I force myself to breathe, to meet each of their eyes in turn. “Then tell me what I can do to help. Whatever comes next, I’m in.”
Silence stretches after my words. The weight of everything makes me want to scream, and I know sleep won’t come easily tonight.
**Paige’s POV **
Ryder finally stops pacing, his gaze locked on me. I can see so much pain and fury in his eyes.
He blows out a shaky breath. “Paige, can you take a walk with me outside?”
I nod and take the hand he offers me, letting him pull me up. The night air is cool and fresh and feels good on my flushed face. The moment the door closes behind us, Ryder pulls me into his arms, hugging me desperately.
“I failed you.” His voice is low and rough. It cuts straight through me. “Both of you. I knew better than to leave you unprotected. I knew what kind of world this was, and still… I wasn’t there.”
“Ryder…”
“No!” He pulls back, and my breath catches. His eyes glow faintly, his wolf riding him hard.
Grief and rage war behind his eyes.
“Don’t tell me it isn’t my fault. You were vulnerable because of me. Jaxon was vulnerable because of me. And he…” Ryder’s chest heaves. “He could have taken everything. He was right there in your home, in your life, while I was hiding here.”
The anguish in his voice tears at me. This isn’t just guilt… it’s torment, and it’s cracking him. wide open.
I reach up to cup his cheek, my heart pounding. “Ryder, look at me.”
His gaze locks on mine, fierce and broken all at once.
“You didn’t know,” I whisper. “You didn’t choose this for us.”
“I should have known!” His voice breaks. “I made you a promise seven years ago. I should have found a way back to you, no matter the cost. Instead, I left you to fight a battle you didn’t even know you were in. Alone.”
His words hit me harder than I expected, because I can hear the boy he used to be in them… the young man who swore he’d never leave my side. The teen who said he’d never let anyone hurt me.
Mere Rewards >
My chest aches. Slowly, I bring up my other hand to rest against his face. His skin is hot, and his eyes are filled with unshed tears. “You’re here now, when we need you the most. That’s what matters.”
Ryder shakes his head, eyes closing tight as if he can’t bear to look at me. A tear escapes, wetting my hand.
“I can’t forgive myself for what he did to you,” he whispers. “For what he could have done to our son.”
“You don’t have to forgive yourself tonight,” I say softly. “But you don’t get to carry this alone.
Not when we’re all here. Not when I’m here.”
Something in him shatters then. His arms wrap around me again, holding me fiercely, like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go. His body shakes against mine, silent tremors at first, then harsher as the sobs he’s been burying for years finally claw their way out.
My own eyes sting until I can’t hold back the tears any longer; my throat tightens as I hold him tighter. Behind me, I hear the door creak open. Callen quietly moves closer, resting a steadying hand on his brother’s shoulder. Parker comes next, his presence anchoring me as he comes to our side, calm and sure. Remy doesn’t move in close; instead, he stands on the edge of the porch, his gaze steady and protective, as he watches over us all.
We stay like that, Ryder unravelling in my arms, surrounded by the only people who can piece us back together. There is no judgement from the others, despite their Alpha breaking down in front of them. They don’t see it as a weakness. I realise then that this is what it means to be a pack. It’s more than just a community; it’s love, support and an unspoken promise that none of us will ever carry our burdens alone. No matter how fractured we’ve been, no matter the mistakes or scars, we hold each other together. Pack is family, and now I’m a part of it too.
Ryder’s sobs fade slowly. His grip loosens, but he doesn’t let me go entirely; he rests his forehead against mine like he needs the contact to ground himself. His breathing becoming steady now.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers hoarsely, though I know he isn’t just apologising for tonight. He’s apologising for the years, for his absence, for the scars I didn’t even realise Greg left until
Remy pointed them out.
I brush my fingers along his jaw, coaxing him to look at me. “Don’t apologise for breaking down, Rye. You needed this.”
He closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, there’s still torment there, but also something else. Determination. A spark of the man I remember, the one who refused to let the world win, no matter how much it tried to beat him down.
Callen squeezes his shoulder before letting go, moving back to sit down. Ryder straightens slowly, swiping a hand across his face. He doesn’t hide the evidence of tears, though. He meets the others’ gazes, squaring his shoulders like he’s bracing for the next blow.
Remy is the first to speak. “Now that we know what Greg could be, we can’t leave this hanging. Hunters don’t act without purpose. If he’s still out there, he won’t stop watching.
And if he’s not… then we need to know who he reported to.”
Parker nods, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Agreed. Step one is information. We need to dig into his background… we need to know where he came from, who he is connected to. Hunters leave trails if you know what to look for.”
My stomach twists. “And if he is one of them? If he was only with me to monitor Jaxon…”
The words catch in my throat.
“Then we deal with it,” Ryder says, his voice steadier now, though rough. He looks at me as if he’s making a vow. “No matter what it takes.”
“Paige, do you have a photo of him? I’d like to check if any of the pack recognise him,” Parker asks.
I nod. “On my phone, yes, but why would anyone recognise him?”
“Because he could have been in one of the groups that attacked us.”
“You mean he could be dead?” I ask bluntly.
“Yes,” Parker sighs.
The thought that he could be dead leaves me with a strange feeling. Greg is still my husband.
I spent years loving him, and although I might not like him anymore, all those feelings and memories don’t just go away because I left him. I’ve barely had time to process our separation with everything else that has been going on, and now that I know he could be the enemy, or dead, I just feel a numbness.
But beneath the numbness is a tangle I don’t know how to unravel. Greg wasn’t always cruel.
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