Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Poisoned Bond

The morning sun bled across the Bloodfang Pack like a warning. It was too bright, too golden—an illusion of warmth that couldn’t reach Lyra’s frozen bones. She stood outside the gathering hall, heart thudding beneath her ribs, palms damp despite the cold.

Today was the High Council Gathering.

And Celeste had requested her presence.

She didn’t know why, only that it couldn’t be good.

She smoothed her dress—a simple, navy-blue wrap that clung to her too-thin frame. Her fingers brushed the necklace around her neck, a token from her mother before she’d died. It was the only thing she had left that hadn’t been taken, mocked, or destroyed.

“Move it, mutt.” A shoulder slammed into hers.

Lyra stumbled but didn’t fall. She was getting better at not falling.

Celeste strutted past in a curve-hugging gown of deep crimson, her black hair tumbling like waves of ink down her back. Her smile was razor-sharp as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Don’t be late. Wouldn’t want to insult the Council. Or the Alpha.”

Lyra nodded stiffly and followed. Each step toward the main hall made her throat tighten. She didn’t belong here. She never had.

The gathering room buzzed with tension. The High Council—five wolves from five packs—sat at the stone dais at the front, their expressions unreadable. Alpha Kade stood beside them, regal and impassive, arms crossed over his chest. His gaze flicked to Lyra for the briefest second before he looked away.

The same way you’d glance at something that made you uncomfortable.

She took her place behind Celeste, feeling every pair of eyes in the room dig into her skin like needles.

Alpha Malric, an aging but sharp-eyed Council member, cleared his throat. “We are gathered under the full moon’s blessing to hear claims brought forth by Bloodfang’s lead warriors.”

Celeste stepped forward, voice smooth as honey but laced with venom.

“I bring a claim of treason,” she said, every syllable landing like a whip crack.

Lyra’s head snapped up. What?

Celeste continued. “Our pack has been infiltrated from within. Secrets stolen. Correspondence shared with the rogue packs to the south. Our patrol routes, guard rotations… leaked.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“I present evidence gathered by our scouts,” Celeste said, holding up a bundle of weathered parchment. “And an eyewitness account.”

“Who?” Malric asked.

Celeste’s smile grew. “Lyra Moonshade.”

Lyra’s breath caught. Her vision swam.

“She was seen near the border just before the last rogue attack. The same day our patrol plans went missing.” Celeste turned toward her with a mock expression of pity. “Tell them, Lyra. Tell them who you gave the information to.”

“I—I didn’t,” Lyra stammered. “I’ve never—”

“Liar,” Celeste snapped, voice cracking like thunder. “We trusted you. Kade trusted you.”

All eyes shifted to him.

Kade’s jaw clenched. “Did you do it, Lyra?”

She stared at him, heart splintering. “You really think I would betray the pack?”

He didn’t answer.

Celeste stepped forward again. “And there's more. Last night, she tried to poison me.”

“What?” Lyra’s voice broke.

“She offered me tea after patrol,” Celeste said, dramatically placing a hand over her heart. “It tasted strange. I had it tested. A wolfsbane tincture—slow acting, but deadly.”

That was a lie. Lyra had offered her tea, yes, but it had been normal—her nightly peace-offering to avoid yet another night of cruelty.

“You’re lying!” Lyra cried. “I never—”

Alpha Malric raised a hand. “Enough.”

Lyra looked around. No one spoke for her. No one stood up.

And Kade… Kade just stared.

“I didn’t do this,” she whispered, voice cracking. “I would never hurt the pack. Or her. Or you.”

Kade’s eyes narrowed. “Then explain the wolfsbane. The rogue attacks. The border patrol.”

“I can’t… because it wasn’t me.”

“You’re either a liar,” Malric growled, “or a danger too stupid to realize the damage she’s done. Either way, you're a threat.”

Alpha Kade’s voice, when it came, was low. Final. “She is hereby stripped of her title, her place in the pack, and the mate bond.”

No.

The pain hit like a physical blow, tearing deep in her chest as the bond ripped from her soul. She fell to her knees, gasping as the room spun. Her wolf howled inside her—grieving, screaming for her mate.

Celeste smirked.

“Exile her,” Kade said. “Effective immediately.”

Lyra couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak.

Two guards grabbed her arms, dragging her to her feet.

“Kade,” she whispered. “Please.”

His gaze didn’t falter. “You made your choice.”

“No… I didn’t…”

But no one listened.

They shoved her from the hall. The cold outside wrapped around her like a shroud. She was marched past familiar trees, past the den where she grew up, past the training ground where she dreamed of being more.

Past the home that never wanted her.

The guards led her deep into the border forest. Then they shoved her forward.

“You walk from here,” one snarled. “Don’t turn back.”

Lyra stumbled into the dark.

No pack. No name. No mate.

The cold seeped in deeper. Her legs gave out. She collapsed near a moss-covered tree, breath coming in ragged gasps.

And then it hit her.

Her chest burned—no, seared. Her skin turned slick with sweat. Her vision blurred.

Wolfsbane.

She hadn’t poisoned Celeste.

Celeste had poisoned *her*.

The tea. The setup. The exile.

It had never been about treason.

It was about elimination.

As the pain overtook her and theworld turned black, Lyra’s last thought was not of fear or regret.

It was on fire.

Of rising.

Of becoming something they couldn’t bury.