Chapter 5 Elara's Secret

Ryder could feel the wrath rising in his chest. He had tried to dismiss it and push the thoughts away, but Elara's reaction, her dread and hesitancy, were like a break in the walls of everything he believed he understood.

He couldn't stop thinking about it, no more.

They stood out of the pack's sight in a secluded part of the home. Ryder's eyes were full of resolve as he looked at Elara. "What are you keeping from me?" His voice was low, but you could tell he was angry.

Elara's breath caught for a second, and she seemed like she might back away, but Ryder went closer and kept looking at her. "Tell me, Elara," he said. "What's happening?" Why are you so scared? What aren't you telling me?

She shook her head, and her hands shook as they made fists at her sides. "Ryder, please don't make this any harder than it already is."

Ryder hissed, "No," and his jaw was tight. "I need to know the truth." Now."

Elara's face tightened, and her eyes flashed with something keen that hadn't been there before. "Right now, we can't focus on this. We have greater issues.

Ryder moved closer to her, his chest heaving with the weight of his feelings. "No, Elara." I won't let you keep telling me lies. I'm not the same man I used to be, but I'm still your Alpha, and I want the truth.

Elara's eyes got darker, and her lips turned into a thin line. She straightened her back, and for a second, she seemed ready to fight him.

"You need to focus on the pack," she stated in a chilly voice that shook a little. "Nothing else matters right now."

But Ryder could see it in her eyes, the fractures in her calmness, and how her hands shook just a little. There was something wrong. Very wrong. And he would find out what was going on.

The room was so tense that it seemed like it could cut. Ryder was only a few feet away from Elara, and his chest rose and fell with each breath. He looked into her eyes, but the truth was hard to find, like sand passing through his fingers.

"Elara..." His voice was harsh, like he was angry and desperate at the same time. "Please tell me." What's going on? What aren't you saying?

Elara stuttered, and her words got in the way of each other. "I don't know what you mean, Ryder." She gulped hard, and her eyes went to the floor before swiftly coming back up. He noticed how quickly her eyes moved.

Ryder hissed, "Don't lie to me." His wolf was waking up inside him, sensing her hesitation. "You are hiding something." I can feel it. His hands turned into fists, and the muscles in his arms were straining because he was so strong. "Be honest with me. "Now."

Elara stepped back, her lips shaking. "I... I didn't mean for it to happen," she said in a whisper, her voice breaking as she spoke.

The words hung between them, unanswered, and Ryder's heart skipped a beat. He could see the remorse in her eyes and how her chest rose and fell in short, unsteady gasps. But what was she saying? What had taken place?

"Elara," he whispered, his voice lower now, but the weight of his mistrust made it nearly too much to bear. "What did you not want to happen? What did you do?

She put her palm on her chest, and her eyes were full of tears that she hadn't shed. "I... I didn't want it to end up like this. But now it's too late.

Ryder's heart raced. He couldn't understand what she said, no matter how hard he tried. He felt like he was sliding into the quiet between them.

He saw the flash of panic on her face. It simply made him more sure that there was something bad in her history that she wasn't telling him about.

Ryder's anger reached its peak. Elara's words and the way her voice had broken tormented him. He moved closer, and the gap between them got smaller. His presence was like a storm in the room.

"Enough," Ryder said in a low, biting voice that sounded like a threat. "I know something went wrong. I can feel it in my gut. You are not the same woman I remember.

Elara jumped back, as if he had hit her, and her body jerked back. She drew a brief breath, as if she were preparing for something. It was clear that she was sad.

She shook her head and said, "I've never lied to you, Ryder." "I would never do that."

"Why do I feel like I'm being lied to?" Ryder got angry. "Why do you seem to be keeping something I should know? What happened to me? What happened to us?

For a minute, her face crumpled, and Ryder's heart sank at the sight. He tried to grab her, but she stepped aside and shook her head angrily. "You don't get it," she remarked, her voice shaking with emotion. "You don't get it."

The barriers she had created between them seemed to get higher and thicker, and the gap between them seemed more unattainable with each passing second. Ryder's eyes were on her, but nothing he could say would get through.

