Unexpressive feelings

Ashlyn's POV

I saw Ripper and I immediately went to him. "What's going on?" I asked him.

"Ruthless is missing, Rage was in charge of him and now he's gone. Without Ruthless Lucifer will not enter the horseracing contest." He said furrowing his brows. Lucifer looked like he was going to kill someone.

"A simple task you were given Rage and you could not executive it properly!" He yelled at Rage.

"I was with him and I just.." He did not finish when Lucifer barked at him. "I do not want to hear it! Excuses! Excuses! It will not bring me Ruthless!" He yelled angrily. He was tensed. His forehead and brows were soaked with sweat.

"The race is about to commence, a Laird cannot quit." Kill said to him.

"I need Ruthless. He's my trusted horse! Find me Ruthless!" He barked out at no one in particular. I wondered where Ruthless could be. Why he would abandon his master at this point when they needed each other?

Hawking came along in his broad stallion. "I look forward to beating you in the race Helldog." He said smirking.

"Fuck off Haw," Lucifer said clenching his jaw.

"Except you believe without Ruthless you cannot win." He said chiding him more like a challenge and Lucifer took it as that.

"What did you say?" Lucifer demanded turning his full attention on him.

"That without Ruthless you cannot win." Hawking dared to repeat and that made Lucifer flare up.

"Fetch me, Savage, let me show this man that the strength of a rider does not just come from his horse alone but his ability to master his horse," Lucifer said staring hard at Hawking as Stealth rushed to the stables and returned with Savage. Lucifer mounted the horse and rode towards the track lines with Hawking behind him.

Ripper shook his head. "He's not ridden Savage in decades. He's obsessed with Ruthless and adopted his ways more than nobody else. They're both beasts in their way on the battlefield and even on the tracks. He needs Ruthless. His confidence never wavers with him." Ripper said and I looked over at Lucifer's retreating figure. I watched the giddiness of his boots and the rigidity of his body. He was not comfortable with this horse neither was he confident with it. He was masking it just to prove Hawking wrong. He needed Ruthless and I had to find him.

But how? Where would I even begin my search from?

Then I remembered Rage had been in charge of Ruthless and Lucifer had not allowed him to speak. He had left where we were the moment Lucifer asked for Savage.

Now I had to find Rage to get clues about finding Ruthless.

I searched for him and found him leaning his head on the wall at the back of the house with his eyes closed.

"What do you want vampire?" He asked sensing my presence already.

"I just came to find out what happened," I said to him.

He scoffed. "Lucifer did not want to know what happened or how it happened." He said and from his voice, I knew he was hurt.

"You know him better than I do. He's probably not thinking straight because of Ruthless. I'm sure it will gladden his heart if he sees him. Can you help me find him?" I said to him.

He opened his eyes. "You want to find him?" He asked and I nodded.

"You should not worry, Stealth and Ripper will." He said.

"I still do want to find him. Tell me what happened." I said stubbornly.

He shrugged. "I had him fed, left him in the stable to quickly fetch another horse from the ring for saddling and I returned to see him gone." He said shaking his head. "This is the first time such a thing is happening." He said.

"What if he was taken?" I asked.

"Taken?!" He exclaimed. "No one can take Ruthless away without being noticed or caught. He's fierce! You saw what he's like." He said and I nodded. If Ruthless was not taken then what happened? Would he intentionally wander off on his own? I wondered.

But still, I had a clear mind that this was sabotage. It was too obvious to me. I walked away from Rage.

"Where are you going?" He asked after me.

"To find Ruthless," I said to him and left for the stables. I heard the horn blow and the hoofs of the horse's stampede. The race had begun.

Would I find Ruthless in time? I wondered.

"How long does it take for the horseracing to finish?" I asked one of Lucifer's pack members I found on my way to the stables.

"Forty-five minutes." He said and I nodded and went away. Would I find Ruthless before then?

I believed there were a lot of crowds outside earlier on and Ruthless must have not gone through the front yard without being seen and taken back to the stables. Therefore he took the route at the back.

I got to the stables and noticed that there was not even a single hoof track of his. It was like he never left the place but still, he was not there.

I followed my instincts towards the back route that led into the deepest part of the forest.

With each bold step I took, I felt my heart in my throat. What if there's an ambush here? Or serpents of various kinds? I thought of so many foolish things that could happen to me if I kept going but still, I did not retreat. I was bent on finding this horse of Lucifer's. I fell into the muddy water and I cursed at my short-sightedness. I should be more alert than the way I was but I was gradually losing some of my vampire abilities without the blood and energy of a human to keep me from desiccating but yet I did not mind too much about it.

"Ruthless!" I began to call out as I wandered far into the forest. I was running out of time. I kept calling out loud for some minutes and then I picked up the sound of a faint neigh.

"Ruthless is that you?!" I called out and waited and the faint neigh came again.

"Keep speaking to me boy!" I yelled out momentarily forgetting he loathed being called a boy. I followed the sounds of the faint neigh and found Ruthless tied up to a tree. He looked very weak. I knew it! This was sabotage!

I advanced towards him not conscious of my environment. "What happened to you?" I asked him. He acted arrogant to me and I almost rolled my eyes. Despite needing help he was acting proud. Typical Lucifer's character.

"I will not hurt you I promise," I said as I reached out for his mane and he did not make a fuss as before.

"Who did this?" I asked again.

He flapped his ears, flared his nose, and neighed as he blinked. He was trying to explain it to me but I was not his master and I did not understand him.

"Lucifer is worried about you and he's in a race now and needs you," I said to him and at the sound of Lucifer's name, his neigh became more fierce. I struggled to lose him from the tree and as I succeeded, someone came out from behind the trees.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled at me. He was unfamiliar to me but I could sense he was a werewolf.

He pulled out a knife and I stared at him in horror. Ruthless raised his hooves high in the air neighing loudly as he charged toward my attacker knocking him to the ground.

Another emerged from behind me and slit my arm and I let out a little cry gasping. Ruthless turned at the sound of my cry and went attacking the other one too. Before they could get up, Ruthless stood in front of me indicating I should get on him and I wasted no time in doing so and he ran.

"You know the shortest route to the tracks?" I asked him as he galloped away. He neighed which I guessed was yes. He was used to these routes. This was where he was brought up.

"Good. Take us to Lucifer." I said to him. His speed confirmed it to me as he took another direction running wild and I almost fell. For the first time, Ruthless let me close to him.

The instant we were out of the forest, the tracks were before us and I saw Lucifer far behind the other riders.

"Lucifer!" I yelled and Ruthless charged towards him neighing loudly in what I presumed to be happiness in seeing his master. Lucifer had a surprised and worried look on his face seeing me and Ruthless me coming towards him. He halted as we drew nearer. I was about to come down from Ruthless to let him get on and win that race when Lucifer swerved on Ruthless in a blink of an eye he was seated at my back, holding the reins of Ruthless.

"Let's go Ruthless!" He yelled and Ruthless neighed as he went into full speed like that of lightning without stopping. A tenth-position rider among thirty horses suddenly overcame all as his trusted horse Ruthless galloped in confidence as the pride of its owner filled him.

It was to the shock of other alphas and the surprise and happiness of his clan as he crossed the finish line. The thundering hoots were deafening as they rose in one accord to celebrate their alpha. Lucifer.

He mounted from the horse bringing me down with him. I turned to leave when he suddenly pulled me back into a tight hug despite my filthiness. He held me so gently to himself that I knew this hug to be a genuine one and it resounded in my heart and my head that I was not admitting that yes despite his cruelty, I was in love with this man. I was in love with my tormentor.