LYRA'S POV The first punch came fast, crashing into my ribs and knocking the air out of my lungs. I held my side, tripping backward, gasping, but Cloe didn’t give me a second to recover. She was tall and intimidating. Her hits came as quick as lightning. This time, it landed on my jaw, jolting my head to the side. I had felt my neck would snap. I staggered backward, hitting the floor, instinctively lifting my arm to protect my face from the next hit. “Damn!” I cursed under my breath. “You have to focus, Lyra. Focus!” I geared myself. I spat blood on the ground, slowly standing to my feet. The cheer from the crowd was deafening. Amidst the grinning face was Jake who sat at the podium. His eyes were locked on me while gripping tight on his seat, his expression hard. “Fight back, Lyra! Get the hell up! You've trained hard for this day.” I could hear his thoughts yelling at me through my mind link. Cloe stood right in front of me, flexing her muscles with a dark smirk on her fa
JAKE’S POVThe door pushed open, jerking me up from the chair I laid my head on. "Damn! How long was I gone?" I muttered to myself, adjusting my sitting position.My neck hurt badly and my eyes felt heavy, slowly adjusting to the brightness of the room. I watched in silence as the nurse adjusted the infusion giving set before injecting a few more medications into the infusion. The continuous beeping of the heart monitor beside her filled the room. Each beep struck my heart. I could have done something to stop this. I shouldn't have pushed her that far. Cloe was no match for Lyra but how she managed to pin Cloe was something that still struck me.“How is she doing? How long would it take for her to regain consciousness?” I asked my voice, husky due to lack of sleep. The nurse looked up from Lyra’s medical records she held in her hand, her expression grim but professional.“I can't tell how long before she wakes up but she’s stable,” the nurse responded. “Though she suffered some inte
JAKE'S POV “Jake? Alpha Jake! Are you okay?” Selene had been calling out my name but all I heard was muffled echoes until she snapped her fingers in my face. “Huh?” I blinked myself back to reality. I turned, refocusing my gaze on Selene whose brows were furrowed with concern.“Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost” She asked. Her tone was etched with concern before crashing back into her seat.“Tell me, there is a mistake somewhere. Lyra cannot be pregnant. How is that possible?” I asked, fear gripping me tight like a bear hug.I'm sure that was the most stupid question to ask, but somehow I wanted to hear ‘it was a Joke’. “What do you mean by, How?” Selene shot back at me with a side-eye look. “Don't be ridiculous, Jake. This is not rocket science, You both are adults.” She retorted. Her voice was laced with humor.“You don't have to rub it in. I know but why does it have to be now?” I felt a knot in my stomach.I still have a clear memory of the fateful day Alisha's
LYRA’S POVI slowly opened my eyes, pulling myself out of the darkness as I carefully got used to the light around me. I groaned, dragging myself up from the bed. The last thing I heard was the cheer of the pack members and Jake’s remarks before collapsing. But, something else struck my ears as I struggled to gain full consciousness.“Who is pregnant?” I asked, shifting my gaze between Selene and Jake.“Finally, you’re awake!” They both chorused, shifting close to the bedside.“No one is pregnant or do you want to be pregnant?” Selene teased, adjusting the infusion lines inserted in my hand.I winced at her, my brows furrowing, trying to be sure they weren’t referring to me. As much as I just gained consciousness, I knew I heard something though it wasn’t clear.“How are you feeling? Do you feel any pain? You scared us all. I bet I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you,” Jake said. I had never seen him this worried. His tone was etched with deep concerns and it
JAKE’S POVOne of the most frustrating feelings in the world has to be sitting back and watching a disastrous event draw nearer by the day yet, you are powerless to stop it. I said to myself in a whisper. I sat under a shade by the infirmary, staring into what used to be a blissful view for me. The soft breeze of the afternoon, caused the trees to dance around, carrying a fresh scent of leafy nature.The news of Lyra’s pregnancy was supposed to have been a thing of Joy, but considering the timing, I wish I hadn’t touched her. Suddenly, I inhaled a scent. It was Mum's scent trailing into my nostrils. I turned around to see her walking towards the infirmary.“Hey, mom!” I waved towards her so she could spot me. She flashed a soft smile at me as she walked toward me.“What are you doing out here, son? And, why do you look disturbed” She asked with concern etched in her tone and face. “I was heading to the infirmary to check on your Luna before you called out to me.”I hesitated at firs
LYRA'S POV "Who are you?" I voiced out, in search of who was talking. "You should know better than hiding behind those trees, you coward! Show yourself!" I barked."The moment is drawing near Lyra..it's time!" I heard the voice whisper into my ear again. This time around, I felt chills forming on my skin and my eyes pushing out of its sockets in fear. I could hear my heart banging in my chest until someone held my arm from behind. My heart immediately sank into my stomach.“Oh my God!” I muttered under my breath, slowly turning around to see who it was. A woman with an eerie figure stood behind me. I couldn't make her face but her eyes glowed from the dark veil across her face.“Who.. who are you?” I stuttered, my body trembling. I waited for a response but got none. I tried to summon courage this time around, “Who are..” I was cut off forcefully.She pulled out my hand with a speed I never expected, making a straight cut on it. “What do you think you're doing?” I asked, groaning a
