5: Old friend

"Lyra?”

The unfamiliar voice startled me, and I turned around.

Standing a few feet away was Allison, my former commander from the vanguard days. She wore a simple sundress, her hair pulled back tightly, her eyes bright with genuine surprise and warmth.

“Commander Allison,” I said, a sudden wave of real emotion rising in my chest.

“Look at you.” She smiled and closed the distance, pulling me into a light, respectful embrace before stepping back. “It has been far too long.”

She looked at me the way she always had: direct, sharp, and unafraid.

“You are a hard woman to find.”

“You were probably not looking hard enough,” I replied softly.

She laughed, a brief, familiar sound.

“I was not in the territory.” She uncrossed her arms. “There is a coffee house two streets over. I’ve really wanted to chat with you.”

I almost refused out of habit. But seeing her again filled me with a warmth I hadn’t expected. So I nodded.

The coffee house was small and quiet, tucked between a bookshop and a tailor. It smelled of roasted beans and warm, fresh bread. Allison ordered for both of us without asking, and we took a small table by the window.

“How have you been, Lyra? Truly?”

We talked about our lives.

She told me about the vanguard. The new recruits. The campaigns on the eastern border that I had only read about in delayed pack bulletins, sitting alone in a cold study with a cup of tea that had gone cold in my hands.

Every name she spoke, I knew.

Tomas had been made captain. Mira was running the northern outpost. Renn, who had once been hopeless at terrain reading, now led scouts.

They had all grown. They had all moved forward.

I set my cup down carefully against the wooden table.

I was the only one who had remained stagnant, trapped inside a cold estate, wasting three years waiting for a man who did not want me.

Right then, a quiet, unshakeable vow took root in my chest. I had to change. I could not stay in the dark any longer.

Encouraged by Allison’s fierce energy, I took a small breath and said it out loud.

“I am going to attend the Lycan academy in the north.”

Allison’s face lit up with pure delight.

“Lyra, that is incredible news. You were always one of the sharpest tactical minds I ever trained.” She leaned in, her eyes gleaming.

“By the way, an inter-pack training camp is being organized for next month. Major packs are sending their best warriors and students. You should come.”

I shifted in my seat, the old hesitation creeping in.

“Allison, you know my situation. My leg. I cannot shift or fight like I used to.”

“So what?” she cut in smoothly, without a single trace of pity or patronizing warmth. “You do not need to shift to command a battlefield. Come as an observer. A tactical assistant. Even a training instructor. Your mind is your weapon, Lyra.”

Her words moved me deeper than she could know. For three years, everyone in Silvermoon had looked at me with sorrow, disgust, or heavy, suffocating pity. Sitting across from a true commander who saw my worth without defining me by my disability.

Allison glanced at her phone and smiled softly.

“Speaking of the camp, my mate is here at the showcase today. He just finished his meeting. Mind if he joins us?”

“Not at all.”

Watching the soft, tender expression on her face when she spoke of her mate, I felt a quiet pang of envy. That was what a real partnership looked like. Respect. Warmth. Quiet, effortless pride.

“He’s bringing the Alpha he was in talks with,” she added, waving toward the entrance. “Ah. Here they come.”

I turned my head toward the door, and the smile on my face froze solid.

Walking into the coffee shop behind a tall, broad-shouldered Alpha was Daniel, Allison’s mate.

​And right behind Daniel were Caleb and Seraphina.

So Caleb had been negotiating with earlier—the crucial business partner—was Allison’s husband.

Seraphina still had her arm wrapped around Caleb’s, her fingers hooked possessively around his elbow. That brand-new silver ring caught the warm light of the café, impossible to ignore.

The moment Caleb saw me, his entire body stiffened.

Seraphina’s smile faded instantly, her grip tightening in sudden panic.

I remained still, both hands wrapped around my coffee cup, calmly watching them struggle to hide their discomfort.

Daniel, completely unaware of the tension filling the room, smiled at his wife. He pulled out chairs for Caleb and Seraphina before sitting beside Allison, directly across from me.

“Allison, let me introduce everyone.” He gestured toward Caleb. “This is Alpha Caleb Thorne, the head of the Silvermoon Pack—the very Alpha I was meeting with this morning.”

Daniel then gestured to Seraphina, who was practically shrinking into Caleb’s shadow.

“And this is his wife, Mrs. Thorne, Luna of Silvermoon.”

Caleb’s expression froze into a hard, pained mask. He did not correct him. Seraphina flushed pale, her eyes fixed rigidly on the floor.

Allison took her mate’s hand and turned proudly toward the table.

“It is an honor, Alpha Thorne. Daniel, you remember I told you about the brilliant young warrior who out-maneuvered three vanguard units during the border trials years ago? This is her. Lyra.”

Daniel’s eyes widened with genuine, profound respect.

“Ah, the legend. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lyra. Allison speaks of your brilliance all the time.”

A quiet trace of deep, agonizing pain flashed through Caleb’s dark eyes as he stared across the small table at me.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

If I had never been injured saving his life, he would never have felt obligated to marry me out of gratitude. If I were still whole, he would never have hidden me away like a shameful secret.

Then Seraphina could sit beside him openly as his Luna instead of hiding behind this pathetic act.

I raised an eyebrow and met his uneasy gaze.

“Actually,” I said softly, “I am—”

Before I could finish, Seraphina let out a sudden, high-pitched gasp and violently knocked her elbow against her saucer.

“Oh! I am so sorry!” she cried out, her voice thin and panicked as hot coffee spilled across the wooden tabletop.

She had interrupted me on purpose. Her chest rose and fell as she stole a frightened glance at Caleb.

Across the table, his cold eyes locked onto mine, silently pleading with me not to reveal that I was his Luna in front of an influential Alpha and a high-ranking commander.

I hid the faint smile tugging at my lips. I said nothing. Instead, I calmly pulled a cloth napkin from the holder and wiped the spilled coffee from the table.

As my sleeve slipped back, my left wrist and hand were exposed, revealing the simple silver wedding band on my finger.

Allison’s sharp gaze caught it immediately.

“Oh, Lyra,” she said, her face lighting up with surprise. “I didn’t notice before. You’re married?”

The air in the café turned to liquid ice. Caleb and Seraphina both went deathly pale.

“Yes,” I said smoothly, my voice flat, calm, and utterly even. “I’ve been married for several years.”

Allison beamed and leaned forward with genuine excitement.

“That’s wonderful! Who’s the lucky man? What’s his name?”

I set the napkin down on the clean table, looked directly into Caleb’s terrified eyes, and smiled.

“My husband’s last name is Mr. Thorne.”