Mary's heart rate sped up. Her palms were sweaty, and she felt slightly nauseous.

The air conditioner was running and she could feel the cool air against her bare skin, but it did little to cool her body.

Although the first thing that she wanted to do was tell Ryker this wasn't the right time. Her haste could cause more damage than good.

"This was my fault. I should have done a better job with managing border patrol," Bruno said while looking down at Abraham.

Mary's gut twisted with a mixture of fear and distrust. He sounded so sincere, but Mary knew without a doubt that Bruno was the one who threw the matches onto the gasoline.

"Do we know anything from these attacks?" Ryker asked.

"No," Bruno answered. He turned around to look at Mary. She tried her hardest to school her emotions. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. She was sure if she couldn't control her fear, he could detect a change in her demeanor.

Bruno's scrutinizing eyes fell on her. Mary felt like a prey stuck in his crosshairs. Every hair on her body stood at attention. Then it flickered from her face to the crook of her neck. His eyes narrowed with disdain. She watched his eyes slid back up to her, almost accusing her silently.

She didn't feel safe at all. Immediately, she shuffled over to Ryker and hid half her body behind his back. Her hands went to clutch his shirt. She practically almost pressed her body against Ryker. She felt so cold underneath Bruno's disapproving gaze that she couldn't help welcoming Ryker's heat.

"You marked her?" Bruno questioned, but it came out almost as an accusation.

"Yes," Ryker responded.

Mary felt Ryker's right arm moved back to grasp her hand in his. Without speaking, he was reassuring her she was safe. Instantly, she exhaled. Ryker wouldn't let anyone hurt her. He'll protect her.

"You rut with her a few times and that was all it took."

Ryker's hand tightened on hers. HIs back tense with unspoken anger. Amid her fear and anxiety, she could discern a burning fire growing in the pit of her stomach. She knew it was Ryker's emotions.

"Watch your mouth, Bruno," Ryker snarled.

"You think I am the only one that thinks this? There were calamities happening in the pack and you were busy rutting with a female." Bruno was relentless and asking for his death. "Funny, how it all happened when she entered our territory."

The insinuation was there. He wanted to blame Mary. What happened next startled Mary. Ryker released her hand and attacked Bruno. Her male moved with impressive and inhuman speed. With one blink, he had Bruno struggling against the opposite wall.

Ryker bared his canines, pealing his lips back. Exerting his dominance over the disrespectful wolf and forcing him to obey. Ryker released a wave of Alpha dominance. It coiled in the air and affected all their wolves. Even Ethan lowered his head and downcast his eyes as a sign of obedience. Mary's wolf felt the effect, but Ryker was her mate. She didn't feel the same compulsion to obey.

Bruno growled his displeasure. Ryker didn't like it one bit. He threw one hard hit at Bruno's jaw and busted his lips. Grabbed Bruno's shirt and threw him like a rag doll across the room. Bruno was a big male and so he hit the opposite wall with a grunt. Ryker strived toward him. A cold and menacing look in his eyes that Mary never seen before. Placing one foot on Bruno's left wrist, he applied pressure.

Bruno grit his teeth and the muscles on his face ticked with pain and anger.

"You insulted my mate. I should kill you right here, right now," Ryker snarled.

Bruno didn't say nothing but his disobedience and reluctance vibrated deep within his chest. Ryker applied more pressure. Ethan refused to step in. His Alpha was already on edge. Mary didn't know what to do. Bruno was the person who started the fire. He may have been the person who killed the other pack members, but she wouldn't know. She wanted to tell Ryker, but telling him now wasn't a good idea. If Bruno, someone internally, could betray him, what about the rest of the pack members? Was Ethan loyal?

If Ethan wasn't loyal, that means Ryker's odds were not good. She also didn't want to endanger both Gary's and Abraham's life. They were still unconscious. Mary knew very little about fighting.

"If it wasn't for our past, I would take your disrespect as a challenge." Ryker's words laced with barely restrained anger.

He lifted his foot off of Bruno's wrist. Bruno breathed heavily through his teeth. Although Ryker didn't break his wrist, Ryker strained it. She could see how bruised it looked.

"Leave!" Ryker roared.

Ethan jumped and ran out the door. Bruno looked at his wrist and then slid a dirty look in Mary's direction before walking out.

When they were finally alone, Mary walked over to Ryker. Ryker was shaking still. His eyes were closed, and she knew that he was close to shifting. Hoping that her touch could soothe away the anger, she touched his stiff back. Ryker jumped, not expecting her touch, but a moment later, his shoulders sagged and his muscles uncoiled its stiffness.

"Who is he?" Mary asked.

"One of my older enforcers. He's hard to work with, but he has saved my life several times."

