Jax
I noticed the shift in Ryder the next morning before he said a word about it. Something looser in his shoulders, something less guarded in the way he moved through the compound giving out assignments for the day's patrols. I didn't ask. Didn't need to. The way Zoe kept glancing his way over breakfast, a small, private smile tugging at her mouth every time their eyes met, told me everything Ryder wasn't saying out loud.
I felt something complicated about it, jealousy tangled up with genuine happiness for both of them, the two feelings sitting uneasy together in my chest. I'd meant what I said in the truck, and what I'd said to her in the hallway after. I wanted this, wanted her, however imperfectly I managed to show it. Watching her find something real with Ryder didn't change that. I
