Driving on the speeding highway, Ryker chanced a glance to the sleeping female body that buckled and curled up in the passenger seat. Old tears stained her cheeks.

As soon as she was inside the jeep, she cried until her eyes were red and puffy. Her nose was red from blowing her nose often. Never in his life had a woman cried that much in front of him.

He glanced back to the quiet highway. It was dark outside. Only the headlights of the jeep guided them on the highway.

His enforcers could handle harsh training weather or even trek through mountains and heavy snowstorms, but when it came to a female crying, those bastards ran faster than you could blink. Presently, they were running in their wolf form and would more than likely make it there before Ryker.

Abraham leaned forward between the passenger and driver seat. He looked at Mary.

"I never knew that a female could cry that much," Abraham whispered to not wake Mary.

"It wasn't pretty too," Ryker whispered back and turned his head to see if she heard him.

Abraham chuckled softly. "What are you going to do?"

"Alpha Ivan was aware a female was potentially coming with us. He just didn't know who. I'll call him to let him know what happened."

"That male that stood next to her on our first day here..." Abraham's sentence wandered off.

Ryker remembered the male. At first, he thought the male was a potential mate to Mary. That day, he never felt more possessive of anybody. Without thinking, he had every intention of ripping Mary out of the male's arms.

Fortunately for Ryker, the male was her brother. Judging by the proximity the two had at the welcoming party, he was overprotective of her, which means he was going to make this situation a thousand times harder.

"I'll call him," Ryker murmured.

Regardless of her brother's overprotectiveness, she was way past the age of needing a guardian. They considered her an adult with equal freedom as a male, even with her not being mated. Ryker didn't manipulate her decision to come with him. Ryker gave her an opportunity to which she took.

Ryker's eyes skimmed the time on the dashboard. It glowed 12:37 A.M. it was late, and they have been driving for several hours. Their destination still a few more hours away. If Mary wasn't with them, he would push through, but with Mary, it was a different story.

Looking back on the highway, he caught sight of a highway sign that read, 'Rest with the luxury of no stress. Exit 274'.

"There is a hotel on the next exit, "Ryker whispered.

"We are stopping?" Abraham asked in confusion. "Aren't we supposed to meet up with Kalum in a few hours?"

Kalum was Ryker's human Personal Assistant. As a prime investor in many businesses, one downfall was the frequent travels to the human cities to promote engagement with rich people and attend special events.

Ryker would have preferred to go straight home, but he needed to be at this event. He needed to be there to continue his investment cycles and hopefully seek better business opportunities near his pack.

"We told him we would be there in the morning," Abraham reminded him.

"He only needs one of us to be there." Ryker made a point in adding just as he pulled off the exit.

When they arrived at the parking lot of the hotel, the brothers got out of the vehicle and exchanged a few orders and words. A few minutes later, Abraham left Ryker and Mary. In order for him to make it in time, he needed to quickly find the nearest wooded area and shift into his wolf form.

Ryker watched his brother jogged off down the sidewalk and rounded the corner before turning his attention back to Mary who was still asleep. He opened the vehicle door gently. The female was a heavy sleeper. She didn't wake up when the vehicle came to a stop, nor did she wake up when he opened the vehicle door gently.

He caught her just in time before she fell into a puddle on the hard cement ground. Carrying her in his arms, he walked them inside. On one shoulder he carried his duffle bag.

When they reached the check-in desk, the kind lady associates quietly checked them in before handing him their key cards.

Walking down the contemporary designed hallway, Ryker was glad that the hotel was decent because their only other choice was a small run-me-down motel that didn't look at all safe or all that clean.

Going to the elevator, he clicked on the second floor. The elevator jerked just as the door closed and they were being lifted to the second floor. Mary's eyes opened. He felt her stiffen in his arms.

Slowly, he let her down on her feet. She rubbed her swollen red eyes and squinted around her in confusion.

"Where are we?" Mary inquired.

"I decided we needed a few hours of sleep before we get back on the road," Ryker replied.

Oddly enough, he was slightly missing her warm body in his arms. Without thinking, he folded his arms across his chest.

"Oh, you are tired?" she asked innocently.

He smirked without thinking at her response.

"Not really, but we are going to need it. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Aren't we going back to the pack?"

He had left the details of their detour out of his offer. She didn't know.

"No, there is something I need to do before we head back to the pack." He left it at that. There was no further explanation.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Ryker stepped out first. He walked casually while reading the room numbers on the walls. He tried not to pay attention to her, but his complete backside was aware of her presence. His ears could hear her soft footsteps.

Mary looked delectable in his clothes. Even though his clothes covered almost every part of her body.

He stopped when he reached their room. Stopping and turning to look behind him, Mary stood right behind him. He expected her to run to the other side. Protest. Possibly break down and cry again, but she didn't.

