09/27/2017

Kristin closed her eyes, imagining how hard everything must have been for him. How it still is.

"Her name was Rose, so..." he pointed to his side.

"It's beautiful," Kristin realized she was crying again.

"Hey, it's okay," he squeezed her arm, wondering why she cared so much when no one else really did. Sure, his pack had suffered greatly after losing their Luna, but that was just the thing. Everyone had mourned their Luna, they just didn't realize that he was also grieving for his own mother.

"Can you tell me about her?" Kristin hesitantly asked, afraid he wouldn't want to bring anything up.

"My mother?" Ryder asked, surprised.

Kristin nodded, "Unless you don't want to, then that's—"

"She was amazing. Everyone was so extremely loyal to her, it was crazy," Ryder began, with a hint of a smile, "She wouldn't admit it, but they had always liked her a thousand times more than their own Alpha. Probably because she had grown up in Nightfall, and her parents were the previous Alphas. Either way, the pack would have chosen her side over my father's any day."

"Did Nightfall not like your father?" she wondered.

"They did, but only because he made my mother happy, and they knew she would want them to love him too. Don't get me wrong, my father was actually a great Alpha and mate. He wasn't the person you saw when we were growing up. He'd always spend time with me and Gabriel, and he would always make his pack's safety and well-being his top priority."

Kristin listened intently, glad that Ryder was opening up to her about his past.

"When my mother died, the pack was devastated. It was a surprise to all of us, especially my father. The way she was killed— it was horrible," Ryder said darkly, clenching his jaw, "My father grew up in one of those really small packs where they move from place to place a lot and most other packs don't know of their existence. Growing up in a pack like that, he made friends with some rogues. I don't know much about their relationship but those same rogues were the ones who killed my mother. They completely betrayed my father."

"That's horrible," Kristin scrunched her brows, "I never heard of that when learning about your pack."

"Yeah, it's because my father tried to keep it a secret. He didn't want everyone to know he was friends with the rogues who killed his mate. So obviously the whole situation affected him negatively. He lost his mate and was betrayed by the wolves he had spent most of his life with."

Kristin didn't know what to say. She glanced up at Ryder to see him staring off ahead, most likely concentrated on his thoughts.

She wrapped her arm around his and tightened her hold.

"I haven't told anyone this stuff— ever."

Ryder's words were a mixture of sadness and confusion, making Kristin turn to face him.

"Thank you for telling me," she was grateful Ryder was actually showing vulnerability with her. Sure, it was sad that he had to deal with all of this, but his openness made the moment more special. It was like they were actually bonding on an emotional level.

"We promised to open up," he shrugged in reply, finally moving his gaze to her.

Kristin and Ryder continued to talk for another hour. Their conversations were no longer deep and sad— they talked about random things, whatever popped into their heads. Even though they kept their late night conversation pretty light, Kristin could feel the emotional bond they shared getting stronger, and she couldn't help but feel content, sitting next to Ryder, with his arm wrapped securely around her.

After a while Kristin felt her eyes closing on their own, and faintly felt herself being picked up and placed back in the comfort of the bed before losing complete consciousness.

•. •. •. •. •.

Chapter Forty One.

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