Chapter 6:The Intruder

The room fell into deadly silence.

Lyra stared at the silver Moonridge insignia in the guard’s bloody hand while her pulse thundered violently in her ears.

Rowan sent someone here?

Why?

Kael’s expression became terrifyingly unreadable.

“Where is he?” the Alpha King asked calmly.

The guard swallowed hard. “The eastern holding cells, Your Majesty.”

“Alive?”

“Yes.”

Kael stepped away from the balcony immediately.

The cold authority radiating from him made the entire room feel smaller.

“Double security around this floor,” he ordered. “No one enters without my permission.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The guard disappeared instantly.

Lyra’s chest tightened anxiously.

“This doesn’t make sense,” she whispered. “Rowan wouldn’t—”

“Wouldn’t what?” Kael interrupted coldly. “Send someone after you hours after rejecting you publicly?”

She opened her mouth.

Then closed it again.

Because honestly…

She didn’t know anymore.

The Rowan she thought she knew would never have humiliated her before the entire pack either.

Kael grabbed his coat from the chair near the fireplace.

“You’re staying here.”

Lyra blinked. “What?”

“I’m handling this personally.”

“No.” She stepped forward immediately. “I’m coming with you.”

Kael’s gaze snapped toward her.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.

“Absolutely not.”

“I need answers too.”

“You need safety.”

Frustration flared through her chest. “You can’t keep ordering me around every five seconds.”

“I can when your life may be in danger.”

The blunt response stunned her briefly.

Kael moved closer slowly until he stood directly in front of her again.

“You barely survived tonight,” he said quietly. “And now an intruder crosses royal borders asking for you specifically.”

His eyes darkened.

“That makes you a target.”

The intensity in his voice made her stomach twist nervously.

Still…

“I’m not weak.”

Something flickered across Kael’s face at those words.

Not mockery.

Almost approval.

“I know,” he said softly.

The response caught her completely off guard.

For years, everyone around her treated her like she was fragile. Inferior.

But Kael never called her weak.

Even when others did.

The realization unsettled her strangely.

Kael reached toward her suddenly.

Lyra’s breath caught as his fingers brushed lightly beneath her jaw, tilting her face upward.

The touch was gentle.

Unexpectedly gentle.

“You’re trembling.”

Her pulse immediately betrayed her.

“I’m angry,” she muttered.

One corner of Kael’s mouth curved faintly again.

“Liar.”

Before she could react, he stepped back.

The warmth disappeared instantly.

“I’ll return shortly,” he said.

Then his expression hardened once more into something cold and dangerous.

“If anyone besides me enters this room…”

His gray eyes locked onto hers.

“…you do not open the door.”

A chill slid down her spine.

“Kael—”

But he was already gone.

The doors shut heavily behind him.

Leaving Lyra alone.

Again.

The silence afterward felt unbearable.

Lyra paced nervously across the massive room while the storm outside worsened, rain crashing violently against the castle windows.

Her thoughts spun endlessly.

Why would Rowan send someone here?

Unless…

A horrible thought suddenly hit her.

What if Rowan regretted rejecting her already?

No.

That seemed impossible.

Then why else would someone from Moonridge risk sneaking into the royal castle?

Lyra stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

Everything felt wrong.

Ever since Kael appeared at the ceremony, it was like her life had been ripped away from its original path completely.

And the strangest part?

A small piece of her didn’t want to go back.

That terrified her most of all.

A sudden knock echoed through the room.

Lyra froze instantly.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Kael’s warning repeated sharply inside her head.

You do not open the door.

Another knock came.

Slower this time.

“Lyra.”

Her breath caught.

Rowan?

She moved toward the door instinctively before stopping herself.

No. That was impossible.

Rowan couldn’t be here.

Could he?

“Lyra, please.”

Her chest tightened painfully at the sound of his voice.

Even through the door, she could hear tension beneath it.

Regret.

Confusion.

Maybe even desperation.

She shouldn’t care.

After what he did, she should hate him completely.

But hearing his voice still hurt.

“Please talk to me.”

Lyra closed her eyes tightly.

“No.”

Silence followed briefly.

Then Rowan spoke again, quieter this time.

“I made a mistake.”

The words sliced straight through her chest.

Too late.

Far too late.

Anger finally rose stronger than pain.

“You humiliated me in front of everyone,” she snapped toward the door. “You don’t get to stand outside acting sorry now.”

“You don’t understand—”

“No,” Lyra interrupted sharply. “I understand perfectly.”

Her voice trembled despite her efforts.

“You broke our bond like it meant nothing.”

Silence.

Then Rowan said something that made her stomach drop.

“He shouldn’t have taken you.”

Lyra frowned.

“What?”

“The Alpha King,” Rowan growled. “You don’t know what he is.”

A dangerous chill crept through her body.

Before she could answer—

Another voice echoed from behind her.

Cold. Deadly calm.

“And what exactly am I?”

Lyra spun around sharply.

Kael stood inside the room.

Her heart nearly stopped.

How—

The balcony doors stood partially open behind him, rain blowing softly through the curtains.

He entered through the balcony.

Rowan went silent outside the main doors.

The tension that filled the room became suffocating instantly.

Kael looked terrifying.

Rain soaked his black shirt slightly while shadows darkened his already lethal expression.

His wolf was close to the surface again.

Lyra could feel it.

“Your Majesty,” Rowan’s voice came carefully through the door.

Kael’s eyes remained locked on Lyra.

“Did you open the door for him?”

“No.”

Something in Kael visibly relaxed.

Barely.

Then slowly, the Alpha King turned toward the entrance.

“Leave.”

The single word carried overwhelming Alpha authority.

But Rowan didn’t move.

“I need to speak with Lyra.”

Kael’s expression darkened dangerously.

“You lost that right the moment you rejected her.”

The silence afterward felt razor sharp.

Then Rowan said quietly:

“She was mine first.”

A low growl rumbled through the room instantly.

Not human.

Wolf.

Lyra’s breath caught as Kael’s eyes flashed silver-black.

Pure dominance exploded through the air violently enough to make the windows tremble slightly.

Every instinct inside Lyra screamed danger.

Even Rowan seemed affected because his breathing changed outside the door.

But Kael’s voice remained horrifyingly calm.

“She was never yours.”

Another growl answered from the hallway.

Rowan.

Two Alphas challenging each other.

Over her.

Lyra’s pulse pounded painfully.

This was bad. Very bad.

Kael took one slow step toward the door.

“Return to Moonridge before I forget you are beneath my rank enough to spare.”

The threat landed heavily.

Silence followed.

Then Rowan spoke again, this time directly to Lyra.

“He’s hiding something from you.”

Kael’s entire body went still.

Lyra noticed immediately.

Her stomach twisted nervously.

“What does that mean?” she asked carefully.

Rowan laughed bitterly outside the door.

“You think he brought you here out of kindness?”

Kael’s voice dropped dangerously low.

“Careful.”

“No,” Rowan snapped. “She deserves the truth.”

Lyra looked between the door and Kael anxiously.

Truth?

What truth?

Then Rowan said the words that shattered the room completely.

“The King has been searching for you for years.”