Hours later, I had experienced a fun day with some of the pack members. Now, we were at the school's football stadium, sitting in the stands. I watched as the cheerleaders, including Stella, were making a practice run for an upcoming pep rally and the football players were huddled on a knee before or after their practice.

As I smelled the foul odor of sweating teenage boys, all I could feel was a slight memory. I was remembering seeing all of those football awards and trophies in Ryder's room...and I wondered about his brother. I wondered what could've happened.

I looked over at Ryder, who sat next to me, but leaned back onto the row above us while his hand played at the outside of my waist. I leaned back to rest on him despite the short-lived teases from the guys.

"I think I like this," Kel commented and I looked over at him despite the sun being directly there.

"Like what?" Vince nonchalantly asked while using his concentration to sketch his name into the metal bleachers with a black Sharpie.

"Ashlynn and Ryder," Kel clarified and I smiled lightly.

"Thanks—"

"Well I don't," Colin commented. My smile dropped and I felt Ryder shift slightly.

"Whatever," Ryder muttered, not wasting his time on it. Colin, standing on the row below us where Ryder's long legs hung over, kicked over Ryder's knee and that's when Ryder sat up, stabilized my lounging so I could lean onto the metal, and glared up at Colin.

"You're laying back with your girl like there isn't shit going on," Colin accused.

"I'm not sitting now, so wanna enlighten me?" Ryder dared, standing up and over Colin. Colin gulped and then glanced over at Preston as if he was supposed to back him up. But selfish as he was, Preston wasn't budging. He just glanced back down at his phone.

"Never mind."

"No," Ryder denied. "Spit it out."

For the first time, Colin wasn't being so cocky about his actions. He looked down as if ashamed and Ryder hadn't even done anything to him...yet. When he looked up, his eyes floated over to me as if in apology before meeting Ryder's.

"Every time an Everton is here, something bad happens," Colin accused.

"Dude," Kel said and even Vince halted his tagging to look up at the boys.

"There's always an Everton here," Ryder said. He looked around at everyone in attendance but me. "You hear that? An Everton is always here. This is their land. End of story. I know our pack hasn't had the best luck with Evertons, but none of you even know what that means so—"

"I do," Colin interrupted. "I know exactly what happened."

"No, you don't," Ryder insisted.

"We do know," Preston finally spoke up. "If it wasn't for Albert Everton, none of this would've spiraled out of control."

"Hey, don't talk about my father," I growled at Preston. I didn't know what he was even referring to because my father hadn't even been in Tyriette for almost two decades. But that didn't matter. He was my father and I wasn't going to let anyone disrespect him or his legacy—especially not Preston.

"You don't know shit about your father okay."

I stood up and Ryder gripped my waist before I was able to approach him.

"I don't need to know whatever twisted thought you have about my family's name. He is my father and I'm not going to let you—"

"I don't care, Ashlynn!" Preston yelled at me. "I don't give a damn about what you will and won't let me do; you're not my alpha! So I don't give a shit about you or your goddamn father in the slightest bit and I wish you were both dead instead of breaking up virtually every family but your own—but I guess you can't really break up a family if half of y'all are already in the ground."

"Preston—"

"Shut up," he snapped at Troy.

"Look at you. You won't even step to him because she's made you that weak," Colin accused at Ryder.

"I'm sorry I don't want my pack seeing me rip out someone's throat," Ryder retorted, but even Preston arrogantly laughed at it.

"What, because that's disrespectful? You wanna talk about respect?" Colin asked him. "You're choosing some bitch over your—"

Ryder punched him so hard in the face that I didn't need enhanced senses to hear his bones shatter. I definitely didn't want the extra senses when I could smell Colin's blood.

Then I saw Ryder changing into the leader I don't think he thought he could be. He pulled out the bandana that he always seemingly had in his back pocket and handed it to Colin to put on his bleeding face. I don't think any of them expected that of him. "Now leave," Ryder commanded, nodding to the end of the stands. I felt that same hollowness as if he howled to the moon and I knew that it was a sealed demand. It had to be. Or else Colin would've had some witty comeback to being sent away instead of tilting his head back with the cloth and walking off.

"You're kicking him out of the pack?!" Preston asked as Colin was turning to leave.

"No, but he's not exactly welcomed by me anymore so it's his hell to choose."

"Great. Just great," Preston said and then stepped over the row to maybe leave with Colin. I think he was just bummed that the only person who found his disrespect amusing was leaving. He made it a few feet away from the other five of us and then turned around. "He was never really part of your pack anyways."

"Then I guess his decision to leave or come back to apologize to Ashlynn will be easier made," Ryder figured. I wondered how he could be so calm right now. He was losing a pack member and his beta was on the brink as well. I didn't even know where this was coming from...maybe a mixture of how much Preston hated me mixed with Ryder's assumption that he was power hungry. "Same goes to you."

"Don't do that," Preston warned Ryder as if this situation was familiar. Ryder's face didn't change, even as Preston's offensive approach faltered and had a look of concern. "You're shutting down again, just like when—"

"I'm doing what I should've done a long time ago."

"No, you're acting like you did three years ago before—"

"I'm not!"

"—before you quit football," Preston finished and Ryder immediately frowned. He got right into Preston's face. "I know you, Ry. You may yell and scream at me and be my alpha, but I was your best friend first. When you got to play football freshman year, you were just like this. Strong, secure. But when something happened—"

"I dealt with it and took my anger out on the field," Ryder finished.

"Because Zander told you to," Preston accused. "He told you—no, he taught you to—"

"Zander only taught me the skills I needed to know to be on that field—nothing else," Ryder raised his voice. "But dealing with his shit? That was all me. Yeah, I snapped, but that was his fault too!"

I looked around, trying to place together the looks of the glum pack members as I pieced together information for myself. Zander was his brother.

"And what are you going to do now, huh?" Preston asked. "Are you gonna just calmly kick whoever you want out of the pack? Take out your anger someplace else? No, you're not. You're gonna take it out on me. And I'm not gonna let that happen. Not when you should be taking it out on her."

Preston pointed at me and then I knew his friendly role was gone. He was just out to get me again. As if I had personally attacked him like I had when I first turned.

"Leave," was the only thing Ryder said. He didn't seal the command with whatever Alpha powers he had. He said it in utter exhaustion. "Actually, you know what? Since you're so worried about the pack, you stay here and I'll leave."

By the time I was reaching for his hand, he had moved it and strode quickly out of the stands. I glared at Preston before running after Ryder.