LYRA’S POV“I don't know exactly what is wrong with Jake,” I yelled. “One moment he's nice, the next, he treats me like a piece of furniture decorating the house,” I busted out in anger.“You have every right to feel this way, Lyra. But what can I possibly say? I'm facing the same problem with my husband. He has been distant from me and that is so unlike him.” Lisa said. I don't know if those words were meant to comfort me, but they did nothing to calm my mind. If this was how other mates suffer in their union, maybe the moon goddess would have considered making me a loner, other than pairing me with a nut head. I paced up and down the room, sneering in anger.“I overheard my husband talking about a new pack ruled by a vicious Alpha, Leo and he is threatening to take over our territory. I think they are engrossed with handling the threat,” she suggested in a low tone.I flinched at the mention of that name. “Leo?” I asked. My tone was laced with a bit of curiosity.My brother, Leo,
JAKE'S POV“Do you want to question my authority?” I barked at the maid standing in front of me. My chest heaving as I spat at her.“No..No sir!” the maid responded, her voice trembling as she bowed before me.“I thought as much. Now get out of my sight before I throw your miserable self to the dogs to feed on!” I hissed.“Ye.. yes sir!” She responded before running off from my presence. My heart fell into my stomach immediately when she left my presence. This is obviously the toughest decision I have ever made as an Alpha. Hurting someone I care about without flinching. Not intentionally, but it was necessary to save them. “I hope Lyra gets to understand this hard choice later on,” I muttered to myself.“Jake!” I heard my mum yell my name while storming into the house. Whenever I hear her call me by my name in that manner, I know I'm about to have my head on a plate, but I care less right now. With time they will all understand why I have to do this.“Yes, mum?” I responded casua
AEMOND'S POVI paced up and down what remained of the temple, my mind racing with words Valkyrie had told me in the trance. I had to get everything from that little bi**h. I never thought things would go south and now I have to go an extra length to get her. I growled in frustration, turning to Zephyr who stood motionless staring at me.“He offered me everything, Zephyr,” I muttered, sitting on the stone ledge beside the large window, staring into the dying twilight. “All, I have to do is get the damn bond broken and everything...I mean everything will be mine!" I voiced out with every sense of certainty.Zephyr shook his head in what seemed like disbelief.“You are totally out of your damn mind!” he barked, clawing his head in frustration. “No one strikes a deal with Valkyrie and walks out whole! That’s like shaking hands with the goddamn devil. You will lose everything and I mean every single thing!” he growled in a low tone, cautious not to have anyone hear him.A low growl rumbled
LYRA’S POVJake's face twisted in anger as he sprang from his seat, pointing towards Alpha Benson. Veins, lining the side of his forehead. His eyes, once filled with warmth, now brimmed with something heavier; rage, hurt, and betrayal. I could feel it roll off him like a tidal wave. Every person in that hall instinctively held their breath.Hauling Alpha Benson in what seemed like an arm drag, Jake stepped forward slowly, his voice deep and controlled, echoing through the grand hall. “Alpha Benson of the Arrakis Pack,” he began, eyes locked with Alpha Benson. “You were once considered an ally, a partner, and a friend," he growled with a low, yet steady tone. "A father figure in diplomacy. A man I once trusted to walk beside me in strength and wisdom,” he said, holding up his chin.Alpha Benson looked up from where he knelt, sweat pooling on his forehead. He didn't dare speak. Nobody dared intervene at this moment, not even me.“But instead,” Jake continued, squeezing hard on Benson's
LYRA'S POVMy sight blurred, I could feel something dripping down my nose but I barely paid attention to it. I bent down over Ella, my hands gripping her neck. She squirmed beneath me, making gurgling sounds, her hands feebly hitting my wrists. I didn't mind I had just gone through a painful evacuation process, I damned every sting of pain I felt in my body. All I sensed was the fire within my soul, the sting of betrayal seeping through my fury."LYRA! STOP!"Selene's voice struck through the thick rage in my head like a clap of thunder. My head jerked up, hair tousled around my face, nostrils widening. I turned towards the direction of the voice and noticed her sprinting towards me. Her face was drained with fear of what I might do to Ella."Stop Lyra, You're bleeding!" she yelled, pointing down.Bleeding? The words got to me. I must have stressed my healing body with magic. I noticed my body has been slow to heal likely due to the fact Aemond was wielding part of my powers and the
