Chapter 11
356 Words
The smaller wolf scrambled up quickly.
Ryder stepped closer. “Training is to make your pack stronger. Not to humiliate them.”
The larger warrior swallowed. “I meant no disrespect.”
“You used rank to embarrass him.”
Silence fell around the courtyard.
Ryder’s voice remained calm. “You will run the outer perimeter alone tonight. No assistance.”
The warrior’s eyes widened. “Alpha, that area is dangerous.”
“That is why you will respect your pack.”
No shouting. No violence. Just authority.
“Yes, Alpha,” the warrior muttered.
Ryder turned away without another word.
Nova watched everything carefully.
This was not the brutal tyrant she had imagined.
She followed him toward the edge of the courtyard.
“You hesitate,” he said suddenly.
Nova blinked. “Alpha.”
“You expected me to break his jaw.”
Her chest tightened.
“I do not assume your methods.”
A faint look crossed his face. Almost amused. “Most wolves do.”
He stopped walking and faced her fully.
“You believe strength means cruelty.”
She said nothing.
He studied her eyes as if searching for something hidden deep inside.
“Strength,” he continued, “means control. If I lose control, my pack suffers.”
His words were simple.
Protect the pack over pride.
Nova felt something shift inside her.
Why did that sound nothing like the stories she had been told?
“You rule differently than your father,” she said before she could stop herself.
The air cooled slightly.
Ryder did not look offended.
“I am not my father.”
The words were firm. Final.
For a second, she saw something in his eyes. Not anger. Not guilt.
Burden.
Her wolf stirred again. A low restless feeling.
When he stood close like this, something inside her reacted. Not fear. Not exactly.
Awareness.
She could sense his strength. His steady heartbeat. The way his presence wrapped around the space.
It made her uncomfortable.
“You seem distracted today,” he said quietly.
“I am focused, Alpha.”
“Your scent shifts when you lie.”
- Writer
