Elara was still unsettled by the news,but Ryder’s surprising tenderness that night—a tenderness she hadn't experienced in cycles—made her hesitate to challenge him.She nodded faintly.She couldn't fully trust his sudden generosity,especially since tonight,he was merely holding her,not claiming her—a strange,unsettling restraint.
Elara clutched the corner of the heavy wool blanket,reminding herself of the Pack saying:When an Alpha suddenly holds his Mate close without desire,he has already found distraction elsewhere.
The next morning,for the first time in a long while,it was just the two of them traveling together into the remote areas of the Vance Territory.
As the car drove through the familiar,old Alpha-family estates,Ryder pointed out a colossal,lightning-struck oak along the side of the road,smiling.“Do you remember this,Mate?You used to love collecting the fallen oak leaves here to press into your human scrolls.”
Elara’s eyes followed the direction he indicated,her nerves slowly loosening as the genuine memories of their pup-hood surfaced.
Ryder continued,his voice soft with distant nostalgia.“And you always scented my trail home after the Pack lessons.One time,I doubled back to test your tracking,and you became lost near the river.You cried so hard;I felt the pain through my own core.”
Elara’s gaze wandered with his words,and the shared memories of their childhood came flooding back—vivid,sharp,and overwhelming.
Ryder smiled nostalgically,but then his voice faltered,the light draining from his eyes as if he had just been struck by a thought.“And the central fountain…When Lyra first arrived as a pup,she absolutely demanded to eat the human junk food from the village,despite the Pack’s strict dietary code.She wore a pristine white dress,a ceremonial bow,and...acted like a completely spoiled Alpha pup.”
Elara’s heart clenched at the sudden,jarring mention of Lyra.
Ryder had effortlessly tied Lyra to every precious,shared memory.The same moments,once solely shared between him and Elara,were now forgotten,or worse,overshadowed by Lyra’s invasive presence.It felt like every corner of their history had been scent-marked by the other wolf.Elara felt utterly ridiculous.
They said that an Alpha could never truly forget his childhood companion,yet here she was,Elara,the actual companion,cast aside and dismissed.