Mary thought about what Ryker said. If he said that Bruno had saved his life, why would Bruno harm the pack? It made little sense. Maybe what she wasn't sure on what she saw that night.

Ryker turned and wrapped his arms around her. He moved his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She wrapped her arms around him and patted gently.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear those words, Mary. You don't deserve that kind of disrespect," Ryker apologized.

It didn't matter to Mary. Bruno was nobody to him. She has always believed that people can stay whatever they want. What truly matters was that she knew who she was. Mary wasn't a degrading female like how Bruno made her to be. So, his words matter little to her.

"His opinions matter very little to me," Mary admitted.

Ryker chuckled before pulling back to look at her. He cupped her face. His eyes were back to its normal light shade of hazel.

"I don't regret my decision." His eyes traveled to his mark on Mary's neck. He traced the two little teeth marks with his fingertip. "Out of all the life decisions I made, you are the one I don't regret."

She knew he meant it because that was just how the mate bond worked. He couldn't lie to her as she couldn't lie to him.

"Ryker, I—"

Abraham's heart monitor was beeping like crazy. Both Mary and Ryker broke apart. Ryker moved to the monitor screen to look at the vitals. Mary threw open the door to shout for help.

In seconds, nurses and doctors filled the small medical room. Pushing both Ryker and Mary back. One nurse moved to grab a hold of both their arms and tried to push them out.

"Alpha, we need the room. Please step outside and let us save him."

Ryker pushed the nurse's hand away. His wolf and him wanting to be there for their brother. They both wanted to ensure that Abraham was safe. His heart twisted in pain at the sight of his little brother unconscious body.

"He lost a lot of blood and sustained multiple chest injuries. We need the room, Alpha." The nurse stressed.

Mary took hold of Ryker's arm. "Ryker, I know you want to be here for him, but we have to let the doctors do their job."

She glances over at Abraham and saw the doctors performing chest compressions. Loud voices and orders were being thrown all over the room. She tugged on Ryker's arm.

"Ryker, please, listen to me."

Ryker's eyes reluctantly flew to Mary and she could see the anguish on his face. However, he listened and stopped fighting the nurse. The nurse pushed them outside of the medical room. The heart monitor was still beeping dangerously as the door slammed shut in front of them.

Ryker dropped to the floor. Bringing his knees up, he covered his head with his hands. His fingers tugging at his hair as he rocked back and forth.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he growled angrily.

She dropped to her knees in front of him. Quickly grabbing his wrists, she tried to pry his hands away.

"It's not your fault," she assured him.

"It is my fault. I should have protected him. I should have been there. I should have been the one that was hurt!" Ryker snarled.

"Please, don't do this to yourself, Ryker. It isn't your fault and if Abraham was awake, he would say the same thing. "

"You don't understand. I left him alone to fend for himself. I was a selfish bastard. I couldn't stand the idea of having to take care of someone! I ran away and now I am doing the same thing all over again."

Ryker shook and she could feel so much self guilt and pain from him. It hurt her so much. She wrapped her arms instantly around him, whispering soothing words into his hair. She wanted to take care of him. For someone to bear some weight on his shoulders, he was allowed to crumble and fall in front of her because she would be there to support him.

Hours later, they sat in the waiting room. She was still holding him close to her body but he had stopped shaking. He buried his face in her chest to hide that fact that he had cried.

When Mary heard the little pitter patter of feet heading their direction, she turned her head to see who it was. One doctor and nurse stood in front of them. Their faces sketched with worry and fear.

"How is he?" she whispered.

Ryker turned his head to look at the nurse and doctor. Their eyes landed on their Alpha before they looked at the ground.

"Right now, he is okay, but he might go under arrest again. His body is extremely weak. We did everything we can, but his body is not responding well to the human blood we supplied him. Usually, werewolves are receptive to human blood and it can assist in the healing process, but sometimes werewolves who had lost too much blood the human blood will go through their body quickly and do little in healing." The doctor explained.

"What about werewolf blood?" Mary questioned.

The doctor nodded his head. "Werewolf blood would work, but it has to be akin."

"Take mine." Ryker stood up from his position.

"It's not that easy. While your blood may aid him healing, he would need a lot to survive."

"Take mine." He repeated once again.

The doctor's eyes flickered to Mary as if seeking her opinion, but Mary had no say in this. If it was Marcus, she would do the same thing. Finally, the doctor nodded before looking at the nurse.

"Take him to the room. Perform a direct transfusion." The doctor turned back to Ryker. "But you must be careful. Let us know as soon as you start feeling lightheaded."

That settled everything.

Ryker and Mary followed the nurse back into the medical room and were quickly set up to do a direct transfusion.