Shunned By An Alpha, Cherised By A Lycan

Chapter 351:

Ryder’s POV

The moment the words left her lips, I knew there was no holding back. Of course, I knew everything wasn’t fixed yet between us. But I fucking wanted to bridge that gap. I wanted to see her in my bed again, lying right beside me where she belongs, begging for my touch while I fuck her and listen to her pretty moans.

I reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling her close before I could think twice. If she wanted to slap me again, fine. If she wanted to scream in my face, fine. But she was going to hear me out.

At least just this once. Now that I had her this close, I was hoping I wouldn’t fuck this up.

Her eyes widened as I sank to my knees in front of her, my hands still clutching hers. I could feel the tremor in her fingers, or maybe it was me shaking. Didn’t matter. I had to do this.

“Jasmine,” I started, my voice low and raw, “I need to tell you the truth. About Aiden.”

Her jaw tightened, and her shoulders squared like she was gearing up for a fight. Fuck, she was beautiful, even when she was pissed off. Especially when she was pissed off.

“You’re finally going to talk about him?” she said, her tone sharp enough to cut. “After all this time?”

I swallowed hard, nodding. “Yeah. I should’ve told you sooner, but I was scared. Scared you’d see the worst parts of me—the monster I try to keep buried. I thought if I told you about him, you’d… you’d leave me. And, Jasmine, I can’t lose you.”

Her eyes softened for half a second, but then the fire returned.

“So instead of trusting me, you kept it to yourself? Let me walk around in the dark, thinking I could trust you?”

I nodded again, the shame hitting me like a punch to the gut. “I fucked up. I know that. Aiden was my twin, and for years, I thought he was dead. But he wasn’t. And the things he did, the things I had to do to stop him… I’m not proud of any of it. He was my brother, Jasmine, but he was also a monster—or maybe I was that monster. But I did what I did to retain my pack. And I was terrified you’d see him in me.”

Her lips parted, and I braced myself for the tirade I knew was coming.

Every story unfolds at gαℓησν𝒆𝓁s．𝓬𝗈𝗺

“What if you’d told me?” she snapped, yanking her hands free from mine. “What if you’d trusted me enough to let me in? Do you ever think about that, Ryder? Or is it just about protecting your precious secrets?”

Damn, she was relentless. And fuck, I loved her for it.

“I think about it all the time,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “Every goddamn day, I think about how I should’ve told you. How I should’ve trusted you. But I didn’t, and now I’m here, on my knees, begging you to forgive me for being such a fucking idiot.”

She glared at me, her arms crossed, her foot tapping impatiently.

“You don’t just get to apologize and make everything okay, Ryder. That’s not how this works.”

Her words stung, but I couldn’t help the smirk tugging at my lips. She was so damn cute when she got like this—fire and sass, completely unfiltered.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, though the corner of my mouth betrayed me. “It’s just… you’re really cute when you’re mad. And I missed you.”

Her eyes widened, and before she could launch into another round of scolding, I did the only thing I could think of to shut her up.

I kissed her.

Hard.

.

.

.noveldrama