The Alpha’s Second Chance

Chapter 2 - Shattered Bonds

Amara's POV

The sky is a bruised shade of blue and the Silver Fang Pack gathers around the fire laughing and murmuring it's air. I stay on the outskirts of the crowd, every set of eyes, every whisper, feels like they’re all staring at me. I haven’t been looked at once by Ryder since I arrived, his attention is pointed somewhere else, his back straight.

I feel the hem of my cloak between my fingers, fingers that are cold, even as we sit before the fire. I know that all of this distance, that silence, it’s only a misunderstanding, we can fix. As uncomfortable as that is, something in my chest aches, deep and unyielding, warning me that it’s more.

Ryder steps forward and the laughter fades beneath his strong, unwavering presence. His shoulders are squared, the eyes gleaming under the firelight sharp as a wolf’s. Every eye in the world looks to him, ready to listen, to follow, to be comforted by him. His gaze shifts, and now it’s on me, and I feel it like a stab to my chest.

Ryder’s voice is loud and clear: “Tonight there’s something we need to discuss.”

The tiny spark of hope in my chest flickers and I swallow. I think maybe he’ll clear the air. Perhaps he’ll say that we are mates, that he—

A blade drawn from a sheath, his voice is icy, “Amara.” “Come here.”

My pair of eyes turn to look at everyone and I feel a hot flush creep across my cheeks. My heart pounds against my ribs, I take a step forward. It’s a tightness in my stomach, whatever it is in his gaze tells me it's not good. I am still moving forward, not taking my gaze off of him.

“And mockingly he says to me, ‘I ask you, Amara, do you think you’re that strong?’”

It hits me hard, unexpected, the question. The crowd’s eyes bore into me and I falter. “I…” My voice wavers. “I’ve tried to be.”

“Tried?” Then he smirks and I see something cold and cruel peek through his eyes. “See, that’s the problem. Trying isn’t enough. I don’t need a weakling, I need a strong one.”

I feel my cheeks burn but a few people in the crowd snicker. I scramble my mind for words, anything to defend myself. “Ryder, I am strong. “It’s: I’ve trained, I’ve fought, and—”

“Fought?” Hollow and cutting was his laugh. Do you call what you do fighting? You don’t think any of us see you as a real member of this pack?

More and more of the crowd’s murmurs sound up louder, becoming a harsh buzz in my ears. I feel like the very ground is slipping out from under me, and I look around. My family, the pack, they all look at me with raised brows, eyes full of judgement. I look for a crack in the wall and then I hear the smirks and whispers behind raised hands.

Ryder’s voice is harsh as he says,'you’re weak, Amara.' “You’re too emotional, too needy, too soft.” 'How could someone like you be my mate?"

His words hit me and each one hits me harder than the last. They can see the worst of me, see my weaknesses, see me naked, out in the open everyone can see the worst of me. I wish I could say something right now, to stand up and say something, but my throat shuts up and the words begin choking me.

He continues to grow louder, 'Look around you.' “They have to be strong, fearless, a true warrior, a mate of one of my friends.” Amara, you are none of those things. I just won’t pretend otherwise.”

Low mocking laughter fills the air and another voice laughs, someone in the crowd snickers. Faces I know so well, faces which once smiled at me now grin with vile glee at my misfortune. I clench my hands into fists and the nails dig into my palms. It heats my face, anger and shame twisting in my chest. I want to scream, and tell them all that they’re wrong, that I am strong, I’ve done everything I can, to show them I’m strong.

At least Ryder’s expression doesn’t hold any kindness, no clue to the man I’ve believed him to be. Cold, his eyes are distant, like I’m just another pack member, another stranger.

He says, his voice softer but still cruel, 'I’m done pretending.' “I won’t have a weak mate. Not now. Not ever.”

His words are final, a slap to the breath out of me. My heart is shredding, it’s breaking into pieces. I can’t stay here. I can’t stand to be in front of them all, sneers and whispers, the weight of their judgment.

I look around, turn and bolt, forced to push through the crowd blinded with tears. I hear their laughter following me, their echoes ringing in my ears, carrying me further from the fire, further from Ryder, further from the life I believed I’d have.

Beyond the woods are dark, but I do not see. My breaths lock into painful, hitched gasps, ragged gasps from my throat, and branches scratch at my skin, roots trip my feet, but I keep going.The pain and shame have me falling apart here and now, the sound of the pack’s laughter far behind me, I don’t stop until I’m deep in the trees, I’m surrounded by shadows.elight at my humiliation. My hands clench into fists, nails digging into my palms. Heat flushes through my face, a mix of anger and shame twisting in my chest. I want to scream, to tell them all they’re wrong, that I am strong, that I’ve done everything I can to prove myself.

But when I look up at Ryder, I see no kindness, no hint of the man I thought he was. His eyes are cold, distant, like I’m just another pack member, another stranger.

“I’m done pretending, Amara,” he says, his voice quieter, but no less cruel. “I won’t have a weak mate. Not now. Not ever.”

His words are final as a slap, taking my breath away. My heart cracks into little pieces all at once. I can’t stay here. I can’t stand in front of them, their sneers and whispers, the full weight of their judgement.

I bolt, turn and push through the crowd; my vision muddled with tears. As I run, their laughter follows me, in my ears, each step bringing me further from the fire and from Ryder and from the life I thought I would have.

I don't notice how dark the woods are. Branches scratch at my skin, roots trip my feet, I hear my breathing and ragged gasps from my throat, but I keep going. Every step crushes down on me, the pain and shame, and I feel like I’m falling apart. I don’t stop until I’m in the trees, far into the shadows, the laughter of the pack far behind me.

My skin scraping the earth, the cold earth hitting my skin as I try to breathe. Everything hurts. I flinch, as a pain hits my chest, my heart breaking with every beat. How could he do this? Why can’t he just stand there and tear me apart as if I mean nothing, as if we weren’t together at all.

My hands press to face, but I fight back the tears, and they come, hot and relentless. The words echoed in my mind, I thought he loved me. I thought he cared.

The silence is broken by a noise, soft murmurs just past the trees. Reality dawns, and my instinct takes over, I freeze, pressing myself back into the shadows. I can hear the voices, and when I look out from the trunk of a tree I see two figures. The talking in hushed voices, standing close.

My mother says something, her voice wavering, 'She'll be fine.' “She’s tougher than she thinks.”

There is a deep, weary sound like my father breathes sigh. “We can only hope. She’s… not really our real daughter. ‘I sometimes wonder if we shouldn’t have taken her in.’”

Piercing through me, sharper than anything Ryder said, sharper than any blade. Not even their real daughter. My mind starts spinning, the world tilting, the truth starts to become real. I’m… not theirs?

My legs won't move, I want to run to them, I want to confront them, I want to scream. My hand covers my mouth as their words spin a loop in my mind, each one driving another hammer down.

“Maybe if she knew,” my mom breathes quietly, “maybe she’d know what it’s like?”

My father shakes his head. “No. She’d only be hurt more. She doesn’t need to know… we can’t…

But I already do. I know now, and the truth crashes over me, drowning me in a wave of betrayal, leaving me breathless and alone.