Chapter 6
365 Words
The Truth Bleeds
Nova did not avoid Ryder the next day.
She went to him.
Not as a warrior reporting for duty. Not as a spy. Just as someone who needed answers.
He was standing near the western cliffs, looking over the valley below. The wind moved through his dark hair. His hands were behind his back.
He sensed her before she spoke.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said without turning.
“So have you.”
He faced her slowly. The bond between them stirred the moment their eyes met.
“I read the records,” she said.
“I thought you might.”
“There was a private meeting before the massacre.”
His expression changed slightly. Not surprising. Something like acceptance.
“Yes.”
“You and your father met my Alpha days before the treaty.”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer. “Why.”
Ryder inhaled slowly. “My father believed Lucian was hiding rogues within Silvercrest territory. Lucian accused us of crossing into his land.”
“That does not explain a secret meeting.”
“It was not a secret to them,” he said. “Only to their packs.”
She studied his face carefully.
“What happened during that meeting,” she asked.
“My father demanded surrender of disputed territory. Lucian refused. They both left angry.”
“And then.”
“And then pride made everything worse.”
His voice remained steady but the bond pulsed with something deeper.
Regret.
“I tried to stop what followed,” he continued. “I told my father an attack would destroy both packs.”
“And he ignored you.”
“Yes.”
Nova’s jaw tightened. “You were his heir. You had an influence.”
“I had a voice,” Ryder corrected. “Not power.”
She did not look away.
“When the fighting began, I ordered our warriors to pull back,” he said. “Some listened. Most obeyed him.”
“And you.”
“I fought to end it.”
The bond tightened sharply at the edge in his voice.
“I wasn’t strong enough then,” he added quietly.
- Writer
