Desire for you- ALPHA RYAN Book 1
Chapter 20

CATHERINE

Ryan could be really sweet when he wanted something from you. His touch gave me goosebumps, especially as he was a real treat.

He had a possessive way about him that was sexy for some unknown reason.

If the wolf wants to play crazy, then we'll play dirty.

I looked into his eyes and got closer to his face. I could feel his breath on my skin.

"Please?" I murmured against his lips "Or should I say please Alpha? Or would you rather I call you Daddy?" I whispered and bit his lip.

Now he was the one who was lured out of his reserves.

I felt his hand slide up my back.

"Too bad I've got you dressed again now." he moved away from me again and leaned against the wall, opposite me.

Too bad, that didn't work out the way I wanted it to. Apparently he still had strong self-control.

"You're having visitors, Catherine. Are you happy to see your parents? They'll be disappointed that you haven't reactivated your feelings yet." He looked at me coldly. The door opened.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at the door.

It was my parents. It really was them.

I looked at them unimpressed, the memory of being on my own for a whole year proving to me that I probably wasn't that important to look for thoroughly.

"Catherine?" my mother said, coming up to me. I was her spitting image, black hair and the same blue eyes. A petite face, full lips. She had also lost weight. She was wearing a black dress with a fitted cut that came down to her knees. She was also wearing her high heels. She had always loved these shoes and they made her legs look a lot longer. She wore subtle make-up and powder/beige lipstick.

My father, on the other hand, was frozen, watching us. He didn't say a single word.

My mother, Chiara, came closer to me and put her hand on my cheek "It's really you..." she murmured, looking as if she had seen a ghost. She scrutinized me from head to toe. "My girl... Oh moon goddess... I can't believe it, it's really you..." she said, trying not to burst out crying.

I don't know what Ryan would have expected, that I would burst into tears of joy and everything would be okay again?

I laughed quietly and shook my head. Ryan watched us like a hawk and was silent.

I looked my mother in the face, "Where have you been for a year?" I hissed at her.

My mother's eyes welled up with tears "Honey... we've been looking everywhere for you..." she said quietly.

"Apparently you haven't looked hard enough." I looked at my father, Alexander, who was still staring at us and hadn't said a word yet. "Take her with you and get out of here," I said to him, looking him in the eye.

He looked at my mother and me, perplexed, "We're not leaving this place. Let's be clear..." he said calmly and came towards me as well. "We found you first, Catherine, even though you may think we weren't looking for you. We turned everything upside down and even put an end to John..." I got goosebumps at John's name. That bastard was responsible for everything, too bad I didn't get my hands on him.

As if my father could read my mind, he spoke, "I fucked him up bad, I know there's nothing in the world that can make up for what happened to you, but his death was necessary." He rubbed his temples.

Ryan watched us from the corner and continued to say nothing.

"Catherine... You need to let your feelings back in..." my mother said, looking me in the eye.

"Allow my feelings back so I can become a wreck again? Is that what you want? A crying Catherine who everyone feels sorry for because she was enslaved for a year, raped and beaten every day. Is it really this Catherine you want to see?" I said in a louder and angrier tone. I tugged at the chains I was tied to.

My parents looked at me in horror. "Cate..." my father whispered, hugging me so tightly that it almost took my breath away.

"Stop it... Let go of me. I don't need you near me. I'm doing relatively well on my own." I said and tried to pull myself out of my father's embrace.

He held me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes "Catherine... No matter what has happened. We love you more than anything. Even the hurt version of you... We love everything about you, Cate... Nothing and no one can replace you, you're our little Cate..." he said, running a hand through my hair.

He was tall and strong and had a certain resemblance to Jason Momoa, with his beard and hairstyle. Even though he wasn't the youngest anymore, he had held up well. His position as Gamma demanded that he trained continuously to fulfill his duties, especially since he was one of the best warriors of the Crescent. Accordingly, he was very muscular and his almost two-meter height made him look intimidating.

I heard a throat clearing at the door. Kilian and Milena were standing at the door. They had been watching us the whole time.

Milena looked at me incredulously "Cate... it's really you..." she said and stormed towards me. She hugged me and almost pushed my dad over. She squeezed me so tightly and I felt like I was going to be sick from all the love and tears of joy.

Unlike me, Milena had chocolate-brown skin and beautiful brown eyes. Everything about her body was just right, every inch of her was just perfect. She was wearing black trousers and a black shirt with a flounce.

I was still chained up and couldn't break free. "STOP TOUCHING ME" I screamed at her and she abruptly broke away from me as if I had slapped her in the face.

