LOGINLyra’s POVCassian came out of the house before Kael had finished parking.I had watched him struggle to sit upright, watched him go pale trying to cross a room without help. Seeing him come down the steps with his shirt untucked and his sleeves pushed up made me forget the bag between my feet.I left it in the car.He caught me beside the open door, one arm around my waist, the other sliding into my hair as I kissed him. His mouth curved against mine before he pulled me closer.“Fuck, I missed you.”I pressed my face against his neck. “You said that in your letter.”“I was being restrained.”Behind him, Rowan leaned against the porch post. He waited until I looked up, then came down the steps.Cassian loosened his hold without letting go completely. I reached for Rowan, caught the front of his shirt, and pulled him into a kiss that made his hand tighten at my back.“You’re late,” he murmured.“We stopped to eat.”“Good.”He kissed me again, slower this time, then looked past me at Ka
Lyra’s POVAmber put a key beside my cup.I looked at it, then at her.“What’s that?”“A house I want you to look at.”I’d come downstairs to return a book Miri had left in our rooms. Amber had caught me before I reached the entrance and asked whether I’d eaten.Now I had bread on a plate, a cup beside my hand, and a key I hadn’t asked for.“Whose house?”“The pack’s. Four bedrooms, a kitchen, and some space behind it. It needs work.”“What kind of work?”“Paint. A cupboard door. Someone’s been using the back room to store things they should have thrown away.”I picked up the key.“Why are you showing me?”“Because you’ve been living upstairs for six weeks, and you still carry that bag between the rooms every morning.”“I keep things in it.”“I noticed.”She reached for her cup. Her wrist no longer needed the support, though she still rubbed it when she’d been writing too long.“You don’t have to decide anything now. Go and look with them. If you want it, we’ll talk about how.”I turn
Lyra’s POVKael had the armored car waiting outside the barracks when I came down with my bag.Rourke stood beside the passenger door with his injured arm supported against his body. Lucy was fastening the strap on his sling while he tried to speak to one of Alden’s men.“Stop moving,” she told him.“I’m talking.”“You’re turning every time you do it.”He faced forward and let her finish.I stopped beside them. Rourke looked at the bag in my hand, then at the bandage showing beneath my sleeve.“Have it checked when you get back.”“Miri will.”“She needs to know how it happened.”“She’ll get the same account everybody else did.”His mouth moved slightly, but he didn’t smile. He reached for my hand with his good one and held it between us.“I’ll send word when we’ve heard from the remaining units.”“And when you know what’s happening here.”“Yes.”I looked toward the entrance. Alden was speaking to two officers beneath the arch. A man came out carrying another bundle of dispatches and s
Lyra’s POVSeraphine looked at the man beside her.“Take her weapon.”He shifted his sword toward me.Alden stepped forward. “Nobody moves until the Council gets here.”“She killed a member of the guard.”“He cut Rourke while trying to take Lucy.”“She resisted detention.”Lucy’s hand tightened over the cloth against Rourke’s arm. He looked down at her fingers, then back at Seraphine.“You don’t get to do this again.”Seraphine ignored him. Her eyes stayed on the guard.“Disarm her.”He came forward.Kael moved between us, his sword still low enough that the man could stop without meeting it.“Stay where you are.”The guard struck at him.Kael caught the blade and drove it aside. The guard came in close, trying to get his weight behind it, and Alden caught his arm before he could pull back for another swing.The sword broke free and hit the stones.Kael shoved the man away from Alden. They collided with one of the men standing near the gate, and the guard caught Kael’s coat, dragging
Lyra’s POVThe receiving officer was still writing when the door opened.Seraphine came in with two guards behind her. I could see another pair waiting in the passage. She stopped just inside the room, looking first at Rourke, then at Kael.Her eyes moved over me without settling until she reached Lucy.Lucy put both feet flat on the floor and kept her bag between them.“Close the door,” Seraphine said.Alden moved before either guard could touch it.“It stays open.”She looked at him.“You brought an armed werewolf into the barracks.”“He’s here as a witness.”“To what?”Alden nodded toward the desk.“The orders issued in Rourke’s name.”Seraphine came closer. One of her guards followed her, stopping far enough from the desk that he could still reach the doorway.I kept my hands where they were.She looked down at the original order, then at the open dispatch record.“Who gave you permission to examine that?”“I received it,” Alden said. “I asked for it to be examined.”“You were ins
Lyra’s POVMiri made Cassian sit forward without using Kael’s arm.He managed it until she asked him to stay there. Then his hand went to the mattress, his shoulders tightened, and I moved before she had to tell me.“Behind him,” she said.Kael supported his back while I moved the pillow. Cassian let out a breath through his teeth as we eased him down.“Again,” he said.“No.”“I can do it.”“I saw what you could do.” Miri pulled the sheet clear of his dressing. “That was enough.”Cassian turned his head away while she checked him. I watched her hands, waiting for her to reach for clean cloth.She didn’t.“Can he travel?” I asked.“Not now.”“In a cart?”“A cart still moves. Someone still has to get him into it and out again. He can’t hold himself upright without pulling against the injury.”Cassian looked back at her.“How long?”“I’ll examine you again tomorrow. I’m not giving you a date so you can spend the night trying to reach it.”She went to Rowan next. He’d been quiet through t
Alpha Leon’s POVThe phone fell from my hand, clattering onto my bedside table. It was super early in the morning, and Lucian had to be in bed. Right? Right! He had to be because at this point, unless I wanted Alpha Academy invaded by the Star Pack’s foot soldiers and possibly my imminent death, th
Rowan's POV I left Lyra's room, my feet pounding down the hall towards Commander Rourke's office. Climbing down the stairs, I reach the hallway leading to his office. Stilling myself, I take a minute to calm down. I couldn't let her do this alone. We've taken every step together since we were six.
Lyra's POVEvery beat of my heart echoed in my skull. I did my best to project an air of calm, not letting my body language give away the emotions I felt. Commander Rourke sat across from me, still staring at me, waiting for some response or reaction."Well, do you understand what the council and I
Lyra's POVWhen I found the rogue, he was still chewing on the body of one of the Aurelian scouts that had gone out on patrol earlier. Moonlight shone over the ground, turning the snow into glass and the blood into black ink.I've been trained for this exact moment since I was six years old to be an







