Chapter Nine: Ryan

Ryan decided to go to London against his mother’s best advice. He knew it might be the worst thing he ever did.

He also knew he would never hear the end of it if things didn’t go his way.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with his mate. Catra needed him, he knew.

He could only pray to the Moon that he was right, and that it wasn’t just his anxiety messing with his head. Because if everything with Catra was okay, and he showed up there, disturbing her meeting with her client, he would look like a possessive boyfriend.

He took the first train out of Dublin to London. There were only six more days until the Full Moon and Ryan could feel his brain starting to light up like a veritable Christmas tree. There were many myths among the humans that werewolves only changed into their wolf form at the Full Moon, when they became feral and uncontrollable.

That wasn’t the furthest thing from the truth. Ryan and every other werewolf in existence, could transform into their wolf forms at any time, but they were most powerful around the Full Moon.

In six night’s time, Ryan and the rest of the Cashel pack would be at double their strength. They would be faster, more vicious, and more bloodthirsty than any other time of the month. And he could feel the changes happening in the days leading up the beautiful Full Moon.

The train ride was frustrating, only because he wished the damn thing would move faster. The ball of anxiety had grown and spread from his chest to the rest of the body, making him feel like he had just done a line of crack.

It got worse when he consciously let himself think about Catra.

He was more convinced than ever that something was wrong, and the fact that he had been living on black coffee and cigarettes for the past few weeks – a bad habit he had fallen back into – wasn’t helping.

His phone screen flashed then, and the device buzzed as an urgent news update appeared on his screen. A storm had broken over London and the MET Office was advising everyone to taken shelter. The amount of rain that had fallen already showed a grave risk of floods and landslides, and emergency services were springing into action.

Ryan had been right. Whatever was happening in London was happening around Catra. What the f*ck had his mate gone and done?

He practically leapt off the train at Kings Cross and bolted through the ticket counter, leaving only his ticket stub behind him as he ran to hail a taxi.

He sent a prayer of thanks to the rising Moon as a sleek black car with a yellow sign came to a stop in front of him at the curb.

It was dark and rain was crashing down from the heavens. Ryan was soaked in seconds as he got into the taxi.

“The Red Room please!” He spoke hurriedly, giving the name that the Palace of Souls listed itself as in the phonebook, and gave the taxi driver enough money to take him to Cornwall. The driver sensed his urgency and spun the steering wheel, pulling into traffic, before he started weaving in and out of the cars that had come to a standstill.

“Terrible weather this.” The driver spoke, clamping an unlit pipe between his teeth, while expertly manipulating the car through any gaps in the road. “My misses won’t be happy. We just put new flooring down,” The taxi driver continued speaking, ignoring Ryan’s silence, “Bound to have problems with everyone in and out, soaking the bloody place. Well, here you are sir.”

When Ryan looked up, he realized that the taxi driver had gotten him to the Palace in less than twenty minutes. He pulled out more cash and handed it to the driver who look at him wide-eyed.

“For your wife’s floors.” He spoke breathlessly, hopping out of the car.

“She’s actually me girlfriend sir!” The taxi driver called as Ryan ran into the Palace.

Ryan had been to the Palace several times. It was a haven for the magical beings of the world, and several Alpha wolf conferences had been held there.

It was usually a pretty calm place because it was a neutral zone for all magical creatures.

But not tonight.

This evening, a crowd of demons, imps, and even shifters were streaming into the Palace lobby from every direction. They were shrieking and shouting, and almost baying at the f*cking moon, but Ryan ignored them.

All he was there to do was find Catra and get her the hell out of there. Although he was quite sure that Catra was responsible for whatever had happened there.

The hotel guards were keeping the demons, imps, and shifters confined in the lobby, so there was no way that Ryan was getting up to the rooms through that way.

But then, turning to his right, he saw a service entrance, meant for hotel staff. It stood unguarded, and after ensuring that no one had spotted him, Ryan headed for it. Ryan knew that Catra could be on any floor as he took the first flight of stairs. He would have to rely on his instincts and the mating bond to get to her.

As he jogged upstairs, he closed his eyes, keeping his hand on the railing. Then, carefully letting his human mind take a backseat, he allowed the wolf inside him to step forward and take control. The wolf prowled the front of his brain anxiously, pawing at the ground, and growling slightly. The wolf was as eager to find Catra as he was.

Please. Ryan spoke to the wolf. Find her for me.

The wolf nodded and urged Ryan up the stairs, while he searched for his mate.

With the wolf taking control, Ryan was able to take advantage of its extra senses. He could see everything, could hear everything, could smell everything. The wolf was still prowling, and Ryan lifted his nose to the air as he searched for Catra’s scent. He thought he got a whiff of it as he passed the third floor, but it was gone in a second and still the wolf urged him upwards.

A sudden spurt of energy burst through him, and Ryan bounded up the stairs. It was the wolf, forcing him upwards. The animal must have sensed something, must have felt Catra’s presence close by.

He sped up the fourth, fifth, sixth floors, ignoring the way his heart raced painfully in his chest.

But Ryan slowed down when he felt the Palace shake. Frightened screams and shrieks sounded in the distance, and Ryan stopped, holding onto the railing until the shaking passed. He took the stairs two at a time then, determined to get to Catra and save her from herself.

Because only powerful death magic could do this. And that was Catra’s specialty. The wolf had found her, and Ryan realized she was on the topmost floor, the penthouse suite. No matter how strong and fast his human body was, Ryan would never get there quick enough.

He gave the wolf full control in seconds, and his body began changing on the eighth-floor landing.

Ryan dropped to the ground as his body changed, twisting, and stretching in ways that were almost grotesque. Gray fur sprouted from his skin, while his muscles stretched and lengthened, becoming harder and thicker. He clutched the charm that he always carried around his neck, and his clothes disappeared into it, just as his feet and hands became heavy paws, tipped with razor-sharp nails.

Ryan bowed over as his spine curved, becoming ridged, and widening, while his face changed too. His strong jaw lengthened and hardened, his teeth growing, sharpening, becoming ever longer. His ears flattened as hair burst from his neck and chin, while his eyes became a sharp, dark red. And finally, Ryan was a wolf and without waiting he sped up the stairs.