Chapter 38
Ace’s POV
Ryker was a mess as Amanda finally gave into ourmands, her screams made my ears ring
and I have never been so sickened by torture before and had a new respect for mental torture. It made
my stomach turn as she copsed on the floor at our feet, both of us were torn to pieces by her wolf
fighting themands. Amanda was in some ways unaffected being she was Ryker’s mate yet the
pain he was enduring not only doing it but feeling through the bond was heartbreaking.
Reikay in a huddled heap on the floor at his feet, his chest rising and falling heavily and he was
sweating profusely. Tears streaked his face as he bent down with shaky hands to grip the tops of her
arms.
“Get away from me” Reika snaps, her voice trembling as much as she is, Reika ps his hands
away before she starts sobbing. I couldn’t imagine having my wolf forced into submission like that,
forced to go dormant and have the sudden chatter stop, the loneliness in her own head must be a form
of torture in its own.
Ryker falls to his knees beside her pulling her to him, his fingers gently brushing her hair. “I had no
choice, I won’t let her destroy you” He whispers to her. Reika’s hands clutch his shirt in a fist as she
clings to him.
“I’m sorry but we talked about this, she was hurting you, hurting our kids” Ryker tells her and she
nods yet it was obvious she just paid the ultimate sacrifice for her family. Not only did she lose her wolf
for them but she basically just tossed all her freewill away, something I know had been holding him
back from doing this earlier.
Ryker could justmand her now and she would be unable to defy him. Effectively stripping her
of her title even though she would remain Queen and by his side, he had the ultimate control and
against him she would be a puppet on some strings.
“I know” She cries, pressing her face into his chest. The amount of trust she must have in him to
allow him to take her freewill was obvious, she trusted him to make the right choices, trusted him
“Lucy?” She asks looking up at him.
“She is with Ryden and Rayan”
“She must hate me, she must hate me for everything” Reika tells him.
“She knows it wasn’t you, she knows Amanda was unstable and suffering” Reika shakes her head
and starts crying again.
“I hurt her, the things Amanda said to her '''' Reika says crying harder but Ryker presses his chin on
her head tucking her to his chest.
“She knows it wasn’t you” Ryker tells her before he looks at me. I nod to him, turning and opening
the door to let them know it was safe toe in. I wondered if Lucy would hate me for participating in
her mothers torture but It needed to be done. Amanda had be more estranged, more unstable
and the PTSD was uncontroble and not only ruining her family but her mother.
Tyson nods to the door and Lucy turns to see me standing there. Jacob was trying to calm down
an upset Rayan, while Lucy cradled her brother in her arms.
“Rayan it''s over, we can see her” Lucy tells him and I could barely just make out her voice. Rayan
looks at her and she nods toward the house and his eyes dart to the open door before rushing to it. He
stops next to me and Lucyes up behind him giving him a nudge when he doesn’t enter. Both of
them stare at their mother on the floor in Rykers arms and Reika looks up at them before sighing in
relief when she spots they are ok.
“Mum” Rayan asks, looking at his father for confirmation that it was her. Ryker nods to him and
Rayan throws himself in her arms. She kisses his face, clutching him and stroking his face with her
hands. Lucy chews her lip and Ryden stirs in her arms making her look down at him, he sucks his
fingers and Jacob steps inside.
“I will go make him a bottle” He says kissing Lucy’s head on the way past as he walks toward the
kitchen.
“Jacob?” Reika calls out to him and he stops looking at her.
“Thank you” She tells him and he nods to her.
“Anytime Luna” He says to her before walking off. It was no secret that he was specifically
assigned to Reika because she shouldn’t be on her own, the amount of times he has copped the brunt
of Amanda''s anger was nearly as much as Ryker has trying to protect his kids from her unstable wolf.
Jacob was always willing to throw himself in harm''s way to protect Rayan, and to protect Reika from
herself.
Ryden cries out and Lucy rocks him tapping his bum before looking at her mother and stepfather. I
could see she was wondering if it is safe to hand him over. I had no doubt Lucy would die before letting
her mother hurt brothers, but she need not worry now. Reika looks up at her and I watch her lip
tremble, the guilt on her face for what she has done over thest couple of weeks was obvious.
It was one thing when Lucy was away most of the time, but Lucy came home while Reika was
struggling the hardest because she was pregnant and if she wasn’t I doubt it would have got to this
level, Reika and Ryker had always been careful to hide this from her though I don’t know why they kept
it secret but we all knew something was going with Reika. Everyone saw the change in my brother, but
it goes to show nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.
“It’s ok mum” Lucy tells her, walking over to her, she bends down cing Ryden in her mothers
arms before kissing her mother’s head and stepping back.
“ I messed everything up didn’t I?” Reika asks looking up at her and Lucy shakes her head.
“I know it wasn’t you” Lucy tells her but I could hear how destroyed she was, I could see she
med herself for her mothers psychosis. “Amanda is me, a part of me but I think things will be better
now” Reika says and I think she was also telling herself that. Like saying it outloud would fix everything.
“I know, you will get better” Lucy tells her, stepping away and toward us. It was weird watching
Lucy watch them and I could truly understand why she felt like such an outsider, looking at Reika and
Ryker with both boys in their arms despite looking like crap, they looked like the perfect family and Lucy
was the odd one out. She didn’t look like them except sharing her mother’s eyes and hair colour. You
could tell she wasn’t Ryker’s daughter and you could tell she took after her father because her facial
features were nothing like her mother’s, Lucy''s were softer and not so stern looking, though Reika was
beautiful but Lucy was different, her features softer smoother and not as prominent like Reika’s.
“You cane home now, it will be safe for you toe home” Ryker tells her but Lucy shakes
her head.
“This isn’t my home,” Lucy tells him and I could tell by the look on her face that she never really felt
at home here, or anywhere. The facility was the only true home Lucy had and the one ce she spent
the longest to call home. Even after we got her back she went to boarding school when she was 12 she
had spent more time in school and in the facility then she ever did at home, No wonder nowhere felt
like home to her, no sense of belonging because she never belonged anywhere just existed and the
three ces she called home had only destroyed her taking that sense of belonging from her.
“Lucy” Reika says, hurt shining in her eyes.
“It''s ok mum, you have the boys to look after, you don’t have to worry about me” Lucy tells her
smiling sadly.
“Lucy this will always be your home” Ryker tells her but Lucy shakes her head and I Knew what
she was going to say before she even said it and I could see she really felt that way, felt like the
mistake.
This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.
“This was never my home, I don’t have a home. I belonged here as much as I belonged in that
facility, I was never supposed to exist, in a perfect world only those in your arms would. I was never
meant to be part of this, I was just chucked into the picture by a mad man”
“Lucy you are our daughter, of course you belong here. I never would have survived that ce if it
weren’t for you, you kept Amanda going” Reika tells her.
“But that''s the thing mum, you didn’t survive that ce, you just thought you did. And I was just the
reminder that sometimes slipped through telling you you didn’t survive, not really, notpletely” Lucy
tells her, Reika hangs her head shaking it.
“Are you leaving me Lucy?” Rayan asks just as Jacobes out. He hands a bottle to Ryker who
then takes Ryden from Reika.
“No, I will never leave you but I can’t stay here Rayan” She tells him and he nods.