Chapter 28: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… Revelation!

***

When he felt Philip enter the room, Ryan didn’t raise his head. Someone took the trolley out of the room, leaving only Philip who sat beside him on the bed.

“You have to watch what you say to him Prof.,” Philip said quietly. He knew Ryan was angry at his alpha and rightly so but he hated that his alpha was hurting.

Ryan groaned and sat up. “Are you saying I shouldn’t be honest with him?”

“I’m saying you should be sensitive. That’s all I’m asking.”

“And couldn’t he have been sensitive when he was dealing with me at that time?”

“He wasn’t himself, Ryan.” For the first time, Philip addressed Ryan by name. That showed just how serious the beta was.

“There’s that silly excuse again,” Ryan muttered. “And does not being himself make what he did to me alright?”

“No, it doesn’t. But two wrongs don’t make a right.” Philip’s voice was stern. “I know what he did was wicked but he’s trying to make it better. You have no idea just how hard he’s trying. His ways may not be the best but he’s trying. Please cut him some slack. Please. I know you can’t forget but please try and put it past you. Look to the future. Make it better.”

“But what happens in the future is a buildup on the past. If the past is shitty, it impacts the future. Doesn’t it?”

“If by a stroke of bad luck, you nearly drown, will you say you’re never going to drink water again?”

“Oh, I’ll drink water all right.” Ryan retorted. “I’m just not going to swim again.”

“Listen, Prof. Unfortunate things happen all the time. But we try and move on. I think you should give him a chance. Have you noticed that you don’t feel good when he’s hurting?”

“Why is that?” Ryan asked, looking at Philip curiously.

“Ask him. Talk to him. Not about hurtful stuff. He already knows he’s hurt you and he regrets it. No need to rub it in. Talk to him about the two of you. About how you feel about each other.”

Ryan groaned. “We planned to talk after that meal but…”

“May I ask exactly what you said to get him so upset? Because the whole pack is feeling his pain right now and that is very dangerous.”

When an alpha felt that much hurt, they became vulnerable and could be taken on and defeated by an enemy who decides to strike at that particular moment. The alpha, and the pack for that matter, weren’t safe at that very moment and the beta hated that.

“Oh boy! I told him I hated him and that he didn’t deserve to live.” Ryan shrugged.

“Shit!” Philip swore. “Are you trying to kill him?” Philip’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Why would telling someone that you hate them kill them? If I were to tell you that I hated you, would you die?”

“No, because I’m not your fucking mate,” Philip growled and promptly swore when he realized what he’d revealed.

“What?” Ryan whispered, suddenly remembering Gloria’s lecture on mates and how in tune with each other they were…how what affected one affected the other…how they couldn’t live without each other…how their souls were linked blah, blah, blah. Was that what was happening between him and Jeremy? Were they… “Philip…”

“Forget I said anything.” Philip turned to go.

“Is it true?” Ryan growled suddenly, stopping Philip in his tracks.

Philip turned around slowly to face his alpha’s mate whose eyes had shifted to amber and his claws were elongating.

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that,” Philip said quietly. “You know within yourself that what I said is the truth.”

Ryan got off the bed and began to pace. “When is he coming back?” Suddenly, a lot of things made sense. And the more his brain pieced things together, the angrier he got. He needed to see Jeremy. He needed answers.

“I don’t know. When he’s okay I guess. Try talking to him.” Philip said, touching a finger to his temple.

“He’s not there.” Ryan rasped. “I want to go to him.”

“He went because he needed to be alone. Give him that. Please.” For the first time since meeting the professor, Philip was scared of him. Hell, the guy got turned in less than a month but already emanated so much power one couldn’t help but feel some fear in his presence. Especially when he got angry as he seemed at that very moment. Philip didn’t envy his alpha one bit. “Ryan? Try and control yourself…”

“What?” Ryan turned amber eyes onto Philip. His fangs had already dropped down.

“You need to control your wolf,” Philip said softly. “You’re shifting. If you don’t find a way to control it, you can shift in the midst of humans at the least provocation. And that will be a big problem.” With that, Philip opened the door and left. He needed to be around his alpha.