CLAIMED BY THE ENEMY

Chapter 3: "The Secrets She Was Never Told"

Ryker’s chambers were quiet, almost suffocating in their opulence. The heavy curtains shut out the daylight, casting the room in a dim, golden glow from the flickering fire. The faint scent of leather and smoke lingered in the air as the crackling flames crackled on the hearth. I leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed, my eyes narrowing at Ryker as he paced in front of me.

“Tell me something, Nina,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “Why do you want me dead so badly?”

I stared at him, the words I had rehearsed for years—“You’re a monster, a beast”—on the tip of my tongue. But something in the way he said it, like he wasn’t just asking to antagonize, but truly wanting to understand, made the words falter.

“Because you are,” I replied flatly as if the answer should be obvious.

Ryker stopped pacing and fixed me with his gaze. “You really believe that? That all of us are the same?”

I shrugged, the emotions swirling inside me as I tried to keep my distance. “I was taught that werewolves are soulless. You’re no different.”

He looked at me for a moment, the corners of his lips twitching as if he were fighting a smirk. “You don’t know me, Nina.”

“No, I don’t,” I snapped. “And I don’t want to.”

“Then why not tell me about yourself? I’m curious. Who are you really, beyond all the hatred and vengeance?”

I didn’t answer immediately. The last thing I wanted was to be vulnerable in front of him, to explain all the lies I had lived with, all the things I thought I knew about myself and the world. But there was something in his voice, a genuine curiosity, that made me hesitate. I didn’t trust him, but I also didn’t understand why I felt this strange pull whenever he spoke to me.

“I’m Nina Blackthorn,” I said finally, the words coming out almost bitter. “I was raised to kill things like you.”

“Kill things like me?” Ryker echoed, a dark chuckle escaping his lips. “What are you really, Nina? You’re no ordinary hunter. I’ve seen what you can do.”

I frowned, trying to ignore the heat rising in my chest at his words. “What I can do doesn’t matter. What matters is that I was trained to destroy you and your kind. That’s all I know. That’s all I’ve ever known.”

He crossed the room toward me, his movements slow but deliberate, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re telling me that’s all there is to you? That’s your whole story?”

I wanted to turn away from him, to push him out of my mind, but something stopped me. His words dug at the raw edges of the walls I had built around myself, walls that I had worked so hard to maintain. The anger, the hatred, the drive to kill—it had always been my truth. But here, with him so close, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Is that not enough?” I bit back.

For a moment, Ryker said nothing, his gaze unreadable. Then, in the silence, something inside me started to c***k. Memories—fragments—flashed before my eyes, memories I had long buried.

I saw a woman—my mother—her face so familiar yet so distant. She was standing in a forest, the moonlight dancing on her features, her eyes glowing amber like a wolf’s. She was whispering to me, calling me, but her voice was drowned out by the shouts of the hunters. I was just a child, terrified, clutching her hand, but she was slipping away from me.

I shook my head, trying to push the memory aside, but it only intensified, like a door I had kept closed was suddenly forced open.

“Ryker…” My voice was hoarse as I struggled to regain control over myself. “What’s happening to me?”

His eyes softened, and he took another step toward me, his voice gentle. “You’re remembering something, aren’t you?”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. The memories—the images of her—they were flooding back now, too fast, too overwhelming. My mother… she had never been like the other hunters said. She wasn’t human.

“Stop,” I said, my voice shaky as I tried to push him away. I couldn’t deal with this now. Not with him, not at this moment. “I can’t…”

“You can’t hide from this anymore, Nina,” Ryker said quietly, his tone less harsh now. “You’re not just a hunter. You’re something more.”

I couldn’t breathe. My heart was pounding in my chest as the weight of his words sank in. My mother… a rogue werewolf? How could that be?

“Your bloodline,” Ryker continued, his voice low but urgent. “It’s not human. Your mother’s magic, her blood, it’s still in you. That’s why your wolf is awakening. And that’s why this bond between us is so powerful.”

I shook my head again, trying to clear the confusion. “No. That’s impossible. My mother… she was just a traitor. She left me.”

“Your mother left you because she was trying to protect you,” Ryker said softly. “She knew this day would come. She knew what you are.”

“I don’t know what I am,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

His eyes softened as he stepped closer, his presence strangely comforting. “You’re a hybrid, Nina. You’re not just a hunter. You’re both human and wolf. And you’re tied to me now.”

I recoiled, feeling the sting of his words like a slap. “I don’t want to be tied to you. I never did.”

But even as I said the words, something deep inside me fought against them. The pull of our bond, the connection between us, was undeniable. It wasn’t just my body that felt it; it was my soul.

Before I could respond, a sharp knock echoed through the room, breaking the tense silence between us. Both of us froze.

“Come in,” Ryker called, his voice steady but laced with a hint of frustration. The door creaked open, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw who stood in the doorway.

Elias.

My mentor, the man who had raised me like his own daughter, stepped into the room, his face grim. There was no warmth in his eyes, no fatherly affection—only cold urgency.

“Nina,” he said, his voice clipped. “We need to talk. Now.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, instinctively stepping back. “What’s going on?”

Elias didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze flicked to Ryker, a silent acknowledgment passing between them before he turned back to me.

“They’ve placed a bounty on your head, Nina. The Silver Thorn…” His voice faltered for a second, but he quickly regained his composure. “They consider you a traitor. And someone is leading the charge to capture you. Someone you thought was dead.”

I froze. My blood ran cold as the words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Who?”

Elias’s eyes darkened, his lips curling into a tight line as he muttered, “Your father.”