MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA
Chapter 168: Ryder’s Fury

Chapter 168: Ryder’s Fury

But there was no time to explore those thoughts further, not now, not with Reana so fragile, standing in front of him as if the weight of the world had just been thrust upon her.

"Why are you keeping him alive?" Ryder said finally, his voice low and steady, "You know he’s after your life, yet you let him live. Why?"

Reana squeezed his hand, and he pulled her a little closer, as if to shield her from the world itself.

"My father made me promise to protect and look after them." Her fingers tightened around his, a desperate gesture, as though trying to hold on to something solid in her world that had just been turned upside down.

"Just a promise?" He frowned with displeasure. He didn’t like the sound of that. A stupid verbal promise that has turned his woman into a prisoner.

She shook her head lightly, her lips stretched into a bitter smile. "It was not just a promise made by the tongue. It was sealed by the Roughmans’ blood, Ryder," she whispered, her eyes looking distant as if she could still see the weight of her father’s final words hovering in the air. "It was taken before the Goddess."

Ryder’s brow furrowed, a mix of confusion and frustration swirling within him. "So, you’d rather keep a threat to your life alive than break that promise?"

Reana’s breath trembled. Honestly, she’d been tempted a number of times to tear Kael’s throat from his neck, but it could only be a wishful thinking. "I wasn’t the only one who took an oath to not raise a sword against them. They were made to swear too. But they broke their oath. That’s why their hearts has grown darker."

She shook her head, "I don’t want to be like them, Ryder. The Roughman has a centuries-old tradition– "

"You think you know that better than I do?" He raised an eyebrow. He knew the Roughman tradition better than anyone ever would. In fact, he made that tradition for them to follow.

Reana blinked as the realization hit her. Right. He was a centuries-old monster, likely more attuned to the Roughman’s traditions than anyone else could ever be.

"If you don’t want to kill him, I will," he said, his tone matter-of-fact.

"I’m not sure he’s going to die." Reana’s words drew his attention back to her. "I saw a glimpse of his future. He was standing by a gold and red throne unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. He was drenched in blood, wearing a victorious grin... I’m certain he’s destined to be the Alpha of this pack. Maybe... maybe I’ll be the one who dies."

Ryder stared at her for a long time, his gaze intense, almost predatory, mirroring the anger raising inside him – she was repeating the Moon goddess bitch’s words. And he hated that. So much!

Without warning, he gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him, his hands firm but not unkind. "You don’t listen, do you?"

Reana’s heart raced as the shift in his demeanor hit her like a shockwave. She tilted her head. "I’m listening just fine."

"Then hear me when I say this," Ryder’s voice dropped, low and dangerous, his eyes narrowing. "The future doesn’t always bend to what we see. What matters is what we do, not what we think will happen. That throne you saw... It doesn’t belong to the Southern region."

Reana’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Where does the throne belong?"

He knew what throne she was talking about, but he ignored that question.

"I’m saying you stop second-guessing yourself. Stop seeing a future where you’re defeated, where you’re dead." He clenched his teeth. The single word, ’dead’ tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Do you think I’m here to dangle on a tree while you walk on thorns?" He gave her a firm shake, almost as if to rattle her out of the dark thoughts clouding her mind. "I picked a fight with the damned bitch for you to live, for you to be happy by my side, so snap out of this!"

Reana froze. He yelled. It was the first time he yelled at her.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the glare he gave her silenced her before the words could escape.

"You don’t need to sacrifice yourself to make a point. You don’t need to be a martyr. I won’t let you!"

Ryder tried to be softer, God! He tried, but he couldn’t. He was mad. Furious that his woman, who could wrestle with the world and come out stronger, was scared of a mere Kael.

How dare that son of a bitch make his woman feel small? How dare he make her feel insecure? How dare a puny idiot that’s not worth the man he was, make his woman shiver?

Ryder’s fists clenched, his body vibrated with fury. He had seen her face the darkest storms, stand tall when others faltered, and yet here she was, doubting herself because of one man who was nothing but a shadow of the power she already wielded. She could wield a greater power if only she would let him give it to her on a platter.

"You don’t understand," she protested, her voice quiet, as if the weight of her own thoughts were drowning her. "Kael... he knows how to break me. He knows how to get under my skin in a way no one else can."

She clenched her fist so tight that her nailed drew cresent on on her palm. "With you by my side, I should be invincible, yet I’m still scared of him." She bit her tongue harshly, as if blaming it for admitting to something she shouldn’t.

Ryder’s pupils flared with red fury. "You’re scared of him?" a dark chuckle left his lips. "Fine. I’ll erase his existence."

"You–" before she could put her words through, he continued:

"The pack laws bind you, and it’s stopping you from using my hand to destroy your enemies? Then, I’ll destroy all the rules and you’ll make your own rules." His gaze shot out, trying to rein in the seething rage behind them.

"Ryder," she gripped his arms. Her eyes clouded with panic. She could see he was losing his mind. He was going insane. "Don’t do anything. I–"

He shut his eyes again and shook his head, trying to reign in his anger, his fury. But he couldn’t. He’d never been so out of control. He’d never been so mad in this lifetime.

The air around them suddenly shifted. Wind picked up, snapping branches from the trees, and the snow began to fall heavier, colder.

Reana panicked, her eyes darted around as the temperature dropped rapidly, her breath visible in the freezing air. "Ryder, stop – please," she pleaded, her claws elongated, digging sharply into his skin.

However, it did nothing to quench his fury. It did nothing to bring him back.

Kira was far behind, so she had no idea what the two were up to.

She stood frozen, glancing around at the shifting winds. Her heart raced as the icy air wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket. The snowflakes danced in the chaos, swirling violently as if the elements themselves were rebelling.

"Wh– what is going on?" she trembled. Whether from cold or the horror on her heart, she couldn’t tell. Her gaze shifted to Reana. "Luna!" Her voice didn’t make it past her face before it was blown off by the storm.

She tried to move forward, but the wind was too strong. It was only by sheer whatever that she’d not been blown away already.

She couldn’t see clearly, but from the little she was seeing, the Luna and Ryder were holding each other. To her, the two were saving each other from being blown away. She knew that the Luna was safe with Ryder, so she dropped to her knees, gripping the cold earth beneath her as she tried to steady her breath.

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding around her. The wind howled like a beast, tearing at the landscape, and she could feel the weight of something ancient and dangerous in the air. "Is the Goddess angry?" she shuddered involuntarily.

Boom!