Chapter 73 Scorned Ex
For a heartbeat, Lyra stood frozen at the bathroom doorway, staring at a very upset Tessa.
“Are you dumb now, bitch?!” she snapped, drawing closer.
“How did you get in here?”
“I used to share this bedroom with Ryker before you came back from the dead and ruined everything!”
“You shouldn't be in here. You have no right!” Lyra snapped angrily, trying not to think about the fact that Tessa might have once laid on that bed beneath Ryker.
“So you think your little heat can make you rope him in again?” Tessa mocked. “Huh?!”
“I don't know what you're talking about. Ryker is my husband. He's always been.”
“He wasn't saying that when I made him come every night and sucked his cock!”
Lyra stepped back, tightening the towel around herself and lifting her chin. “Get out.”
Tessa laughed, bitter and ugly. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. Not after you seduced him and forced him to dump me!”
“After what?” Lyra shot back. “My husband came back to me. Why are you so delusional?”
Tessa’s face twisted with so much hate. “You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you? Heat or not, you wanted him weak so he could fuck you.”
Lyra took a step forward. “You have no idea what I wanted.”
“Oh, please,” Tessa snapped. “You’ve always known how to twist him around your finger.”
Lyra’s hands trembled, but her voice didn’t. “You’re in my quarters, in case you haven't realized.”
Tessa’s eyes moved over her scornfully. “You think last night changed anything?”
Lyra shrugged. “Maybe now you know he doesn't want you anymore. You were just a fling.”
“I'll make sure he comes back begging. And when he does, you'll never be able to take him from me anymore.”
Before Lyra could answer, the door opened behind them.
Ryker stepped in, a tray of breakfast in his hands.
The second he saw Tessa, he frowned. “What are you doing here?”
Tessa turned to him accusingly. “You slept with her.”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I slept with my wife, and it was an amazing night. Could you stop being dramatic, Tessa?”
Tessa recoiled as if struck by his words. “You chose her.”
“I chose my wife,” Ryker replied coldly. “Now leave.”
Tessa’s gaze darted between them, and then she nodded. “Fine. But she'll betray you again, and you'll come running back.”
“Never,” Ryker said.
She stormed past him, the door slamming shut behind her.
As soon as she left, Ryker dropped the tray, and Lyra grabbed the towel tighter, plopping down on the bed.
Ryker picked up the tray and placed it beside her as he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Really? That's what you're going to ask?”
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
Lyra didn’t realize she was shaking until Ryker’s arms tightened around her.
She sat there in nothing but a towel, water still dripping from her hair. Her eyes stayed fixed on the door Tessa had slammed shut, as if the woman might burst back in at any second.
Ryker pulled her closer, one hand firm at her back, the other cupping her face.
“Hey,” he said softly, his voice steady even though he looked pissed. “You’re okay. She’s gone.”
“What was she doing here?”
Ryker hissed. “I'd be damned if I knew. I think she heard about last night and got curious.”
Lyra swallowed, and her throat felt dry. “She didn’t look like someone who was just curious,” she said quietly. “She looked like she wanted to rip me apart.”
“I know,” he admitted, lowering his forehead to hers. “She was out of line. Completely.”
Lyra finally looked at him, her eyes wide and still stunned. “How did she even think it was okay to walk into our bedroom? Your bedroom.”
Ryker exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand over his head, fingers dragging through his hair. “Tessa and I are done. I've told you that was a long time ago. And it ended when you returned.”
Lyra pulled back just enough to look at his face. “She came in here looking like she wanted to tear me limb from limb,” she snapped. “That doesn’t look like something that’s over.”
He winced. “You’re right. And I’m sorry. I should have warned you better.”
“You should have,” Lyra agreed angrily. “You can’t let people think they still have a place with you when they don't.”
“I know,” he said again, quieter this time. “I’ll talk to her. I swear this won't repeat itself.”
Lyra shook her head immediately. “No.”
He frowned. “Lyra—”
“No,” she repeated, more firmly. “You won’t just talk to her. You’ll talk to all of them.”
Ryker studied her face with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”
“If we’re back together,” she said, lifting her chin even though her hands were trembling, “everyone has to know. I won’t be treated like I snuck my way back into your bed.”
“You're my wife.”
“Whom you wanted to reject.”
He groaned. “That rejection ceremony was in the past. I was dumb and—”
“And jealous,” she cut in.
He blinked. “What? I wasn’t jealous.”
“You were,” Lyra said instantly. “You saw me and—”
“Don’t say it,” he interrupted sharply. “I don’t want his name mentioned when we’re together.”
She paused, then reached up and held his face gently, forcing him to meet her eyes.
Her voice softened. “Look at me. Dax doesn’t mean anything to me. He’s your brother and my brother-in-law. That’s all. You don’t have to be insecure.”
Ryker stared at her for a long moment before looking away. “I’m a man, Lyra,” he said quietly. “And I know when another man wants to cross a line.”
She searched his face, then nodded slowly. “I get that. But you have to trust me.”
“I trust you. It's Dax that I don't trust.”
He inhaled deeply, then let it out. “Get dressed,” he said finally. “Meet me downstairs for breakfast.”
Her lips twitched despite everything. “Won’t I be having breakfast in bed?”
He almost smiled. Almost. “I changed my mind. Come downstairs.”
Then he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Lyra stared after him for a moment before exhaling shakily.
“Okay,” she murmured to herself. “Okay.”
She dressed carefully, choosing a simple dress that was comfortable, as she finally made her way downstairs.
But just as she descended the staircase, she froze at the crowd gathered at the bottom.
At least a hundred pairs of eyes turned toward her.
The room was packed with every member of the IronFangs, and they all stopped talking as she came down.
Lyra’s heart jumped into her throat.
Ryker stood at the front of the room.
“Come here, Lyra,” he said. “Let me officially welcome you back into the pack as my wife.”