016 ~ A smile that lies ~

"I won't let anyone hurt you again, whether you want it or not," Damien nodded as he walked away from the tent.

The promise should have comforted her. Instead, it made her heart race.

She had once believed promises, trust, and forever meant something, until the people who swore they would never leave abandoned her when she needed them most.

She lowered her sleeve, hiding the scars once more as the space in her heart where her wolf should have been echoed in silence.

The old physician reached for another handful of herbs and continued grinding them, keeping whatever comfort his words would have given to himself.

"You should rest," he said gently, not looking away from his busy hands.

"I've rested enough."

"You fainted."

"And now I'm awake."

He sighed. "You're as stubborn as every Alpha who walks through that door."

A faint breath escaped her nose. "That's hardly a compliment."

"No." The old man smiled. "It isn't."

She stepped out of the tent before he could insist she stay longer.

The training grounds had begun to empty. Soldiers laughed as they collected their weapons, while servants carried away bloodstained bandages and broken practice shields.

Everything looked ordinary, as though lives hadn't quietly fallen apart beneath the same sky.

"Feeling better?" Ryker's voice came from somewhere to her right and she looked up.

He rested against the wooden fence around the training field, casually tossing an apple from one hand to the other as though he'd been waiting there for hours.

"Were you following me?"

"I prefer 'patiently waiting for the right moment Selene.'"

"That sounds like something a stalker would say."

"It does." He bit into the apple. "I'll work on the wording next time."

She shook her head and started walking. And as though to annoy her, he fell into step beside her.

"I wasn't looking for company."

"I know."

"So why are you here?"

"Because you've had a terrible morning."

She shot him a piercing glare.

"You faint now? I heard."

"It wasn't that dramatic."

"You collapsed."

"People exaggerate."

"They usually do." He tossed the apple into the air, catching it without losing a breath. "This time they didn't."

She looked ahead. "I don't need another lecture."

"I wasn't planning on giving one."

"Then what?"

He smiled. "I'm bored."

She gave him a flat look. "So your solution was me?"

"My first choice was Damien."

She frowned.

"But he looked ready to murder someone."

"He usually smiles more?"

"Exactly."

She blinked. "And that concerns me?"

"It should."

Despite trying so hard to be herself, the corner of her mouth twitched and Ryker noticed immediately.

"There it is," A smile crossed his lips

"What?"

"Evidence."

"Of what?"

"You still remember how."

She frowned. "Remember what?"

"To smile."

The tiny flicker vanished from her face. "I wasn't smiling."

"You almost were."

"Then your eyesight is worse than I thought."

"My eyesight is excellent."

"My condolences."

He laughed a genuine laugh this time.

"I have an idea," his eyes lit up once more.

"I already dislike it."

"You haven't heard it."

"I know you."

"You barely do."

"Enough." He placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "You wound me."

"I'll recover."

"No confidence in my charm?"

"None."

He grinned. "Good."

She sighed. "What?"

"Walk with me."

"Why?"

"Because if I spend one more hour listening to old men argue over border taxes, I'll voluntarily throw myself into the river."

"You could simply leave."

"I have responsibilities."

"So do I."

He looked around. "Do you?"

She followed his gaze. The day's training had ended yet Victor remained locked inside another council meeting.

The servants no longer needed her and for the first time in days... She had nowhere she was expected to be.

Ryker caught the hesitation. "Just the market."

She looked at him suspiciously. "The market?"

"I was promised this estate had excellent honey cakes."

"You crossed three territories for pastries?"

"I cross territories for many reasons."

"And today?"

"I'm hoping the pastries are worth it."

A very quiet part of her wanted to refuse. Instead, she heard herself asking, "How long?"

"Half an hour."

"No games."

"I'll try."

"No riddles."

"I'll definitely try."

She sighed. "That's not reassuring."

"It wasn't meant to be."

The pack market buzzed with late afternoon life.

Children darted between stalls while merchants called out prices for fresh fruit, woven cloth, and handmade trinkets. The smell of roasted nuts drifted through the square, mixing with warm bread and sweet spices.

And for the first time since arriving... No one looked at Selene as Victor's Luna.

Here... She was simply another woman walking through the crowd.

Ryker bought two honey cakes before she could protest.

"I didn't ask for one."

"I know."

He handed it to her anyway. "You look like someone who forgets to eat."

She hesitated before taking it. "I'll repay you."

"I certainly hope not."

She raised an eyebrow.

"They're not expensive enough to justify the paperwork."

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. It was small and quiet but unmistakably real.

Ryker looked at her without speaking.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because that laugh sounded different."

Her face grew red as she looked at every other thing but his eyes. "It was an accident."

"I hope it happens again."

She rolled her eyes. "It won't."

"We'll see."

For several minutes, they wandered without speaking. But this time, the silence felt... lighter.

And it wasn't because she trusted him, she couldn't bring herself to just yet. But because, for a few brief moments, neither of them spoke about betrayal, or blood, or the past.

Then Ryker stopped walking, his playful expression washing off his face.

He watched a blacksmith hammer glowing steel across the square before speaking. "I lied to you."

Selene's smile faded. "About what?"

"When I said I didn't have proof."

She turned fully toward him. "What are you talking about?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he folded his arms and kept his eyes on the crowded street. "I was there that night..." His voice had lost every trace of amusement. "...longer than anyone knows."

The sounds of the market seemed to disappear as Selene stared at him.

"What does that mean?"

Silence swallowed him whole

"Ryker."

He spun around.

"You told everyone you arrived after the fighting."

"I know."

"That wasn't true?"

He finally looked at her. "No."

Her heart skipped before pounding against her ribs. "Then where were you?"

Another silence.

"What did you see?"

He held her gaze for several long seconds, his throat working once as though words had risen there only to die in one unspoken breath.

"I've already said too much."

She stepped in front of him before he could move. "No." She had to try twice before the word would come, "You're not walking away this time."

"I have to."

"You owe me the truth."

"I owe you more than that."

"Then start talking."

He smiled, but it never reached his eyes, and it faded almost as quickly as it appeared. "If I tell you what I know..." He looked beyond her toward the mansion rising above the village. "...people will die."

She forgot to breathe. "What did you see?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he gently stepped around her.

"Ryker!"

He stopped without turning around. "You laughed today."

She frowned."What does that have to do with anything?"

"It reminded me..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...of the person they stole from you."

Before she could respond, he continued walking.

"Ryker!"

This time, he didn't stop.

Selene watched him disappear into the crowd, her questions multiplying with every step he took away.

"I was there that night longer than anyone knows." The words echoed through her mind.

If Ryker had stayed... If he'd witnessed something no one else admitted... Then the massacre she had spent five years trying to understand wasn't merely built on lies.

Someone had erased part of the truth.

And Ryker... Had been standing close enough to see it.