Amelia’s POV

I stared at Ryder, my heart doing weird things in my chest. No one had ever helped me like this before. Growing up, I'd always been alone—beaten, ignored, treated like garbage. And here was this Alpha, this guy everyone said was a monster, promising to protect me.

It didn't make sense. Nothing about this made sense.

"I don't get it," I said, my voice shaky. "Everyone says you're... you're supposed to be….Why are you being nice to me?"

Ryder's expression softened, and he took ...