AMARIS
No one had ever stood up for me before.
Not when my brothers locked me in closets, not when my father beat me in front of the entire pack, not when I was forced to eat scraps off the floor like an animal.
No one intervened, no one said stop, no one put themselves between me and the cruelty because standing up for me meant becoming a target themselves and I was never worth that risk.
But today Ryker killed a man for me.
Ripped his throat out in front of hundreds of people because Commander Bruno disrespected me.
Maybe Ryker was not as bad as everyone said, maybe I had misunderstood him from the start, maybe he just found it hard to show care except through action and violence was the only language he knew how to speak fluently.
"I hope you don't think Ryker did that for you."
Nia's voice cut through my thoughts. I turned to find her staring at me with raised eyebrows, reading my face like it was an open book
"No," I lied quickly. "I don't think that."