LYRA'S POVI watched Jake snatch the medical reports from Selene, frantically. His eyes scanned through each line and paragraph. As soon as his hands and shoulders dropped, I realized this was not a joke.“No, No!,” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief. "This is not true," my voice broke as I spoke. "Nothing is wrong with my child. He's healthy and fine," I stuttered, placing my hand over my stomach, hoping to protect my baby from the unbelievable news I was hearing.My vision gradually began to blur as warm fluid rushed into my eyes. I pressed down on my lip trying to stop it from rolling off my eyes but my lip trembled. I felt a string in my heart snap, as my chest constricted. The weight of Selene's announcement pressed on me, sinking me into an abyss.“Wh…What did you just say?” I asked in a low tone, my voice shaking. Somehow I hoped Selene was mistaken, maybe the scan results weren't for me.I slowly turned my attention to Jake, staring into his eyes. For the first time, n
ELLA’S POVThe sun hadn’t yet made an appearance when I exited my room, the morning chill gnawing at my skin through my cloak. I could barely see the person approaching me due to the thick morning dew. My boots lightly struck the marble floor of the corridors, each step resonating a bit more than I wanted it to. I glided like mist, sneaking by guards still on their morning duty, and past maids who wiped the sleep from their eyes and didn’t question my unusual movement this morning.I barely closed my eyes to sleep all through the night. I knew the moment Lyra woke up I would be doomed. Aemond had turned on me, I had no ally. While my mind roamed, an idea clicked in my head. Tasha, my friend from college. Maybe she could help. She owed me a favor after I helped her set up her fiance's former girlfriend so he could date her.I made my way quietly into the infirmary which was still enveloped in the silence of early morning. The scent of disinfectants filled the atmosphere, reaching my n
LYRA'S POV“Um, I think this is my cue to leave now,” Lisa chuckled nervously, making me break off from the intense lip greeting Jake and I were having. “I'd get myself hooked up with an activity around the house, probably come back to check up on you later,” she said, holding on to little Jayden who wanted to break loose from her grip and play around.“It's alright,” I nodded with a smile, biting softly on my lower lip, my face flushed with embarrassment. We both watched her step out of the room, shutting the door behind her.I heaved a deep sigh, shifting my attention back to Jake who never took his enchanting gray eyes off of my face. The deafening silence stretched for about a minute before we broke it off.“So, tell me…,” we both chorused in unison. One would think it was a rehearsed moment. “You go ahead,” I said to him. My voice was barely above a whisper with my face growing warm as I smiled softly, shifting my gaze away from his face.“I know you have a ton of questions to a
LYRA'S POVI jerked up from the bed, the heart monitors beeping faster than normal. There was chaos at the instant. Voices and chatter of people sounded muffled. My eyeballs rolled behind my head and out.“Charge! Apply pressure!” I heard a voice yell in the background, followed by a charge sent through my chest.I jerked up a couple of times before I felt calm in my body. Everything returned back to normal.“Lyra? Lyra, can you hear me?” A familiar voice rang in my ear. I groaned, slowly opened my eyes, squinting until everything shifted into focus. Turning to the right, a weak, yet soft smile curved on my lip.“Selene?” I called out faintly, heaving, weak, and slow breathing. “What happened?” I asked faintly.“You were having a heart attack. You almost drew mine into an episode too,” she teased with a smile. “Jake would have had my head on a spike.” I frowned at the mention of his name. “How did I get here? How did you find me? I made sure not to inform anyone where or how to find
LYRA'S POVI dragged myself up onto my knees, coughing against the thick smoke that rose from the crater Aemond and I had been flung away from. Tara charged towards the figure even before I could make out what it looked like.The figure gradually twisted into focus. It was tall, regal. His eyes gleamed crimson against the silver twilight of this place, a cruel smirk etched across his horrifying face. I could have mistaken him for Medusa with the manner in which his hair curled and twisted behind him; this time not snakes, but streaks of molten flames.A total contrast from Iris. Folktale had it that Valkyrie was banished from the clouds for practicing dark magic causing the world to live in chaos.Aemond writhed in pain next to me, his hair messy as he turned onto his side and coughed harshly. “Damn it,” he muttered quietly, cradling his sides. “What is he doing here?!” he growled"What is he doing here?" My face twisted in disbelief. How on earth did Aemond know him? Was this real or
LYRA'S POV I felt my celestial body peel off from my main flesh. I looked around in shock and some form of amazement. "Selene?" I batted my eyelid. She stood in a corner, penning down what I think were my medical records.The walls of the room looked familiar and that was when it became clear; somehow I was back to Shadowclaw. I was torn between being grateful and screaming at whoever brought me here. I looked back and there I was, hooked to wires and tubes, pale and silent on the infirmary bed. My chest rose and fell in a slow, struggling rhythm. My hair was matted with dried blood, lips cracked. But I—my spirit—floated just above it all, untethered.The last thing I remembered was Leo's face twisted in mischief. No empathy, not even for the sake I was having a child in me. The stinging pain of the old dagger as Zephyr made an incision on my arm. My breath and strength slowly dropped away with the blood gushing out from my arm.A breathless panic fluttered in my chest, hollow and h