Chapter 7
1138 Words
The palace was quieter than usual.
Not cold. Not tense. Just very quiet. Like the walls were holding their breath.
Amelia stood in the center of the royal library, arms wrapped around herself as she stared at the fire crackling in the hearth. The warmth touched her skin, but it didn’t reach her heart. Not yet.
It had been two days since Lyra’s surprise visit, and though Ryder hadn’t said much, Amelia knew it had rattled him. The guards had doubled. The court advisors looked nervous. Even the warriors training outside the gates moved differently now sharper, like they were preparing for something.
She hated the silence most of all. The kind that crept into the night and made her doubt everything.
“Do you always wander the palace alone like this?”
His voice startled her, but it warmed her too.
Amelia turned, lips twitching into a smile. “You keep finding me in the quiet places.”
Ryder leaned against the archway, dressed casually for once, just a dark shirt, sleeves rolled up, the collar slightly open. He looked less like the Alpha King and more like a man who hadn't slept much but didn't want anyone to know.
“I go where I know you’ll be,” he said simply.
Her heart stuttered.
She hated how he could do that say things so effortlessly, like the truth didn’t scare him the way it scared her.
Amelia walked back toward the window and gazed out at the frosted gardens. Snowflakes had begun to fall, soft and slow like feathers.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“Snow always reminds me of silence,” Ryder said behind her. “But not the cold kind. The kind that holds things. Memories. Promises.”
She turned, curious. “You sound like you used to believe in poetry.”
“I used to believe in a lot of things,” he said, stepping closer. “Then I stopped.”
“What made you stop?”
His jaw tensed, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer. But then he looked at her not as a king, not as a mate but as a man letting down his armor.
“My first mate,” he said. “She made me believe we were unbreakable. That our bond was sacred. I let myself trust it. Her. And when it shattered…” he paused, his voice low. “It wasn’t just the bond that broke.”
Amelia swallowed hard. “What happened to her?”
“She was murdered,” Ryder said flatly. “And no one claimed responsibility. But I know someone in this court planned it.”
Amelia’s breath caught.
He looked away. “Since then, I don’t trust easily. Or fully. But with you…”
She stepped toward him, heart racing. “With me?”
Ryder met her eyes.
“I want to.”
Those three words melted something deep in her chest. Not because they were dramatic but because they weren’t. They were raw. Quiet. Real.
And maybe that was what she needed most.
Not grand speeches.
Not hollow promises.
But truth.
She reached out and touched his hand, fingers brushing his knuckles. His hand turned slightly, folding around hers like it had always been meant to.
The silence between them wasn’t heavy now.
It was safe.
And sweet.
Later that evening, Amelia sat alone in her chambers, brushing her silver hair in front of the mirror. Her violet eyes caught the candlelight, glowing faintly, just like they always did when her emotions stirred too close to the surface.
She still wasn’t used to it, the way her body felt stronger now, the way her senses were sharper. Her wolf was waking, slowly, cautiously.
A knock on her door broke the stillness.
“Come in,” she called, expecting one of the maids.
But it wasn’t a servant.
It was Ryder, holding a small wooden box.
Amelia blinked. “You’re visiting a lot lately.”
He smirked. “Can’t help myself.”
She raised a brow. “And what’s that?”
He walked to her, holding out the box. “Open it.”
Carefully, Amelia lifted the lid.
Inside was a necklace delicate silver, with a tiny crescent moon pendant. But what caught her breath was the stone at the center: a small violet gem that pulsed softly, like it was alive.
“It’s… beautiful,” she whispered.
“It’s more than that,” Ryder said. “It’s enchanted. Worn by the Moon Priestesses long ago. It’s meant to protect you.”
She stared at it in awe. “Why give this to me?”
“Because your power is growing,” he said quietly. “And so are the enemies who want to stop you.”
Her fingers trembled slightly as she lifted the chain. “Will you… help me put it on?”
Ryder stepped behind her, brushing her hair aside. His fingers grazed her neck, warm and firm. She closed her eyes as he fastened the clasp.
“You’re stronger than you know, Amelia,” he said softly, just above her ear. “But you don’t have to do this alone.”
She turned to face him, suddenly aware of how close they were.
He didn’t move away.
Neither did she.
Their eyes locked. Her heart pounded.
And for the first time since the bond with Jayden shattered… she didn’t feel broken. She felt wanted. Not for power. Not for show. But for who she was becoming.
Ryder lifted his hand and gently cupped her cheek.
“I think I’m falling for you,” he said.
She didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
Because she walked forward slowly and majestically and kissed him softly, nervously, like she was stepping off a cliff.
And he caught her.
The next morning, everything changed.
Amelia woke to the sound of shouting outside her window.
She ran to the balcony.
Smoke.
Guards racing.
Bells ringing.
Her door burst open.
“Stay here!” one of Ryder’s generals barked.
But Amelia didn’t stay.
She grabbed her cloak and sprinted through the halls until she reached the courtyard.
There at the palace gates was a symbol smeared in blood on the stone wall.
A red crescent.
Not just a warning.
A declaration.
Ryder appeared beside her, furious.
“Rogues,” he growled. “They’ve crossed into royal territory.”
Amelia stared at the mark, heart pounding.
It was the same symbol she saw once in a forbidden book…
The mark of the Shadow Howl Pack the deadliest rogue faction.
And standing just beyond the trees, cloaked in black, was a figure watching her.
Then he turned and vanished into the woods.
Her blood ran cold.
Because even from that distance…
She knew exactly who it was.
Jayden.
- Writer