Instead, she looked at him and waited.

"Are you okay with sharing a room with me? I am not comfortable with you sleeping in a separate room, especially when we are in unknown territory," he said.

"It should be fine," she replied.

She was okay with it. He should be relieved, but he felt that her quick agreement to share a room with him was unexpected. Not that he minded that she said yes because, in an unknown territory like this, things can get a little hairy.

He opened the door for them both. Mary walked inside first. Her eyes moved to the two-queen size bed, and he saw her should sag in relief.

Mary walked up to the nearest bed and placed a hand on the mattress. He closed the door behind him and walked to the other bed. He placed the duffle bag on the adjacent bed.

"Where are the others? Did they get themselves rooms too?" she questioned, and Ryker regarded her skeptically.

Did she not see his enforcers running out of the jeep when she wouldn't stop crying?

"They ran in their wolf forms. Being in a moving vehicle isn't a comfortable experience for them," Ryker lied. He didn't need to remind her of the reason she was crying again.

They fell silent for a moment before they both simultaneously sat down on the edge of the bed.

"D-do you think I can borrow your phone?" Mary asked.

Ryker turned his head to look at her. Without asking, he knew who she was calling.

"I'll call your brother. You don't have to worry about it," Ryker assured her.

"Oh no. He needs to hear it from me. He'll be so heartbroken that I left him like this."

He can already see fresh tears clouding her vision already. Immediately, he thought about averting her thoughts.

"In a bit. Take a shower first. I'll give you some of my clothes to change into," he quickly said.

"It's okay. I'll just wear what you gave me. They are still clean," she said and stood up and walked to the bathroom.

As soon as she closed the bathroom door, he listened until he heard the shower running.

Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he dialed Alpha Ivan's number and asked to be routed to her brother's phone. A few minutes later, Marcus answered.

"Hello," Marcus's strained voice came from the other end of the line.

"Marcus, this is Alpha Ryker. I know that it is late and I am sorry for calling later than I should have but I am calling regarding your sister."

"You found her?" Marcus's voice rose.

Well, technically, she found us, Ryker thought to himself.

"Your sister informed me today that she would like to visit my pack for a while. I have given her permission and Alpha Ivan is aware of the situation." Ryker chose his words carefully.

"She wouldn't," Marcus said in disbelief. Ryker can hear disappointment and sadness in her brother's voice. The two siblings were close, just like Abraham and him.

"She'll be safe. I'll protect her with my life," Ryker promised.

"Your life? I'm sorry if I overstep but you are an Alpha and from what I have learned so far about your pack and you, you have many members. You'll protect them, but we both know that you can't protect them all. Send her back to—"

"Are you two close?" Ryker interrupted.

The shower was still running in the background. Marcus hesitated, but Ryker waited for his response.

"Yes, she's my sister. My only family," Marcus stressed.

"Then you should know what she wants even when she doesn't say it to you out loud," Ryker reasoned.

There was silence on the other end.

"I tried giving her what she wanted," Marcus tried arguing.

"But she doesn't need it. She's a mature female now, Marcus. Let your sister decide her fate," Ryker encouraged.

"You don't understand. She's not like other females you have met. I'm guessing by your position; hundreds of females have lined up to and slept in your bed more than a hundred times, but Mary---she's innocent. I've protected her all my life," Marcus said.

The shower turned off and Ryker knew he was running out of time.

"You don't know me. So, you have no reason to trust any of my words but I give you my word that I will protect her as if I was you," Ryker promised.

He felt Marcus give in.

"You'll protect her," Marcus repeated.

"You have my word," Ryker responded.

The bathroom door swung open. Mary's eyes found Ryker immediately. Ryker still had Marcus on the phone.

"Is that him?" she asked. Her hair was damp from her shower. He can tell that she had used the hotel shampoo and body wash.

Marcus asked to speak with Mary. Ryker stepped into the bathroom next to take a shower. But he knew her brother was probably giving her hell. He took a little longer in the shower to give them time to talk.

When he stepped out though, he saw that Mary dimmed the hotel lights to give him enough lights to move around the room but also allowed her to sleep. Not that he needed the lights to be turned on. He could see well even in the dark.

Ryker's eyes swept over her hidden sleeping form under the hotel comforter. Even without asking, he knew she had cried terribly and did not want to talk about it. He let it go and walked to the other bed. Turning off the lights completely, he crawled underneath the comforters and turned to his side. He slept with his back to her but founded it uncomfortable and couldn't sleep.

Ryker shifted in bed and turned to look at Mary. Her back was to him. He continued to look at her until he fell asleep, but before he slept, the last thought on his mind was the promise he made to Marcus.

Without a doubt, Ryker knew that he will do everything he can to protect her.