Most of Sunday I sat around, browsing social media on my phone while sitting in the living room at Ryder's. Merida was sipping wine while watching some romantic comedy I had no interest in and Ryder was upstairs doing who-knows-what.

"Bullshit," I heard Ryder comment while rushing down the stairs. I looked over, confused as he nearly hopped the railings. "People are full of bullshit!"

Suddenly, instead of revealing what was happening, he went to the door which had the doorbell ring half a second before he pulled it open. I was hit by the scent of Stella before I looked over to see her at the doorstep.

"No offense Stella, but go away," Ryder yelled before slamming the door close. I looked over and saw him start walking over to the living room, but then the front door opened. Stella marched through the door, grabbed Ryder by the shoulder, and spun him around.

"Ryder Ramon, don't you talk to me like that—" Ryder grabbed her arm and placed her against the wall with both of his arms on either side of her head. That's when I got up.

"Don't you talk to me like that," Ryder nearly growled at her. He dropped his arm closest to the door. "Just because you might be cursed like the rest of us doesn't mean you're welcomed here. Get out."

"Ryder," I hissed, now standing near him. He glared down at Stella, who looked over at me in fear. I heard a sigh before Ryder dropped his last arm and stepped away from her. He looked over at me and dropped his head.

I'm not sorry for saying it, he thought to me before turning and walking past Stella while muttering: "Leave."

He quickly ascended the stairs whilst stomping, as his mother finally walked over, astonished at how he acted.

"I'm sorry, Stella, I don't know what got into him," she mumbled in the intent to follow Ryder, but he told me telepathically for me to warn his mom not to go upstairs, so I grabbed her arm.

"Merida," I began as she looked back at me with permanently saddened eyes, "he just needs time to cool down. I'll talk to him, okay?"

"Okay..." she barely muttered before not only turning around, but going back to her bedroom instead of the movie.

"So are you just going to defend him, now?" Stella asked me. "Even when he's in the wrong, you're gonna—"

"This is his house that you barged into," I reminded. "He's going through a lot and doesn't need someone pestering him in his own home. And I just saved you from his wrath because you looked like you were about to burst into tears."

She crossed her arms and nervously shifted.

"I don't know how you can be around him, knowing he's..." she wanted me to make an assumption about what she considered him as. He's mad. He's mourning. He's impulsive. He's...a werewolf. I didn't know which one she meant right now. She was just scared.

"He isn't going to hurt you...you know that right?" I tried to reassure her. She shook her head while looking down. She began to stammer, but I surprisingly took her in a hug. "He's the same Ryder that you've known."

"He isn't and you know it," she said, pulling away. She shook her head. "I know he's going through a lot, but right now, I think the only thing that's changed is you being here."

"Stella, look—"

"I'm not saying it because I'm jealous; I'm saying it because it's true," she interjected. "Like right now, you're the only one he can talk to. Despite all of this, he will only talk to you so he's taking it out on everyone else. You can't see it because he treats you like an angel." Part of me was annoyed that she said that, but I knew it was true. So I let her keep talking, even when I saw the tear slip down her face. "I don't know who Ryder is anymore. Before you or this werewolf business, I could go to him whenever and even though I knew never to come over to his house, I still thought I meant something to him—at least to help me out now that I got bitten, but I guess not...I guess you're all he needs and anything else can't get done if you're not involved."

Now I was vexed.

"Ryder being a werewolf has always been the same regardless of if you knew it or not," I began. "Me being in the picture doesn't mean anything other than him having someone to be close with and turn to that isn't you, so don't say he treats me like an angel because the fact that we're close means that I'm taking a lot of his shit so that no one else has to...but I'll do that because I love him. And maybe he'll seem obedient and respectful to me in a time when he lashes out on everyone else, but that's because he loves me too, so don't think it has anything to do with the rest of the world. He was a teenage boy before being a werewolf or being my boyfriend so yeah he's going to deal with a lot and not know how to handle it and hurt some friendships, but anyone can do that. He's just a teenager.

I'm sorry he yelled at you just now, but he's been here all day trying to organize arrangements for his dad's funeral while trying to deal with his pack and your situation at the same time. It might not seem like anything's getting done, but think about his position. His dad died, he lost his best friend, and you got bitten. He's not going to apologize to you about it, but I will if it means you'll get over your selfishness or otherwise jealousy because you're not the center of his life...so that's it; I'm sorry."

For a solid ten seconds, there was absolute silence between us. I waited for guilt to settle in, but nothing came but justification and pride.