"Cate..." she said shocked and just looked at me "CATE! She said emphatically, looking angry now "WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU FOR A DAMN YEAR AND CAN'T FIND YOU. NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME NOT TO TOUCH YOU?!" Milena screamed at me, looking like she was about to lose her temper. Her she-wolf was impatience personified, like a volcano, unpredictable and our whole pack knew what made Milena tick. In contrast to her, Kilian was calmness personified.

"What are you actually thinking? You just turn up here and it's all good again?" I shouted at them. They all didn't quite know what to say. They were glad to see me, the current circumstances made it anything but easy for us.

A tiny figure hid behind Kilian.

"Killy... Cate scares me... Why is she so mad?" the voice whispered. Two small arms clutched Kilian's leg. He stroked Liya's head "She's not well at the moment, sweetie, she'll be fine... You don't need to be afraid." he said to her quietly and stroked her hair.

I stood frozen and looked over at her.

That really was Liya... My little Liya... Her soul so beautiful and innocent. She knew nothing about all this chaos...

I had to swallow and didn't dare to speak. My mother followed my gaze to Liya and looked at Kilian.

She held out her hand to Liya "Come here sweetie... Cate wants to see you."

"B-but she's angry, are you sure she wants to see me?" she asked us innocently, scowling at us.

I swallowed hard again and something inside me changed. It was as if my heart was getting heavy again. It felt like I had hit a wall.

Liya was like my little sister, she was part of the family. I knew her as a baby and always took care of her when my mom was away. Liya's parents left us too soon...

"Liya?" I said quietly and she came closer and closer to me.

"Catie, Catie! Why are you tied up here?" she asked, looking at me with her googly eyes. She had rosy cheeks and was a little blonde with curls. She was only four years old and very cunning for her age.

She broke me into a smile and I sat down on my knees to be at her eye level. I touched her cheek.

"You've gotten so big..." I whispered softly, gazing into her eyes.

She nodded eagerly, her curls swinging along with her head. "Killy told me that if I grow a little more, I can go on the rollercoaster with him!" She beamed at me.

"Catie are you coming with me then?" she asked me, grabbing my hands.

"Killy, I want Catieeee to come with me then!" She shrieked, flashing me her widest smile.

"Of course Cate's coming with me! She can already jump from trees," Kilian added, teasingly.

'Nice to have you back Catherine,' Rose said to me with a grin.

I pulled Liya into my arms and hugged her tightly. She returned the hug and stroked my back with her small hands.

"I'd go to the ends of the earth with you," I said, looking into her face.

"Where have you been, Catie? I really missed you..." Liya said and looked at me.

I laughed softly "It's a long story sweetie.... I'm back now." I said and stroked her golden curls.

"You're never going away again, are you?" she asked again to make sure I was going to stay.

I nodded eagerly, "Never again..." Tears welled up in my eyes. I would never have believed that such a little runt could trigger something like this in me...

A feast was prepared. Maya was in the kitchen and it smelled wonderful. My whole family was here and they were celebrating my return. I watched them all talking happily, beaming and enjoying the feast. Maya had given it her all, it was a top performance. Milena and Cynthia helped her. They got on really well together. Somehow I envied Milena, she always manages to make contact with others straight away, whereas I'm rubbish at it.

My eyes met Michael's and I looked down abruptly. I felt uncomfortable that I had temporarily tried to paralyze him with wolfsbane... He just smiled and waved to us.

Ryan, who was sitting next to me, took my hand and squeezed it lightly. He had followed my gaze and grinned at the sight of Michael.

"He won't hold it against you..." he whispered softly and looked me in the eye.

I bit my lower lip "That doesn't make it any better..." I said quietly. My mother, who was sitting to my left, looked at Ryan and me. "I'm so glad you found my daughter.... I was so worried about her, I was almost going insane..." she said, grabbing my thigh.

I smiled slightly and looked her in the eye. "It's going to be okay." I didn't know if I was saying that to her or more to myself.

My mother nodded, "Who would have thought that the Alpha of the Black Moon pack would be my daughter's mate." She laughed softly and smiled broadly at us.

"I knew your mother very well, Ryan, we always got on famously. If only she had been here... I'm sure she would have been looking forward to seeing your puppies." she added.

"Moommm" I said and looked at her with a penetrating gaze. God, I was embarrassed now. I had forgotten that my mother could talk like a waterfall.

Ryan just smiled at us "Yes, you have a great daughter, Chiara." Ryan said. His words made me blush.

I looked at my dad 'Help' I said to him through mind communication.

He grinned at me and shook his head. 'Enjoy your evening dear. We're so happy to have you back among us.' He smiled warmly at me.

Liya ran around the room and then headed straight for me. She literally jumped on my lap and grinned broadly at me. She put her arms around me and hugged me.

I pulled her closer to me and breathed in her wonderful scent.

Now everything would be all right again...