Finally, Elara took a deep, trembling breath and wrung her hands together. "It wasn't supposed to be this way," she replied softly, as if she were confessing.

She looked down at the floor, and Ryder could tell she was about to cry. She opened her lips to say something, but before she could, they heard footsteps in the distance.

Ryder stopped moving. The sound was too close and planned, making him tremble. Who was coming?

Elara's face went pale as she heard the footsteps approaching, and her eyes grew wide with fear. She took a step back, and her hands shook at her sides. Ryder's thoughts were racing, and every muscle in his body was telling him to do something.

"What is going on?" he yelled, but Elara didn't answer. She merely gazed at him, and the look in her eyes was scary.

"I made a choice," she said in a voice so low that Ryder could hardly hear her. "More than anything, I regret this choice."

Ryder's chest felt constricted, and he couldn't breathe. He wasn't sure if he should soothe her or demand explanations. But the words wouldn't come out.

"What do you mean?" What option? His hands were locked into fists at his sides, and his wolf growled because it could sense that Elara was uneasy.

Elara's face became rigid, and she shook her head. "I couldn't stop it, Ryder. I couldn't make it better.

Ryder was about to ask her more questions when he heard a snarl from the trees outside. A low, rumbling sound made it clear that an Alpha was there.

Ryder's heart raced in his chest. The wolf inside him surged forcefully, and the primordial urge to protect him rose as the growl echoed again, this time closer.

Zane Wilder was in this area.

Ryder's mind returned to the rivalry and the betrayal that had split them up. Zane has always been a danger. But this time, it felt different.

Ryder's heart raced and his brows narrowed when he heard the snarl again. Elara stood still, her hands still shaking. Her face was pale, and the terror in her eyes made the air around them thick with tension.

What had she done? What did she pick? And why was Zane here now?

The silence in the room was so loud it hurt. Ryder's heart raced in his chest, and each beat sent adrenaline through his body. He stood still, staring out the window, his muscles tense like a spring ready to burst. Elara stood beside him, breathing shallowly and nervously glancing at the dark outside.

A shadow shifted outside the window, making the moonlight look like it was getting longer and darker. Ryder's wolf woke up and became more aware of its surroundings and impulses. He could feel it; something was out there. Something bad.

Elara's voice pierced the silence, but it was so quiet it was like a whisper. "We have to go," she whispered, her voice so weak that it was hard to hear.

Ryder ignored her. He was staring at the shadow outside. The world outside was quiet, and it seemed like the forest was at peace. But then, in the dark, two brilliant eyes appeared, cutting through the night like two spheres of fire. The eyes looked right at them, without blinking or feeling anything. Ryder's heart raced, and his body was stiff. His wolf was roaring in his head, telling him to do something.

"Elara," he whispered in a hushed voice that sounded like a warning. "Who's that?"

Elara didn't answer right away. She stood frozen, her hands shaking at her sides, as if she couldn't force herself to look out the window. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Their eyes locked, and her fear only made him more suspicious.

Ryder moved closer to the window, and his hand automatically reached for the knife. "Get away from the window," he said in a rough voice. "We have to go."

He didn't know why, but he felt the person outside pulling him in, like an invisible force calling him forward, like a challenge in front of him. Ryder's gut told him to face it and take charge. He had to deal with whatever this was.

But when he went for the door, Elara grabbed his arm and held it tightly, shaking it. "No, Ryder," she said in a shaky voice. "You don't get it."

Ryder looked to her and squinted in uncertainty. "What do you mean? It's time to deal with whatever is out there.

She looked at the window and then back at him, her face pale as death. "He isn't here for you," she continued, her voice trembling and barely audible. "He's here for me."

Ryder's blood ran cold. His wolf growled low in his chest, instinctively knowing he was in danger. He was attempting to figure out what she meant by what she said. The person outside wasn't there for him. It was there for her.

He had many questions, but the answer seemed just out of reach. The person outside wasn't just a threat; they were out to get me. And Ryder didn't know what that meant, but he knew he was about to find out.