking angry. I had several broken ribs, but otherwise I was fine. Helen was still conscious, barely. After steadying myself, I walked over to her. I slowly raised her right hand, grabbed her finger, and broke it in front of her eyes.
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“We’re going to settle this in the ring. I challenge you.” As these words left my mouth, Helen looked terrified. She could only wave her arms in protest. By now, William and Ama had arrived, Ama rushing to my side with tears in her eyes to support me.
“William, take her away,” Samuel ordered.
“Logan, Xena, I apologize for my pack members. Their punishment is yours to choose. I hope this won’t affect our future cooperation,” he said, referring to the fact that Ama and William were mates.
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