Judd Ryder Novels & Stories

“You’re difficult to understand. And I never did meet a woman who stood out the way you did.” I looked down, fingers tracing the rim of my glass. “And what about you?” “What about me?” “What did you want, Nolan? Before the weight of a crown and a pack?” He hesitated. I could see it, the flicker of something behind his eyes, the ghost of a younger man he used to be. “I never really had the luxury of wanting,” he said. “From the moment I shifted, everything was duty. The Alpha’s seat was mine before I could even decide what kind of man I wanted to be.”

He hesitated, then added, a little too quickly, “I’m Jamie. Journalism. Trying to earn a little extra credit.” Ryder snorted, “Been there, dude.” He stepped into the room. And stopped. Two chairs had been set up in front of the whiteboard, squashed close together, legs touching. He stared at them for half a second too long. “Sorry,” Jamie said quickly, already flustered. “It’s—for the camera.” Ryder opened his mouth to say something but Jax chose that moment to walk in. He didn’t even hesitate. Jax glanced at the chairs, then sat in one like it was no big deal at all. Long legs, relaxed posture, hands braced loosely in the front pocket of his hoodie. Completely unfazed.

What was Kyle getting on? “Do you know this person?” Ryu asked. I stared at his eyes, which were glowing red, his teeth gritting and ready to tear my limbs apart if I had the slightest connection. Falling apart at this point meant giving everything up. That would make my whole life a lie, and that wasn’t an option. “I don’t know him, but I can tell he isn’t the one.” “What do you mean he isn’t the one?” Kyle growled. “He doesn’t have a cut mark on his right hand.” I said, “Alpha Ryu cut his right hand open during the fight, but his hand was cut on the left.”

My hands trembled in my lap, fingers digging into the fabric of my jeans as I clenched my fists. It wasn’t Jace. Not anymore. It was him—Ryder Black. He was a storm wrapped in denim and shadows, his eyes a deep golden blaze that had seen straight through me in the gym. Like he knew. Like he’d been there. My throat dried up. “Ryder Black?” I whispered, barely managing the name. Talia leaned in with a dramatic roll of her eyes, her thick curls bouncing. “Transfer. Rich troublemaker. Expelled from two schools. Rumor has it he broke a guy’s jaw with one punch, and his dad paid off the principal. Now he’s Crestwood’s problem.”

Joey's POV Red and gold lights moved slowly across the room as I went through the routine, keeping my eyes just above the crowd the way I was taught. But then I caught sight of someone familiar near the back of the room before I fully realized who it was. Ryder. He sat alone at a table near the wall, his drink, untouched, in front of him. He watched the stage without any of his usual energy. I heard from the tutoring group earlier that the team had a game tonight and won.

"Russell's sponsor is asking him to fight new year's eve. But I worry his ribs might not be fully healed by then." "Sponsor? Russ... You didn't tell me you had a sponsor? Way to go, son." he says happily, making Russell close his eyes as if I had just revealed a dark secret. "Who's your sponsor?" he asks. Both Russell and I respond at the same time. "No one important." "Knights Enterprise." Uncle Fred's jaw clenched, and I could see his face turn angrily. "Knights Enterprise?" he turns to Russell, who has his eyes closed and hands fisted.

I’m slender, but I’m tall and toned, and I’m far from quiet. Judd’s an attractive guy- he’s bulky and muscular like Davis, and he’s got shaggy light brown hair and boyish good looks. His fighting skills make him even more attractive in my book; the dude’s a beast and has consistently stayed near the top of the rankings. He’s probably one of the hottest guys at training camp, but I haven’t paid much attention to that since I’ve been wrapped up in Gray. “The way you kept on fighting even after Carter broke your leg was incredible to watch,” Judd says, tossing back the rest of his drink. I can smell the whiskey on his breath as he speaks.

You know they had to have undergone a bad loss to break in front of our small group. Alpha James stands, his hands fisted as he takes a deep sigh. "Alpha Kennedy. I sincerely regret your loss. Having my luna by my side has been a true blessing. I can't imagine how you feel to not only grieve the loss of your luna and mate but your unborn pup as well. I can assure you, that we will get to the bottom of this." he looks towards the tables of the other alphas giving them a pleading stare, earning a nod in agreement.

I want to argue, and I don't, because she's right and the rightness doesn't help. Ryder takes over the Luna duties so gradually as she has decided to spend most of her time at Nightshade helping Gio rebuild. He leads the morning patrols himself, handles the pack conflict mediation, chairs the alliance correspondence meetings. He does it the way he does most things—without announcement, without asking for acknowledgment, just moving into the space and filling it. I watch from the window of our cabin some mornings, seeing the pack organize around him, and feel something complicated: useless and proud in equal measure, the two feelings so closely braided I can't separate one from the other.

Ryker looked between everyone that was gathered before continuing. “Sara and Leo will team up. Being the two of you are related, you both have a greater bond with each other. The same goes for Julian and Ryan.” He said then stopped talking again as he looked between the others. Ryan Drake, Julian’s twin brother. This was the first time seeing Ryan, other than the picture of him in the folder I had on him. Seeing them stand side by side, it was hard to tell them apart, other than the noticeable scar above Ryan’s left eye.