The Tribrid Heir's Orphaned Mate

Threatening Ryan

Warrick's P.O.V.

To say that the past four days have been stressful, would be an understatement. Tucker finally stopped whining after we talked, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been continuously pacing around in my head nonstop. The migraine is gone, but him, Zedidiah and Chadwick have all been distracting me lately. It's been taking every bit of mental strength to pay attention in class. I think I've looked at every single girl that attends my high school, so if my mate is around, she for sure doesn't attend school with me. Today is my eighteenth birthday, which means even though I was able to convince the three of them that the mate-bond was faint a few days ago because I wasn't eighteen yet, there's absolutely no convincing them of that today. The longer the day drags on without finding my mate, the more antsy my counterparts get. In fact, Tucker's been begging me to leave the school all day and go for a run in the woods, which is unlike him. He usually doesn't bother me about going on runs during school hours, knowing how important my education is. The only way I was able to get him to stop begging me, was to promise that I would let him out after my birthday party tonight.

"Hey, Warrick, are you okay?" Sylvia asks as she walks up beside me in the hallway on my way to class.

I push Tucker away in my head when he lets out a small growl because of Sylvia's sudden presence, before turning to her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Tucker's just been bothering me for the past few days."

She furrows her brows at me, "What's wrong with him?"

"He says that our mate is near, but we haven't found her yet." I tell her as I shrug my shoulders.

Sylvia's face falls in disappointment, before a small smile pulls at her lips, "I'm guessing that I didn't turn out to be your mate like we always thought I would, then?"

I smile down at her, as well, before throwing my arm around her shoulders and pulling her into my side as we walk, "You know I wouldn't be able to tell you whether or not you were my mate, until you turned eighteen anyway, Sylv. It's frowned upon to tell a younger mate, before they're able to feel the bond, as well. But, no, I'm not. I would be able to feel something if you were, even if you aren't aren't, but Tucker doesn't even want me around you today. If you were my mate, he'd be begging to be closer to you."

Sylvia nods her head at me, before looking down at the floor, "I mean, it's understandable. We act too much alike, Warrick. I could see you more, with someone who challenges you and makes you question yourself, rather than someone like me, who already knows your thoughts before you even say them."

"That's funny that you say that, since that's the type of mate I've been praying to The Moon Goddess for." I confess to her as I let out a chuckle, "I guess that's proof that you really do know my thoughts before I even say them."

Sylvia looks up at me with a wide grin, "I'm your best friend, Warrick. We've literally grown up together, side by side." she says, before letting out a defeated sigh, "I just wish that Tucker wasn't being so weird with me. I've never wanted anything more for you, than for you to just be happy, whether it was with me or another she-wolf. I hope he understands that, and doesn't think that I'll try to get in the way of you and your mate or anything. I can't stand the thought of losing you just because he's not wanting to be around other girls who aren't your mate."

"Tucker is just really on edge right now because he's ready to meet her. I'm sure that when we finally figure out who she is, he will go back to normal. It's nothing you've done, Sylv. He's been this way with every single she-wolf I've made eye contact with the past four days." I explain to her as I pull her in tighter to my side, hoping that she understands.

Sylvia nods her head as she smiles sweetly at me again, "I hope so. I know that Alpha wolves can be super stubborn and possessive when it comes to their mate, so I'm sure that's exactly what it is. Don't worry, if he can feel that she's close, I'm sure that you'll meet her before the day is over."

I squeeze her shoulder, before letting go of her, knowing that we're at her class now, "You're still coming to the party tonight, right? Are all of your friends still coming, too?"

Sylvia nods her head, before letting out a small sigh, "Yeah, they're all still coming. I wish that you'd change your mind about Ryan, though. He's honestly trying really hard to earn my forgiveness. I haven't even seen him hanging out with any other she-wolves lately, which is unlike him. Please, can you just think about it? I really want him there."

I chew on the inside of my cheek as I stare at her, before nodding my head once, "I'll think about it, Sylv. Only because I love you so much, though, and you're my best girl. I swear if he messes things up between the two of you again, I won't hesitate to put him in the hospital this time, though."

"Thank you so much, A.J.!" she yells excitedly as she wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes me tight, before pulling away, "I promise I'll take things slow this time. If he truly wants to work things out, then he will have to put in the work. I want to see how long he will keep trying. I want to make sure that what he's doing isn't just a charade."

I smile down at her as I gently squeeze her hand, "Smart girl. You deserve to be chased after, Sylv. You deserve someone who is going to put in the work, someone who knows what they have when they have you. Don't settle for anything less."

Sylvia smiles at me as a blush takes over her cheeks, before nodding at me and walking into her class. I watch her walk in, before taking off down the hallway to my class. Ryan is in my next class, so I'm hell-bent on talking to him now. I can be sweet about this to Sylvia all day, every day, but I'm about to give Ryan a piece of my mind. I also inherited my mom's powers of being able to read minds, and even though I don't like to use it because I feel like it invades people's privacy, I'm definitely about to use it on him. I need to know why he's actually after Sylvia and what he has up his sleeve with her. I need to know that he's not playing games with her. I can't let her get hurt again, knowing that I can do something to prevent it.

