CHAPTER TEN
1303 Words
Alpha Ryker didn’t miss the way tension thickened in the air the moment Hannah entered the room. He could feel the rigidness in River’s posture beside him, the way her fingers clenched into the fabric of her dress, and the way her gaze flickered between him and Hannah as if bracing for a confrontation. But he chose not to comment.
Hannah’s stunned expression morphed into something unreadable—shock, resentment, or perhaps something more sinister. But after a moment, she masked it with a tight-lipped smile and excused herself, still looking perplexed.
Alpha Leister, oblivious to the undercurrents in the room, smoothly redirected the conversation back to business. He leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "Now, as I was saying, we must ensure that—"
Ryker listened, but his attention was no longer fully on the conversation. His sharp eyes flicked to River, who had barely moved since Hannah left. She was staring at the polished floor, her lips pressed together, her fingers trembling slightly against her lap.
A muscle in his jaw twitched.
Moments later, River shifted, clearing her throat. “Excuse me, Alpha Leister. I need to use the restroom.”
Alpha Leister barely glanced up as he waved a hand toward the far side of the hallway. “It’s just down the hall, second door to your left.”
Ryker’s eyes followed her as she stood up. He didn’t say anything, but his gaze never left her—not even as she exited the room.
The second the door closed behind her, River’s calm façade shattered.
She didn’t need the restroom. She needed to find Hannah.
Her heart pounded as she hurried down the hallway, turning corners with increasing urgency. A flicker of panic settled in her chest—Hannah had been too stunned back in the room, but River knew her too well. That kind of shock never lasted long. It was only a matter of time before she did something to retaliate.
And then she heard it.
A voice behind her, smooth and dripping with venom.
“Looking for me?”
River whirled around, her breath catching in her throat. Hannah stood there in the dimly lit hallway, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a slow, knowing smirk curling her lips.
She looked amused. Dangerous.
River swallowed hard.
“You,” Hannah sneered, stepping closer. “A dirty little slut like you? Seducing an Alpha?” She let out a cruel laugh. “I always knew you were pathetic, but this? This is a new level even for you.”
River’s face burned with humiliation, but she forced herself to stand her ground. “I didn’t seduce anyone.”
Hannah arched a brow, pulling out her phone. “Oh really? Because this picture says otherwise.”
She turned the screen toward River.
It was a photo of her and Ryker sitting together back in the office with Alpha Leister. Long before she had walked in, Ryker had casually placed his hand over her naked thigh, squeezing gently, and River had relaxed into it. The picture seemed like it had been extracted it from a cctv footage which meant the minute Hannah left the room, she went to check the footage to get a moment ad evidence.
River swallowed, her stomach dropped.
“You wouldn’t—”
“Oh, I would.” Hannah’s eyes gleamed with malice. “And I think the whole school group chat would love to see it. Imagine the gossip. The humiliation.” She tilted her head. “I mean, an Alpha taking interest in someone like you? Everyone’s going to think you threw yourself at him like a desperate little—”
“Please.”
The word left River’s lips before she could stop it.
She dropped to her knees, hands clenched together in a plea.
“Hannah, please, don’t do this.” Her voice wavered with desperation. “I’ll do anything. Just don’t send it.”
Hannah’s smirk widened, satisfaction dancing in her eyes.
“I should make you beg more,” she mused, lifting her phone as if ready to hit send.
And then a deep, smooth voice cut through the tension like a blade.
“Delete it.”
River froze.
Hannah’s head snapped up.
Alpha Ryker stood at the entrance of the hallway, watching them with unreadable eyes. He had been there long enough to see everything—long enough to hear River beg.
He took slow, deliberate steps forward, his presence alone suffocating. His gaze was locked onto Hannah, impassive and cold.
Hannah, to her credit, held her ground. “And if I don’t?” she challenged, tilting her chin up.
Ryker smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ll snap your neck right here.”
The air turned razor-sharp.
Hannah visibly stiffened. The way he said it—not as a threat, not as a warning, but as a simple, factual statement—made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
River shivered.
Hannah forced a laugh, but it came out weak. “You’re joking.”
Ryker didn’t answer. He simply extended his hand. “The phone.”
Hannah didn’t move.
Ryker exhaled softly. “Ten.”
Hannah blinked. “What—”
“Nine.”
Her heart pounded.
“Eight.”
River’s breath caught in her throat.
“Seven.”
Hannah tightened her grip on her phone.
“Six.”
Her fingers trembled.
“Five.”
River thought she saw something flicker in Hannah’s eyes—fear.
“Four.”
She took a step back.
“Three.”
“Okay, okay!” Hannah’s voice wavered as she quickly unlocked her phone. “I’ll delete it.”
She navigated to the gallery, her fingers fumbling as she selected the picture and pressed ‘delete.’ She even opened the trash folder and erased it permanently.
Ryker watched in silence.
When she was done, she exhaled shakily, turning back to him. “Happy now?”
Ryker tilted his head. “Not quite.”
Before anyone could react, he moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
One second he was standing a few feet away. The next, he was behind Hannah, his hand clamping around her throat in a vice grip.
River screamed as Hannah choked, her eyes bulging with shock.
Ryker leaned in, his lips inches from her ear. His voice was eerily calm.
“This is your last chance,” he murmured. “Do you have anything else you’d like to confess?”
Hannah gasped, struggling against his grip. “I—I don’t—”
Ryker’s hold tightened.
“I heard your thoughts,” he continued. “You were still planning to send it to Cecilia, weren’t you?”
Hannah’s body stiffened.
River’s stomach lurched.
He had heard her thoughts.
The realization dawned on Hannah at the same time. Panic flashed across her face. “No, I—”
Ryker sighed.
And then, with a flick of his wrist—
A sickening c***k echoed through the hallway, her snapped her neck.
Hannah crumpled to the floor, her body lifeless.
River let out a strangled cry, pressing a hand over her mouth.
Silence fell.
Ryker adjusted his jacket. He turned to River, his expression unreadable. “She was never going to stop,” he said simply.
River’s chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Hannah’s unmoving form.
This was the man she had tied herself to.
And he had just proven, once again, that he would do anything to keep her under his control.
Even kill.
Ryker extended a hand to her.
River hesitated.
Then, slowly, she reached out and placed her trembling fingers in his.
He pulled her up gently, his touch surprisingly soft.
And just like that, he led her away, leaving Hannah behind.
Leaving behind the evidence of his power.
- Writer
