No Turning Back

No Turning Back
RYDER

The date of Aria’s departure is approaching—it’s tomorrow. And honestly? I thought I’d be more relieved. 

I’m not looking forward to being away from her no matter how right the decision is. 

But there’s no turning back now. 

I’ve already spoken to Zach, so everything’s good to go. He’ll be watching over her there and making sure that she has all the support she needs. I’ve thought a lot about putting someone else, maybe even a Nocturn, but Aria didn’t protest, so I’ll stick to my original idea. 

Yesterday, Wilson called me into the packhouse to tell me that they received reports of an approaching army and that they’d reach Ironclaw’s borders in two days. At least Aria will be on the way to Moon Rose when it happens. 

As for Ray, he hasn’t been spotted at all. I’m sure he’s somewhere deep in the forest, hiding and biding his time. We’ve arranged everything so that Aria will be hidden when she leaves, so nobody will see her. 

We can’t risk her being attacked on the road. 

I stop by the medical tent to check on Finn, who’s awake, and that’s when I find out that Lizzie has regained consciousness.

“She’s awake,” Roberta, who’s been taking over Anne’s duties, says to me. She’s also one of Anne’s Nocturns, so we trust her blindly. “She’s been asking for you.”

Rage poisons my heart and makes my mouth bitter. I stare at Roberta for a few seconds while trying to figure out what to do. In the meantime, she adds, “She won’t be able to walk ever again. Her spinal cord…we couldn’t heal it on time. It’s set and nothing can be done about it.”

I enter the tent. Finn is in his bed and he’s clearly asleep. Lizzie, on the other hand, is awake and her eyes are on me as I approach her. I can’t help but think about Anne as I stare back at her. 

Anne is only dead because of her. She was the first person who encouraged me to see myself as an Alpha and she was one of the greatest leaders I’d ever come across. 

She didn’t deserve to die. 

I can’t find it in me to forgive Lizzie for what happened. After everything I tried to do for her, she tried to repay me by trying to kill my mate? 

I move closer to her bed and she watches me wide-eyed. So many things are running through my mind but I can’t focus on a single thing to say to her. 

She’s the one who breaks the silence. “Ryder…I don’t think you understand what’s happening. Aria killed my father. He was going to help us and she killed him.” 

Tears fill her eyes. I refrain from the urge to shake my head at her act. Does she really think that I’m going to believe her?

“He was going to help,” she whispers. “He didn’t deserve to die. I don’t know why she would—”

“Lizzie,” I cut her off. “Aria didn’t do anything. She’s not the one who killed your father—I was.”

Her eyes widen significantly. “What?”

I step closer to the bed and peer down at her. “I tried to help you, Lizzie. You helped me when I needed to stay alive and I didn’t forget it, but you made yourself a burden and your presence here almost cost me my entire life. Aria is my whole world, do you understand me?”

She tries to speak again, but I add, “You took Anne from us. If I had a way of kicking you out of this pack, I would. You’ve become a burden to me and I regret ever having trusted you!”

She closes her mouth and turns her face away from me. I turn on my heel and walk out of the tent so I don’t say anything else. Once outside the tent, I run a hand down my face and force myself to calm down. 

I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about this because I need to get things ready for Aria’s departure. I’m on my way home when I come across Mell. Her face looks slimmer than the last time I saw her, and she looks rundown overall. 

“Mell.”

“Alpha Ryder,” she bows her head. “I was hoping to come across you. I spoke to Luna Aria and she asked me to find you.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes. I just stopped by to give her some cookies for the road. She told me that I’d have to give any information I find out to you from now on.”

I scratch the back of my head. “Yeah. That’s right.”

“Lots of changes are happening.”

“I guess so.”

Mell appears pensive for a moment, then her eyes unfocuses and she stares at something over my shoulder. “What is it?”

“When I saw her earlier today, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.”

“Sorry? Why?”

Her eyes meet mine and I see tears swimming in them but when she blinks, they’re gone. “She’ll be tested at every turn. Her journey in Moon Rose won’t be easy. I saw it with my own eyes. I felt her suffering as if it were mine.”

I step toward Mell, worry coursing through me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t have the power to stop the will of the goddess and neither do you. Things happen because they have to happen. Our Luna will have to be strong to face whatever’s ahead of us.”

“Is that a bad sign?”

“What does she say?”

“Nothing,” I admit. “She didn’t protest to the idea. She thought that she should go.”

“Then that’s what she should do.”

I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. Goddess, how much more of this are we supposed to take? “I’m only sending her there because it’s supposed to be safer for her. If it isn’t, then—”

“She must go,” Mell reveals. “It’s important that she does. We can’t stop what happens next. She can’t stay here. This is no place for her. Even she knows that.”

I part ways with Mell and run straight home to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. If there’s a chance of taking all of this back, I’ll take it with both fucking hands. I can’t lose Aria, not after everything we’ve been through. 

Aria doesn’t want to change her mind, though. She wants to go. 

“I have to,” she insists. “It’ll be okay, alright? Don’t worry too much.”

“But Mell said—”

“I know,” she interrupts as her fingers run up and down my chest. “I know what she said. But there’s no way around it. We can’t turn back, not anymore. It’ll be fine. Trust me, alright?”

I peer into her face, heart galloping behind my ribs, and I ask myself what I’ve done, and whether someday, I’ll regret this.