CHAPTER 5
979 Words
Amelia couldn’t sleep.
The moonlight poured into her chambers like it had something to say, silver beams slipping across the floor, brushing over her skin like a whisper. She lay in the huge bed, surrounded by silk and warmth, but inside her chest there was still a storm.
She turned to face the window. And froze.
He was there.
Not Jayden. Not a ghost from the past.
Ryder.
Standing outside her window on the balcony, his figure carved out of the night like some warrior of legend. His broad shoulders rose and fell slowly, like he, too, was lost in something he couldn’t quite name.
Amelia hesitated, then climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe.
She opened the balcony doors with a quiet creak.
“You don’t sleep either?” she asked, keeping her voice soft.
Ryder didn’t turn to her. But he spoke.
“I haven’t slept well in years.”
She stepped beside him, the night wind lifting her silver hair.
“Nightmares?”
He finally looked at her. And this time, the hardness in his obsidian eyes wasn’t there.
“No,” he said quietly. “Memories.”
They stood in silence, the air between them stretching, crackling like a string pulled too tight.
He glanced at her, and something broke in his voice. “I hated watching you hurt today. The way he looked at you… the way you flinched when he spoke.”
Amelia stared at her hands.
“I don’t know how to forget it. The rejection. The shame. I still hear the whispers when I close my eyes. I still feel... small.”
“You’re not small,” Ryder said. “You were just raised to believe you were.”
She turned to him.
And in that moment, the wall she’d been holding up, it cracked.
“He was my mate,” she said, her throat tight. “The Moon Goddess tied our souls together and he, he looked at me like I was dirt. And I let him.”
Ryder reached out, slowly, and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
“You didn’t let him,” he said. “You survived him.”
Tears welled up before she could stop them. She bit her lip, ashamed to cry in front of him.
But Ryder didn’t look away.
Instead, he cupped her face in his hands warm, rough, real.
“I don't want to replace what you lost,” he said. “I want to help you remember what was always yours.”
Her breath caught. “And what’s that?”
“Your power.”
The next day, the castle buzzed like a hive. Servants darted through halls. Royal advisors whispered behind closed doors.
But the loudest sound was coming from the training grounds.
Amelia stood, arms crossed, watching two female warriors spar in the middle of the field. One of them moved like fire quick, fearless, fierce.
“They don’t look like omegas,” Amelia muttered.
“They’re not,” said a voice behind her.
Ryder stepped beside her, dressed in black again, eyes shaded against the sun.
“But they used to be,” he continued. “Before I changed the rule. Any wolf alpha, beta, omega can train now. If they want it.”
Amelia turned to him, surprised. “You did that?”
Ryder looked at her, something unreadable in his eyes. “I don’t believe strength belongs to one class.”
She was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Can I try?”
His brow lifted. “Sparring?”
She nodded. “I need to stop feeling weak.”
Ryder smiled just slightly and called for the trainer.
Amelia stepped into the circle.
The first blow took her by surprise. Not because it was fast, but because it was fair. The warrior didn’t go easy on her.
And it burned.
But something deep inside her something wild snapped awake.
She blocked the next strike. Dodged the third. Her body moved on instinct. Not perfect, but passionate. By the end of the session, she was panting, sweating, but standing tall.
Ryder offered her a water flask. “You didn’t back down.”
“I couldn’t,” she said. “Not anymore.”
He looked at her like she was starting to become someone he’d been waiting for.
And maybe… she was.
That evening, the palace received a visitor.
Not Jayden.
Lyra.
She swept in through the main doors like a storm in silk, her black hair pinned high, her smile sweet but sharp.
“Alpha Ryder,” she purred. “How lovely to see you again.”
Ryder didn’t even blink. “You weren’t invited.”
“I never needed an invitation,” she said smoothly, then turned to Amelia. Her eyes gleamed with something dark.
“Oh. You’re still here.”
Amelia said nothing.
But Ryder did.
“She’s not still here. She belongs here.”
Lyra’s lips twitched. “Is that what she told you? That you chose her?”
“No,” Ryder said. “The Moon Goddess did.”
Lyra’s mask cracked just for a second.
Then she smiled again, cold and cruel. “Funny how quickly the king forgets. Omegas don’t stay queens. They break. Or they bleed.”
Ryder took a step forward. “Leave.”
But Amelia stepped between them.
“Wait.”
Lyra turned to her, amused.
“I don’t need you to respect me,” Amelia said. “But don’t mistake me for the girl you used to toy with.”
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“Keep underestimating me,” Amelia said softly. “It makes it easier when I win.”
And with that, she turned her back.
Ryder’s gaze followed her as she walked away.
And though neither of them said it out loud…
The game had begun.
- Writer
