Chapter 25 The Distance Grows
RYAN'S POV
Lisa's words devastated me in ways no physical wound ever could. I stood frozen on the Alpha stones, watching her walk away from me in front of the entire pack, and felt something inside my chest crack open like ice breaking under too much weight. The celebration around us died into awkward silence, pack members averting their eyes from the spectacle of their leaders fracturing in public view.
I tried to follow her, desperate to explain that I had been protecting her, that Alpha Marcus had threatened to have her killed if I fought the exile, that every decision I made was because I thought it was right. The words poured out of me in a rush of panic and justification, but Lisa would not listen. She kept walking, her silver hair streaming behind her like a banner of independence, and when I reached for her arm she pulled away as though my touch burned.
"I need space, Ryan," she said, her voice so cold it barely sounded like her. "Don't follow me and do not try to use words to fix this. I need time."
She moved into separate quarters that night, taking only a small bag of belongings and leaving behind everything that connected her to me. Our room felt massive and empty without her presence, her scent fading from the pillows until I could barely remember what it felt like to hold her while she slept.
I felt our mate bond constantly, a living thing stretched thin between us, but it was muted. Like Lisa was deliberately putting walls between her heart and mine, closing off the connection that should have been our greatest strength.
The pack noticed immediately. How could they not? Their Alpha and Beta barely spoke during meetings, maintained careful physical distance, and communicated through Daniel or Nathan rather than directly. Some pack members looked sympathetic, others confused, and a few openly worried about what this meant for Moonstone's stability.
Nathan stayed close to Lisa, offering comfort I could not provide. I watched them laugh together during training sessions, I saw Nathan squeeze her shoulder when she looked tired, and I noticed how Lisa relaxed around him in ways she never did around me anymore.
Jealousy burned through me like acid, irrational and consuming, but I had no right to it. I had caused this distance. My silence, my choices, my failure to fight for her when it mattered most.
Daniel, now officially Lisa's Second after proving his loyalty during Viktor's attack, supported her decision to take time. He pulled me aside after a pack meeting.
"She needs to heal, Ryan," he said quietly. "You cannot rush this. She spent three years believing she was not good enough, that her pack abandoned her, that you chose duty over love. Those wounds run deep."
"I never stopped loving her," I said, the words breaking on the way out. "Everything I did was to keep her safe."
"I know that. You know that. But Lisa does not feel it yet, and feelings matter more than intentions." Daniel gripped my shoulder, offering the strength I desperately needed. "Give her space. Let her find her own power without you hovering. Show her through actions, not words, that she is your priority."
Elder Catherine offered similar advice when I sought her counsel, her eyes seeing through my desperate need for a quick fix to the truth I did not want to face.
"Mate bonds are strong, Ryan, perhaps the strongest force in our world," she said, pouring tea with steady hands. "But they cannot survive without trust, and trust once broken takes time to rebuild. You cannot force Lisa to forgive you on your timeline. You can only prove, day after day, that you are worthy of her faith."
So I watched from a distance as Lisa threw herself into Alpha duties. She worked from dawn until long past dark, repairing damage to the pack house, personally welcoming each of Alpha Samuel's refugees from Silver Creek, and helping them find homes and purposes within Moonstone. She established new security protocols, trained with the warriors until sweat soaked through her clothes, and held council with the elders about expansion and alliances.
She was magnificent. Efficient and strong, commanding respect through competence rather than force, earning loyalty through genuine care for every pack member. Everything I had always known she could be, if given the chance.
But she was completely closed off to me emotionally. We attended the same meetings, lived in the same pack house, shared leadership of the same wolves, yet the distance between us felt like oceans rather than rooms.
At night, I lay alone in our bed that no longer felt like ours, feeling the mate bond ache with separation. The physical pain was real, a constant throb in my chest that never fully went away, my wolf howling inside me for his mate who was so close yet completely unreachable.
I wanted to force a conversation, to corner her and demand she listen to my explanations and apologies, and promises. But Nathan's warning stopped me every time I got close to that breaking point.
"She spent three years away from the pack, believing she was not good enough," Nathan had said, his usual easy humor replaced with serious intensity. "You need to show her she is everything, not tell her. Words are cheap, Ryan. Especially from someone who stayed silent when she needed him to speak."
So I showed her in small ways, hoping she would notice. I took on extra patrol shifts so she could sleep. Left her favorite foods outside her door. Handled pack disputes she found draining. Supported every decision she made publicly, even when I disagreed privately.
But Lisa barely acknowledged any of it, moving through her days with focus that left no room for my gestures of atonement.
Two weeks after Viktor's defeat, the pack gathered for a meeting. Lisa stood at the front of the hall, she looked powerful and confident, her silver hair pulled back to reveal the mark on her neck that proclaimed her my mate even as she refused to act like it.
I sat in the back, giving her space, watching her lead with pride and heartbreak warring inside me.
During the meeting, a messenger arrived, carrying a formal letter sealed with the Western Pack's distinctive wolf head crest. The hall fell silent as the messenger approached Lisa, bowing respectfully before handing her the letter.
Lisa broke the seal and read it quickly. When she finished, she looked up at the assembled pack with calm authority.
"Alpha Dominic of the Western Pack requests a meeting to discuss a formal alliance," she announced, her voice carrying clearly through the hall. "He will arrive in three days with his delegation."
Murmurs of interest rippled through the pack. The Western Pack was powerful and well-connected, their alliance valuable for Moonstone's future security.
"He is bringing his son, Adrian," Lisa continued, and something in her tone made my wolf rise to attention. "The young Alpha is known for his progressive policies and interest in inter-pack cooperation."
Nathan leaned over to whisper something to Emma, who had recovered fully from Viktor's corruption. They both glanced at me with expressions I could not quite read. Daniel shifted in his seat, his eyes moving between Lisa and me with obvious concern.
Elder Catherine stood, her voice clear despite her age. "Alpha Adrian has quite the reputation. Progressive policies, yes, but also for being unmated despite numerous offers. The Western territories speak highly of him."
"And he is supposedly very handsome," one of the younger female pack members added, then flushed red when everyone turned to look at her.
Lisa's expression did not change, but I felt something change in our muted bond. Not jealousy exactly, but awareness. She knew that this meeting was more than political.