The Ritual

I’m still hard. I could fuck her all night, but I’ll let her rest. After all, I have the rest of my life to fuck my wife. Because no matter what she thinks, when I took my vow today, it was forever. After several minutes of silence, her hands fall off the side of my body, and her breathing evens out.

She’s passed out.

Unlinking my fingers from behind my head, I run them through her curled hair a few times. Then gently, I roll over, placing her down next to me. I get up from the bed and make my way into the bathroom. I remove her birth control pills and then the pack that I’ve kept stashed in my bag at the back of the closet. I punch the dates she’s already used and place the placebos ones back in the drawer. Blakely isn’t going anywhere. If I have to keep her knocked up every day of our lives, I will.

“Yes—no,” I spit out. Sighing I add, “She ran and didn’t take it with her.” That very next night was the ceremony at the house of Lords where she left me. When I brought her back, I didn’t even bother with giving her the fake shit. My wife wasn’t going to be taking it anymore.

Mr. Anderson places his cup of coffee on a tray next to my bed and undoes my left wrist.

“What are you doing?” my father barks when he undoes the other.

“Didn’t you hear him? My daughter is pregnant. We need to find her now. The tracking device will lead us right to her.”

“He needs medical attention,” my father argues.

“I’ll hire a doctor. Gavin. I’ll pay for him to travel with us.”

Finally! Someone gets it!

“Hand me my cell,” I order my dad while my father-in-law exits the room, leaving us alone.

He pulls it back. “Ryat …”

“Don’t give me some bullshit!” I snap and flinch. My free hand now pushing into my side to try relieving the burning pressure I feel. It doesn’t work.

“How in the fuck are you going to save her?” he demands. “Ryat, you’re injured. I know you love her, but risking your life to save hers just puts you both in danger. Again.”

Baring my teeth, I glare up at him. “Hand me my goddamn phone.”

The door swings open, and my father-in-law returns along with Gavin. “I must advise against—”

“I’m fucking going,” I interrupt the doctor. My heavy breathing fills the room, and I bite my inner cheek to keep from whimpering at the pain in my side. Fuck me, I can’t breathe.

“I’ll send you with pain pills, but Ryat … I can’t go with you,” Gavin informs me.

“That’s … fine.” I manage to get out, I’ll eat them like candy. Enough drugs can make you feel invincible.

My father runs his hand through his hair aggressively and hisses in a curse. “Goddammit, Ryat. You don’t even know she’s alive!”

There it is. The reason he doesn’t want me to risk my life for hers—because he thinks it’s not going to be worth it. “I’ve risked my life for the Lords over and over,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I will do no less for my wife. She deserves that!” This is all because of me. I put her in this life, this situation. I will be the one to save her from it.

After a long second, he holds out my cell, and I take it. Letting out a long breath, I pray Matt hasn’t found the tracker. It’s not common for the Lords to use them. It should be mandatory if you ask me. But then again, I actually love my wife.

Then without another word, he turns away from the bed and picks up his jacket off the couch and exits the room.

“Ryat—”

“Give me a hundred,” I interrupt Gavin. After a long second, he concedes.

“I’ll need an hour.”

“You’ve got twenty minutes!” I snap. I lie back on the bed, and he too turns and storms out of the room, and my father-in-law follows him.

I unlock my phone and go to the app. “Please, please, please,” I chant. When I see the red dot, my eyes start to sting, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Laying my head on my pillow, I sniff. “I’ve got you, Blake. I’m coming.” Then I pull up a contact and press call.

BLAKELY

SITTING IN THE middle of the bed, I rock back and forth. I’m pretty sure I’m starting to go insane. I’ve cried until I made myself sick to my stomach. Multiple times. Over Ryat jumping in front of me and slamming me into a door to be a human shield. Now—I’m pissed at him. So, fucking angry that he allowed Matt to win and left me behind.

Getting up from the bed, I walk to the adjoining bathroom to use the restroom. This is my life. Loneliness and boredom.