Xena''s POV


    Ryder''s patience snapped. He stormed over and pped her hard across the face, the sound sharp and brutal. Martha hit the floor again, and Ryder began beating her mercilessly, demanding answers between each blow.


    Martha screamed and cried, mumbling incoherently through her tears. The sound was pathetic and desperate.


    "Ryder, stop!" I shouted, unable to watch anymore.


    His ck eyes flickered back to green as he looked at me, his chest heaving with rage. He grabbed Martha by her hair and


    yanked her up so her battered face was level with ours.


    "SPEAK UP!" he bellowed.


    Martha''s mouth was bloody, her face swollen and bruised. Penelope turned away, unable to look at the damage.


    The room fell into heavy silence. Then Martha''s weak voice drifted up from her broken form: "Kill me... just kill me..."


    Tears streamed down her face as she begged for death.


    We all stared in shock. Even Ryder seemed stunned by her words. After a


    moment of hesitation, he pped her again, this


    time hard enough to knock out one of her teeth.


    "Ryder, calm down," I said firmly, moving toward him. "Let her go."


    He released Martha with disgust, spitting on her as he backed away to stand beside me. Martha copsed to the floor like


    a broken doll, her eyes empty and staring at nothing.


    Looking at her now-this pitiful creature who had once terrorized my childhood-l felt that unwee stirring of mercy again. But then I remembered my father''s death, remembered how she had driven him to choose death over living with her


    anymore.


    My voice came out ice cold: "Tell me who freed you, and I''ll make sure your death is painless."


    The bathroom fell into dead silence. All of us waited for Martha''s answer, but she remained numb, staring nkly at the bathroom light fixture. Her eyes hadn''t blinked once, as if her soul hadpletely departed her broken body. The warrior


    beside her was preparing to deliver another punch when she spoke in a mechanical, emotionless voice.


    "Benedict Nash."


    My mouth dropped open in shock. I had assumed Alpha Benedict was dead-this was absolutely thest answer I could have expected. The name hit me like a physical blow, leaving me reeling with disbelief.


    Penelope whipped around at the answer, her eyes wide with the same shock as she looked between Ryder ar1 me. Logan''s face mirrored our expressions ofplete stunned silence.


    "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?" Ryder exploded, rushing to Martha''s side and pping her hard across the face. He grabbed her by the cor, his voice cracking with rage and disbelief. "How the fuck could it be my dad? He''s DEAD!"


    But Martha had be like a corpse-her eyes vacant and unseeing, no longer responding to anything around her. She


    stared through us as if we didn''t exist.


    No matter how brutally Ryder beat her, she didn''t make a single sound of pain. Her body absorbed each blow like she was already dead inside. Logan finally stepped forward and pulled the furious Ryder away from her motionless form.


    I struggled to recover from my shock, my mind racing through the possibilities. Could Benedict really still be alive? What were the chances Martha was lying in her current state?


    Given her broken mental condition, it seemed unlikely she had any reason to lie. But her answer was so impossible to ept, so devastating if true. My brain fought against believing it even as a cold certainty began settling in my chest.


    I stepped forward and took Ryder''s trembling hand, gently pulling him toward the door. "Tie her up and keep watching her," Imanded the two warriors. I


    gestured for Penelope and Logan to follow us into the living room area outside the bathroom.


    "Ryder," I said carefully once we were alone, "did you feel your father''s wolf disappear?"


    "Of course I did!" Ryder''s face was still flushed red with anger and confusion. "I felt the connection severpletely!"


    Logan ced aforting hand on Ryder''s shoulder. "The chances of Martha lying are pretty slim, given her current


    mental state," he said grimly.


    Penelope nodded in agreement, her expression troubled.


    Suddenly Ryder''s eyes widened as if remembering something crucial. "I just remembered what my mom said before she died. She told me that after you and Xena left the pack, dad took a team of warriors and left too." His voice began to tremble with growing realization. "A few minutes after mom died, I felt my father''s wolf disappear. I thought..."


    He couldn''t finish the sentence, but we all understood what he had assumed.


    This was undoubtedly a huge clue, but it still couldn''t prove one hundred percent that Martha wasn''t lying. I squeezed Ryder''s hand tighter, trying to offer whatfort I could.


    "But there''s still a possibility Martha lied or mistook someone else for your father," I said.


    "Are there ways to make a wolf disappear without the person dying?" Penelope asked, her voice uncertain.


    Logan shook his head. "I don''t know of any."


    That question reminded me of something that made my stomach clench with dread. For reasons I couldn''t fully exin, I was beginning to believe Martha hadn''t lied. But admitting that would devastate Ryder, so I kept my growing suspicions to


    myself.


    Ryder''s brow furrowed deeply. He had been so certain his father was dead, but now doubt was clearly eating away at that certainty. I could see the internal battle ying across his features- confusion battling with the need for closure.


    "I suggest we interrogate Martha again tomorrow with a lie detector," I said, trying to keep my voice


    y and practical.


    Logan and Penelope both nodded in agreement.


    "I''ll have the doctor examine Martha and make sure she doesn''t die on us," Penelope added. "We need her alive if we''re going to get the truth."


    I nodded gratefully. "No matter what happens," I said, turning to face Ryder


    directly, we''ll face it together. We''ll ovee every obstacle, every challenge thates our way."


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