Nyx

Lyra’s POV 

A dull, throbbing ache pulsed through my body as I opened my eyes. I drifted in and out of consciousness. My mind was foggy. The bulb light above pierced into my eyes.

I was lying on a cold, damp stone floor. It took me some time for the world around me to come into focus, the fog in my mind slowly disappearing as memories of the event the last night began to come rushing back into my mind.

Lycan King Logan.

Escaping from my pack.

Unsure of what had happened to Calantha. 

The rogue.

The Beta. 

My attempt to escape the grip of that creepy patrol guard called Killian. 

I wrapped my legs in my arms, curling into myself as I sobbed profusely. I was a prisoner. Again, but this time in an unknown pack. 

Tears streamed down my face and sobbed uncontrollably. My entire body ached with exhaustion, and the sharp pain behind my head, where Killian had hit me with a silver-tipped baton, was dulling now. I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself, but it did little to calm me down. 

“Oh, Calantha,” I whimpered, praying to the moon goddess that she was alright.

The thought of something terrible happening to her was unbearable. She had sacrificed everything for me, risking her life as well. I would never forgive myself if anything bad happened to her. I broke into fresh sobs.

A voice, faint and unfamiliar, murmured words that I could barely make out. I froze, holding my breath as I listened, straining my ears, thinking at first it was from outside the room, but it was much closer then I started wondering if my mind was playing tricks on me. But no, it came again, the voice louder, clearer this time. It was in my mind and yet felt like the owner of the voice was mine too, but beside me whispering directly to me.

“Lyra, are you okay?” the voice whispered softly. 

My eyes widened scanning the room, but the voice seemed to come from inside me, rather than from anywhere around me. The realization hit me like a lightning bolt. My wolf had woken up.

“Is that who I think it is?” My voice trembled as I muttered, unsure if I was imagining it.

“Yes,” the voice replied, calm and steady in my mind. 

“I’ve been waiting, watching. I could feel everything you went through, all the pain, all the fear. You weren’t ready for me, but now…”

My near-death experience must have triggered her awakening, and for the first time in my life, I felt an unexplainable presence within me, a warmth, a comfort I’d never known. I was no longer just Lyra. I felt some sort of strength I can’t explain. With her by my side, even if I couldn’t yet feel her fully, my chances of surviving had increased.

“Is that why I didn’t feel you before?” “Yes,” my wolf responded. “My name is Nyx,” she said calmly.

“Nyx as in a goddess of the night?” I asked.

“Yes,”

“What do we look like when we shift?” I asked, my voice shaking as I wiped away tears with my sleeve.

“Dark, glossy black resembling the midnight sky.” 

“How do I…”

A sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door jolted me up in readiness of whatever or whoever was coming through that door. I felt strong now that my wolf was awake. Her strength seeped into me as I waited. The iron lock scraped against metal, and the door creaked open, and a figure standing there slowly came into view.

Killian. I recognized his scent immediately. I sneered, ready to lunge at him. His smell was etched in my memory, instantly triggering my anger as I remembered what he did the night before.

He was the one who had hit my head, made some creepy moves on me as well. He was tall and imposing, with a cold, unreadable expression, and his gaze settled on me with a slight narrowing of his eyes. Now that I could see him more clearly, there was a harshness to his face. A scar ran across his forehead - a jagged, crescent-shaped gash that stretched from the arch of his left eyebrow to the edge of his temple.

“Interesting,” he said, his voice rough and hoarse as he flashed a sly grin. His head tilted to the side, his eyes checking me out. “Something seems different about you.”

“Here to gloat?” I scoffed, taking a step back as I met his gaze with a glare. 

Trying my possible best to keep the fear of being so enclosed in the small room with him.

“If you were smart, you’d stop behaving like a child and start acting like someone who wants to live,” Killian’s eyes flashed with irritation.

“What, are you afraid of a little attitude?” I raised an eyebrow, refusing to let him see my fear. 

“I wish I could have some fun with you, but the Alpha has requested your presence. So, I will advise you to start acting like someone with some respect,” he said as he took a step forward, and I tensed. 

He didn’t wait for my response. Instead, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the cell, not too gently, but not as roughly as I would have expected. His grip was firm in his hand as he led me out of the cell.

My legs were weak, sore from running for hours last night. I trembled with every step, but I forced myself to keep up, not wanting to give him the satisfaction that he was literally dragging me. I walked with as much dignity as I could muster, though the situation was anything but dignified. 

I wasn’t sure what would happen once we got to the Alpha. Scared of the unknown, my stomach tightened but my wolf was somewhat excited, like she was looking forward to seeing the Alpha. I haven’t really gotten much acquainted with my wolf, but we were bounded naturally. Her feelings are mine and mine hers. 

We took the stairs up, our footsteps echoing off the cold stone walls. Like most werewolf packs, this pack had its dungeons in the basement level. The door led to a hallway. I glanced around, my heart sinking as I took in my surroundings. The walls were adorned with banners bearing a crest I recognized—an insignia of the Lunar Legion Pack, one of the Frostbite Pack’s most bitter rivals. My breath hitched in my throat as the full weight of my predicament hit me.

I was in enemy territory. 

“Oh shit,” I murmured, this was more than I bargained for. 

They mustn’t know who I really was, Alpha Darko’s daughter. If they found out, any chance I had of surviving this ordeal would vanish in an instant.