Chapter 6

LYRA'S POV

I should have known better than to go home.

But where else could I go? I had no money, no plan, nowhere to sleep. The human city was still miles away, and night was falling fast.

So I'd turned toward the one place I'd sworn I'd never return to.

My family's house sat on the edge of pack territory, a small, rundown building that had seen better days. The yard was overgrown with weeds, the porch sagging under years of neglect.

I stood at the gate, my suitcase heavy in my hand, trying to gather the courage to walk up that path.

I hadn't seen my family in two years. Not since I'd moved into the omega housing to get away from them.

From him.

My father's truck was in the driveway. My stomach turned.

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should just keep walking, sleep in the forest, figure something else out.

But my feet were screaming, my back ached, and the nausea was getting worse. I needed rest. Just for one night.

Then I'd leave and never come back.

I pushed open the gate and walked up the path.

The front door opened before I could knock.

My mother stood there, older and more worn than I remembered. Her hair had more grey in it, her face more lines. She looked at me with no warmth, no welcome.

"Lyra."

"Hi, Mom."

"What are you doing here?"

"I need a place to stay. Just for tonight."

She didn't move from the doorway. "Your father won't like that."

"Please. I'll be gone in the morning."

She studied me for a long moment, her eyes dropping to my stomach as if she could see through my clothes to the secret growing there.

"Fine. One night."

She stepped aside, and I walked into the house I'd grown up in.

Nothing had changed. The same worn furniture, the same stained carpet, the same smell of cigarettes and alcohol that had permeated every corner of my childhood.

My younger brother,Corbin, sat on the couch watching TV. He glanced up when I entered, his expression unreadable.

"Lyra's staying the night," my mother said flatly.

Corbin nodded and returned to the TV without a word.

I climbed the stairs to my old room, my suitcase bumping against each step.

The room was exactly as I'd left it. Small bed, empty dresser, a window that looked out over the woods. All my childhood things had been thrown away years ago.

I set my suitcase down and collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion washing over me in waves.

Just one night. Then I'd figure out what to do next.

I must have dozed off because I woke to the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs.

My father's voice boomed through the thin walls. "Where is she?"

My heart began to race.

"In her room," my mother replied. "I told you, she just needs—"

"I don't care what she needs!"

The door to my room slammed open.

My father stood there, his face red with anger, smelling like whiskey. He was a big man, broad-shouldered and intimidating, with cruel eyes that had terrified me as a child.

They still did.

"Dad..."

"Don't." He stalked into the room. "Don't you dare call me that. You don't get to show up here after two years and act like you're still part of this family."

I sat up slowly, trying to make myself small. "I'm sorry. I just needed a place to stay for one night."

"Why? What happened?"

I hesitated too long.

His eyes narrowed. "You got yourself in trouble, didn't you?"

"No, I..."

"Don't lie to me!" He moved closer, looming over me. "I heard the rumors. Heard you got fired from the pack house. Heard you were spreading lies about the Alphas."

My blood went cold. "Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?" He grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet. "Is it true? Are you pregnant?"

I tried to pull away. "Let go..."

"Answer me!"

"Yes!" The word burst out of me. "Yes, I'm pregnant. Are you happy now?"

His face went purple with rage.

Then his hand connected with my face.

The slap sent me sprawling back onto the bed, my cheek exploding with pain. I tasted blood where my teeth had cut the inside of my mouth.

"You stupid, worthless girl!" he roared. "You've brought shame on this family!"

"It wasn't my fault—"

"It's always your fault!" He advanced on me again. "You think I don't know what you are? An omega whore, just like your mother. Spreading your legs for anyone who looks at you."

"That's not true!"

"Then who's the father?" He grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at him. "Tell me. Who knocked you up?"

I couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe. Pain radiated from my scalp where he gripped my hair.

"An Alpha?" He laughed bitterly. "Is that what you're going to claim? That some Alpha fucked you? Nobody would believe that. Nobody would want you."

Tears streamed down my face. "Please, Dad. You're hurting me."

"Good." He released me suddenly, and I collapsed back onto the bed. "You need to get rid of it."

I looked up at him through my tears. "What?"

"The baby. Get rid of it. Tomorrow. I'll take you to a human clinic—"

"No."

The word was quiet but firm.

His expression darkened. "What did you say?"

"I said no." I sat up straighter despite my shaking limbs. "I'm keeping this baby."

"You don't have a choice."

"Yes, I do. It's my body. My child."

"You're not bringing a bastard into this house!"

"I'm not staying in this house!" I stood up, my legs unsteady. "I'm leaving. Tonight. Right now."

"The hell you are." He moved to block the door. "You'll do what I tell you."

"Get out of my way."

"Or what?" He sneered. "What are you going to do, little omega? Fight me?"

My mother appeared in the doorway, her face pale. "Richard, maybe we should..."

"Stay out of this!"

Corbin was there too now, watching from the hallway with the same empty expression he always had.

"Please," I said, my voice breaking. "Just let me go. You'll never have to see me again."

"You're right about that." My father's voice dropped to something cold and dangerous. "Because if you leave here with that thing inside you, you're not my daughter anymore. You're nothing. Do you understand? Nothing."

I grabbed my suitcase, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip the handle.

"I understand."

I pushed past my mother and Corbin, practically running down the stairs.

My father's voice followed me. "You walk out that door, you're dead to me! Dead to all of us!"

I didn't stop.

I didn't look back.

I burst out into the night, the cool air hitting my tear-stained face.

Behind me, I heard my father still shouting. My mother crying. Corbin's silence.

I ran.

Down the path, through the gate, into the street.

I didn't stop running until my lungs burned and my legs gave out.

When I finally collapsed against a tree, gasping for breath, I realized I was sobbing.

Not for my father's rejection—I'd expected that.

Not for losing my family—I'd lost them long ago.

But for the sheer crushing weight of being completely, utterly alone.

No pack.

No family.

No one.

I pressed my hand to my stomach, feeling the warmth there, the promise of life.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry you're stuck with someone like me. Someone nobody wants. Someone nobody loves."

The baby didn't respond, of course. Too small, too new.

But I felt something shift inside me anyway. Not movement—too early for that—but something else.

A determination.

A fury.

I would prove them all wrong.

Every single one of them.

I would survive this. Build a life. Become someone.

And when I did, when I finally had everything they said I'd never have—

They would all regret the day they threw me away.