"Tell him I'm sorry and I'll just talk to him later," Stella could only mumble after a while of disbelief before leaving. Again, I had to convince myself that I wanted to be on good terms with her, but I had a bigger issue to work with right upstairs.

I braced myself for whatever rampant mood Ryder was in, but when I opened the door, he was seizing my face and kissing me before I even made it through the door. I kissed him back, but I grabbed his forearms to pull his hands away. Before I said anything, he silenced me with his words.

"I didn't think I could love you more than I already did, but after what you just told Stella, I do," he said before pressing his lips against mine once again. He kissed me patiently before his hands had ran down my body and turned more passionate. All of his anger and frustration before was still on my mind, but for him, he was releasing it through me as I felt when we made it to the bed. After a moment, he pulled away.

"Ash, stop," he said. Fine. I started to roll off of him, but he grabbed my wrist to keep us pressed together. "Not that." He pulled me into him with his arm that was around my waist and kissed me on the lips and then cheek and then down my neck, beginning to graze near my collarbone. I felt turned on to say the least, but I still wondered if he was just using this to distract himself. Then, he had squeezed his hand that was on my butt while pulling away. "I said stop."

"I don't know what you mean," I finally said while his hand had made it to my stomach beneath my shirt and he was kissing my lips once more. I kissed him back as my mated wolf wanted to, but I was still worried about him. Somehow, with impressive willpower, I pressed my hands to his chest to put a couple inches between us so he couldn't kiss me. He searched my eyes with a frown.

"I meant for you to stop thinking about that," he told me and I figured out that maybe my worrying had been entering his mind as well. I didn't really feel sorry for it though. He sighed and I saw his jaw-line tick in frustration. Suddenly, he rolled away from me saying "I'm not doing this," and started putting his shoes on.

"Doing what?"

"Forget it," he huffed. He stood up and looked as if he was going to go to the door, but I crawled over the bed and got to it before him. "Ashlynn, move."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'll ask nicely," he figured. "Will you please move?"

"No."

"UGH," he cried out in frustration while pacing a short area. "Ash, I have to—"

"Chill out?"

"For the love of God-!" he yelled before pinning me against the wall with the same as he had with Stella. Only, I didn't fear him like she had. I don't think I could. I'd thank the bond for that though, because any normal person would be afraid. Especially when his eyes glowed red for a second. Then, his eyes went back to normal and he shook his head as if embarrassed he tried to win over rank with me. "Ashlynn, I know you just defended me against Stella so you already know what's going on. You having to deal with my shit isn't what I want either, so I'm trying to not let that happen right now. Help me not screw things up with us right now by moving out of my way."

That didn't persuade me either. He had dropped an arm that loosely held onto the wall and I grabbed that hand. He looked down at the touch and I heard his heartbeat slow down and him sigh once more.

"What's wrong?" He sighed once more and shook his head, not wanting to tell me. I left his hand and put mine beneath his chin for him to look up at me. He rolled his eyes, but eventually gazed. " What's wrong?" I asked him again as if I was talking to a child.

He finally surrendered and ushered me over to the bed.

"Later today I'm supposed to invite the pack to the funeral," he said while drawing against my knee once we sat next to each other.

"Do you need me to do it? I don't mind," I offered, knowing that there was a pack meeting in a few hours so they all had a pre-school blessing for the year with many warnings.

"No, no, I can do it, I just..." he trailed off. "I think I need to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"I need to tell the pack because I know they'll all come through with their word...All day I've been calling people outside of the family for the funeral, like his friends and old pack members, but they're all just full of shit," he explained. I winced. "His friends think I'm joking or something as if I'll pull some prank in his death. His co-workers already know and are wondering what his shares are or who's gonna take over the firm or what's in his will more than anything else. And his pack acts like they don't know anything about loyalty—"

"I thought a pack's loyalty was stronger than covens' or—"

"It's supposed to be," Ryder affirmed. "When he was Beta, the wolves were around his age so they're spread out everywhere with lives of their own now. When he was Alpha, there weren't many new wolves who weren't bloodlines, who are the sons of his friends and also living their lives. And anyone not a bloodline that isn't in town was in Zander's reign so they've basically refused to answer to me."

"The ones who show up to the funeral are the ones who deserve to cherish his life," I told him after only a moment of thought. "No need to stress yourself out over people who don't want to have a meaning to you or your family."

Family? he scoffed. Yeah right.

I didn't even bring up the question about if he tried to reach out to Zander.