Unknown Territory

Lyra’s POV

The world around me was a blur. My mind struggled to shake off the heavy fog clouding my head as I tried to open my eyes, but I could hear some voices nearby. Fear gnawed at me, so I forced myself to remain still, pretending to be unconscious. 

“She probably got lost,” a gentle voice said. 

“I doubt that,” a deep, rough voice responded.

“She could be a spy,” the rough voice continued. “Those Westwood bastards tried this same distraction bullshit last summer.”

“She might just be a rogue,” the gentle voice countered.

“With that dress? Nah, she isn’t,” the rough voice scoffed.

Two different unfamiliar voices debating. One thing I was sure of was that this wasn’t the Frostbite Pack.

“We should mind-link the Beta,” the gentle voice came again. 

“Yeah, do that.”

Suddenly, a sharp pain jolted through my side. I winced, but resisted the urge to cry out.

“She’s still out,” the gentle voice muttered. 

“Nah, I noticed she was coming around before. She’s only pretending.”

I felt the sharp pain again as he growled, “Get up.”

I blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision. It wasn’t morning yet, and the moon was shining brightly. Two figures loomed over me, then one of them gripped my arm so tightly that my bones felt ready to snap and pulled me up to my feet. I tried to pull free, but the grip only tightened. 

My vision cleared. I could see their faces in the moonlight. They were patrol guards, judging from their physique. One of them had cold, hard eyes while the other had a gentle posture.

“Why are you here?” the guard with cold eyes growled. 

His eyes were on me, and I sensed he wasn’t one to accept any excuses. 

My throat felt dry and scratchy from the exhaustion of running around. Swallowing the dryness in my throat, I quickly came up with a story. 

“I… I got separated from my family,” I stammered, trying to make my voice sound frail and innocent. “We were relocating, and… and we were attacked by rogues. I barely managed to escape.”

The guard with the hard eyes stared at me. It was obvious he wasn’t buying the made-up lie. 

“You’re lying,” he muttered.

“Yeah, right. You expect us to believe that?” He scoffed and crossed his arms. 

“I’m not lying,” I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice, even though my heart was pounding. “Please, I just need…”

Before I could finish, a sharp slap landed on my face, making my head snap to the side. Pain spread across my cheek, and I felt the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

“You’re going to regret lying to us,” he sneered, grabbing my hair and forcing me to look up at him.

I tried to hold back a gasp as I stared up at his cold, unsympathetic face. My body trembled.

“Maybe I’ll make you pay in another way.” the guard with the hard eyes sneered, running his hand down my arm in a way that made my skin crawl.

“No!” I cried out, trying to twist away.

“Let her go,” a voice commanded.

His hand dropped from my arm instantly, and I looked up to see a tall man walking toward us. His eyes were sharp and calculating as he scanned over me before turning to the guards. 

“What’s going on here?” he demanded.

“Beta,” they bowed in respect.

“We found her unconscious close to the pack border, being chased by a rogue. We fought the rogue off,” the guard with a gentle posture explained.

“We don’t know why she’s really here. She’s been lying,” the other guard with the hard eyes said.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“My name is Lyra.”

“Lyra,” he repeated my name slowly, “Which pack are you from?”

I bit my lip, hesitating. Revealing my identity would put me at even greater risk if they knew I was the daughter of Alpha Darko from the Frostbite Pack, but hiding it could make them even more suspicious. 

“Wahya Pack,” I replied.

“Wahya Pack? Never heard of that before,” the Beta eyebrows shot up.

“It’s a small pack, western region of Greenland,” I lied.

“Greenland, huh? That’s a long way from here. What brings you to our territory?” The Beta’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, but it disappeared quickly. 

“And what’s the reason you’re in our territory?” he asked.

“I was travelling with my family when rogues attacked. We got separated during the chaos.”

His expression hardened, clearly not buying my story as well. I’ve never been one good at cooking up lies and I can tell I’m currently doing a terrible job.

“You’re lying. Do you think we’re fools?” He turned to the guards. “Take her to the dungeon. The Alpha will decide what to do with her.”

My heart sank, and desperation surged through me. They couldn’t lock me up here. This was a nightmare, and if they put me in that dungeon, I might never be able to escape.

“No!” I cried out as I tried to get myself out of the guard’s grip and bolted into the woods. My only thought was to run, to get as far away as possible.

But I didn’t make it far. I heard the guards shouting behind me, and the heavy footfalls as they pursued me. I pushed myself harder, weaving through the trees. They were faster. 

The guard with the hard eyes grasped me. I felt his fist in the side and I stumbled, gasping for air as pain shot through my ribs.

He grabbed my hair and yanked me backwards, slamming me into the ground. My vision blurred, and I felt blood trickle down my face. I tried to get up, but he pressed down on my shoulder, pinning me to the ground.

“Enough of this,” he growled, his voice filled with anger. He raised his fist, and I braced myself, expecting another blow.

But before he could strike, the Beta appeared again, his eyes filled with irritation. 

“What did I say?” he barked. “Take her to the dungeon and be done with it.”

“She was…”

“Now,” he hissed, and his car engine roared into the air.

“You’re hurting me,” I cried as I tried to wriggle my shoulder away from underneath his feet.

“I could kill you and fabricate something to the Beta,” he said as he pulled me up, not letting go of my wrist.

“Killian, I think it’s enough. She wouldn’t try to do anything funny again,” the guard with a gentle posture said. He has been quiet for a while now and I tell he wasn’t the type that loves seeing a lady being manhandled.

Killian turned to look at him. “You think so?’

“She will bolt towards the wood at the first chance she gets,” Killian said. 

“Let me take her to the dungeon instead,” the guard said.

“No Levi,” Killian responded. 

“I won’t let you have all the fun, and besides, if she tries to escape, we both know you don’t have the stomach to do whatever it takes to bring her back,” Killian added.

“Fine, it’s almost morning Nathan and Astrid will soon be here anyway to take over,” Levi said.

Killian was now distracted and his grip was loose, so I took my chances and bolted towards the forest again.

“Shit, I knew she would do this,” Killian cursed.

“Killian, no,” I heard Levi growled.

A sharp blow to the back of my head sent me reeling. The world spun into darkness as I collapsed to the ground.

“You could have killed her,” Levi’s voice echoed faintly as darkness closed in and I let it overcome me.