The air was thick with tension as Ryker and Axel squared off in the center of the clearing. The pack had gathered, their eyes fixed on the two alphas, watching in silent anticipation. I could feel the weight of their gaze on me, but my attention was solely on Ryker.
"Step aside, Nina," Ryker's voice was low but firm as he turned to me briefly. His eyes locked with mine, and for a split second, I saw the deep, unspoken pain there—pain that I hadn’t seen before.
I wanted to reach for him, to pull him back from this inevitable clash, but the lines between us had already been drawn. Axel was no longer just Ryker’s second-in-command; he had become a shadow, a potential threat that needed to be neutralized. Ryker’s pack was divided—half loyal to him, and half silently swayed by Axel’s promises