I spot him outside of the doorway, casually talking to one of his friends. I stop dead in my tracks for a moment to take in his appearance. Honestly, I haven't paid any attention to Ryan since he cheated on Sylvia six months ago. In fact, I haven't even given him a quick glance since that day. Standing here now, though, I can see that something is definitely wrong with him. His hair is a mess, his face is paler than usual, he even has dark circles under his eyes. I would almost think he was sick, if werewolves could get sick. I suck in a deep breath, before walking over to him and his friend to ask if I could speak to Ryan alone for a moment.

We both watch his friend walk into our class, before Ryan looks back at me, "What's up, Warrick? This is unusual for you. Speaking to me, I mean."

I squint my eyes at him in annoyance, before letting out a frustrated growl, "Sylvia's been asking me if I would be okay with you coming to my party tonight. I'm just wondering why you're messing with her again, after what you did to her. Pretty stupid, if you ask me, since she's one of the most important people in my life. Surely, you should know that I'm the one person who's s**t list you shouldn't be on, with me being future Alpha and a tribrid. Trust me, Ryan, you made it onto that list six months ago when you broke her heart."

Ryan's eyes flash with pure pain as he looks away from me, before he takes a deep breath and looks back at me, "I really messed up with her, Warrick, and I know that. If I could go back to that day, after knowing what I know now, and not do what I did, then I would."

I furrow my brows at him, "What do you mean, after knowing what you know now? What do you know?"

"I can't tell you what I mean by that. Just trust me when I tell you that it's my biggest regret." he confesses to me, before swallowing hard.

I stare into his eyes for a moment, as I search his mind for any sort of lie, but I find none. In fact, his emotions are rolling off of him in such strong waves right now, that it's almost taking my breath away. Anguish, I feel nothing but pure anguish coming off of him, and the only memory I see replaying over and over again in his mind, is Sylvia's face when she found out that he had cheated. I study Ryan's face a bit longer, before he finally looks down at the ground in guilt. Then, I feel it, a flicker of love coming from him.

I take a step back from him as my eyes widen in realization, "Um, Ryan? When do you...when do you, um, turn eighteen?"

Ryan looks back up at me with wide eyes, like I've caught him, before he takes a deep and ragged breath, "I turned eighteen a little over three weeks ago."

"When did you start trying to work things out with Sylv?" I ask him, swallowing hard as I wait for his answer.

Ryan nods his head in understanding, knowing that I've caught on to his secret, "On my eighteenth birthday."

I let out an angry sigh as I look away from him and down the hallway to see if anyone is listening, before looking back at him, "She's your mate, isn't she?" I lowly growl out through clenched teeth.

Ryan chews on the inside of his cheek as he looks away from me without saying anything, which gives me my answer. I let out an angry scoff as I run my hands over my face aggressively, before stepping up to him and pushing him against the locker behind him. Ryan surprises me, though, he doesn't even cower down or look frightened at my sudden aggression towards him. If anything, he looks like he knew it was about to happen. I hold him in place against the locker with my hand firmly pressed against his chest, before leaning in close to him.

"I swear to The Moon Goddess above, that if you hurt her again, I will kill you. Sylvia deserves a mate that cherishes her and puts her on a pedestal. A mate that would do anything for her, that would never make her cry and that would protect her with his life. She deserves a mate that knows just how lucky they are to be fated to her. If you mess this up again, there will be blood. Do you understand?" I grit out slowly and threateningly.

Ryan nods his head once, before staring me straight in the eye, "I swear to you that I will be exactly that, Warrick. If I'm not, I'll show up on your doorstep, myself, waiting for you to fulfill that promise." he says to me with sincerity, before tears start to brim his eyes, "I told you, I regret every second of it. All I can do now, is do everything in my power to earn her forgiveness and hope that she forgives me, before she finds out that I'm her mate. She's the only person I think about all day long, even in my dreams. I haven't even looked at another she-wolf since my birthday. She's all I want, Warrick, for the rest of my life."

I let out a small defeated sigh as I close my eyes, before stepping away from him and opening my eyes again, "My party starts at seven tonight. My parents are grilling burgers for everyone. All of the ranked members, as well as their pups, will be there. Lots of pups will be running around, so I hope that won't annoy you. You better get used to it, anyway, because Sylvia loves hanging out with our younger siblings." I tell him casually, before I purse my lips and let out another sigh, "Sylv also doesn't like flowers. She says that cut flowers are a waste, because they end up dying anyway. She always says that they're meant to bloom and grow, not meant to be killed for our pleasure. I've never met a she-wolf that doesn't like getting flowers, but your little mate has always been different from the rest. She's crazy about chocolate covered coffee beans. They're pretty gross if you ask me, but whatever."

Ryan lets out a relieved sigh, before he chuckles, "I already knew all of that about her, but I appreciate you trying to help me out anyway. I'm happy that she has a friend like you to watch out for her. Someone that was there for her when, you know..." he trails off as he looks away from me again with guilt flooding his face.

I nod my head in understanding, before firmly patting him on the shoulder, "She'll forgive you, Ryan. You just have to give her time. Sylvia's always been the most forgiving person that I know." I reassure him, before nodding my head at the door, "Come on, man, we're going to be late for class."