Blood Betrayal.
1298 Words
Ryder’s POV
“Tell me the truth, Ethan,” I said, my voice low and shaking.
The hall was quiet, too quiet. I could hear my own breathing. Luna stood behind me. I felt her fear even before I smelled it.
Her scent was mixed with pain and confusion. My wolf was restless inside me. He kept pushing, warning me that danger was close.
Ethan smiled. That smile I hated. The kind that said he knew something I did not.
“The truth?” Ethan said. “You have never wanted the truth, Alpha. You only wanted peace.”
I took a step closer to him. “Say what you came to say and leave my pack.”
Luna moved. I felt her hand touch my back. It was light, but it burned me. I had missed her touch. I had missed everything about her. The nights she disappeared still haunted me in my sleep.
“Ryder,” Luna whispered. “Please.”
I raised my hand to stop her. I did not want her to speak yet. I needed to hear everything first.
Ethan looked past me and straight at Luna. “You should tell him,” he said. “Or should I do it?”
“Enough!” I growled.
My wolf rose strong. My eyes burned. The guards at the door stepped back. They knew that tone. They knew I was close to losing control.
Ethan laughed softly. “You see? Still the same. Always quick to anger.”
I stepped between him and Luna. “You are not welcome here. Speak now.”
Ethan’s eyes turned dark. “The boy carries my blood.”
The words hit me like a blade. My chest tightened. My wolf howled in pain and rage.
“You’re lying,” I growled. “You lie like you always do.”
Ethan shook his head. “Am I? I can prove it.”
Behind me, Luna gasped. I turned to her. Her face was pale. Her lips trembled.
“No,” she whispered. “That is not true.”
I wanted to believe her. I needed to believe her. She was my Luna. The woman I loved. The woman I was forced to reject without reason. The woman who vanished one night and came back broken.
“Luna,” I said softly. “Talk to me.”
She shook her head again. Tears filled her eyes. “I remember giving birth,” she said. “I remember the pain. I remember holding my baby. But… but I do not remember two.”
My heart sank.
Ethan crossed his arms. “Because you were not meant to remember.”
I snapped my head toward him. “What did you do?”
Ethan shrugged. “What I had to do.”
My wolf pushed harder. My claws came out. “You touched her mind,” I said.
Ethan smiled again. “A small push. A little darkness. Enough to take one memory away.”
Luna cried out. She held her head as it hurt. I moved fast and caught her before she fell.
“Easy,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Her body shook in my arms. “Ryder, I swear,” she said. “I never betrayed you. Never.”
I held her tighter. “I know,” I said. But doubt was already crawling inside my chest. I hated it. I hated myself for feeling it.
Ethan cleared his throat. “Love is blind,” he said. “But blood does not lie.”
I looked at him with cold eyes. “You will not speak again.”
He raised a brow. “Or what?”
I took one step closer. “Or I will end you.”
The guards moved, but I raised my hand. “Leave us.”
They hesitated. Then they obeyed.
The doors closed. Only the three of us remained.
“Why now?” I asked Ethan. “Why come back after all this time?”
He sighed like he was bored. “Because the child is awakening.”
My breath caught. “What do you mean?”
“He is strong,” Ethan said. “Stronger than you know. And his power comes from me.”
Luna looked up at him with fear. “You are lying,” she said weakly.
Ethan knelt in front of her. “Look at me,” he said. “Do you remember the night you disappeared?”
She froze.
I felt her heartbeat race.
“I remember darkness,” she said slowly. “I remember chains. I remember your voice.”
My hands turned into fists. “I should have killed you then.”
Ethan nodded. “Maybe. But then you would never know the truth.”
He stood and faced me again. “You were forced to reject her because the council knew. They feared what the child would become.”
My head spun. “The council said nothing.”
“They never do,” Ethan replied. “They feared a child born of two powerful bloodlines.”
I shook my head. “The child is mine.”
“One is,” Ethan said calmly.
The room went silent.
“One?” I repeated.
Luna cried out. “No. No, please.”
I felt like the ground was breaking under me. “Explain.”
Ethan took a slow breath. “She carried twins.”
My wolf roared.
“No,” I said. “That is not possible.”
“You never felt the second heartbeat?” Ethan asked. “Because it was hidden.”
Luna covered her mouth. Tears rolled down her face. “I only remember one baby.”
“That was the plan,” Ethan said.
I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. “Where is the other child?”
Ethan did not struggle. “Safe,” he said. “For now.”
My claws pressed into his skin. “If you hurt them—”
“You will do nothing,” Ethan said. “Because you need me.”
I growled low. “I need nothing from you.”
He smiled. “You need answers.”
I released him and stepped back. My chest hurt. Every breath felt heavy.
I turned to Luna. She looked broken. Lost. I moved to her again.
“Luna,” I said softly. “Look at me.”
She raised her eyes. “I never wanted this,” she said. “I love you. I have always loved you.”
My heart cracked. “I know.”
I touched her cheek. “We will fix this.”
“But what if it’s true?” she asked. “What if one of them is not yours?”
The words hurt more than any wound.
I swallowed. “Blood does not change love.”
Ethan laughed. “Say that again when the child stands against you.”
I faced him. “You will leave now.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you die.”
He studied me for a long moment. Then he stepped back. “I will return,” he said. “When you are ready to hear the rest.”
He walked to the door and stopped. “Ask her about the mark.”
The door closed behind him.
I turned to Luna. “What mark?”
Her eyes widened. “I… I don’t know.”
I felt fear rise again. “Check.”
She pulled her sleeve up slowly. There, on her arm, was a faint mark. Dark. Old.
My wolf whimpered.
I touched it. It felt wrong.
“Luna,” my voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you sure… are you sure they are both yours?”
- Writer
