Ryker's POV
I didn't want to face it.
In fact, I refused to face it.
But sleep had enventually evaded me since Mira left.
Since I sent her away from the pack
The pack felt lonely… totally different without her. I reassured myself that it was nothing, something unimportant. That I don't need her. That choosing Lila had been the right choice - the logical choice. But reason didn't explain why I couldn't concentrate, why my gaze kept drifting to the training grounds, half expecting to see her there, moving with that sharp, wild elegance, her slender body a blur of strength and grace. Or why I clenched my fists in fury every time Lila touched me.
She was my chosen Luna. I had chosen her by myself. She was, of course, the best fit for the pack both politically and strategically. That's what I kept telling myself every single day. So why did it now feel like I had made a terrible mistake?
Lila felt it too. I was sure of it. She just chose to stay quiet. I would catch her watching me with narrowed eyes whenever my mind drifted. She had this instinct - like she could tell when Mira crossed my thoughts. She never said anything directly, but her grip on me got tighter. Like she was holding onto something she thought was slipped away. More possessive than before. More… desperate. And that's when i started to question everything.
She wanted me to cut Mira off completely, to stay away from her. But why? Was Lila really the best choice for Luna, or had I missed something I should have seen coming.
I didn't have all the answers. And I hated not being in control of my own thoughts. So I did the only thing I could think in that moment. I told myself I was going to disguise myself and see Mira for one reason only: Elder Varen. Not because I realized I missed her. Not because her absence felt like an open wound I couldn't heal.
No. None of those.
This was entirely for the pack. About uncovering the bitter truth.That's what I told myself. That's what I clung to. But when I finally laid eyes on her - standing there under the moonlight - something within me almost broke. She had changed. Completely.
Stronger.
Sharper.
There was a fire in her eyes now, one that hadn't been there before. She had always been fierce, yeah - but now? Now she was something else entirely. A force of nature. And still like the damn moon goddess, she was stunning.
Cassian was at her side. My jaw tightened. The way he stood, like her personal guard. The way she looked at him - held his gaze like he mattered. I had never felt jealousy like this in my life. Mira crossed her arms, her face cold. No warmth, no welcome.
"What do you want here, Ryker?"
Not Alpha. Not my love or mate. Just Ryker. It hit harder than I had expected.
I forced it down, lifted my chin, kept my voice calm.
"Varen put a bounty on your head." Her expression remained unchanged. "I already know everything."That caught me off guard, I never expected that.
"You knew already?" I asked. She nodded.
"Cassian and I have been working to uncover the truth." She stepped closer, her eyes burning into mine. "Tell me, Ryker, do you even sit down to examine why you rejected me?"
My jaw clenched at the mention of that horrible past. "I did what was proclaimed best for the pack."
She let out a laugh - bittersweet, sharp and laced with something that stung. "Is that what you truly believe? Or just what you were ignorantly told?"
I frowned, my voice hardening. "What exactly are you saying?"
Mira stepped closer this time, and her voice dropped - low, quiet and dangerously calm. "Varen played you. Twisted the truth. Made you believe that rejecting me was own your choice, but it wasn't, was it?"
A cold feeling settled in my gut. It crept in slow, heavy and real. "No," I growled in anger. "That's not it."
"Then tell me what it is," she snapped, her voice cracking with fury. "Did you ever stop- even for a moment - to wonder why rejecting your destined mate ever felt right?"
My breath caught in my chest. Memories started flooding back - conversations with Varen, how he convinced me that an ordinary Omega could never become a strong, capable Luna. That my feelings were clouding my judgment. That Lila was the right bloodline, the superior choice. Had I… been led astray? Influenced?
The realization hit me too late. Like a punch straight to the gut."I made my own choice," I said. But even as the words left my mouth, they tasted like dirt.
Mira's gaze softened - for just a second. But then it hardened again. "Did you, really?"
Silence. Heavy. Deafening. Then she turned away without another word. No goodbye. And for the first time since rejecting her- publicly, shamefully - I felt something dreadful settle in my heart. I might have lost the real thing. And this time, it might be forever.
Will I ever be able to face the truth, or is it already too late for me?