Chapter 4: Sister's Intervention

Kyra had never been so grateful to see her sister in her entire life, and she practically collapsed against Zara the moment the younger woman pulled her away from Ryker's overwhelming presence.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaking with suppressed tears. "Thank you for coming."

"Always," Zara said fiercely, keeping herself between Kyra and Ryker like a shield despite being half the alpha's size.

"Now someone want to explain why the Rider Alpha himself is cornering my sister in a hallway?"

"Because your sister has been hiding my son from me for six years," Ryker said, his eyes never leaving Kyra's face. "And we're in the middle of a discussion about that."

"Discussion looks a lot like intimidation from where I'm standing," Zara shot back. "And I don't care if you're an alpha or the moon goddess herself, you don't get to push Kyra around after what you did to her."

Ryker's expression shifted to something almost confused.

"What I did to her?" he repeated. "She's the one who ran without telling me she was pregnant."

"Because you rejected her!" Zara's voice rose and Kyra grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back before this situation exploded into something worse.

"Because you made her sign a contract that treated her like she was trash, because you made it very clear she wasn't good enough for the mighty Rider Alpha."

"Zara, stop," Kyra said quietly. "This isn't helping."

"No, he needs to hear this," Zara said, shaking her off. "You have no idea what she went through after leaving your pack, do you? No idea that she didn't even know she was pregnant until she was seven months along because her wolf was so suppressed from years of abuse?"

Ryker's face went pale. "What are you talking about?" he asked, and something in his voice made Kyra's chest ache.

"I'm talking about the fact that Kyra worked herself half to death as an omega maid in your pack house for three years before you even noticed she existed," Zara said.

"I'm talking about the fact that she used every penny she earned to pay for my medical treatments while living in a room the size of a closet and eating scraps from the pack kitchen."

"Zara, please," Kyra begged, but her sister was on a roll now and nothing would stop her.

"I'm talking about the fact that when you discovered she was your mate, you looked at her like she'd ruined your life," Zara continued.

"And then you offered her money to pretend to be your Luna for a year so you wouldn't lose your precious alpha title, and she only agreed because I was dying and she needed fifty thousand dollars for the experimental treatment that saved my life."

The hallway went silent and Kyra watched Ryker process this information, saw something like horror cross his face. "You were dying?" he asked, looking at Zara.

"Acute myeloid leukemia," Zara said coldly. "Stage four, six months to live without treatment that cost more money than an omega maid could make in ten years, so yeah, my sister sold herself to you to save me, and I've had to live with that guilt every single day since."

"That's not fair," Kyra said, her voice breaking. "You were sick, it wasn't your fault, and I'd make the same choice a thousand times over."

"I know you would," Zara said, her expression softening as she turned to Kyra. "But that doesn't change the fact that he used you and threw you away, and now he shows up demanding rights to Kade like he has any claim to the child you raised alone."

Ryker looked like he'd been punched and Kyra almost felt sorry for him until she remembered the disgust in his eyes six years ago when the mate bond had snapped into place.

"I didn't know about any of this," he said quietly. "The medical treatments, the conditions you were living in, I didn't know."

"Because you never asked," Kyra said tiredly. "You saw an omega maid and that's all I was to you, so why would you care about my life or my sister or anything beyond what I could do for you?"

“The break room,” Zara said suddenly, her voice echoing through the tension between them.

“Kade’s still in there alone. He’s probably scared, Ryker. Can we please table this whole… disaster until we make sure your son’s okay?”

The way she said your son made him flinch a bit, as if he wasn't expecting it. Of course he wasn't expecting it. His expression faltered, and the anger in his eyes a while ago resolved a little bit.

Then he looked away. “You think I don’t know that?” he muttered.

“I don’t think you’re acting like you do,” Zara shot back, softer this time. “He’s just a kid, Ryker. He doesn’t understand what’s happening between you and Kyr. And he also doesn’t deserve to see this.”

Ryker dragged a hand down his face, the fight in him slowly draining. He hated that she was right.

“Fine,” he said finally, stepping back and gesturing toward the door. “After you.”

Zara moved first but Kyra didn’t move, she studied him for a moment, trying to read the man behind the walls he always kept up. There was still that sense of anger in him but she didn’t push it.

When she finally turned, Ryker followed, a few steps behind, his chest tight with everything left unsaid. The closer they got, the more he could the faint sound of his wolf struggling to claim her.

Zara opened the break room door slowly and entered, then followed by Kyra and then him. Kade sat curled up on the couch, writing on his book. His eyes lifted the moment he saw them. “Hi stranger” he whispered at him.

Ryker’s throat went dry. For a moment, the walls he’d built around himself crumbled. He crossed the room and knelt beside Kade. “Hey, buddy,” he said quietly.

Zara and Kyra leaned against the doorframe, watching them.

Ryker looked back at Kyra over Kade’s head. “This conversation isn’t over,” he said in a low voice. “Not by a long shot.”

And Zara just nodded. “I know.”