Nik Ryder

Nik Ryder, a character in the Nightbound series, is your bodyguard and a Nighthunter. He is also one of your love interests. Although he is first seen in Chapter 1, his name is not revealed until Chapter 2.

Appearance
It is up to the player to decide what Nik looks like, but by default he wears a grey shirt and black pants underneath a long brown leather jacket with a brown necklace as a silver ring hangs on it. You note he has a web of scars along his side.

Background
When Nik was a young child, his biological parents -especially his mother- would take him to the Bayou. His parents were nature buffs, and his mother would take him into the swamps and play hide-and-seek. She was Cajun and knew the bayou inside and out. When he was four or five years old, they were in the bayou, having a picnic for his mom's birthday. There, his parents were attacked by a monster. His mother shoved him towards the brush and told him to run, but when he saw them being killed, he screamed and caught the monster's attention. Something skewed the monster, causing it to fall, and Elijah Ryder appeared. He picked Nik up and ran, the monster howling behind them. Elijah covered Nik's eyes from the sight of his parents' bodies as he passed. He sang quietly to Nik, all the way out of the bayou, and let the young boy cry all over him. Nik didn't have any other family and would have ended up in the system, but Elijah took him in and adopted him, giving him his surname.

Elijah was a Nighthunter, who taught him everything he knows. He died about seven years prior to the beginning of Nightbound. They are the reason that Nik hunts: to honor Elijah and his parents' memory, and to prevent others from suffering what he has.

Personality
From what is seen of Nik, he is very professional when it comes to his job. He can even be quoted with saying that he takes his job very seriously. However, he also appears to love money.

Nightbound

 * Chapter 1: Life of the Party
 * Chapter 2: The World of Night
 * Chapter 3: A Den of Wolves
 * Chapter 4: In the Lair of Luxury
 * Chapter 5: Into the Bayou
 * Chapter 6: Descent into Darkness

Your Character
Nik is one of your love interests and your bodyguard. He/she first sees Nik following him/her in Chapter 1, but then after a bloodwraith attacks Your Character, Nik springs into action saving Your Character after he/she falls into impending doom. He has been hired to protect you by an unknown client who offered him six figures.

In Chapter 5, if you choose to take a breather and go with Nik to a secluded spot, you learn about his parents and guardian. You also have the option to kiss him.

Katherine
Katherine is Nik's rival. They see each other when you're at the Persephone and you can choose the option to hear Nik's mishap during a mission.

Cal Lowell
In Chapter 5, Nik tells you that he knew Cal's father.

Trivia

 * A version of Nik is shown on the cover of Nightbound.
 * He is the eighth love interest you can customize.
 * He tends to stay away from unicorns. The last one he saw tried to skewer him.
 * On April 26, 2019 in the IG livestream, one of the writers said that Nik was inspired by Dean Winchester from Supernatural.
 * The name Nik is English, Persian and Greek origin, which means "lord" (English) or "good" (Persian) or "victory of the people" or "champion" (Greek, derive of a variation of the name Nicholas).
 * You get to play as Nik in a flashback premium scene in Chapter 4.
 * To see through "glamour", Nik carries a small medallion in his pocket which is charmed.