Chapter 152 Treason
Ryker’s hand was still clamped around Cassian’s throat, squeezing.
The vampire struggled, his fingernails digging into Ryker’s skin, but the Alpha didn't flinch. Ryker’s eyes were enraged as he lifted Cassian off the ground, the vampire’s feet dangling over the dark creek water.
"You took her into the woods," Ryker hissed, his voice vibrating with the same rage. "You held a blade to her and you freaking threatened my wife."
"Ryker, let him go!" Lyra cried, her voice echoing through the trees.
She reached out, but she didn't touch him. She knew the bond was still a trigger, and the proximity was already making Ryker’s energy spike.
Ryker didn't let go. He slammed Cassian against a tree trunk with a thud that cracked the bark. "I knew you were a snake, Cassian. I knew it the moment I came back and saw you hovering around her. But I didn't think you were stupid enough to try and steal her off in the middle of the night."
"I was helping her!" Cassian gasped, his face turning a sickly shade of purple. "She wanted this! Ask her!"
Ryker’s gaze snapped to Lyra. The pain in his eyes was so evident that she almost shrank back.
He looked at the black candles and the ritual circle. Without a word, he turned back to Cassian and delivered a punch to the vampire’s stomach that folded him in half.
Ryker didn't stop. He dragged Cassian through the dirt, heading back toward the estate.
When they reached the main courtyard, the guards rushed forward. They were shocked to see their Alpha dragging his oldest friend through the mud.
"Tie him up!" Ryker ordered, his voice echoing across the stone walls. "Take him to the deep cells. Chain him with silver and cold iron. If he moves, break his legs."
Cassian spat blood but didn't bother struggling as he was outnumbered nine to one.
“She's also my friend, Ryker!" He screamed. “I didn't want to hurt her. It's just a ritual!"
But Ryker didn't listen as they dragged him off.
"Ryker, please!" Lyra ran after them as the guards bundled a bleeding Cassian toward the prison block. "You don't understand! He was just doing what I asked!"
Ryker stopped. He turned to face her, and the guards scrambled away to follow his orders.
They were alone in the dim light of the courtyard.
"What is going on between the two of you?" Ryker asked. His voice was quiet now, which was much more terrifying than his shouting. "Are you lovers? Is that why you sneak out into the dark with him?"
"No! Of course not!" Lyra shouted, her hands shaking. "We were best friends, Ryker. You know that. We grew up together."
"I believed that weeks ago," Ryker said, taking a step toward her and then forcing himself to stop as the bond began to hum painfully in his chest. "I feel like an idiot. I let you stay in this house with a man who has been eyeing you like a prize. I let him stay near you even when my wolf told me he was wrong. Has he been hurting you this whole time? Is that why you're so afraid?"
"It’s nothing like that," Lyra said, wiping tears from her face. "We just have a complicated relationship. It's just him trying to help, Ryker. That’s all."
"There is nothing complicated about a man who takes you into the woods to hurt you!" Ryker roared. "He had a dagger to your arm, Lyra! He was going to use you. Don't you trust me? What have I ever done to make you lose trust in me? Why would you go to him instead of coming to your husband?"
Lyra bit her lip until it bled.
She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell him that Cassian was the one who had sold her to the Blood King in the first place.
She couldn't tell him that she had died and been brought back as a monster. Most of all, she couldn't tell him the truth about her blood.
For as long as she lived, she was tied to the Blood King. It was a blood tie that could never be broken because she was a vampire.
Only a true death could end it. She was indebted to a King who was ready to drain her or use her to destroy the IronFangs. If Ryker knew she was forever a liability, he would never let her go, but he would also never be safe.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I’m so sorry I hid things from you. I didn't want you to worry. I thought I could handle it. It won't happen again, I promise."
Ryker stared at her. He didn't look convinced. He looked like his heart was being torn open. "Tell me the truth, Lyra. Right now. Why did you go into the forest with him? What was the ritual for?"
Lyra looked at the ground. She knew she couldn't lie anymore.
He had seen the circle and seen the black candles. "I went to break the mating bond," she said.
The silence that followed was awkward.
Ryker looked like she had physically stabbed him. He backed away, his face pale. "You went to break the bond? You were so eager to get away from me that you went to a traitor in the middle of the night?"
"No!" Lyra ran to him, stopping just inches away so they didn't touch. "It wasn't because I wanted to be away from you! Ryker, look at the house! Look at the ash! People are dying every time we touch. Every time our hearts beat for each other, someone else turns to stone. I couldn't sit by and watch you lose your pack because of me. I wanted to save lives."
"By killing us?" Ryker asked. "By ripping our souls apart? You think I want to live as an Alpha of a pack if it means I lose you? I told you, we are one. We solve this together, or we don't solve it at all."
"But they're dying, Ryker!" Lyra cried. "The Caelum family is almost gone!"
"Then we find another way," Ryker said, his voice hard. "But you will never go behind my back again to destroy what we have. Do you understand me?"
Lyra nodded, her head hanging low. "I understand."
Ryker looked toward the prison block where Cassian had been taken. "He will wait there until I decide his fate. Treason is punishable by death in this pack, and he has earned it ten times over."
Ryker turned back to her. "And you... you are staying beside me. I don't care about the plague. I don't care about the risk. If we have to wear metal plates to keep our skin from touching, then that’s what we will do. But you are not leaving my sight again."
"Ryker—"
"I am the Alpha," he said, cutting her off. "And I have made my decision. We are going back inside. You will stay in the South Wing, and I will have guards at your door that answer only to me. We will find a way to stop the ash, but we will do it as a mated pair."
Then he paused. "Unless you genuinely want to get rid of what we share.”
She shook her head immediately.
He turned and walked toward the house, his steps heavy, Lyra followed him.
She had saved Cassian from being killed in the woods, but she had lost the trust of the man she loved.
Ryker didn't look back at her as they reached the stairs. He went toward his study, and the guards led Lyra toward the South Wing.
She knew he was right, they had to stay together. But she also knew that as long as she was alive, the Blood King would always have a way to hurt him.